Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 presents a stark illustration of GPU-bound performance in Hitman 2. The benchmark data shows a dramatic collapse in frame rates as resolution increases, with the 1080p Low preset delivering 69.6 FPS but the 4K Ultra preset plummeting to 7.4 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 570’s rendering pipeline becomes the decisive limiting factor well before the CPU’s headroom is exhausted. The 4K High result of 15.8 FPS versus the 1080p High result of 40.7 FPS represents a 61% reduction in throughput, a drop that cannot be attributed to the i7-12700KF’s processing capabilities given its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a consistent and steep decline that points squarely at the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 69.6 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches smooth gameplay. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 45 FPS, a 35% reduction. The 3840x2160 Low result of 22.6 FPS represents another 50% cut from the 1440p figure. This halving pattern continues through the settings tiers, suggesting that the RX 570’s 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are being saturated by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced at higher quality settings. At 4K Ultra, the 7.4 FPS average is barely interactive, while the 1440p Ultra result of 19.2 FPS and 1080p Ultra result of 26.8 FPS show a more gradual decline. The data indicates that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p, Ultra delivers 38.5% of the Low preset’s performance (26.8 vs 69.6 FPS), but at 4K, Ultra delivers only 32.7% of Low’s performance (7.4 vs 22.6 FPS). This suggests that the GPU’s texture units and ROPs—128 TMUs and 32 ROPs respectively—are increasingly overwhelmed by the combination of higher resolution and more demanding shading work.

Notably, the CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal. The i7-12700KF’s 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide far more processing capacity than Hitman 2’s stealth gameplay requires at these settings. The evidence for CPU headroom comes from the fact that even at 1080p High, where the GPU is less stressed, the frame rate only reaches 40.7 FPS—a figure that remains well below what the CPU could theoretically support. The bottleneck is consistently the RX 570’s Polaris 20 chip, which was designed for 1080p gaming in an earlier era.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570’s specifications directly explain the measured performance envelope. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves insufficient for 4K textures and high-resolution rendering. The base clock of 1168 MHz and boost clock of 1244 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 14 nm process node from GlobalFoundries limits power efficiency and thermal headroom. The GPU’s 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed frame rates.

The memory capacity is a particular concern for Hitman 2’s larger levels. At 4K Ultra, the game’s texture demands likely exceed the 4 GB frame buffer, causing the GPU to fall back to slower memory management. This would explain the catastrophic 7.4 FPS result at that setting. Even at 1440p Ultra, the 19.2 FPS average suggests the GPU is swapping data frequently, as the 2560x1440 resolution requires significantly more memory than 1080p for the same scene complexity. The 1080p Medium result of 55.1 FPS versus the 1440p Medium result of 34.2 FPS—a 38% drop—further indicates that memory bandwidth, not raw compute, is the primary constraint.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 (12_0) support is relevant for Hitman 2, which uses DX12 features. The RX 570’s GCN 4.0 architecture handles async compute reasonably well, but the 32 ROPs limit pixel throughput, particularly at high resolutions. The pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s are insufficient for 4K Ultra workloads, as evidenced by the single-digit frame rates. The FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS is adequate for 1080p Medium settings, where the combo delivers 55.1 FPS, but falls short for higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i7-12700KF and RX 570 ranks 1739 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 3% of all configurations. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU’s individual standing is strong. The i7-12700KF holds an 89th percentile rank among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 35355 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336, 0.1% delta), the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416, -0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (35289, 0.2% delta). The CPU is clearly not the weak link.

In contrast, the RX 570’s average benchmark score of 30158 places it in the 74th percentile, but its nearest rivals in that metric include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0.2% delta). These rivals are far more capable in real-world gaming, indicating that the RX 570’s benchmark scores are misleading when applied to Hitman 2’s specific requirements. The combo ranking of 1739 out of 1795 suggests that most other CPU-GPU pairings tested deliver better frame rates, even those with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs.

The delta between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s low rank highlights a fundamental mismatch. The i7-12700KF is a high-end processor that can drive much faster graphics cards, while the RX 570 is an entry-level GPU from 2017. The data shows that this pairing leaves significant CPU performance on the table, as the GPU cannot translate the CPU’s compute capabilities into higher frame rates. For Hitman 2 specifically, the combo’s rank indicates that users would see substantial improvements from upgrading the GPU alone, without touching the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a clear tiering of performance. The Low preset achieves 69.6 FPS, which is the only setting that provides a smooth experience for stealth gameplay. Medium drops to 55.1 FPS, a reduction of 21% from Low. High further reduces to 40.7 FPS, which is 41% below Low. Ultra falls to 26.8 FPS, a 61% reduction from Low. These figures indicate that the RX 570 can handle 1080p gaming but only at lower quality presets if the target is 60 FPS or above.

At 2560x1440, the performance declines across all settings. Low yields 45 FPS, which is 35% below the 1080p Low result. Medium produces 34.2 FPS, a 24% drop from the 1080p Medium figure. High delivers 22.4 FPS, a 45% reduction from 1080p High. Ultra manages only 19.2 FPS, which is 28% below the 1080p Ultra result. The 1440p data suggests that even Low settings are borderline for playability, as 45 FPS is below the typical 60 FPS target for action games.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low achieves 22.6 FPS, Medium drops to 16.2 FPS, High reaches 15.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 7.4 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is negligible (16.2 vs 15.8 FPS), suggesting that the GPU is so constrained that settings changes have minimal impact. The 4K Ultra result of 7.4 FPS is unusable for any gameplay, and even 4K Low at 22.6 FPS would be difficult to play, especially in Hitman 2’s stealth segments where precise timing is required.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average is 69.6 FPS; at 1080p Medium, it is 55.1 FPS. Both 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 fall below 45 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35355, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336), 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i9-12900HX (35289), and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416).

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, with 7 Gbps effective speed.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1739 out of 1795 tested combinations in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 3% of all pairings.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score compare to its rivals?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0.2% delta), and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29969, 0.6% delta).

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: The 1080p Low preset averages 69.6 FPS, while the 4K Low preset averages 22.6 FPS, representing a 67.5% reduction in frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the only viable settings for this combo are at 1920x1080 with the Low or Medium presets. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 69.6 FPS, which is ideal for Hitman 2’s stealth mechanics where smooth movement and quick reactions matter. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 55.1 FPS, which is still playable and offers better visual fidelity without a catastrophic performance penalty. The High preset at 1080p (40.7 FPS) is borderline, while Ultra (26.8 FPS) is too slow for comfortable gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset’s 45 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. The 1440p Medium (34.2 FPS) and High (22.4 FPS) results are below acceptable thresholds for this genre. The 3840x2160 resolution is entirely unsuitable, with even the Low preset (22.6 FPS) failing to provide a smooth experience. Users should avoid all 4K settings with this GPU, as the 4 GB frame buffer and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot handle the resolution demands.

The data suggests that the optimal experience is 1080p Medium, which balances the 55.1 FPS average with improved visuals over Low. For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 69.6 FPS is the clear choice. The 1080p High preset at 40.7 FPS represents a compromise that may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth sections but will struggle during action sequences. Given the GPU’s 150 W TDP and the CPU’s 125 W TDP, this pairing is power-efficient but performance-limited, and the benchmark results confirm that the RX 570 is the component that must be upgraded to achieve higher frame rates at any resolution above 1080p.