Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a playable but demanding experience in Hitman 2, with performance scaling that clearly favors lower resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p with ease but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K, particularly when pushing the Ultra preset. This combination ranks in the 48th percentile of all tested combos for this game, indicating a mid-pack performer that is sufficient for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming but not a top-tier 4K solution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, a pattern that points directly to the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 183.7 FPS, which drops to 114.5 FPS at 1440p and further to 59.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset, showing how pixel count alone can nearly halve performance. The scaling is less dramatic but still significant at High settings, where the system goes from 105.3 FPS at 1080p to 67.2 FPS at 1440p, and finally down to 36.4 FPS at 4K.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is substantial across all settings, with the average drop being roughly 35-40% depending on the preset. However, the most punishing transition is from 1440p to 4K, where the frame rate nearly halves again. At Ultra settings, the system produces 76.5 FPS at 1080p, drops to 48.7 FPS at 1440p, and collapses to 26.2 FPS at 4K. This behavior suggests that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become increasingly inadequate as pixel count rises, with the GPU rendering pipeline becoming the bottleneck rather than the CPU.

The resolution scaling pattern also indicates that this game is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, whereas at 1080p the CPU has more headroom to push higher frame rates. The fact that the system can exceed 180 FPS at 1080p Low but only manages 26.2 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates that the GPU is being overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and intensive graphical effects. For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset approaches playability at 59.7 FPS, while Medium and High fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings 20 cores and 28 threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This processor is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and features a 33 MB shared L3 cache, which provides ample computational headroom for Hitman 2's stealth gameplay mechanics. The CPU's benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and a single-core score of 5003, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. This indicates that the processor is not the bottleneck in this combination, even at lower resolutions where frame rates are highest.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 183.7 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's limit for this game's engine. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by the Geekbench single-core score of 2711, helps maintain consistent frame pacing in Hitman 2's crowded environments with many NPCs and interactive objects. The processor's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores only 0.6% higher on average, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 trails by 1.2%, showing that the i7-14700F is competitively positioned in the high-end desktop segment.

For this specific game, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when comparing frame rates across resolutions. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings (183.7 vs 114.5 FPS) is 69.2 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than the gap between 1440p and 4K (114.5 vs 59.7 FPS, a 54.8 FPS difference). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is better able to feed the GPU, while at 4K, the GPU's limitations become the dominant factor. The processor's 65 W TDP and efficient 10 nm process node also mean it can sustain high boost clocks without thermal throttling, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame rates over long gaming sessions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the clear performance limiter in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. It features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears insufficient for Hitman 2's 4K Ultra demands. The GPU's base clock of 2280 MHz and boost clock of 2497 MHz are respectable, but the FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS and the 48 ROPs are modest for a modern graphics card. The GPU's benchmark scores reflect this, with a Passmark G3D score of 20891 and a percentile ranking of 73 against all GPUs.

The RTX 5060's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, has an identical average score with a 0% delta, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 is 0.5% behind. This places the RTX 5060 in a competitive but not dominant position within its performance class. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is likely the primary constraint at 4K, as Hitman 2's high-resolution textures and complex lighting effects can exceed this capacity, causing performance to plummet. The data supports this: at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 33.5 FPS (59.7 vs 26.2), which is a massive 56% reduction in performance.

At 1440p, the GPU shows more reasonable scaling, with the Low preset hitting 114.5 FPS and Ultra dropping to 48.7 FPS. The RTX 5060's 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores provide modern feature support, but these are not heavily utilized in Hitman 2, which relies more on traditional rasterization. The GPU's 145 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical choice for most systems, but the 128-bit memory bus is a clear weakness for high-resolution gaming. The data suggests that the RTX 5060 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates across all settings, and acceptable 1440p performance at Medium settings or lower.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 861st out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 48th percentile of all systems tested. This mid-pack ranking indicates that while the combo is far from the weakest, it also does not excel in this particular game. The ranking is likely dragged down by the GPU's 4K performance, as the CPU's strong benchmark scores suggest it could support a more powerful graphics card without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs is significantly higher than the GPU's 73rd percentile, creating an imbalance where the processor has more headroom than the graphics card can utilize. In practical terms, this means the combo is CPU-limited at 1080p Low settings (183.7 FPS) but GPU-limited at every other resolution and setting combination. For users considering upgrades, the data suggests that replacing the RTX 5060 with a more powerful GPU would yield significant performance gains at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU would remain a solid foundation for several more years.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is neither a standout performer nor a disappointment. The 861st rank out of 1795 places it squarely in the middle of the pack, which is reasonable for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. Users who prioritize 1080p gaming with maximum frame rates will find this combo more than adequate, but those targeting 4K gaming will need to make significant compromises in settings to achieve playable performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 105.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience with good visual quality. The Ultra preset at 76.5 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize visual fidelity over maximum frame rates, but the Medium preset at 138 FPS offers the best balance for high-refresh-rate monitors. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 87.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a good balance between visual quality and performance, while the High preset at 67.2 FPS is acceptable for users with 60 Hz displays.

At 4K, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset at 59.7 FPS is barely playable, while the Medium preset at 47.8 FPS and High preset at 36.4 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 26.2 FPS is effectively unplayable for most users. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that users should stick with the Low preset or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a better experience. The Low preset at 1440p offers 114.5 FPS, which is double the 4K Low performance, making it a much more practical choice for high-quality visuals.

The measured data shows that the Medium preset provides the most consistent experience across all three resolutions, with frame rates of 138 FPS at 1080p, 87.7 FPS at 1440p, and 47.8 FPS at 4K. This preset offers a good compromise between graphical fidelity and performance, making it the safest recommendation for users who want to play at varying resolutions without constantly adjusting settings. For competitive play or maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 183.7 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Hitman 2 is as follows:

At 1080p, the system achieves 183.7 FPS on Low settings, 138 FPS on Medium, 105.3 FPS on High, and 76.5 FPS on Ultra. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 107.2 FPS, representing a 58% reduction in frame rate when maxing out settings. This wide range shows that the GPU and CPU can handle the game easily at 1080p, with even the most demanding preset staying well above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the frame rates drop to 114.5 FPS on Low, 87.7 FPS on Medium, 67.2 FPS on High, and 48.7 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 65.8 FPS, which is a 57% reduction. The High preset at 67.2 FPS is close to the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline choice for smooth gameplay, while Ultra falls below playable levels for most users.

At 4K, the performance becomes much more limited: 59.7 FPS on Low, 47.8 FPS on Medium, 36.4 FPS on High, and 26.2 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra is 33.5 FPS, which is a 56% reduction. Only the Low preset approaches 60 FPS, while all other settings fall below this threshold. The data shows a consistent pattern of roughly 56-58% performance degradation from Low to Ultra settings across all resolutions, indicating that the graphical preset has a similar relative impact regardless of resolution.