Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from late 2018, presents a demanding workload for the combination of an Intel Core i7-14700F and an AMD Radeon RX 580. The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets reveal a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom. In the overall database of 1,795 hardware combinations for this game, this pairing ranks at 1,652, placing it in the lower percentile of tested configurations and indicating significant performance limitations at higher visual loads.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and precipitous drop in performance as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the average frame rate is 46.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces that to 29.7 FPS, a loss of 36.3%. At 4K, the average frame rate collapses to 15.3 FPS, which is a 67.2% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline is directly attributable to the AMD Radeon RX 580's limited pixel throughput, which is rated at 42.88 GPixel/s. The GPU is simply unable to fill the exponentially larger number of pixels required at higher resolutions.

The pattern is consistent across all presets. With Low settings, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p sees a drop from 78.3 FPS to 52.7 FPS, a 32.7% reduction. Pushing to 4K Low yields 25.3 FPS, a 67.7% decline from 1080p. This consistency indicates that resolution is the dominant factor in performance, not the complexity of the scene. The fact that even at the lowest settings, 4K remains unplayable at 25.3 FPS, underscores the hard limit imposed by the GPU's fill rate. The 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth of the RX 580 is also a likely bottleneck at 4K, as the increased data transfer requirements for larger textures and buffers cannot be met.

The frame rate deltas between presets at the same resolution are also telling. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra costs 45.7 FPS, dropping from 78.3 to 32.6. This shows that while the GPU is the primary limiter, the preset selection has a profound impact on the actual frame rate delivered. The 4K Ultra result of 9.7 FPS is a stark illustration of the GPU's limits; this is a slideshow by any standard. The data strongly suggests that for this specific hardware pairing, the experience is defined by the GPU's inability to process the game's visuals at higher resolutions, making the powerful CPU irrelevant in these scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this system is found at 1080p. At this resolution, the Low preset delivers an average of 78.3 FPS, which is the only setting that consistently breaks the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only configuration in the dataset where the frame rate is high enough to be considered smooth for a stealth action game. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 59.6 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for all users, as it sits just below the 60 FPS target.

The High preset at 1080p yields 46.6 FPS, which is a significant compromise. While it offers better visual fidelity, the drop in fluidity is substantial. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the worst choice, delivering only 32.6 FPS. This is a 58.3% reduction in performance compared to Low, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive. The data indicates that the visual improvement from High to Ultra is not worth the substantial performance penalty.

At 1440p, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset produces 52.7 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but the High preset drops to 29.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. 4K resolution is effectively not viable with this GPU, as even the Low preset's 25.3 FPS is too low for a responsive experience. The recommendation is therefore to prioritize 1080p for a playable frame rate. If visual quality is paramount, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance, sacrificing only 18.7 FPS compared to Low while providing a notable upgrade in detail. The High preset at 1440p or any 4K setting should be avoided.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a formidable processor, but its performance is largely untapped in this configuration. With 20 cores and 28 threads, it offers immense multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,443. Its single-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,003. This CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is far more powerful than the average processor. In contrast, the RX 580 ranks in the 53rd percentile of GPUs, highlighting the massive imbalance in this pairing.

The data suggests that the CPU is never the limiting factor in Hitman 2 for this combo. The game's frame rates are consistently low at higher resolutions, which would not be the case if the processor were the bottleneck. A CPU bottleneck would manifest as frame rates that stay relatively constant regardless of resolution, but the measured FPS drops drastically as resolution increases. This confirms that the GPU is saturated before the CPU can become a constraint. The processor's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz should be more than sufficient for the game's AI and physics calculations, which are not exceptionally demanding for a 2018 title.

The CPU's substantial lead over its rivals reinforces its capability. It is only 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D in average benchmark score. It is ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7%. These benchmarks, including a Geekbench multi-core score of 16,571 and a Passmark multithread score of 41,765, indicate that the i7-14700F is a top-tier processor that is effectively held back by the graphics card. In this specific scenario, the CPU's role is to provide a stable, high-performance foundation that ensures the GPU is the only thing limiting frame rates; it never introduces stutter or frame-time issues of its own.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p with the Low preset, which achieves an average of 78.3 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p falls just short at 59.6 FPS, while Higher presets and resolutions result in significantly lower frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combination?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where acceptable frame rates are achievable. At 1440p, the best result is 52.7 FPS on Low, but this drops to 29.7 FPS on High. At 4K, frame rates are unplayable, ranging from 9.7 to 25.3 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F the reason for the low performance?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate the CPU is not a limiting factor. The frame rates drop significantly with resolution, which is a characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's high benchmark scores and 94th percentile ranking confirm it has ample headroom.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 13,559. This is essentially identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, which scores 13,564 (a 0% delta). It is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, which scores 13,549, and 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 455, which scores 13,416.

Q: What is the single biggest performance factor in this game for this system?

A: The resolution setting. The frame rate drops by over 67% from 1080p to 4K at the same preset. This is followed by the preset selection, where the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is a 58.3% reduction in performance.

Q: Is the RX 580 a high-performance graphics card in this context?

A: No. It ranks in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its synthetic benchmark scores put it on par with much older cards like the GTX 570 and GTX 950, and its performance in Hitman 2 is insufficient for high-resolution or high-detail gaming.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is unequivocally the limiting component in this system. Its performance, or lack thereof, dictates the entire gaming experience. The GPU's low average benchmark score of 13,559 places it in the 53rd percentile, directly between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and the GTX 950 in the nearest rivals list. This is a legacy performance class, and the 2017 Polaris 20 chip, built on a 14 nm process, shows its age in this 2018 title. The GPU's specifications, such as the 2,304 shading units and 32 ROPs, are insufficient to handle the visual load of Hitman 2 at higher settings.

The GPU's memory configuration is also a factor. The 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. While the capacity is adequate, the bandwidth is a bottleneck at higher resolutions, particularly 4K. The 4K results, ranging from 9.7 FPS on Ultra to 25.3 FPS on Low, are direct evidence of this limitation. The GPU simply cannot process the data required for 4K rendering fast enough, resulting in single-digit and low-double-digit frame rates. The boost clock of 1340 MHz does not compensate for the lack of raw computational power, as evidenced by the FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS.

The data shows that the RX 580's performance is the primary driver of the system's low combo rank of 1,652 out of 1,795. The graphics card's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 43 in Passmark is particularly telling, indicating weak API performance that impacts modern titles. While the GPU can handle older, less demanding titles, its capabilities are stretched to the limit by Hitman 2. The system's performance is a reflection of the GPU's position in the market; it is not a capable card for high-fidelity gaming. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions consistently points to the GPU as the sole reason this system struggles to maintain playable frame rates outside of 1080p Low settings.