Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 580 shows a steep and consistent drop as resolution increases, which clearly points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings drops the average frame rate from 41.9 FPS to 27.2 FPS, a reduction of roughly 35%. This is a significant hit, but the situation becomes far more severe when stepping up to 3840x2160, where the same High preset manages only 13.9 FPS. That 4K result is less than half of the 1440p figure, and it is barely playable in any practical sense.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all four settings presets tested. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 76.6 FPS at 1080p to 52.6 FPS at 1440p, then collapses to 28.7 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset follows the same trajectory: 58.6 FPS at 1080p, 35.7 FPS at 1440p, and 19.5 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings, the heaviest load, start at 34.3 FPS at 1080p, drop to 22.7 FPS at 1440p, and end at 12.1 FPS at 4K. In every case, the jump from 1440p to 4K costs more performance than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, which is typical for a GPU that is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth as pixel count rises.

What this tells a builder is that the RX 580 is the limiting component in this pairing when resolution increases. The Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it is not going to be the constraint at 4K in a game like Hitman 2. The data shows that the FPS deltas between resolutions are far too large to be explained by CPU overhead. Instead, the RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth is simply not enough to feed the frame buffer at 3840x2160. The 14 nm Polaris 20 chip, with its 2304 shading units and 32 ROPs, is being overwhelmed by the pixel workload. For anyone considering this combination for 4K gaming, the benchmark results indicate that it is not viable, with even Low settings failing to reach 30 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is an older architecture, GCN 4.0, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and the memory runs at 2000 MHz with 8 Gbps effective data rate. This is a dual-slot card with a 185 W TDP and a single 8-pin power connector, and it was launched with a 229 USD MSRP. In the current benchmark database, the RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is squarely in the mid-range of historical performance. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, the AMD Radeon Pro 455, and the NVIDIA P106-090. The GTX 570 has an average score of 13564, which is essentially identical to the RX 580's 13559, with a deltaPct of 0. The GTX 950 is also a near match at 13549, just 0.1% behind. This tells us the RX 580 is not a high-end part by modern standards, and its performance in Hitman 2 reflects that.

In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's role is dominant at every resolution and settings combination measured. The game's rendering load scales heavily with pixel count and detail level, and the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate are modest figures. The card's 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate is a key limitation at 4K, where the sheer number of pixels to fill overwhelms the 32 ROPs. The VRAM situation is also worth noting: 8 GB is generally adequate for 1080p and 1440p in this game, but at 3840x2160 with High or Ultra settings, the memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s becomes a constraint. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 12.1, which is unplayable. Even at 4K Low, the card only manages 28.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth motion. The GPU is the clear limiting factor at higher resolutions, and no amount of CPU headroom from the i7-14700K can compensate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a Raptor Lake Refresh part with 20 cores and 28 threads, a base clock of 3.40 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a 33 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. This processor is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs in the database, which places it among the top tier of available processors. Its average benchmark score is 70074, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70104, 0% delta), the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% ahead), the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, 0.5% ahead), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71056, 1.4% ahead). These are all high-end parts, and the i7-14700K is clearly not a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller FPS drops when increasing resolution, because the CPU workload would remain roughly constant while the GPU workload rises. Instead, the FPS drops are dramatic, indicating that the RX 580 is saturated. That said, the i7-14700K's high core count and clock speed ensure that it can feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic without stuttering. The benchmark results at 1080p Low show 76.6 FPS, which is a respectable figure for this GPU and suggests the CPU is not holding back even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is relatively higher. The 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which is a stealth game that does not heavily utilize multi-threading. The single-core performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6287, is strong enough to handle the game's main thread. For this combo, the CPU is a non-issue; the data consistently points to the GPU as the component that determines playability.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1663 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 8% of all pairings, which is a poor showing given the CPU's high-end status. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU's limited performance, as the RX 580 is not capable of delivering high frame rates in this game. The i7-14700K is a top-tier processor, but pairing it with a mid-range GPU from 2017 creates a massive imbalance. The combo rank of 1663 reflects that this is not a balanced system for Hitman 2; the GPU is holding back the entire experience. For context, the RX 580's nearest rivals in the GPU database are all similarly low-performing cards, and the i7-14700K's nearest CPU rivals are all high-end parts. This contrast highlights the mismatch. If a builder is looking at this combo, the data suggests that the GPU should be upgraded to achieve a reasonable rank, as the CPU is not the limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the results are the most playable. Low settings deliver an average of 76.6 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings drop to 58.6 FPS, still a good experience for most players. High settings yield 41.9 FPS, which is acceptable for a stealth game where precise timing matters less than in a fast-paced shooter. Ultra settings bring the average down to 34.3 FPS, which is borderline but playable if you are willing to accept occasional dips. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates fall across the board. Low settings average 52.6 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings average 35.7 FPS, which is playable but with noticeable compromises. High settings average 27.2 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold that most consider the minimum for a playable experience. Ultra settings average 22.7 FPS, which is not recommended for anything other than screenshots. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 28.7 FPS, Medium averages 19.5 FPS, High averages 13.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 12.1 FPS. None of these are playable for an action-oriented game, and even walking around in Hitman 2's sandbox levels would feel sluggish.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers 58.6 FPS. This is a good balance between visual quality and smoothness, and it is the highest settings preset that maintains a frame rate above 55 FPS. If you prefer higher visual fidelity, High settings at 1080p offer 41.9 FPS, which is still playable but requires some tolerance for frame pacing. Low settings at 1080p give the highest frame rate at 76.6 FPS, but the visual downgrade is significant and unnecessary for a game like Hitman 2 that relies on atmosphere and detail. At 2560x1440, the best option is Low settings at 52.6 FPS, as Medium drops to 35.7 FPS and High falls below 30 FPS. For 4K, there is no viable setting; even Low fails to reach 30 FPS, so this combo should be avoided at that resolution. The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot, with 1440p Low as a fallback if you have a 1440p monitor and can tolerate reduced detail. Ultra settings are not worth the performance hit at any resolution, as the visual difference over High is minimal in this game while the FPS cost is substantial.