Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a performance profile in Hitman 2 that is heavily dictated by resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint at 4K while the CPU's strong single-threaded performance ensures high frame rates at lower resolutions. The measured data shows a clear scaling pattern: dropping from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings reduces average FPS from 121.6 to 39.1, a 67.8% decrease that underscores the extreme load placed on the graphics card at higher pixel counts. The delta between 1440p and 4K at High settings is similarly steep, falling from 104.3 to 56.5, which indicates that the RTX 5070 Ti's rendering pipeline, rather than the i7-12700K's processing capabilities, is the limiting factor in this scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 290.6 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently without becoming a bottleneck, as the jump from Low to Ultra at this resolution only reduces performance by 58.2%, a relatively modest penalty compared to the 59.7% drop seen when moving from 1440p High to 4K High.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior reveals a classic GPU-bound curve at higher settings. From 1080p High (163.5 FPS) to 1440p High (104.3 FPS), the frame rate drops by 36.2%, and then to 4K High (56.5 FPS) it falls another 45.8% from the 1440p figure. This halving of performance from 1440p to 4K is typical of a graphics card operating near its memory bandwidth limits, and the data points to the RTX 5070 Ti's 896.0 GB/s bandwidth being fully utilized at 4K. Conversely, at Low settings, the scaling is more linear: 290.6 FPS at 1080p, 182.6 FPS at 1440p (a 37.2% drop), and 97 FPS at 4K (a 46.9% drop from 1440p). The fact that 4K Low (97 FPS) still outperforms 4K Ultra (39.1 FPS) by 148% indicates that the game's Ultra preset applies effects that are disproportionately expensive at high pixel counts. The data suggests that for smooth 4K gameplay, users must accept Medium settings (72 FPS) or lower, as the Ultra preset's 39.1 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p resolution presents the best balance, with High settings delivering 104.3 FPS, which is 84.5% faster than the 4K Ultra result, proving that resolution choice has a more significant impact than preset selection in this configuration.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 Ti's memory configuration plays a critical role in Hitman 2's performance. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for the game's texture streaming at high resolutions. The benchmarks show that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 39.1, a figure that correlates with the card's limits in handling the game's most demanding visual effects. The GPU's boost clock of 2452 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are consistent across the test, yet the performance degradation from 1440p High (104.3 FPS) to 4K High (56.5 FPS) indicates that raw clock speed is less relevant than memory bandwidth and shading unit throughput. The RTX 5070 Ti's 8960 shading units and 70 RT cores are capable of processing the game's DirectX 12 workload, but the 43.94 TFLOPS FP32 compute rate is evidently saturated at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 87th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 52086, places it nearly identically to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (52085, 0% delta), which confirms that this card's performance is within the expected range for its class. However, the measured FPS data shows that even with this compute power, Hitman 2's Ultra preset at 4K remains challenging, suggesting that the game's engine has specific bottlenecks that the GPU cannot overcome without reducing settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this i7-12700K + RTX 5070 Ti setup ranks 178th out of 1795 combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the top 9.9% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong synergy between the CPU and GPU, where the i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient processing headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5070 Ti at most resolutions. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684, is closely matched by rivals such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802, -0.3% delta) and the Intel Core i7-13700T (35468, 0.6% delta), indicating that the i7-12700K is well-positioned in the mid-to-high range. For the GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti's 87th percentile ranking and 52086 average score put it in the same performance tier as the RTX 4080 (52085, 0% delta), which means that the combo's 178th rank is attributable to the balanced nature of both components. The data shows that combos ranked above this one likely pair the same or similar GPUs with higher-end CPUs, but for Hitman 2 specifically, the 1080p Low result of 290.6 FPS and 1440p High result of 104.3 FPS demonstrate that this pairing is not leaving significant performance on the table, as the CPU can maintain frame rates well above display refresh rates in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 290.6 at 1080p with Low settings, which is 137.8% higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 121.6 FPS.

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, which is 0.3% lower than the Ryzen 7 PRO 5845's 35802, indicating essentially identical performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 Ti faster or slower than the RTX 4080?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti's average benchmark score is 52086, while the RTX 4080 scores 52085, resulting in a 0% delta, meaning they are statistically equivalent in performance.

Q: What settings are recommended for 4K gameplay?

A: For 4K, Medium settings yield 72 FPS, which is 84.1% higher than Ultra's 39.1 FPS, making Medium the highest preset that maintains playable frame rates.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1440p High?

A: At 1440p High, the combo achieves 104.3 FPS, and since the 1080p High result is 163.5 FPS, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU can deliver higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 178th out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the top 9.9% of all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K's processing capabilities are a key enabler for the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. With 12 cores (including performance and efficiency cores) and 20 threads, the CPU provides a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, which is well-suited for Hitman 2's single-threaded game logic. The benchmark data supports this: the 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for maintaining high FPS when the GPU is not the bottleneck. The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, and the 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs (average benchmark score 35684) confirms that it is a capable processor. However, the measured FPS shows that at 1080p Low (290.6 FPS), the CPU is still able to feed the GPU, but at 4K Ultra (39.1 FPS), the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. In comparison to rivals, the i7-12700K's average score is 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T (35468) and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416), but 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940). This positions the CPU as a mid-pack performer that does not bottleneck the RTX 5070 Ti in most scenarios, as evidenced by the 104.3 FPS at 1440p High, which is a demanding resolution but still yields a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with High settings providing 163.5 FPS and Ultra providing 121.6 FPS, making High the recommended choice for a balance of visual quality and performance, as it is 34.5% faster than Ultra. At 1440p, High settings produce 104.3 FPS, which is the best compromise, as Medium yields 139.2 FPS (33.5% faster) but with reduced visual fidelity, while Ultra drops to 75.8 FPS (27.3% slower than High). For 4K, the data clearly indicates that Ultra is not viable, with 39.1 FPS, while Medium at 72 FPS is the highest preset that maintains a playable frame rate, and Low at 97 FPS offers a 34.7% improvement over Medium. The recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium settings at 4K, as these presets provide the best combination of visual quality and performance according to the measured results. The 1440p High result of 104.3 FPS is particularly strong, as it is 84.5% higher than the 4K Ultra result, making 1440p the sweet spot for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves the following average FPS: Low at 290.6, Medium at 217.2, High at 163.5, and Ultra at 121.6. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decrease, with each preset step reducing performance by roughly 25-28%, indicating that the GPU is scaling predictably with settings. At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 182.6, Medium at 139.2, High at 104.3, and Ultra at 75.8. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 58.5%, which is more pronounced than at 1080p, where the drop is 58.2%, suggesting that the higher resolution amplifies the impact of settings. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 97, Medium at 72, High at 56.5, and Ultra at 39.1. The scaling at 4K is particularly severe, with Ultra being 59.7% slower than Low, and High being 41.8% slower than Low. The data shows that the RTX 5070 Ti's performance at 4K Ultra (39.1 FPS) is below the 60 FPS threshold, while 1440p Ultra (75.8 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (121.6 FPS) both exceed it. The 1080p Low result of 290.6 FPS is the highest measured, and it is 643% higher than the 4K Ultra result, illustrating the extreme range of performance this combo can deliver depending on resolution and settings.