Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a Hitman 2 experience that ranges from exceptionally fluid at 1080p to decidedly demanding at 4K Ultra. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 24 threads boosting up to 5.40 GHz, sits in the 93rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU, based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 6144 shading units and 12 GB of GDDR7 memory, achieves an 83rd percentile ranking. This combination ranks 392nd out of 1795 tested combos in this game, placing it comfortably in the upper tier of systems. The measured frame rates reveal a clear narrative: at lower resolutions and settings, the RTX 5070 becomes the primary bottleneck, while at 4K Ultra, the GPU's workload dominates entirely.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 143.4 at 1920x1080 to 93.2 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 50.2 FPS, and then further to 50.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 64.7% decrease from 1080p to 4K, demonstrating that the RTX 5070's rendering workload scales nearly linearly with pixel count. The Low settings preset shows an even more dramatic absolute drop: from 252.7 FPS at 1080p down to 166.2 at 1440p and finally 85.9 at 4K. This 166.8 FPS difference between the lowest and highest resolutions at Low settings confirms that when graphical effects are minimized, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the sole limiting factor.

The scaling pattern reveals that Hitman 2 is heavily GPU-dependent once the resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 252.7 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at extremely high rates. However, the i7-13700K's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4333, ensures that even at these high frame rates, the CPU does not become a bottleneck. The transition from Medium to High settings at each resolution incurs a smaller penalty than the resolution scaling itself, reinforcing that pixel count, not effects complexity, is the dominant performance driver. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 37.1 FPS, a figure that is only 14.7% of the 1080p Low result, highlighting the extreme cost of combining maximum resolution with maximum detail.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory operating across a 192-bit bus delivers 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Hitman 2's requirements at all tested settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz provide the computational throughput necessary for the game's stealth-heavy environments, which feature complex lighting and shadow calculations. The measured results show that the GPU's role shifts from being partially CPU-limited at 1080p to fully saturated at 4K. At 1080p Low, the 252.7 FPS average suggests the GPU is working near its maximum output, while at 4K Ultra, the 37.1 FPS indicates the renderer is struggling with the combined load of high resolution and maximum effects.

The GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 482.3 GTexel/s texture rate are directly relevant to Hitman 2's performance. The game's environments, which feature large crowds and detailed interiors, rely heavily on texture sampling and pixel shading. The RTX 5070's 192 texture mapping units and 80 render output units handle these tasks efficiently, as shown by the 104.7 FPS result at 1080p Ultra. However, the 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where the GPU must process over 8 million pixels per frame. The memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s is adequate for the 12 GB frame buffer, but the 192-bit bus width means that at 4K Ultra, the GPU's memory subsystem is likely operating at near capacity, contributing to the 37.1 FPS result. The GPU's 48 ray tracing cores are not heavily utilized in this game, as Hitman 2's default rendering path relies on traditional rasterization techniques.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-13700K compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i7-13700K achieves an average benchmark score of 47282, placing it 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47334) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081). It also trails the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 by 0.5% (47527) and leads the AMD EPYC 4364P by 0.3% (47131). These negligible differences indicate that the i7-13700K performs essentially identically to its closest competitors in synthetic workloads.

Q: What is the RTX 5070's standing relative to other GPUs based on average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41687 places it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 0.5% (41897) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 0.7% (41991). These margins are within normal run-to-run variance, suggesting the RTX 5070 sits in the same performance tier as these cards.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality for this system?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 93.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining substantial visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 143.4 FPS at High settings, but this resolution does not fully utilize the GPU's capabilities. The 4K High result of 50.6 FPS is below the ideal range for a stealth game requiring precise timing.

Q: How does the CPU's multithreaded performance influence gaming results?

A: The i7-13700K's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and PassMark multithread score of 45887 indicate strong parallel processing capability. In Hitman 2, this translates to the CPU never becoming a limiting factor, as evidenced by the 252.7 FPS result at 1080p Low. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 24 threads ensure that game logic and physics calculations are handled without introducing frame pacing issues.

Q: What is the impact of the GPU's memory configuration on 4K performance?

A: The 12 GB GDDR7 memory with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for Hitman 2's 4K textures, but the 192-bit bus width limits the rate at which data can be transferred. At 4K Ultra, the 37.1 FPS result suggests the memory subsystem is a contributing bottleneck, as the GPU must constantly access textures and geometry data stored in VRAM. The 28 Gbps effective memory speed provides fast data transfer, but the narrow bus reduces overall throughput compared to wider configurations.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gameplay, the Medium preset at 67.7 FPS offers the most playable experience, as it maintains frame rates above 60 while providing a significant visual upgrade over Low settings (85.9 FPS). The High preset at 50.6 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 37.1 FPS is not recommended for smooth play. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 93.2 FPS, which is the optimal choice for balancing visual quality and performance; the Medium preset at 124.9 FPS is suitable for players prioritizing higher frame rates, while Ultra at 67.8 FPS remains viable but approaches the lower limit of smoothness. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset at 104.7 FPS provides the best experience, as it fully utilizes the system's capabilities while maintaining frame rates well above 60. The High preset at 143.4 FPS is recommended for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors, and the Medium preset at 191 FPS offers an exceptional experience for those seeking maximum fluidity. The Low presets at 252.7 FPS (1080p) and 166.2 FPS (1440p) are useful only for benchmarking or for players who prioritize frame rate above all other considerations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance range. The Low preset achieves 252.7 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. The Medium preset delivers 191 FPS, representing a 24.4% reduction from Low. High settings produce 143.4 FPS, a 25% drop from Medium, and Ultra yields 104.7 FPS, which is 27% lower than High. This scaling pattern shows diminishing returns at lower settings, where the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505) begins to influence the frame rate ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but with reduced absolute values. Low settings achieve 166.2 FPS, which is 34.3% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 124.9 FPS, High delivers 93.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 67.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 41.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 25.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely higher shadow quality and ambient occlusion) impose a significant cost.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance falls dramatically. Low settings yield 85.9 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 67.7 FPS, barely maintaining playability. High settings drop to 50.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 56.8% performance reduction, compared to a 58.6% reduction at 1440p and 58.6% at 1080p. This consistency across resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset's additional GPU workload scales uniformly with pixel count. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 5070 is capable of delivering playable frame rates at Medium settings (67.7 FPS), but the High and Ultra presets require either reduced resolution or graphical concessions to achieve smooth gameplay.