Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 — Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

This combination of Intel's 16-core Raptor Lake flagship and NVIDIA's Ampere-based RTX 3070 Ti delivers a thoroughly playable Hitman 2 experience across most settings and resolutions, though the data reveals a clear GPU-bound ceiling at higher quality presets. The measured frame rates show a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K demands careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a classic story of GPU saturation. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 204 FPS, dropping to 131 FPS at 1440p Low — a 36% reduction — and further to 70 FPS at 4K Low, which represents a 66% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep scaling curve indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises, with the CPU holding less influence at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 153 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p (a 36% decline), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 66% decline from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings suggests a linear relationship between resolution and GPU workload, with the 3070 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth becoming increasingly strained as resolution climbs.

High settings exhibit the same trend: 116 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p (36% lower), and 39 FPS at 4K (66% lower). The near-identical scaling percentages across all three presets strongly indicate that resolution is the dominant variable, and the GPU's pixel throughput — rated at 169.9 GPixel/s — is the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 29 FPS, which represents a 66% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score of 85 FPS, maintaining the same scaling pattern.

The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are well-served by this hardware, with even Ultra settings remaining playable at 85 FPS and 55 FPS respectively. The 4K Ultra result of 29 FPS falls below typical playability thresholds, indicating that this resolution and preset combination exceeds what the GPU can deliver. The absence of min/max FPS data for most configurations makes it impossible to assess frame time consistency, but the average figures alone tell a clear story of diminishing returns as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K provides substantial computational headroom for Hitman 2, a title that rarely stresses modern high-core-count processors. With 16 cores and 24 threads, the CPU offers far more parallelism than a stealth game of this generation typically requires. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz, combined with a base clock of 3.40 GHz, ensures strong single-thread performance — a critical factor for game logic and AI calculations in Hitman's sandbox levels.

Synthetic benchmarks confirm the CPU's capability profile. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2116 indicate robust per-core performance. Multi-threaded results are equally impressive: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 30745, while Geekbench multi-core scores 19429. The PassMark multi-thread score of 45887 and average benchmark score of 46881 place this chip in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, showing it sits comfortably above most processors in the database.

The nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971, just 0.2% ahead), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022, 0.3% ahead), the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654, 0.5% behind), and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653, 0.5% behind). These deltas are negligible, indicating that the 13700K is positioned in a tightly contested performance band. For Hitman 2 specifically, the CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain consistent frame delivery, particularly in crowded NPC-heavy areas where game logic can spike.

Given that the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is nearly identical across all presets, the CPU is clearly not the limiting component at any resolution tested. Even at 1080p Low with 204 FPS, the processor appears to keep pace, as there is no evidence of a CPU-induced plateau. The 13700K's 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform provide ample headroom for sustained gaming loads, and the chip's production status is active, meaning it remains a current-generation option.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the decisive factor in this combo's Hitman 2 performance. Built on the GA104 chip with 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, the GPU delivers 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1575 MHz, combined with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus, yield a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The memory clock operates at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed.

In the database, the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the 75th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 29945. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, 0.1% behind), AMD Radeon RX 6800 (30095, 0.5% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (29783, 0.5% behind), and AMD Radeon RX 6700 (30433, 1.6% ahead). These small deltas place the 3070 Ti in a competitive mid-to-high tier, though the 4K results in Hitman 2 reveal its limitations.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a notable constraint at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 29 FPS, suggesting that memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for the combination of high pixel count and demanding texture loads. The 169.9 GPixel/s pixel rate and 339.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide theoretical throughput, but real-world results show the card struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Ultra settings.

The PassMark G3D score of 23356 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3478 quantify the GPU's overall capability. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 119718 and Vulkan score of 139541 indicate strong compute performance, though Hitman 2's engine appears to rely more heavily on traditional rasterization. The card's 290 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU rating indicate substantial power requirements, and its end-of-life production status means it is no longer in active manufacturing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience depends heavily on target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance with 153 FPS average and a measured range of 130-176 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay with no perceptible stutter. The High preset at 116 FPS is also viable, while Ultra at 85 FPS remains playable for those prioritizing visual fidelity. The Low preset's 204 FPS is unnecessary for most displays but demonstrates the headroom available.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 98 FPS with a 83-113 FPS range, making it the recommended choice for competitive or fast-paced play. High at 74 FPS is acceptable for most users, while Ultra at 55 FPS may be borderline for those sensitive to frame rate fluctuations. The Low preset at 131 FPS provides maximum smoothness but sacrifices visual quality.

For 4K, the data shows that only Low (70 FPS) and Medium (52 FPS, with a 44-60 FPS range) are viable options. High at 39 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS fall below comfortable playability thresholds for a stealth game that benefits from smooth camera movement. Given the measured results, 4K users should select Medium for the best balance of visual fidelity and playable frame rates, accepting that the 8 GB VRAM and GPU compute limits prevent higher settings.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering the most consistent frame delivery with recorded min/max values that indicate stable performance. The absence of min/max data for other presets makes direct comparison difficult, but the Medium preset's measured range suggests good frame pacing.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings, which produce 70 FPS and 52 FPS respectively. High and Ultra at 4K fall below playable thresholds at 39 FPS and 29 FPS.

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

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 98 FPS average with a measured range of 83-113 FPS, making it the most balanced choice. High is also viable at 74 FPS, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 29945 places it within 1.6% of its closest competitors: the RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, 0.1% behind), RX 6800 (30095, 0.5% ahead), RTX 2080 Ti (29783, 0.5% behind), and RX 6700 (30433, 1.6% ahead).

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The consistent FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K across all presets indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking and 46881 average benchmark score provide ample headroom.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 85 FPS. This is lower than High (116 FPS) but still playable, though the Medium preset at 153 FPS offers a significantly smoother experience.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Hitman 2?

A: The combination ranks 1341st out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the upper portion of the database, though not in the top tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for this combo is presented below:

1920x1080:

• Low: 204 FPS average
• Medium: 153 FPS average, 130 FPS minimum, 176 FPS maximum
• High: 116 FPS average
• Ultra: 85 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 131 FPS average
• Medium: 98 FPS average, 83 FPS minimum, 113 FPS maximum
• High: 74 FPS average
• Ultra: 55 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 70 FPS average
• Medium: 52 FPS average, 44 FPS minimum, 60 FPS maximum
• High: 39 FPS average
• Ultra: 29 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only configuration with complete min/max FPS data, showing a consistent 30 FPS spread between minimum and maximum at each resolution. This suggests stable frame delivery without major spikes. At 1080p, the spread is 46 FPS (130 to 176), at 1440p it is also 30 FPS (83 to 113), and at 4K it is 16 FPS (44 to 60). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame times become more consistent as the GPU becomes more uniformly loaded.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p results in a 36% reduction in average FPS across Low, Medium, and High presets. The scaling from 1440p to 4K produces a 47% reduction. The total scaling from 1080p to 4K is 66% across all presets, demonstrating that the RTX 3070 Ti's performance degrades proportionally with pixel count regardless of quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hitman 2, this Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti pairing ranks 1341st out of 3711 combos, placing it in the 64th percentile of all tested systems. This position reflects a capable but not top-tier configuration, consistent with the GPU's 75th percentile ranking and the CPU's 89th percentile ranking.

The rank suggests that while this combo outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested systems, there remain a substantial number of higher-performing configurations. The gap between the CPU's high percentile (89th) and the combo's overall rank indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. A more powerful GPU paired with this same CPU would likely achieve a significantly higher combo rank.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals — all within 1.6% in average benchmark score — suggests that this combo's rank is representative of the RTX 3070 Ti's class positioning. The CPU's near-tie with the Ryzen 9 5900 and Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 in average score reinforces that the processor is not the differentiator in Hitman 2's performance.

For context, the 3711 total tested combos span a wide range of hardware generations and price points. A rank of 1341 places this system in the upper-middle tier, capable of high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and solid 1440p performance, but not competitive with flagship GPUs at 4K Ultra settings. The measured FPS data supports this assessment, with the system delivering excellent results at 1080p and 1440p Medium/High, while 4K requires reduced settings for playable frame rates.