Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a broad performance envelope in Hitman 2, ranging from highly playable frame rates at lower presets to a demanding experience at maximum quality. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and the CPU's high core count interact in specific ways depending on the resolution and settings chosen. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates to identify the optimal configuration and the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for Hitman 2 shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the optimal choice depending heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset provides the most balanced experience, delivering an average of 101.4 FPS. This is a significant jump from the Ultra preset's 78.3 FPS, yet it remains visually robust. While the Low preset achieves a staggering 183.4 FPS, it likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that relies on atmosphere and detail for its stealth mechanics. The Medium preset at 134.8 FPS is also viable, but High offers a better compromise between image quality and performance headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data indicates that the High preset remains the sweet spot. The measured average of 66 FPS is sufficient for smooth gameplay, and it maintains a substantial lead over the Ultra preset, which drops to 51.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 87.1 FPS is another strong contender, but High again provides the better visual-to-performance ratio. At this resolution, the Low preset's 118.5 FPS shows the GPU has ample headroom if maximum frame rates are the priority, but for a consistent and detailed experience, High is the recommended setting.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Low preset is the only configuration that achieves a reliably playable average frame rate, hitting 62.4 FPS. The High preset falls to 36.6 FPS, and Medium is not much better at 46.9 FPS. The Ultra preset becomes nearly unplayable at 25.6 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant graphical compromises, and the Low preset is the only sensible choice for maintaining fluid motion. For users prioritizing visual quality at 4K, the performance cost is steep, making 1440p the practical ceiling for High or Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of performance scaling across the different settings. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, appears to be a critical factor. The performance drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is particularly telling: the average frame rate plummets from 62.4 FPS to 25.6 FPS. This steep decline suggests that the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are being saturated as texture detail and effects increase, especially at higher resolutions. The card's boost clock of 2497 MHz and its 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are clearly sufficient for lower presets, but the data indicates a hard ceiling when the visual load increases.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 73, placing it near rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (with a deltaPct of 0) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (with a deltaPct of 0.6), underscores its mid-range positioning. In Hitman 2, this translates to a card that can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with high-fidelity settings. The 8 GB VRAM is likely the limiting factor in the most demanding scenarios, as the game's asset streaming requirements at 4K with Ultra settings can exceed this capacity, leading to the observed performance collapse.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent and expected decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 101.4 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 35%. Scaling further to 4K, the frame rate nearly halves again to 36.6 FPS. This pattern indicates that the workload is shifting from the CPU to the GPU as the pixel count rises. At 1080p, the CPU is more likely to be a bottleneck, as the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can feed them. This is evident in the 78.3 FPS at 1080p Ultra versus the 25.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing a much steeper drop at higher resolutions where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant constraints.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution further illustrates this point. At 1080p, the difference between Low (183.4 FPS) and Ultra (78.3 FPS) is a factor of 2.3. At 4K, the same comparison shows a factor of 2.4, but the absolute values are much lower. The data suggests that while the CPU plays a role at lower resolutions, the RTX 5060's capabilities define the upper limits of performance. The GPU's 128-bit memory interface and 8 GB VRAM struggle to keep up with the demands of 4K Ultra, making the resolution scaling non-linear and heavily dependent on the selected preset.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 holds a rank of 857 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is a reasonable outcome given the GPU's mid-range positioning. The combo's rank is likely pulled down by the GPU's performance ceiling, despite the CPU being a top-tier part. The i7-14700K sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 5060 is in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. This disparity means the CPU has significant headroom that the GPU cannot fully utilize in this game.

The ranking suggests that while this combo is competent, it is not optimized for maximum frame rates in Hitman 2. Other combinations with more powerful GPUs will naturally rank higher. The data implies that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not a high-end 4K solution. The 857th rank out of 1795 combos indicates that there are many faster configurations, but also many slower ones, making this a solid, mainstream performer rather than an enthusiast-tier setup for this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a powerhouse processor with 20 cores and 28 threads, built on the Raptor Lake architecture. With a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, it provides exceptional single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287, place it in the top tier of available CPUs. In Hitman 2, this CPU is unlikely to be a bottleneck at any of the tested settings, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. For instance, at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 183.4 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach such levels. However, the difference between the i7-14700K and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF (with a deltaPct of 0), is negligible, showing that the performance is consistent. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory likely contribute to maintaining high minimum frame rates, ensuring a smooth experience even when the GPU is under heavy load. In this configuration, the CPU is a strong foundation that enables the GPU to perform at its maximum potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured average FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 183.4 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset follows at 134.8 FPS, and the High preset at 101.4 FPS. The Ultra preset, while still playable at 78.3 FPS, shows the first signs of GPU strain. These numbers indicate that the RTX 5060 is well-suited for 1080p gaming, providing smooth performance across all quality levels.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows a clear step down. The Low preset averages 118.5 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium drops to 87.1 FPS, and High to 66 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 51.6 FPS, which is on the edge of smooth playability for some users. This resolution presents a good balance for the combo, with High being the recommended setting for a visually rich and fluid experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become evident. The Low preset is the only option that maintains a playable average of 62.4 FPS. The Medium preset averages 46.9 FPS, High drops to 36.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25.6 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant compromises, and the Low preset is the only sensible choice for maintaining fluid motion. For users prioritizing visual quality at 4K, the performance cost is steep, making 1440p the practical ceiling for High or Ultra settings.