Hitman 2

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a fascinating case study in Hitman 2’s engine. This combination of a high-end 14th Gen processor with a mid-range discrete GPU yields results that are heavily dictated by the graphics card, but with enough CPU headroom to ensure that frame pacing remains stable across the board. The data shows a 20-core, 28-thread processor with a 3.40 GHz base and 5.60 GHz boost clock, which is far more compute power than this 2018 stealth title requires. Consequently, the bottleneck is almost entirely on the Arc B580, which has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration creates a clear dynamic: the CPU is never the limiting factor, and the GPU’s capabilities define the playable settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i7-14700KF is a Raptor Lake-R architecture part built on Intel's 10 nm process, featuring 20 cores and 28 threads. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are substantial, but Hitman 2 does not scale meaningfully with this level of multi-threading. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, yet the in-game FPS numbers show that this raw power translates into a very high ceiling rather than direct performance gains. The game’s AI and physics systems are not stressed by 28 threads; instead, the single-core performance, which is excellent, ensures that the game logic never stutters.

The data indicates that the CPU is operating far below its potential in this title. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has an average benchmark score of 70074, which is virtually identical to the 70104 of the 14700KF (a 0% delta). Even when compared to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which has a -0.4% delta, the performance is within noise. This means that in Hitman 2, swapping between these top-tier CPUs would produce no measurable difference in FPS. The 125 W TDP and the 33 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for the game’s object management. In short, the CPU’s role here is to be a silent, invisible partner; it provides the foundation for the GPU to operate without any frame-time spikes, but it is not the component that determines whether you get 60 or 100 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B580 is the definitive performance limiting factor in this setup. Based on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage), this GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its base and boost clocks are both locked at 2670 MHz, which is a high frequency for a GPU, but its raw throughput is moderate. The 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is respectable, yet the data shows that the card struggles with higher settings. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is not a capacity issue—Hitman 2 does not require that much VRAM—but the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor at high resolutions and Ultra settings.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 66, and its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which has a delta of -0.7%, meaning the B580 is nearly identical in synthetic tests. However, in Hitman 2, the B580’s performance collapses at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the card delivers 60.3 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to a dismal 17.6 FPS. This suggests that the card’s memory bandwidth and compute units are overwhelmed by the game’s Ultra preset, which likely includes high-resolution shadows and reflections that are heavy on ROPs and texture rate. The 20 RT cores are present, but Hitman 2 does not use ray tracing, so they are idle. The GPU’s 190 W TDP is modest, but the data shows it cannot sustain playable frame rates at the highest settings beyond 1440p.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how resolution affects this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 137.8 FPS, which is excellent. Moving to 1440p Low, it drops to 88.9 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 49.5 FPS, another 44% drop from 1440p. This pattern is consistent with a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is not the issue; if it were, the FPS would remain constant across resolutions. Instead, the data shows that the Arc B580 is working progressively harder as the pixel count increases.

When we look at High settings, the trend accelerates. The 1080p High score of 81 FPS drops to 49 FPS at 1440p (a 39% decrease) and then to 27.2 FPS at 4K (a 44% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra preset is even more punishing: 60.3 FPS at 1080p, 35.9 FPS at 1440p, and 17.6 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s is saturated at 4K, and the shading units are unable to process the increased geometry. The scaling is not linear—the drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 40%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is also roughly 40%, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a compute wall rather than a memory wall. The limiting component is unequivocally the Arc B580; the CPU has ample headroom to push higher frame rates if the GPU could keep up.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the grand database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the Intel Arc B580 ranks 1397th out of 1795 total combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a surprising result given the high-end CPU. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations, not the CPU’s. The data shows that the CPU alone is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, but when paired with a GPU in the 66th percentile, the overall combo suffers. This rank suggests that most other tested combos use faster GPUs, even if they have slower CPUs.

The deltaPct values from the GPU’s nearest rivals are telling. The AMD Radeon 760M, which is an integrated GPU, has a delta of 0.1%, meaning it performs nearly identically to the B580 in synthetic benchmarks. Yet in a game like Hitman 2, the B580’s discrete memory and higher power limit should theoretically give it an edge. However, the rank of 1397 indicates that the B580 is not delivering the expected performance relative to other discrete GPUs. The NVIDIA RTX 4060, with a -0.7% delta in synthetic scores, would likely rank higher in-game due to better driver optimization. The rank of 1397 means that 398 other combos perform worse, but the majority (1396) perform better, which is a poor showing for a modern GPU. The bottleneck is clear: the B580 is holding back a very capable CPU, resulting in a combo that is best suited for 1080p gaming at medium settings.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 17.6, and at 4K High, it is 27.2. Even at 4K Low, the average FPS is 49.5, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 60.3, which is playable. For a higher frame rate, 1080p Medium yields 105.3 FPS, and 1080p Low yields 137.8 FPS. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for a balance of quality and speed.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in terms of synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has a score of 70074, a deltaPct of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.3% slower.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data clearly shows the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile. The FPS drops by roughly 40% between each resolution increase, which is characteristic of a GPU limitation, not a CPU one.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 49.0, while at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 35.9. This is a 27% performance hit for the Ultra preset.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game?

A: Yes, the 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which is a 2018 title. The limiting factor is not VRAM capacity but the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth and the GPU’s compute power, as seen in the severe FPS drops at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following are the exact measured average FPS values for the Intel Core i7-14700KF + Intel Arc B580 in Hitman 2:

• 3840x2160 (4K)
• Low: 49.5 FPS
• Medium: 37.2 FPS
• High: 27.2 FPS
• Ultra: 17.6 FPS

• 2560x1440 (1440p)
• Low: 88.9 FPS
• Medium: 68.7 FPS
• High: 49.0 FPS
• Ultra: 35.9 FPS

• 1920x1080 (1080p)
• Low: 137.8 FPS
• Medium: 105.3 FPS
• High: 81.0 FPS
• Ultra: 60.3 FPS

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the combo is capable of high refresh rates on Low and Medium, and it can hit exactly 60 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, the card struggles to maintain 60 FPS on any setting, with only Low breaking the 60 FPS barrier. At 4K, the system is not viable for serious play, with all settings below 50 FPS. The performance curve is steep and consistent, indicating a hard GPU limit. The 137.8 FPS at 1080p Low is the only score that approaches the CPU’s potential, but even that is moderate. For a builder, this data suggests that the Arc B580 is a 1080p-focused GPU for this game, and the i7-14700KF’s power is largely wasted beyond that resolution.