Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i7-13700K + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

This combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT places at rank 536 out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2, putting it in the upper third of all configurations. The pairing of a 16-core Raptor Lake CPU with a RDNA 4.0 GPU delivers consistently playable results across most settings, though the data reveals some interesting bottlenecks at higher resolutions and quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 536 out of 1795 places this system comfortably above the median, but not at the very top tier for Hitman 2. This positioning makes sense given the game's 2018 release and its known scaling behavior with modern hardware. The CPU sits in the 93rd percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 47282, while the GPU reaches the 82nd percentile with an average score of 39647.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i7-13700K is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-13700KF (deltaPct -0.1) and the AMD EPYC 4364P (deltaPct 0.3). The Intel Core i9-12900F trails slightly at a deltaPct of 0.4, while the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 leads by a narrow 0.5 percent margin. These sub-one-percent differences suggest that CPU choice among these alternatives would not meaningfully alter Hitman 2 performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals tell a different story. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT sits within half a percent of the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (deltaPct -0.1), NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (deltaPct 0.2), AMD Radeon Pro 575X (deltaPct -0.5), and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (deltaPct -0.6). The near-identical average scores across these very different GPUs suggest that Hitman 2's engine may cap effective GPU utilization at this performance level, or that the benchmark methodology captures a narrow performance window.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 1660 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a boost clock reaching 2970 MHz. This memory configuration proves substantial for Hitman 2, as the game's detailed environments and crowd simulations benefit from both capacity and bandwidth.

The GPU's 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs provide the raw throughput for the game's rendering tasks. Pixel rate sits at 380.2 GPixel/s, while texture rate reaches 760.3 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to a measured FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS. For a 2018 title, this hardware is overprovisioned, yet the measured FPS at 4K Ultra shows only 32.4 average FPS, indicating that Hitman 2's engine may not efficiently utilize the RDNA 4.0 architecture's capabilities at extreme settings.

The GPU's 64 ray tracing cores are present, but Hitman 2 does not implement ray-traced effects, so these remain idle during gameplay. The 128 ROPs handle the game's traditional rasterization workload, which still dominates in this title.

Settings Recommendations

At 1080p, the data shows that Medium settings deliver 176.2 average FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors. High settings at 135.1 average FPS remain excellent, while Ultra drops to 101 average FPS — still playable but losing the headroom for competitive play. Low settings reach 233.8 average FPS, which appears excessive for this game.

At 1440p, Medium settings provide 111.3 average FPS, offering the best balance between visual quality and performance. High settings at 85.4 average FPS remain smooth, while Ultra at 60.7 average FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts. Medium settings deliver 59.4 average FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 46.2 average FPS, while Ultra falls to 32.4 average FPS. Low settings at 78.9 average FPS become the only comfortable 4K option, but this sacrifices most visual quality. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combination, offering high frame rates while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the progression across settings shows a clear pattern. Low settings produce 233.8 average FPS, Medium drops to 176.2, High reaches 135.1, and Ultra settles at 101. The gap between Low and Medium represents a 57.6 FPS difference, while the step from Medium to High is 41.1 FPS, and High to Ultra is 34.1 FPS. Each quality tier costs roughly 25-30 percent of the previous frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 151.6 average FPS, Medium drops to 111.3, High reaches 85.4, and Ultra falls to 60.7. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35 percent reduction at Low, 37 percent at Medium, 37 percent at High, and 40 percent at Ultra. This consistent reduction pattern suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 78.9 average FPS, Medium drops to 59.4, High reaches 46.2, and Ultra falls to 32.4. The 4K to 1080p ratio shows Low retains 34 percent of the original performance, Medium retains 34 percent, High retains 34 percent, and Ultra retains 32 percent. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings (78.9 average FPS) or Medium settings (59.4 average FPS). High settings at 4K drop to 46.2 average FPS, and Ultra falls to 32.4 average FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium settings provide 111.3 average FPS at 1440p, offering the best balance between visual quality and performance. High settings at 85.4 average FPS remain smooth, while Ultra at 60.7 average FPS is playable but leaves minimal headroom.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i7-13700K scores 47282 on average, sitting within 0.5 percent of the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (47527), the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47334), the AMD EPYC 4364P (47131), and the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081). No meaningful performance difference exists among these processors.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 39647 on average, nearly matching the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39703), NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39568), AMD Radeon Pro 575X (39836), and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (39879). These differences are within one percent.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p delivers 135.1 average FPS, while 4K produces 46.2 average FPS. This represents a 66 percent reduction in performance when moving to 4K.

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

A: The data suggests not at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 4K at Medium settings, FPS drops from 176.2 to 59.4 (a 66 percent reduction), indicating GPU-bound scaling. At 4K Ultra, the 32.4 average FPS shows the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock reaching 5.40 GHz. This Raptor Lake-S processor uses a 10 nm process node from Intel, with a die size of 257 mm². The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache.

For Hitman 2, the CPU's 16 cores provide substantial headroom, as the game's AI and physics simulations rarely utilize all available threads. The 3DMark benchmarks show a single-thread score of 1136 and a max-thread score of 12412, indicating strong scaling across cores. The Cinebench R23 results of 39000 multi-core and 5505 single-core reinforce this processor's balanced capabilities.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking against all processors means it outperforms most CPUs in synthetic tests, but Hitman 2's engine appears to prioritize single-thread performance. The PassMark single-thread score of 4333 and multi-thread score of 45887 suggest that the CPU can handle the game's simulation load without becoming a bottleneck, especially since the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 233.8, which would require significant game engine optimization to exceed.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a consistent pattern across all settings. At Low settings, the drop from 233.8 to 78.9 FPS represents a 66 percent reduction. Medium settings drop from 176.2 to 59.4 (66 percent reduction), High settings from 135.1 to 46.2 (66 percent reduction), and Ultra from 101 to 32.4 (68 percent reduction).

This uniform scaling across quality presets suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth is the primary limiting factor. The RX 9070 XT's 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, while substantial, becomes saturated as pixel count increases. The 4K resolution requires four times the pixel throughput of 1080p, and the measured reductions align closely with this theoretical scaling.

The CPU's role in resolution scaling appears minimal. At 1080p Low, the 233.8 average FPS shows the CPU can feed the GPU at high rates. The transition to 4K reduces demand on the CPU, yet FPS drops dramatically, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. This combination would benefit from a GPU with higher memory bandwidth for 4K gaming, while the CPU's headroom remains largely unused in this title.