Hitman 2

Hitman 2 with an Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 presents a classic pairing of a high-end modern CPU with a mid-range Turing-era GPU. The benchmark data shows that this combination is heavily GPU-limited in most scenarios, with the processor's substantial headroom only becoming apparent at lower resolutions and settings. This analysis examines the measured frame rates to identify where the bottleneck lies and what it means for playability across different configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, revealing a predictable pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 132 FPS at 1920x1080 to 84 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 48 FPS, and then further down to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 66% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, which aligns closely with the pixel count increase and indicates the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor rather than the i7-14700KF.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality settings. At High settings, the average drops from 75 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 25 FPS at 4K. The progression from 75 to 25 FPS across resolutions is a clear sign that the GPU's shading units, texture rate, and memory bandwidth are being saturated. At Ultra settings, the situation is more extreme: 55 FPS at 1080p falls to 35 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 19 FPS at 4K, making the highest resolution setting essentially unplayable.

The data shows that the gap between resolutions widens as settings increase. At Low, the difference between 1080p and 1440p is 48 FPS, but at Ultra, that same resolution step costs only 20 FPS. This is because at Ultra settings, the GPU is already struggling at 1080p, so the additional pixel load at 1440p has a proportionally smaller impact. The 4K results across all settings—45 FPS at Low, 34 FPS at Medium, 25 FPS at High, and 19 FPS at Ultra—demonstrate that even the lowest preset cannot achieve a consistently smooth 60 FPS at this resolution, confirming the RTX 2060's 6 GB frame buffer and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K gaming in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture using the TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz, and its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

These specifications directly explain the measured performance in Hitman 2. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 19 FPS, indicating both memory capacity and bandwidth limitations. The texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are modest by modern standards, and the FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS puts this GPU in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The benchmark results show the RTX 2060's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with a deltaPct of 0, the AMD Radeon 680M at 0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM at 0.6%, placing it in a performance tier that is adequate for 1080p gaming but struggles at higher resolutions.

The GPU's memory subsystem is a key constraint. With a 192-bit bus and 6 GB GDDR6, the RTX 2060 delivers 336.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p High settings where it achieves 75 FPS, but the 4K results show the limits of this configuration. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average drops to 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS and maximum of 39 FPS, showing inconsistent frame pacing that would be noticeable during gameplay. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are modern, but the underlying hardware cannot keep pace with the i7-14700KF's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700 interface.

Benchmark results for the i7-14700KF show it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70163. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with a deltaPct of 0.2%, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 0.9%, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% behind. In specific tests, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235, demonstrating exceptional multi-threaded and single-threaded performance that far exceeds what Hitman 2 requires.

In this game, the CPU's role is largely secondary. At 1080p Low settings, the combination achieves 132 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at high frame rates. However, the 20 cores and 28 threads are not fully utilized by Hitman 2, which is primarily a GPU-bound title. The processor's high boost clock of 5.60 GHz helps maintain minimum frame rates, but the data shows that even at 1080p, the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings. The i7-14700KF's performance in PassMark multithreaded (52425) and single-thread (4480) tests indicates it has ample headroom for this game, meaning the measured FPS figures are almost entirely determined by the RTX 2060's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 132 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings drop to 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS, still smooth for most displays. High settings average 75 FPS, which is acceptable for standard 60 Hz monitors. Ultra settings fall to 55 FPS, which is borderline but playable for a stealth game where precise timing is less critical.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings average 84 FPS, which is good. Medium settings average 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and maximum of 73 FPS, showing some frame dips but generally smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may be noticeable. Ultra settings average only 35 FPS, which is not recommended for comfortable play.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 struggles significantly. Low settings average 45 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings average 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS and maximum of 39 FPS, indicating noticeable stuttering. High settings average 25 FPS, which is poor. Ultra settings average 19 FPS, making the game nearly unplayable at this resolution and settings combination. The data clearly shows that 4K is not viable for this GPU in Hitman 2, even at the lowest quality preset.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2936 out of 3711 tested combinations in Hitman 2, placing it in the bottom 21% of all tested systems. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU. The i7-14700KF is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 2060 is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, creating a significant imbalance.

The ranking reflects that most tested combinations either have a more powerful GPU paired with a similar CPU, or a weaker CPU paired with a comparable GPU. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 holds back the i7-14700KF in this game, as the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver. At 1080p Low, the 132 FPS average is respectable, but at 4K Ultra, the 19 FPS result drags the overall ranking down. For a system with this CPU, a more balanced GPU would be necessary to achieve a higher combo rank in Hitman 2.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF overkill for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in Hitman 2?

A: The data indicates yes. The i7-14700KF ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile. The measured frame rates are consistently GPU-limited, especially at higher resolutions and settings, suggesting the CPU has significant unused headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this setup?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the system achieves 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, which provides a smooth experience. For higher visual quality, 1080p High at 75 FPS is also viable. At 2560x1440, only Low settings (84 FPS) or Medium settings (63 FPS) are recommended, as High drops below 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate is 45 FPS at Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings average 34 FPS, High settings average 25 FPS, and Ultra settings average only 19 FPS. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta), AMD Radeon 680M (15270, 0.1% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.6% delta). The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% behind with a score of 15171. This places the RTX 2060 in a mid-range performance tier.

Q: Is the CPU's high core count beneficial for this game?

A: Hitman 2 does not appear to scale significantly with the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads. The game is GPU-bound in most scenarios, as shown by the FPS figures. The CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock may help maintain minimum frame rates, but the measured results are primarily determined by the RTX 2060.

Q: What does the combo rank of 2936 out of 3711 mean for practical use?

A: This rank places the system in the bottom 21% of tested combinations for Hitman 2. It means that most other tested systems perform better in this game, largely because they have more balanced GPU-CPU pairings. For this CPU, upgrading the GPU would significantly improve the combo's performance in this title.