Hitman 2

The benchmark data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT reveals a system with substantial headroom, particularly at lower resolutions. This combination of a 12th Gen Intel processor and a high-end RDNA 3.0 graphics card delivers frame rates that range from playable to exceptionally high, depending entirely on the resolution and quality settings. The data indicates a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution increases, moving from a CPU-limited state at 1080p to a GPU-limited state at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates where the system's limits lie. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 256.9 FPS, which drops to 161.3 FPS at 1440p and further to 89.1 FPS at 4K. This pattern—where the frame rate nearly halves with each step up in resolution—is a strong indicator of a GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions; the CPU is capable of feeding frames far faster than the GPU can render them at 4K.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The average frame rate falls from 109.1 FPS at 1080p to 67.5 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 34.4 FPS at 4K. The steep drop between 1440p and 4K at Ultra settings shows that the RX 7900 XT is being pushed to its absolute limits by the combination of high resolution and maximum quality. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 147.8 FPS, while at 4K the same settings gap is only 54.7 FPS, confirming that the GPU's rendering workload, not the CPU, is the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 256.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system fail to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The only configuration that dips below 60 FPS is 4K with Ultra settings, where the average frame rate is 34.4 FPS. The 4K High setting also struggles, with an average of 47.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 4128 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 29241 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. The multi-core score is roughly seven times higher, reflecting its 12 cores and 20 threads.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how might it affect 4K performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This high bandwidth is essential for feeding the large amount of data required at 4K resolutions, but the data shows it is still insufficient to prevent a significant frame rate drop at Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 38358, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which has a score of 38349 and a deltaPct of 0.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings average 123.9 FPS, while High settings average 90.7 FPS, a difference of 33.2 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the clear performance driver at higher resolutions. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s, which is crucial for handling the texture data in Hitman 2’s detailed environments. The GPU's architecture, RDNA 3.0 on a 5 nm process, includes 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs. The boost clock is listed at 2394 MHz, while the game clock is 2025 MHz.

The data shows the GPU's performance limits. At 4K, the average frame rate scales from 89.1 FPS at Low to 66.3 FPS at Medium, 47.6 FPS at High, and finally 34.4 FPS at Ultra. This consistent decline with each settings tier demonstrates how the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated by the increasing workload. The GPU's average benchmark score of 38358 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, and its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, is a statistical tie with a deltaPct of 0. This suggests the RX 7900 XT is a very capable card, but Hitman 2 at 4K Ultra is an extreme stress test.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results provide a complete picture of the system's capability. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. Low settings produce an average of 256.9 FPS, Medium settings 189.8 FPS, High settings 145.1 FPS, and even Ultra settings maintain a smooth 109.1 FPS. These numbers indicate that for 1080p gaming, the CPU and GPU combination is overkill, with the CPU likely being the limiting factor at Low settings where the frame rate ceiling is reached.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very strong. The average FPS figures are 161.3 (Low), 123.9 (Medium), 90.7 (High), and 67.5 (Ultra). The system comfortably handles 1440p at High settings, and even Ultra settings provide a playable experience above 60 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p results in a substantial drop across all settings, averaging about 40% fewer frames, which points to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits are fully exposed. The average FPS drops to 89.1 (Low), 66.3 (Medium), 47.6 (High), and 34.4 (Ultra). While Low and Medium settings are playable, High settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra settings are not fluid. This resolution is clearly the domain of the GPU, and the data shows that even a top-tier card like the RX 7900 XT must compromise on settings to achieve high frame rates at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides a strong foundation for this gaming system. With 12 cores and 20 threads, it offers substantial multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241. Its single-core performance is also robust, with a score of 4128 in Cinebench R23. This balance is key for gaming, where single-thread performance often dictates the maximum frame rate possible.

The CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p and at lower settings. The jump from 1080p Low (256.9 FPS) to 1440p Low (161.3 FPS) is a 95.6 FPS drop, a much larger absolute decline than the 72.2 FPS drop between 1440p and 4K at Low settings. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is able to push frame rates high enough that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but the CPU is still fast enough to prevent a bottleneck even at these extreme frame rates. The processor's 3.6 GHz base clock and 5.0 GHz boost clock, combined with its 25 MB of shared L3 cache, ensure that it can keep up with the GPU’s demands in most scenarios. Its average benchmark score of 35684 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, is just 0.3% behind, showing the i7-12700K is a high-performance part that does not hold back the RX 7900 XT in this title.