Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Hitman 2 across three resolutions paint a clear picture of how this title scales with rendering load. At 1080p, the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates, with the Low preset reaching 234.2 FPS. Moving to Medium drops this to 178.3 FPS, while High and Ultra register 136.3 FPS and 97.2 FPS respectively. This progression demonstrates that even at the highest settings, the system holds well above the 60 FPS threshold at 1080p, indicating substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

Stepping up to 1440p introduces a noticeable performance cost. The Low preset falls to 151.8 FPS, representing a 35.2% reduction from the 1080p figure. Medium settles at 115.1 FPS, High at 83.7 FPS, and Ultra at 65.3 FPS. The scaling between resolutions is not uniform — the gap between Low and Ultra widens from 137 FPS at 1080p to 86.5 FPS at 1440p. This compression of the performance envelope suggests that the GPU begins to exert more influence on the results as pixel count increases, though the CPU still maintains a strong presence.

At 4K, the picture changes dramatically. The Low preset produces 79.3 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 47.7% drop from the 1440p Low result. Medium falls to 64.1 FPS, High to 44.5 FPS, and Ultra to 32.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 46.6 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1440p spread but occurs at much lower absolute values. The data suggests that 4K Ultra pushes the RTX 4070 to its limits in this title, with the frame rate dipping below the 40 FPS mark. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way. The 1080p results, particularly the 234.2 FPS Low figure, indicate that the processor can feed frames far faster than the graphics card can render at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a straightforward path for optimizing the experience in Hitman 2 with this hardware. At 1080p, every preset delivers playable frame rates, but the Medium setting at 178.3 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance headroom. High at 136.3 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize image quality, while Ultra at 97.2 FPS remains smooth on most displays. The Low preset at 234.2 FPS is only relevant for competitive play or extreme refresh rate monitors, as the visual compromise is substantial for a stealth game that rewards environmental observation.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 115.1 FPS emerges as the sweet spot. It provides a 37.8% improvement over High's 83.7 FPS while retaining enough visual fidelity for the game's detailed environments. Ultra at 65.3 FPS is playable but approaches the lower bound of what is comfortable for a game requiring precise timing and stealth mechanics. Low at 151.8 FPS is unnecessarily fast for the genre and sacrifices too much visual information.

At 4K, the recommendations shift decisively. Medium at 64.1 FPS is the only preset that maintains a consistent 60 FPS experience, making it the clear choice for most users. Low at 79.3 FPS offers additional headroom but diminishes the visual presentation that makes Hitman 2's locations memorable. High at 44.5 FPS and Ultra at 32.7 FPS fall below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a stealth title, where sudden movements and quick reactions matter. The data indicates that Medium at 4K is the optimal configuration for this combination, delivering playable performance without sacrificing the core visual experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, produce a peak FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS. These specifications directly influence the measured results, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth and raw compute become more critical.

The 4K Ultra result of 32.7 FPS highlights the GPU's limitations in this title. The 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient for Hitman 2 at 4K, but the rendering load from the game's large, detailed environments and dynamic lighting systems taxes the AD104 chip significantly. The 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present on the card, though the measured data does not include ray tracing-specific benchmarks for this title, so their impact here is indirect.

Comparing the RTX 4070 to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the GPU's average score of 37283 places it just below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37507 with a deltaPct of -0.6%. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38008 (deltaPct -1.9%), and the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135 (deltaPct -2.2%). The AMD Radeon RX 5300M trails with 36371 (deltaPct 2.5%). These small percentage differences are within the margin of error for synthetic benchmarks, but the measured FPS data shows the RTX 4070 performing strongly in Hitman 2 specifically, suggesting the game's engine favors this architecture.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable frame rate at 1080p with this combo?

A: The Low preset achieves 234.2 FPS, which is the highest measured value. For a more balanced experience, Medium at 178.3 FPS provides substantial headroom above 144 Hz displays.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 60 FPS on 4K Ultra?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 32.7 FPS, which is well below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 4K achieves 64.1 FPS, making it the highest preset that maintains playable performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to the RTX 4080 Mobile in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, while the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135. This represents a deltaPct of -2.2%, meaning the desktop card trails the mobile chip by a small margin in aggregate benchmarks.

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

A: High produces 83.7 FPS, while Ultra produces 65.3 FPS. The difference is 18.4 FPS, representing a 22% reduction in performance for the higher preset.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p Low?

A: The 234.2 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate. The Intel Core i7-12700KF's 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample processing power for this scenario.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Medium at 115.1 FPS offers the best combination of visual quality and performance. It provides a 37.8% improvement over High while keeping the frame rate well above 100 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 483 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations in the database. This position reflects the strong performance demonstrated in the measured FPS data, particularly at 1080p where the system excels.

The CPU's individual percentile ranking of 89 vs all CPUs indicates that the i7-12700KF is a high-performing processor in the broader benchmark landscape. Its average benchmark score of 35355 places it just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336) and 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416). The Intel Core i9-12900HX scores 35289 (deltaPct 0.2%) and the Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35256 (deltaPct 0.3%). These tight margins show that the CPU is competitively positioned among its peers, with no single rival holding a decisive advantage.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 vs all GPUs is slightly lower, but the measured game performance tells a more nuanced story. The RTX 4070's synthetic average of 37283 is within 2.5% of all four nearest rivals, yet the actual Hitman 2 frame rates demonstrate strong results that align with the upper end of this range. The combo rank of 483 out of 1795 suggests that while the individual components are not top-tier in their respective categories, their pairing produces a well-balanced system for this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with a 25 MB shared L3 cache, provide substantial processing power for Hitman 2's simulation and AI workloads. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes available for expansion.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate a strong balance between single-thread and multi-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and single-core score of 4091 demonstrate that the chip handles both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads effectively. The 3DMark results show a clear scaling pattern: 2065 for 2 threads, 4011 for 4 threads, 7211 for 8 threads, and 9983 for max threads. This scaling suggests that Hitman 2 can utilize multiple cores effectively, though the game's performance is not purely dependent on CPU throughput.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low result of 234.2 FPS is likely approaching the CPU's frame delivery limit, as the GPU has less work to do at this resolution. The fact that the 1080p Ultra result of 97.2 FPS is still far above the 4K Ultra result of 32.7 FPS indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient headroom for the game's stealth AI, crowd simulations, and level streaming, even when the GPU is heavily loaded. The processor's 89th percentile ranking vs all CPUs, combined with its close competitive position to the i5-14400 and i7-13800H, confirms that this chip is more than capable of supporting the RTX 4070 in Hitman 2 without introducing a meaningful CPU-side bottleneck.