Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 80.4 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Ultra drops performance to 49.6 FPS, a reduction of 30.8 FPS, while 4K Ultra falls further to 29.8 FPS. This represents a 63% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at the highest preset, indicating that the RTX 3070 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (193.7 FPS) to 1440p (123.2 FPS) shows a 70.5 FPS drop, and 4K Low still manages 64.7 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K narrows as settings decrease, suggesting that at lower presets the CPU begins to play a more significant role. At Medium settings, 1080p produces 144.2 FPS, 1440p yields 92.5 FPS, and 4K drops to 47.5 FPS. High settings show 111.3 FPS at 1080p, 69.4 FPS at 1440p, and 37.4 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become strained at 4K, particularly with Ultra settings. The 4K Ultra result of 29.8 FPS is below playable thresholds for most users, while 4K High at 37.4 FPS remains marginal. The 256-bit memory bus and 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are sufficient for 1440p gaming but clearly challenged at 4K with higher presets.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (193.7 to 123.2 FPS, a 36% drop) is proportionally similar to the 4K drop from 1440p at Low (64.7 FPS, a 47% further drop). This suggests diminishing returns from resolution scaling as the GPU becomes more saturated. The Core i7-14700F with 20 cores and 28 threads provides ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For 1440p gaming, the data shows that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 69.4 FPS average, this preset delivers smooth gameplay while maintaining reasonable graphical fidelity. Ultra settings at 1440p drop to 49.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but falls below the 60 FPS threshold preferred by many. Medium settings at 1440p produce 92.5 FPS, offering a significant performance buffer for those prioritizing frame rate over visual detail.

At 1080p, Ultra settings at 80.4 FPS are entirely playable and represent the recommended choice for maximizing visual quality. The 111.3 FPS High setting provides additional headroom for demanding scenes, while Medium at 144.2 FPS and Low at 193.7 FPS cater to competitive or high-refresh-rate displays. For 4K, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS; High at 37.4 FPS and Medium at 47.5 FPS are the most viable options, with Ultra at 29.8 FPS being the least recommended.

The benchmark results indicate that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combination. It maintains a 69.4 FPS average, which is 40% higher than the 4K High result and only 11 FPS below the 1080p High score. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at High settings (111.3 vs 69.4 FPS) is substantial, but the visual upgrade from resolution scaling justifies the performance cost for most users. For those with 144Hz or higher refresh monitors, 1080p Medium or Low settings are the only presets that fully utilize the display's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest FPS recorded for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average FPS is 193.7 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only preset that exceeds 190 FPS across all measured resolutions and settings.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 4K, the best result is 64.7 FPS with Low settings. Medium produces 47.5 FPS, High yields 37.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29.8 FPS. Only Low settings exceed 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985) and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956). It trails the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409) by 0.6%.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, 1080p produces 80.4 FPS while 1440p produces 49.6 FPS. This is a 30.8 FPS reduction, representing a 38% performance loss when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a bottleneck for this GPU in Hitman 2?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 193.7 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide sufficient processing power for the game's stealth mechanics.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra result compare to the 4K Low result?

A: The difference is 34.9 FPS, with Ultra at 29.8 FPS and Low at 64.7 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K deliver less than half the frame rate of Low settings at the same resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear progression. Low settings deliver 193.7 FPS average, representing the maximum performance headroom for this resolution. Medium settings reduce this to 144.2 FPS, a 49.5 FPS drop from Low. High settings produce 111.3 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 80.4 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 113.3 FPS total reduction, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Medium and High (32.9 FPS).

The 2560x1440 resolution shows a similar pattern with lower absolute values. Low settings achieve 123.2 FPS, Medium reaches 92.5 FPS, High produces 69.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49.6 FPS. The spacing between presets is relatively even, with approximately 20-30 FPS differences between each step. The 1440p results indicate that this resolution is well-suited for the RTX 3070's capabilities, as even Ultra settings maintain a playable 49.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings manage 64.7 FPS, which is the only 4K preset above 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 47.5 FPS, High delivers 37.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 34.9 FPS, similar to the absolute difference seen at 1080p but proportionally larger relative to the lower baseline. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Hitman 2.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 843rd out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 53rd percentile among all tested combinations, indicating a mid-pack performance level relative to other hardware pairings. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong synthetic performance and the GPU's more modest standing.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus score of 94 places it in the top 6% of all CPUs tested, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus score of 72 places it in the top 28% of all GPUs. This disparity suggests that the CPU has significant headroom for future GPU upgrades, as the current GPU is the performance-limiting factor in this pairing. The combo rank of 843 out of 1795 indicates that while this system is capable, there are 842 other tested combinations that deliver better overall performance in Hitman 2.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (0.6% higher average score), AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (1.1% higher), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (1.2% lower), and AMD EPYC 7313P (1.7% lower). These small deltas indicate that the i7-14700F is competitive with recent high-end processors in synthetic benchmarks. The GPU's nearest rivals show similar tight competition, with the AMD FirePro S7150 (0.6% higher) and AMD Radeon R9 M295X (1.1% higher) slightly ahead, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% lower) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% lower) trail behind.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture processor has a 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 and single-core score of 5003. Geekbench results show 16571 multicore and 2711 single-core scores. Passmark tests reveal particularly high performance in integer math (157242), floating point math (108275), and data compression (512810).

In Hitman 2 specifically, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The game's stealth mechanics and crowd simulation can be CPU-intensive, but the measured FPS data suggests the i7-14700F is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 193.7 FPS, which is well above the threshold where CPU bottlenecks typically manifest. The 5.40 GHz boost clock provides strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for games like Hitman 2 that rely on main-thread game logic.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 10 nm process node allow for efficient operation, with the 257 mm² die size containing 20 cores. The memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 provides flexibility, though the dual-channel memory bus may limit bandwidth in some scenarios. The Passmark physics score of 2495 indicates solid physics processing capability, which is relevant for Hitman 2's interactive environments. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus score of 94 confirms that it outperforms 94% of all tested CPUs in aggregate benchmarks, though this advantage is not fully realized in Hitman 2 due to the GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions.