Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS progression across resolutions reveals a system that shifts from CPU-bound at 1080p to firmly GPU-bound at 4K. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 69.7 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Ultra yields 44.7 FPS — a reduction of 25 FPS, or roughly 36%. Moving further to 4K Ultra, the average falls to 26.8 FPS, another 17.9 FPS drop from 1440p. This steep scaling curve is the signature of a GPU that is saturated before the CPU's headroom is exhausted.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, 1080p delivers 173.6 FPS, 1440p drops to 110.7 FPS, and 4K falls to 57.2 FPS. The 1080p-to-1440p gap is 63 FPS, while the 1440p-to-4K gap is 53.5 FPS. This near-linear decline indicates the RX 6700 XT is the limiting component at every step above 1080p. At 1080p Low, the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads can feed frames fast enough that the GPU becomes the bottleneck even at this modest resolution.

The ratio between resolutions tells the story more precisely. At High settings, 1080p produces 98 FPS, 1440p produces 65.8 FPS, and 4K produces 31.5 FPS. The 1440p result is 67% of the 1080p figure, and the 4K result is 48% of the 1440p figure. These ratios are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput dominates. The 4K High result of 31.5 FPS is below the 30 FPS threshold for comfortable play, while 4K Low at 57.2 FPS is playable but far from smooth.

The data shows that this combination is best suited to 1080p or 1440p gaming. At 4K, even Low settings cannot maintain a locked 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 4K is essentially unplayable at 26.8 FPS. The resolution scaling behavior strongly suggests that users targeting 60 FPS should remain at 1440p or below, where the GPU has enough bandwidth to keep up with the CPU's frame generation.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 20 cores and 28 threads running at a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This Raptor Lake-R architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, demonstrates strong synthetic performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and a single-core score of 5003. The Geekbench results are equally robust at 16571 multi-core and 2711 single-core.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to maintain a high frame floor, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The 1080p Low result of 173.6 FPS shows the i7-14700F is capable of feeding frames well beyond what the RX 6700 XT can render at higher settings. The Passmark multi-thread score of 41765 and single-thread score of 4261 further confirm that this CPU is not the system's limiting factor in this game.

The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample on-die storage for game data, reducing memory latency in a stealth title that often involves complex scene geometry and AI routines. The memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel bandwidth, gives system builders flexibility without bottlenecking the game's data flow.

The i7-14700F ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores 54450 — a delta of -0.6%, meaning the Intel part trails by less than 1%. This tight grouping confirms the i7-14700F is a high-end desktop processor that will not hold back the RX 6700 XT in Hitman 2's CPU-light stealth gameplay.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process from TSMC, is the primary determinant of frame rates in this benchmark set. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has sufficient memory capacity for Hitman 2's detailed environments at 1080p and 1440p. The 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units provide the raw compute needed for the game's rendering workloads.

Clock speeds are a strong point: a base clock of 2321 MHz, boost clock of 2581 MHz, and a game clock of 2424 MHz. This translates to a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS. These figures explain why the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions — the pixel throughput required at 4K exceeds what the card can deliver at high settings.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 19786 places it in the 77th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800, scores 33493 on the average benchmark — a delta of 0.7% — meaning the RX 6700 XT is within 1% of that higher-tier card in aggregate performance. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 trails by 1.3% with an average score of 33294, showing the RX 6700 XT is competitive in this performance band.

In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor at any tested resolution or setting. The game's modest VRAM requirements are dwarfed by the card's capacity. The GPU's 40 ray tracing cores are irrelevant here, as Hitman 2 does not utilize ray tracing in this test. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures full feature compatibility with the game's rendering pipeline.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1080p, Low settings yield 173.6 FPS, Medium produces 132.1 FPS, High achieves 98 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 41.5 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 28.3 FPS. This scaling is smooth and predictable, with each preset level reducing performance by a significant but manageable margin.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds with lower absolute numbers. Low settings deliver 110.7 FPS, Medium achieves 82.4 FPS, High produces 65.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 44.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 28.3 FPS, between Medium and High is 16.6 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 21.1 FPS. The 1440p results show that Ultra settings are borderline for 60 FPS play, while High settings are comfortably above that threshold.

At 4K, performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 57.2 FPS, Medium achieves 44.7 FPS, High delivers 31.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26.8 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches playability, and even it falls short of a locked 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra result at 26.8 FPS is below what most players would consider acceptable for a stealth game requiring precision.

The data reveals an interesting quirk: 1440p Ultra and 4K Medium both produce exactly 44.7 FPS. This suggests the GPU hits a similar rendering cost threshold at these two configurations, likely due to the interaction between resolution scaling and specific graphical features enabled at Ultra versus Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo?

A: The data indicates 1440p High is the sweet spot, producing 65.8 FPS — comfortably above 60 FPS while maintaining high visual quality. At 1080p, all settings are playable, but 1440p provides more detail without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 57.2 FPS. At Medium, it drops to 44.7 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 26.8 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 4K is not recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The i7-14700F scores 54097 on average benchmarks, putting it 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681). It is 1.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469).

Q: How does the GPU stack up against similar cards?

A: The RX 6700 XT averages 33721 on benchmark scores, which is 0.7% ahead of the RX 6800 (33493) and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (33294). It trails the RX 480 by 1% (34059).

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: Yes. The game runs without VRAM limitations at all tested resolutions and settings, from 1080p Ultra at 69.7 FPS to 4K Ultra at 26.8 FPS. The 12 GB capacity is never the bottleneck.

Q: Why do 1440p Ultra and 4K Medium both show 44.7 FPS?

A: The identical score suggests the GPU reaches a similar rendering cost threshold for these two configurations. The combination of resolution scaling and preset-specific graphical features likely balances out to the same performance level.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings at 69.7 FPS provide the best visual experience without sacrificing playability. The 30 FPS headroom above the 60 FPS threshold means there is no need to compromise on visual quality. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings at 173.6 FPS offer an extremely smooth experience, but the visual downgrade is substantial.

At 1440p, High settings at 65.8 FPS are the clear recommendation. This preset delivers 5.8 FPS above the 60 FPS target, providing smooth gameplay with high visual fidelity. Ultra settings at 44.7 FPS fall below the 60 FPS threshold and are not recommended for competitive or precision play. Medium settings at 82.4 FPS offer a middle ground for players who want additional headroom above 60 FPS.

At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS. Low settings at 57.2 FPS are the only viable option for playable frame rates, and even this is below the ideal threshold. Medium at 44.7 FPS and High at 31.5 FPS are too slow for comfortable gameplay. Ultra at 26.8 FPS is only suitable for screenshots or cinematic viewing, not active play.

The data-driven recommendation is to play at 1440p High for the best balance of visual quality and performance. This configuration produces 65.8 FPS, which is smooth enough for a stealth game where precise timing matters. For 1080p users, Ultra at 69.7 FPS is the best choice. The 4K resolution should be avoided unless the player is willing to accept Low settings and a sub-60 FPS experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1024th out of 1795 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places the combo in the lower-middle tier of the database, which is surprising given the individual components' benchmark standings. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile among all processors, and the GPU ranks in the 77th percentile among all graphics cards, yet their combined performance in this specific game lands them in the 57th percentile of combos.

This discrepancy suggests that Hitman 2 is not particularly demanding on either component, and the combo's rank is more a reflection of the large number of higher-tier GPU configurations in the database. The CPU's strength — a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 — is largely irrelevant in this game, which does not heavily utilize multi-threaded processing. The GPU's 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but falls short at 4K.

The rank of 1024 out of 1795 combos means that roughly 57% of tested combinations outperform this pairing in Hitman 2. However, the absolute performance numbers tell a more nuanced story. At 1080p, this combo delivers playable frame rates at all settings, with Ultra reaching 69.7 FPS. At 1440p, High settings achieve 65.8 FPS, which is a smooth experience for most players. The combo's weakness is clearly at 4K, where it cannot maintain 60 FPS at any setting.

Given the components' individual strengths, the rank reflects the game's relatively low demands rather than a deficiency in the hardware. The i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads are overkill for Hitman 2, and the RX 6700 XT's 12 GB VRAM is more than the game requires. This combo is a capable mid-range pairing that excels at 1080p and handles 1440p well, making it a solid choice for this title even if its database rank appears modest.