Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combination delivers a solid, high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and 1440p in Hitman 2, but the 4K Ultra preset proves too demanding for smooth play. The data indicates that this pairing is well-balanced for the game’s stealth-action formula, with the CPU providing ample headroom and the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, a game from 2018 that does not heavily tax modern multi-core processors. The CPU’s benchmark scores support this assessment: it achieves a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and a 3DMark max-thread score of 9983, showing strong performance in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads. In practical gaming terms, this means the processor is unlikely to be the limiting factor in Hitman 2, especially when compared to the GPU’s workload.

The processor sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is faster than the vast majority of its peers. Its average benchmark score of 35355 places it in close competition with rivals like the Intel Core i5-14400 (avg score 35336, delta 0.1%) and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (avg score 35289, delta 0.2%). The i7-12700KF is essentially tied with these parts, showing that its performance level is a known quantity in the market. The data shows that at 1080p Low, where the CPU’s role is most pronounced, the system reaches an average of 207.8 FPS, which confirms that the processor can feed the GPU with enough data to hit very high frame rates. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS of 85.8 is respectable, indicating that the CPU is not dragging down the experience.

The CPU’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 20 threads provide substantial headroom for background tasks and game logic, but Hitman 2’s engine is not particularly demanding in this regard. The benchmark results show that the CPU’s single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2526 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4091, is strong enough to handle the game’s AI and physics calculations without issue. Therefore, the CPU role here is to provide a stable foundation, ensuring that frame rates are not artificially capped by processing limitations. The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, as the frame rate scales predictably with GPU load, particularly at higher resolutions like 1440p and 4K.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory, is the primary driver of Hitman 2’s visual performance. It features a boost clock of 1770 MHz and a memory clock of 1188 MHz, with an effective speed of 19 Gbps. The GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM is adequate for Hitman 2, as the game’s levels are not massive open worlds that require enormous texture buffers, but the memory bus width of 256 bit and bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s help ensure that data flows efficiently. The GPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 23356 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3478, place it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, showing it is a competent mid-to-high-end card.

The RTX 3070 Ti is the clear limiting factor in this combo, especially at 4K. The measured FPS data shows a stark drop from 1080p to 4K, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. At 1080p Low, the GPU delivers 207.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 27.6 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s shader and rasterization capabilities are being overwhelmed by the resolution and quality settings. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 30849 is close to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (avg score 30755, delta 0.3%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (avg score 31112, delta -0.8%), showing that its performance is in a known tier. However, in Hitman 2, the GPU’s limitations are exposed by the Ultra preset, which likely increases draw distances, shadow quality, and post-processing effects beyond what the card can handle at 4K.

The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests that it may not be enough for 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 27.6 FPS. This is not necessarily a VRAM capacity issue, but rather a raw compute limitation, as the GPU’s FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS is being fully utilized. The GPU’s role is to render the game’s detailed environments and character models, and the measured results show that it excels at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with high settings.

FAQ

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

A: The 1440p High preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 77.8 FPS. For higher refresh rates, 1080p High achieves 116.4 FPS, while 4K High is only playable at 40.8 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 30849. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME, scores 30755, which is 0.3% lower, showing they are nearly identical in overall performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i7-12700KF’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 4091) and the fact that frame rates scale significantly with resolution indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 132.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 57.3 FPS. This is a significant drop of 75.1 FPS, showing the impact of high-quality settings on GPU load.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: Yes, the 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as the game does not require excessive texture memory. The low frame rates at 4K Ultra are due to compute limitations, not VRAM capacity.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 717 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the top 40% of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-range position.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the system is highly capable, with the Low preset delivering a very high average of 207.8 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 151.6 FPS, High to 116.4 FPS, and Ultra to 85.8 FPS. These numbers show that even at the highest settings, the combo can push past the 60 FPS threshold comfortably, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains strong but starts to show the GPU’s workload. The Low preset averages 132.4 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium drops to 95.8 FPS, High to 77.8 FPS, and Ultra to 57.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is borderline for smooth play, but the High preset offers a great balance of visual quality and performance, staying well above 60 FPS.

At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become apparent. The Low preset averages 69.9 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to 51.9 FPS. High settings yield 40.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27.6 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a stealth game where precision is key. The data shows that 4K is only viable with Low settings, while 1440p is the recommended resolution for a good balance of quality and frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core i7-12700KF and RTX 3070 Ti combination ranks 717 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 60th percentile, meaning it outperforms the majority of other systems tested. This ranking is respectable, but not top-tier, which aligns with the GPU’s 74th percentile ranking and the CPU’s 89th percentile ranking. The combo’s overall position is likely dragged down by the GPU, as the CPU is clearly a higher-performing component relative to its peers.

The ranking suggests that this system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it is not competitive at 4K with high settings. The data shows that the combo sits in a middle ground, offering strong performance for most gamers but not excelling in the most demanding scenarios. This is a typical outcome for a mid-range to upper-mid-range pairing, where the GPU is the primary determinant of gaming performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset for this combo is High at 1440p. This setting delivers an average of 77.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while still providing a high level of visual fidelity. The 1080p High preset is also excellent, offering 116.4 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or users with 144Hz monitors. For users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the 1080p Medium preset at 151.6 FPS is a strong choice.

At 4K, the data suggests that the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 69.9 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 51.9 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the High and Ultra presets are too demanding, with 40.8 and 27.6 FPS respectively. Therefore, the recommendation is to stick with 1440p High for the best balance, or 1080p High for higher frame rates. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions except 1080p, where it still maintains a playable 85.8 FPS, but the visual improvement over High may not justify the performance cost.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, highlighting the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 116.4 FPS at 1080p to 77.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 40.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% performance drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a clear indication that the RTX 3070 Ti is being pushed to its limits. The scaling is not linear, as the jump from 1440p to 4K (a 47% drop) is steeper than the jump from 1080p to 1440p (a 33% drop), showing that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are increasingly strained at higher resolutions.

This data suggests that the limiting component is definitively the GPU. The CPU’s performance is consistent, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU cannot keep up with the increasing pixel count. The low FPS at 4K Ultra (27.6 FPS) is a clear sign that the GPU is overwhelmed. For users seeking 4K gaming, a more powerful GPU would be required, as the RTX 3070 Ti is best suited for 1080p and 1440p resolutions. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is designed for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions, not for 4K visual fidelity.