Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i7-12700K + AMD Radeon RX 9060

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a mid-range gaming experience in Hitman 2, with benchmark results showing a clear progression from playable frame rates at 1080p to increasingly demanding performance at 4K. The combo ranks 1739 out of 3001 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which aligns with the GPU's 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 84th percentile standing. The data reveals that this pairing is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra pushes the RX 9060 to its limits with an average of only 23 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with average frame rates ranging from 66 FPS at Ultra settings to 159 FPS at Low settings. At 2560x1440, averages drop to between 43 FPS (Ultra) and 102 FPS (Low), while 3840x2160 falls below 60 FPS across all settings, with the High preset averaging just 31 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 sits 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), and 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852). This places it statistically in the same performance tier as these competitors.

Q: What settings should be used for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 102 FPS and Medium achieves 76 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. The High preset drops to 58 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls to 43 FPS. Medium settings at 1440p provide the best balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Is the Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RX 9060?

A: The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its strong multi-threaded performance (19784 in Cinebench R23 multicore) suggest it is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking and the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions indicate the RX 9060 is the primary constraint at 4K and Ultra settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Only at low settings, where the average FPS is 54. At Medium, the average drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, while High and Ultra average 31 FPS and 23 FPS respectively. For consistent 60 FPS at 4K, the data does not support this configuration.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1739 out of 3001 tested combos, which places it in the 42nd percentile of tested systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier standing rather than the CPU's stronger relative position.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the measured FPS drops significantly across all settings. The GPU's base clock of 1700 MHz, game clock of 2400 MHz, and boost clock of 2990 MHz indicate a wide dynamic range, with the boost clock delivering peak performance when thermal and power headroom allow.

The RX 9060's compute capabilities include 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. Its pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are modest figures that translate directly into the frame rates observed in Hitman 2. The 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 performance places this GPU in the mid-range segment, which is consistent with its 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the frame rate spread between Low (159 FPS) and Ultra (66 FPS) shows the GPU handling the workload with room to spare. At 2560x1440, the spread narrows to between 102 FPS (Low) and 43 FPS (Ultra), indicating the GPU is working harder. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only achieves 54 FPS, demonstrating that the RX 9060 lacks the raw throughput and memory bandwidth for smooth 4K performance in this title.

The GPU's memory allocation of 8 GB is sufficient for Hitman 2 at 1080p and 1440p, where texture streaming and geometry requirements are moderate. At 4K, the combination of higher resolution textures and increased pixel fill rate demands more memory bandwidth than the 288.0 GB/s can provide, contributing to the substantial FPS drops observed. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 23 FPS, which is less than half of the 54 FPS seen at Low settings, highlighting the GPU's memory and compute limitations at that resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 159 at 1080p to 102 at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 54 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution.

At Medium settings, the averages are 119 FPS at 1080p, 76 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS values also scale predictably: 101 at 1080p, 65 at 1440p, and 35 at 4K. The maximum FPS follows the same trend, with 137 at 1080p, 88 at 1440p, and 47 at 4K. This consistent scaling across all three metrics confirms that the GPU workload is increasing proportionally with pixel count.

High settings show a similar pattern: 90 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The 1440p result of 58 FPS is notably just below the 60 FPS threshold, making High settings at that resolution borderline for smooth gameplay. At 4K, the 31 FPS average is below playable levels for most users.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions: 66 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Ultra result is the only configuration where this preset achieves a playable frame rate, and even then, it barely exceeds 60 FPS.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level reveals that the RX 9060's performance drops by roughly half at each resolution step. This is typical of a GPU that is fill-rate and bandwidth limited, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, requiring four times the pixel processing throughput. The CPU's contribution to frame rate is largely independent of resolution, so the observed scaling is almost entirely attributable to the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1739 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking is modest, reflecting the GPU's mid-tier performance rather than the CPU's stronger standing.

The CPU itself ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i7-12700KF (35365, 0.2% faster), Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, 0.3% faster), and Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, 0.4% faster). These delta values are negligible, indicating the i7-12700K is effectively tied with these CPUs in overall performance.

The GPU ranks in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129, 0.7% faster), AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862, 1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852, 1% slower), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, 2.1% slower). The small deltas between these GPUs suggest they all perform within a narrow range, and the RX 9060's position is firmly mid-pack.

The combo's rank of 1739 out of 3001 indicates that a majority of tested systems outperform it in Hitman 2. This is expected given the GPU's mid-tier status, but the CPU's high percentile ranking means that users upgrading the GPU in the future could see significant improvements without changing the processor. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver smooth frame rates at medium to high settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings presets achieve playable frame rates, with Low at 159 FPS, Medium at 119 FPS, High at 90 FPS, and Ultra at 66 FPS. For the best visual experience without sacrificing performance, High settings at 1080p provide a strong balance, offering 90 FPS average while maintaining better graphical fidelity than Medium.

At 2560x1440, the choice narrows to Low (102 FPS) or Medium (76 FPS). The High preset at 58 FPS falls just short of 60 FPS, which may result in occasional stuttering on 60 Hz displays. Medium settings at 1440p deliver 76 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay at this resolution. Ultra at 43 FPS is not recommended for action-oriented gameplay.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings (54 FPS) approach playability, and even this result is below 60 FPS. Medium settings at 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS are marginal, while High (31 FPS) and Ultra (23 FPS) are not viable for smooth gameplay. Users targeting 4K should consider the Low preset or reduce the resolution to 1440p.

The measured minimum FPS values provide additional context for settings selection. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 101 FPS ensures no drops below 100 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 65 FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 35 FPS indicates significant frame time variance, which could lead to noticeable hitches.

For a consistent experience across all resolutions, Medium settings offer the best compromise between visual quality and performance. The exceptions are at 4K, where Low is the only reasonable choice, and at 1080p, where High or Ultra provide better visuals while maintaining high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo in Hitman 2 is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 159 FPS average
• Medium: 119 FPS average, 101 FPS minimum, 137 FPS maximum
• High: 90 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 102 FPS average
• Medium: 76 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 54 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum
• High: 31 FPS average
• Ultra: 23 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy across settings, with the Low preset delivering more than double the frame rate of Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS indicate a stable frame time distribution, making it a reliable choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 1440p, the frame rates compress somewhat, with the gap between Low (102 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) narrowing to 59 FPS, compared to 93 FPS at 1080p. The Medium preset's minimum of 65 FPS is noteworthy, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring consistent gameplay. The High preset at 58 FPS is the only 1440p setting that dips below 60 FPS on average.

At 4K, the performance drops significantly across all settings. The Low preset at 54 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playability, while Medium at 41 FPS and High at 31 FPS are marginal at best. The Ultra preset at 23 FPS is the lowest measured result, less than half of the 1080p High preset's 90 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 47 FPS show a wide variance, indicating that frame pacing may be inconsistent at 4K.

The data shows that the RX 9060's performance in Hitman 2 scales predictably with both resolution and settings. The GPU's 8 GB memory capacity and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at medium settings, but the demands of 4K resolution exceed its capabilities. The i7-12700K's strong CPU performance ensures that the GPU remains the bottleneck in all scenarios, meaning that users can expect frame rates to be limited by the graphics card rather than the processor.