Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i7-14700F + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a broad performance envelope in Hitman 2, spanning from a highly playable 37 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 257.4 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination sits at rank 354 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations, and the data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, though with distinct bottlenecks emerging at each extreme.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a system that transitions from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at higher ones. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 257.4 FPS at 1080p to 160.3 FPS at 1440p—a 37.7% reduction—and then to 88.3 FPS at 4K, another 44.9% drop from 1440p. This pattern shows the RX 7900 XT's raw throughput being progressively taxed as pixel count rises, while the 20-core i7-14700F clearly has headroom to spare at 1080p.

The scaling at Ultra settings tells a different story. Here the drop from 1080p (106.5 FPS) to 1440p (68.8 FPS) is a 35.4% decline, and the further drop to 4K (37 FPS) is a 46.2% reduction from 1440p. The percentage losses are remarkably similar across Low and Ultra, suggesting that Hitman 2's engine scales resolution-dependent workloads in a linear fashion regardless of quality preset. However, the absolute numbers at 4K Ultra—just 37 FPS—indicate that the combination of high pixel count and maximum settings overwhelms even this capable GPU.

The medium settings curve sits neatly between Low and High, with 193.8 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 67.3 FPS at 4K. The consistent ~35-45% drop between each resolution step across all presets points to a well-balanced system where neither component becomes a sudden bottleneck; instead, both scale smoothly as resolution increases, though the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivers 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is critical for Hitman 2 at high resolutions, where texture data and geometry can quickly consume available VRAM. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and base clock of 1387 MHz provide the compute foundation, with 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs handling pixel throughput.

The 4K results reveal the GPU's limits. At 4K High, the card produces 51.6 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for a stealth title requiring precision. Dropping to 4K Medium yields 67.3 FPS, a 30.4% improvement over High, while 4K Low jumps to 88.3 FPS—a 71.1% improvement over High. This sensitivity to settings at 4K confirms the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the i7-14700F's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 5.40 GHz boost clock are more than adequate for the game's AI and simulation workloads.

The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38358, places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349, 0% delta) and slightly above the RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, 0.6% delta). This mid-to-high-tier positioning explains why 1440p High at 94.7 FPS is so comfortable—the card has enough headroom to handle the resolution while maintaining high frame rates, but 4K Ultra's 37 FPS shows the ceiling of its architectural capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F presents a formidable processing foundation with 20 cores and 28 threads, a configuration that far exceeds what Hitman 2's engine can utilize. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 2.10 GHz base clock, boostable to 5.40 GHz, provide both efficiency and peak performance. Its Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process, delivers strong single-threaded performance crucial for game logic, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003.

The CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the 257.4 FPS result approaches what the engine can physically output. At this resolution, the GPU is not the bottleneck—the i7-14700F's ability to feed the graphics pipeline becomes the determining factor. The 20-core processor's multi-threaded might, shown in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443, ensures that background tasks and game simulation never starve the GPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores 54450, a mere 0.6% difference, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D sits 1.1% higher at 54681. This tight grouping indicates the i7-14700F is at the upper echelon of processing power, and its PassMark single-thread score of 4261 confirms the strong per-core performance that Hitman 2's stealth AI and pathfinding systems require.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 354 out of 1795 combos, this configuration sits in the top 19.7% of all tested pairings. This placement is impressive given that the RX 7900 XT's GPU percentile (82) is lower than the CPU's (94), suggesting the CPU has more relative headroom than the GPU. The combo rank reflects a system that can handle most gaming scenarios with ease, but the 4K Ultra result of 37 FPS prevents it from climbing higher into the elite tier.

The delta between CPU and GPU percentile rankings—94 versus 82—indicates a slight imbalance, with the processor capable of driving a more powerful graphics card. In Hitman 2 specifically, this means the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p, the system approaches CPU or engine limits. The combo's rank of 354 suggests that many configurations with slightly weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs could outperform it at 4K, while this setup would excel at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU's strength matters more.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 257.4 FPS, Medium drops to 193.8 FPS (a 24.7% reduction), High yields 145.5 FPS (a 43.5% reduction from Low), and Ultra bottoms out at 106.5 FPS (a 58.6% reduction from Low). These numbers show a smooth, linear scaling where each preset tier costs roughly 25-30% performance, making even Ultra well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the GPU's workload increases noticeably. Low settings still produce 160.3 FPS, Medium hits 125 FPS, High manages 94.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68.8 FPS. The 1440p results show a tighter spread: Ultra is 57.1% slower than Low, compared to 58.6% at 1080p, indicating the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution pressure but still delivers smooth gameplay at every preset.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings produce 88.3 FPS, Medium drops to 67.3 FPS, High falls to 51.6 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 37 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS, and even 4K High at 51.6 FPS falls short. This resolution reveals the RX 7900 XT's limitations, as the 20 GB of VRAM and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the raw compute power of 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 is not enough to maintain high frame rates with maximum quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the data clearly indicates that Ultra settings are not viable, with 37 FPS making stealth gameplay feel sluggish and imprecise. 4K High at 51.6 FPS is borderline, but 4K Medium at 67.3 FPS provides the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, offering a 30.4% improvement over High while maintaining all essential graphical features. Players prioritizing frame rate over visuals could use 4K Low at 88.3 FPS, which is 71.1% faster than High.

At 1440p, Ultra at 68.8 FPS is perfectly playable and represents the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The 34.7 FPS gap between High (94.7 FPS) and Ultra (68.8 FPS) is substantial, but both exceed 60 FPS, so the choice depends on whether visual polish or frame rate consistency matters more. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, 1440p Low at 160.3 FPS or Medium at 125 FPS offers excellent responsiveness.

For 1080p users, Ultra at 106.5 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides the highest visual quality while still delivering a frame rate far above what most displays can show. The 145.5 FPS at High and 193.8 FPS at Medium are only worth considering for 144Hz or 240Hz monitors, where the extra frames provide tangible benefits. The 257.4 FPS at Low is unnecessary for most users but demonstrates the system's ceiling.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 37 FPS, which falls well below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. 4K Medium at 67.3 FPS is the highest quality preset that maintains playable frame rates.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XT scores 38358 on average, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile at 38349 (0% delta), and 0.6% higher than the RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135. The NVIDIA CMP 70HX trails by 0.3% at 38225.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 144 Hz gameplay?

A: At 1080p, all settings except Ultra exceed 144 FPS, with Low at 257.4 FPS, Medium at 193.8 FPS, and High at 145.5 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (160.3 FPS) and Medium (125 FPS) approach or exceed 144 Hz.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low?

A: The 257.4 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU or game engine is the bottleneck, as the GPU's 82nd percentile ranking is lower than the CPU's 94th percentile, indicating the processor has more headroom than the graphics card.

Q: How does the i7-14700F's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i7-14700F scores 54097 on average, which is 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.1% below the Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681). It outperforms the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469) by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206) by 1.7%.

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 94.7 FPS, which provides smooth gameplay and is 27.3% faster than Ultra at the same resolution (68.8 FPS).