Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 represents a significant generational divide in a benchmark context. The processor is a high-end, modern 12-core part with a 125 W TDP and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, while the graphics card is an end-of-life Pascal architecture part with a 150 W TDP and a boost clock of 1683 MHz. In Hitman 2, this combination produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of the title at higher resolutions, with the CPU’s substantial headroom remaining largely untapped as the GTX 1070 becomes the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 at the same settings shows a substantial performance penalty that is disproportionate to the pixel count increase. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 69.3 FPS at 1080p to 40.7 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 41%. The further jump to 4K (3840x2160) yields an average of 23.2 FPS, which is a 43% drop from the 1440p figure and a 67% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline is a hallmark of a system where the GPU’s rendering throughput, specifically its pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth, is the limiting factor.

The data suggests that the GTX 1070’s 256-bit memory bus and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Low settings, the average FPS falls from 116.8 at 1080p to 75.2 at 1440p, and then to 43.7 at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 4K is roughly 63% at Low settings, which is similar in magnitude to the 67% loss observed at High settings. This consistency indicates that the resolution-dependent workload is the dominant variable, and the CPU’s ability to feed frames is not a bottleneck at any point.

The specific FPS values at 4K are particularly telling. At Ultra settings, the combo manages only 19.5 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth playability. Even at Medium settings, 4K results in 27.5 FPS, and High settings only slightly improve that to 23.2 FPS. This demonstrates that 4K output is largely impractical for this GPU in this title, regardless of the quality preset. The fact that even Low settings at 4K (43.7 FPS) fail to reach the 60 FPS standard suggests that the pixel throughput requirements of 4K simply exceed what the GP104 chip can deliver in this game engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 48.9. This is the lowest result at 1920x1080, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GTX 1070, even at the lowest tested resolution.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1440p compared to 1080p at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 40.7, which is 28.6 FPS lower than the 69.3 FPS achieved at 1920x1080. This represents a 41% performance drop when moving up one resolution tier.

Q: Is the frame rate at 4K playable?

A: The data indicates that playability is questionable. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 43.7 on Low settings. At High settings, it falls to 23.2 FPS, and at Ultra, it drops to 19.5 FPS, all of which are below standard smoothness thresholds.

Q: Which setting preset provides the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low preset yields the highest average FPS at 116.8. This is significantly higher than the Medium preset’s 87.7 FPS, suggesting a large performance headroom available when graphical effects are reduced.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial. At Low settings, the average is 75.2 FPS, while at Ultra, it drops to 33.4 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component. The consistent and steep FPS drops with increasing resolution, combined with the high-end nature of the i7-12700K, point to the GTX 1070 as the primary constraint on performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the decisive factor in this combo’s Hitman 2 performance. The GPU’s specifications—8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz—define its capabilities. The memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is a critical metric for this game, as the resolution scaling data shows a clear correlation between higher pixel counts and severe FPS degradation. The GPU’s 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs are tasked with the rasterization workload, and the 107.7 GPixel/s pixel rate appears to be insufficient for 4K resolutions in this title.

The GPU’s position in the benchmark hierarchy reinforces its role. The data shows it holds a percentile rank of 51 among all GPUs, placing it just at the median. Its average benchmark score of 12331 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, which has a deltaPct of -1.4, and the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, with a deltaPct of 0.7. This indicates that the GTX 1070 is a mid-range performer by current standards, and its age is a factor. The GPU’s support for DirectX 12 (12_1) is relevant, but the game’s engine seems to scale predictably with raw throughput rather than API features.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not the limiting factor in the measured results, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset does not show a catastrophic failure that would indicate memory overflow; instead, the frame rate drops to 19.5 FPS, which is a smooth degradation rather than a stutter-heavy crash. The clocks, while modest compared to modern parts, are the maximum for this chip. The GTX 1070’s end-of-life status is reflected in its performance ceiling, which the data shows is firmly below the 60 FPS mark at 1440p with High or Ultra settings. The GPU’s 16 nm process node and 7,200 million transistors are historical facts that contextualize its capabilities relative to the newer 10 nm CPU in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 distinct measurements across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is wide. The Low preset achieves an average of 116.8 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 87.7 FPS, High settings drop to 69.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset results in 48.9 FPS. This progression shows that at 1080p, the CPU has ample power to drive the GPU to its limits, and the frame rate is solely dependent on the graphical workload.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings maintain a respectable 75.2 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS target. Medium settings produce 54.6 FPS, which is a playable but not perfectly smooth experience. High settings drop to 40.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33.4 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at each setting shows a consistent loss of approximately 28-30 FPS, highlighting the GPU’s struggle to manage the additional 78% more pixels.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the GPU is overwhelmed. Low settings yield 43.7 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 40 FPS. Medium settings produce 27.5 FPS, High settings drop to 23.2 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 19.5 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly below playable thresholds, with the Ultra setting being the single lowest score in the entire dataset. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 24.2 FPS, which is a similar absolute difference to the other resolutions, but the relative impact is more severe because it pushes all results into a range that is too slow for action-oriented gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Hitman 2, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds a rank of 1522 out of 1795 total combos. This places it in the lower 15% of all tested systems, with a percentile standing that reflects the GPU’s mid-range status. The high-end CPU does little to boost the combo’s ranking because the benchmark results are overwhelmingly determined by the GPU’s frame rendering capabilities.

The CPU’s own benchmark scores are exceptional. The i7-12700K achieves an average benchmark score of 35684, placing it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802 with a deltaPct of -0.3, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores 35468 with a deltaPct of 0.6. This indicates that the processor is performing at a level consistent with its specs, delivering strong multi-threaded results. However, this CPU performance is irrelevant to the game’s output because the GTX 1070 cannot utilize it.

Conversely, the GPU’s rank is the limiting factor. The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score of 12331 places it in the 51st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (avgScore 12490, deltaPct -1.3) and the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm (avgScore 12547, deltaPct -1.7), are all within a tight performance band. The combo rank of 1522 is a direct consequence of this GPU performance level. The data shows that pairing a top-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU results in a system that ranks poorly for gaming, as the game’s frame rate is bounded by the graphics card’s throughput, not the CPU’s computational power. The gap between the CPU’s 89th percentile standing and the combo’s low rank is a stark illustration of this bottleneck.