Hitman 2

The data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER reveals a pairing that is heavily skewed toward GPU dominance at higher resolutions, yet shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. The combination ranks 342nd out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 19% of all configurations analyzed. This is a strong result for a game from 2018, indicating that modern hardware is more than capable of handling its engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gameplay with this combo?

A: The data shows that the "High" preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 49.6 FPS, which is the only preset to come close to a smooth 60 FPS experience. The "Ultra" preset drops to 38.6 FPS, making it less ideal for consistent playability at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p "Low" preset compared to the 4K "Low" preset?

A: At 1920x1080 with "Low" settings, the average frame rate is 264.2 FPS. At 3840x2160 with "Low" settings, the average is 89.3 FPS. This represents a performance advantage of roughly 2.9x for the lower resolution.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate a potential CPU limit at 1080p. The jump from "Medium" (198 FPS) to "Low" (264.2 FPS) is substantial, but the gap between "High" (149.8 FPS) and "Ultra" (107.5 FPS) suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance is becoming a limiting factor at very high frame rates.

Q: What is the performance delta between the i7-12700K and its closest rival?

A: The nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which has an average benchmark score of 35,802. The Core i7-12700K scores 35,684, putting it 0.3% behind. It is also 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13800H.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER more or less powerful than the RTX A6000 in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42,576, which is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A6000's score of 42,653. This makes the two cards effectively tied in aggregate performance.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K on the "High" preset?

A: At 2560x1440 with "High" settings, the average FPS is 95.4. At 3840x2160 with "High" settings, it drops to 49.6 FPS. This is a reduction of 45.8 FPS, or roughly 48% lower performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary driver of performance in Hitman 2, especially as resolution increases. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's textures and geometry at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 56 RT cores are less relevant here, as Hitman 2 does not rely heavily on ray tracing, but the raw compute power of 35.48 TFLOPS is what pushes frame rates.

The data confirms this GPU-centric behavior. At 4K, the difference between "Low" (89.3 FPS) and "Ultra" (38.6 FPS) is stark, a 50.7 FPS swing that is entirely attributable to the graphics card's workload. The fact that the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42,576, reinforces its position as a high-end part. It is virtually tied with the RTX A6000 (0.2% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% slower), which places it in a competitive tier where Hitman 2's optimization will determine the final numbers.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides the foundational processing power, featuring 12 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its Alder Lake architecture supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, which offers flexibility for the system builder. In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck.

At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough to expose the CPU's limits. The jump from "Medium" (198 FPS) to "Low" (264.2 FPS) shows that the CPU can still scale, but the "Ultra" preset's 107.5 FPS suggests that the game's draw calls and AI logic are stressing the processor's single-thread performance. The i7-12700K scores 4,128 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is a strong result, but Hitman 2's engine appears to be sensitive to this metric. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684, places it just 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, indicating that it is not a weak link in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 342 out of 1,795 tested configurations places this system in the 81st percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Hitman 2. This is a strong showing, but it is not at the very top, which suggests that there are other combinations that can extract more performance from the game.

The data implies that the GPU is the more influential component in this ranking. Since the RTX 4070 SUPER is only 0.2% slower than the RTX A6000 in general benchmarks, the 342nd rank is likely driven by the CPU's performance ceiling in specific scenarios. The i7-12700K's 0.7% deficit against the Intel Core i5-14500HX shows that there are newer mobile processors that can match it, but for a desktop system, this combo is well-balanced. The rank indicates that this setup will provide a high-refresh-rate experience at 1440p and a playable 4K experience, which is consistent with the measured FPS data.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the "High" preset at 49.6 FPS is the most balanced choice, as it provides a playable frame rate without the significant drop seen at "Ultra" (38.6 FPS). For 1440p, the "High" preset at 95.4 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a smooth experience that is close to the "Medium" preset's 127.2 FPS but with better visual fidelity.

At 1080p, the choice is more nuanced. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, the "Low" preset at 264.2 FPS is the best option, as it maximizes frame rate. However, for a more visually rich experience, the "High" preset at 149.8 FPS is still excellent and provides a significant improvement in image quality over "Low". The "Ultra" preset at 107.5 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, as it still clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 264.2 FPS ("Low"), 198 FPS ("Medium"), 149.8 FPS ("High"), and 107.5 FPS ("Ultra"). Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 167.4 FPS ("Low"), 127.2 FPS ("Medium"), 95.4 FPS ("High"), and 70.7 FPS ("Ultra"). At 3840x2160, the averages are 89.3 FPS ("Low"), 67.9 FPS ("Medium"), 49.6 FPS ("High"), and 38.6 FPS ("Ultra").

These numbers reveal that the performance overhead of each settings tier is consistent across resolutions. The difference between "Low" and "Ultra" is roughly 2.5x at 1080p (264.2 vs 107.5), 2.4x at 1440p (167.4 vs 70.7), and 2.3x at 4K (89.3 vs 38.6). This consistency indicates that the game's settings scale uniformly, and the RTX 4070 SUPER handles the increased load at 4K without any unexpected bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At "Low" settings, the drop from 264.2 FPS (1080p) to 89.3 FPS (4K) represents a 66% reduction. This massive drop is almost entirely GPU-bound, as the pixel count increases by a factor of four, and the RTX 4070 SUPER is forced to work much harder.

At "Ultra" settings, the drop from 107.5 FPS (1080p) to 38.6 FPS (4K) is a 64% reduction, which is similar. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all settings presets suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions. However, the absolute frame rates at 1080p are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance is likely preventing even higher numbers. The data shows that the i7-12700K can feed the GPU at up to 264 FPS, but beyond that point, the CPU becomes the limiting factor. This combo is therefore well-balanced for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the GPU is fully utilized, but it leaves some performance on the table for extreme 1080p frame rates.