Hitman 2

Hitman 2’s measured performance with the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 reveals a system that is decisively bound by its graphics card at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p. The data set provides a clear picture of how this pairing scales across three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a detailed look at where the bottleneck shifts between the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating a classic GPU-limited scenario. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 66.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 40.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 38.6%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 23.2 FPS, which is a 64.9% drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern strongly suggests that the GTX 1070’s rendering capabilities are the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

The scaling behavior becomes even more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 120.8 FPS, which is a remarkably high number. However, at 1440p Low, it drops to 73.8 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 39.6 FPS. The fact that even the lowest settings cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller delta between 1080p and 1440p, as the processor’s workload would remain relatively constant while the GPU’s load increases.

The data implies that the i7-12700KF has ample headroom in this game. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz and its high multi-threaded scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multicore result of 28979, suggest it is not struggling to feed the GTX 1070. The FPS scaling pattern is a textbook example of a GPU bottleneck, where the graphics card’s pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth—256.3 GB/s—become the deciding factors. The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly brutal, as the pixel count more than doubles, and the GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 1920 shading units are simply overwhelmed.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070’s role in these results is central, as its specifications directly explain the observed performance ceilings. With a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, the card operates within its expected range, but its 8 GB of VRAM and 256-bit memory bus are the key features. The memory clock is 2002 MHz, translating to 8 Gbps effective, which provides the 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest it is insufficient for the higher resolution’s texture and geometry demands.

The GPU’s compute capabilities, measured at 6.463 TFLOPS FP32, are moderate by modern standards. This is reflected in the 4K Ultra result of 14.3 FPS, which is unplayable. The card’s percentile ranking of 51 against all GPUs places it squarely in the mid-range, and its nearest rivals include the GTX 1650 SUPER, which has a similar average score but a -1.4% deltaPct. In Hitman 2, the data shows that the GTX 1070 is the sole determinant of frame rates at 4K, where even Low settings only yield 39.6 FPS. The GPU’s DirectX 12 benchmark score of 48 (Passmark) hints at its weakness in modern API workloads, which is relevant for a game like Hitman 2 that supports DirectX 12.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested combinations, this pairing sits at rank 1524 out of 1795 combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems, which is a poor showing for a CPU that ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The i7-12700KF’s average benchmark score of 35355 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, with a deltaPct of only 0.1%. However, the combo’s overall rank is dragged down by the GTX 1070, which only ranks in the 51st percentile of all GPUs.

The disparity between the CPU’s high standing and the combo’s low rank indicates that the graphics card is severely holding back the system in this specific title. The data suggests that a stronger GPU would significantly improve the ranking, as the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor. The combo rank of 1524 implies that there are 271 other combinations that perform worse, but the vast majority of systems—over 1500—achieve better results in Hitman 2. This is a sobering statistic for a CPU that is otherwise a top-tier performer in synthetic benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system achieves playable frame rates across most settings. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 66.1, and at Low it reaches 120.8 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS with 73.8 FPS, while High drops to 40.6 FPS. 4K is not viable, as even Low settings only produce 39.6 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rival in terms of synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, has a score of 12504, which is 1.4% higher (deltaPct of -1.4% for the 1070). Another close rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, scores 12241, which is 0.7% lower than the 1070.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck. The i7-12700KF has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979, ranking it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop that is characteristic of GPU limitation, not CPU limitation.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields an average of 73.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 33.7 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of 54.3% when moving from Low to Ultra at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking out of all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1524 out of 1795 tested combinations for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower percentile of all systems, which is primarily due to the GTX 1070’s mid-range performance rather than the CPU’s capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 90.9 FPS. This provides a significant margin above 60 FPS, allowing for consistent gameplay without stutters. The High preset at 1080p yields 66.1 FPS, which is also playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that provides a comfortable frame rate, with an average of 73.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 55.8 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 40.6 FPS is not recommended for smooth play. For 4K, none of the settings are recommended, as even the Low preset only achieves 39.6 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The Ultra presets are universally poor across all resolutions, with the best result being 49.9 FPS at 1080p, which is still below the Medium preset’s performance. Based on the data, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF’s role in this benchmark is to provide a stable platform that does not interfere with the GPU’s output. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the CPU has substantial parallel processing power. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensure high single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and physics. The CPU’s L3 cache of 25 MB shared helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for open-world games like Hitman 2.

The synthetic benchmarks show the CPU’s strength: a Geekbench multicore score of 13596 and a Passmark multithread score of 34092. These numbers are far higher than what is needed to drive a GTX 1070 in Hitman 2. The fact that the 1080p Low preset reaches 120.8 FPS reflects the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU without bottlenecking. However, the data also shows that the CPU’s potential is wasted at higher resolutions, where the GPU cannot keep up. The i7-12700KF is essentially waiting for the GTX 1070 to finish its work, which is why the FPS drops are so dramatic when resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete data set provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are: Low at 120.8, Medium at 90.9, High at 66.1, and Ultra at 49.9. This shows a clear progression where each quality tier costs roughly 20-25 FPS. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 73.8, Medium at 55.8, High at 40.6, and Ultra at 33.7. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the Low preset remains playable.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 39.6, Medium at 29.2, High at 23.2, and Ultra at 14.3. The 4K results are uniformly below 40 FPS, making the game unplayable at this resolution. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 25.3 FPS, which is a 63.9% reduction in performance. The data shows that the GTX 1070 is simply not capable of handling 4K in Hitman 2, regardless of settings. The system’s performance is best described as a high-performance CPU paired with a mid-range GPU that excels at 1080p but struggles beyond that.