Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 reveals a clear progression as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 334.1 FPS, which drops to 215.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 115.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the rendering workload scales substantially with pixel count.

The scaling pattern shifts noticeably when examining High settings. At 1080p High, the system produces 192.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p High yields 122 FPS, a 37% decrease, while 4K High drops to 67.1 FPS, another 45% decrease from the 1440p figure. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 143.1 FPS at 1080p, 92.6 FPS at 1440p, and 48.6 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of frame rates when doubling resolution suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the 334.1 FPS result approaches the practical ceiling for many display technologies, and the gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 191 FPS. This wide spread indicates that even at 1080p, the graphics card has headroom to absorb increased settings without becoming the bottleneck. However, the data also shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate is so high that the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads are likely keeping pace with the RTX 4090's output, as the benchmark results indicate a balanced configuration at this resolution.

The 4K Ultra result of 48.6 FPS is particularly telling. This is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, and it represents a 73% drop from the 1080p Low result. The progression from 115.8 FPS at 4K Low to 88.6 FPS at 4K Medium to 67.1 FPS at 4K High shows that each settings tier costs roughly 20-25 FPS at this resolution. The data suggests that players targeting 4K would need to compromise on settings to maintain high refresh rates, as even High settings barely achieve 60 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 334.1, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Hitman 2?

A: Yes, at Low, Medium, and High settings at 3840x2160, the average FPS is 115.8, 88.6, and 67.1 respectively. Only the Ultra preset at 4K falls below 60 FPS, with an average of 48.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM factor into Hitman 2's performance?

A: The 24 GB GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity for Hitman 2's textures at any resolution. The data shows that settings changes have a larger impact on FPS than resolution alone, suggesting VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 143.1, while at 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 92.6. This represents a 35% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Hitman 2?

A: This combo ranks 28th out of 1,795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the 334.1 FPS result is extremely high, and the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance suggests the GPU is not saturated. The Intel Core i7-12700KF with its 5.00 GHz boost clock and 20 threads is more likely to be the limiting component at this settings level, as the GPU has significant headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 28th out of 1,795 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places the configuration in the top 1.6% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the individual component rankings. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 91st percentile among all graphics cards.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 35,355 places it in close competition with several rivals. The Intel Core i5-14400 scores 35,336, a mere 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i9-12900HX scores 35,289, 0.2% behind. The Intel Core i7-13800H scores 35,416, 0.2% ahead, and the Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35,256, 0.3% behind. This clustering indicates that the i7-12700KF sits in a tightly contested performance band where architectural differences produce minimal real-world impact.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 66,473 shows a similar pattern. The NVIDIA Tesla T4 scores 66,733, 0.4% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 67,097, 0.9% ahead. The NVIDIA Tesla P40 scores 66,127, 0.5% behind, and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 scores 67,320, 1.3% behind. These deltas are small, suggesting that the RTX 4090's position in the rankings is stable but not dominant over its nearest competitors.

The combination of a top-tier GPU with a high-end CPU produces the 28th overall ranking, which reflects the balanced nature of this pairing. The data shows that while neither component is the absolute highest-scoring in its category, their combination in Hitman 2 produces excellent results that outperform the vast majority of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values span a wide range. Low settings produce 334.1 FPS, Medium settings yield 254 FPS, High settings deliver 192.9 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 143.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a 57% reduction in frame rate, with each settings tier costing roughly 40-60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but the scaling becomes more pronounced. Low settings produce 215.4 FPS, Medium settings yield 161.8 FPS, High settings deliver 122 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 92.6 FPS. The transition from Low to Ultra at this resolution represents a 57% reduction, matching the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings produce 115.8 FPS, Medium settings yield 88.6 FPS, High settings deliver 67.1 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 48.6 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction at 4K is also 58%, consistent with the other resolutions. The absolute numbers indicate that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K High just barely crosses it.

Comparing the same settings across resolutions reveals the cost of higher pixel counts. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 118.7 FPS, and moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 99.6 FPS. At Ultra settings, the same transitions cost 50.5 FPS and 44 FPS respectively. This shows that the absolute FPS cost of resolution increases is higher at lower settings, where the GPU has more headroom to render additional pixels.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, and the base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These specifications place the RTX 4090 in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU is likely not the limiting factor, as the 334.1 FPS result far exceeds what most display technologies can show. However, at 4K Ultra, the 48.6 FPS result indicates the GPU is heavily loaded, with the 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance being taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings.

The 24 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, a game that does not require excessive memory for textures or geometry. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory access do not become bottlenecks. The GPU's 512 texture mapping units and 176 raster output processors contribute to the pixel fill rate of 443.5 GPixel/s, which directly impacts how quickly frames can be rendered at high resolutions.

The RTX 4090's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which scores 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, which scores 0.9% higher. These professional-grade cards outperform the RTX 4090 in aggregate benchmarks, but the gaming-focused architecture of the RTX 4090, with its 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores, is better suited for Hitman 2's rendering requirements.

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. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,979 and a single-core score of 4,091. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,282 and max-thread score of 9,983 indicate robust scaling across the 12 cores. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34,092 and single-thread score of 3,984 place the CPU in the 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35,355.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU has more headroom. The 334.1 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is able to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game state updates to maintain extremely high frame rates. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock and 20 threads provide sufficient single-thread performance for Hitman 2's stealth gameplay logic, while the multi-threaded capabilities handle background simulation tasks.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i5-14400, which scores 0.1% higher, and the Intel Core i7-13800H, which scores 0.2% higher. These close margins indicate that the i7-12700KF is competitive with newer and more numerous core configurations. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors suggests that while it is not the absolute fastest, it provides ample performance for Hitman 2 at all tested settings and resolutions.