Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a workable but heavily settings-dependent experience in Hitman 2. The measured data shows a clear pattern: this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can hit smooth frame rates with the right compromises. At 4K, the system struggles to maintain playable performance even on Low settings. The data indicates that the RX 6600 is the primary bottleneck in this pairing, particularly as resolution scales up, while the i7-13700K provides more than enough headroom for the game's engine.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows make it clear that the "Ultra" preset is not a realistic option for this combination. At 1080p, Ultra yields an average of 54.7 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 33.1 FPS, and at 4K it plummets to 17.9 FPS, which is effectively unplayable. The data suggests that Ultra is only viable for those who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness and are willing to accept sub-60 FPS averages at 1080p.

The "High" preset offers a much better balance. At 1080p, it achieves 77.1 FPS, which is a significant improvement over Ultra while still providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low. At 1440p, High delivers 47.3 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing matters less than in a competitive shooter. The jump from Ultra to High at 1080p represents a 22.4 FPS gain, showing that the RX 6600 has enough headroom to handle High settings without sacrificing too much visual quality.

For the best experience, the "Medium" preset is the most reliable choice. At 1080p, it hits 97 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a fluid experience. At 1440p, Medium achieves 65.8 FPS, which is excellent for this resolution and makes it the sweet spot for users with 1440p monitors. The difference between Medium and High at 1440p is 18.5 FPS, meaning that dropping from High to Medium yields a substantial performance boost with only a modest visual penalty. At 4K, even Medium only reaches 31.8 FPS, so users at that resolution should stick to Low, which delivers 47.1 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1489 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it is far from a top-tier configuration. The rank of 1489 suggests that the GPU is holding the combo back significantly; the i7-13700K is a high-end processor with an average benchmark score of 47282, but the RX 6600's average score of 25235 puts it in a much lower performance class.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 93 against all CPUs shows that the i7-13700K is a top-tier processor, while the GPU's percentile of 69 indicates it is merely average. This mismatch is the root cause of the combo's low rank. The data implies that pairing the i7-13700K with a stronger GPU would yield dramatically better results in Hitman 2, as the CPU has plenty of headroom to drive higher frame rates. Conversely, the RX 6600 is the limiting factor, and its performance ceiling is what dictates the overall score.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2491 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and the measured frame rates reflect this. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Hitman 2 at 1080p and 1440p, as the game's texture requirements are not extreme for a title from 2018.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is a notable constraint at higher resolutions. At 4K, the data shows a dramatic performance drop, with High settings yielding only 23.5 FPS and Ultra dropping to 17.9 FPS. This suggests that the RX 6600's memory subsystem and compute power are overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K. The GPU's pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are simply not enough to handle 4K rendering with high-quality assets.

At 1080p, the GPU performs much more reasonably. The jump from Low to High at 1080p shows a 53.2 FPS difference, which indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at this resolution. The 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at 1080p, as the game fits comfortably within this allocation. The GPU's RDNA 2.0 architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is well-suited for Hitman 2's engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a wide spread across settings. Low settings deliver an average of 130.3 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth and indicates that the GPU has plenty of headroom when visual effects are minimized. Medium settings drop to 97 FPS, still very playable, while High settings yield 77.1 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 54.7 FPS, which is the first setting where the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings achieve 82.7 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 65.8 FPS and High falls to 47.3 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is marginal at 33.1 FPS, making it unsuitable for consistent gameplay. The data shows that 1440p users should stick to Medium or Low for the best balance of visual quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly out of its depth. Low settings deliver 47.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while Medium drops to 31.8 FPS and High falls to 23.5 FPS. Ultra is unplayable at 17.9 FPS. The 4K results highlight the GPU's limitations, as even the lowest settings struggle to maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 130.3 at 1080p to 47.1 at 4K, a reduction of 83.2 FPS. This represents a 63.9% decrease in performance, which is a stark indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck. At High settings, the drop is from 77.1 to 23.5 FPS, a 53.6 FPS reduction that translates to a 69.5% decrease.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings, with performance degrading roughly proportionally to the pixel count increase. From 1080p to 1440p, the pixel count increases by 77.8%, and the FPS drops by an average of about 36% across settings. From 1440p to 4K, the pixel count doubles, and the FPS drops by an additional 50% or more. This behavior indicates that the RX 6600's compute and memory resources are saturated at higher resolutions, and the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The data strongly suggests that the i7-13700K is not holding back the system at any resolution. The CPU's high core count of 16 and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide ample processing power for Hitman 2's game logic and AI. The fact that the FPS scales so heavily with resolution confirms that the GPU is the sole bottleneck, as CPU-bound scenarios would show less pronounced FPS drops when resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a powerful processor with 16 cores and 24 threads, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and high-performance chip. In benchmark tests, the i7-13700K scores 39000 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5505 in single-core, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to handle the game's simulation, AI, and physics, which it does with ease. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, show 130.3 FPS, indicating that the CPU can push well beyond 130 FPS if the GPU allows. The CPU's single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2850, ensures that Hitman 2's main thread is not a bottleneck.

The data indicates that the i7-13700K is overkill for this GPU pairing, as the RX 6600 cannot fully utilize the CPU's capabilities. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance, with a Passmark multithread score of 45887, is largely irrelevant for this game, which is not heavily multi-threaded. The CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU's limitations prevent the system from taking full advantage of the processor's power. In this configuration, the i7-13700K is clearly not the limiting factor, and any performance issues in Hitman 2 can be attributed directly to the RX 6600.