Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER in Hitman 2 presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics. The data shows a processor with immense headroom paired with a GPU that, while capable, becomes the primary constraint as resolution climbs. This analysis examines the measured FPS rows to understand how this specific combination behaves across the game's settings and resolutions, and where it stands among the 3,711 tested combos in the database.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Hitman 2?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2,158th out of 3,711 tested combos in this game, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all configurations.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 159, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only setting where the combo approaches the 144Hz+ territory.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70,163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996) and 0.9% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1% (70,879).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,282. This places it slightly below the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20,582.

Q: Is there a setting where the FPS drops below 30 at 4K?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 23. The High preset at 4K also falls below 30, averaging 31 FPS, though the Medium preset manages to hold at 41 FPS.

Q: What memory specifications does the GPU use?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock operates at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the 12 nm Turing architecture, specifically the TU104 chip with 13,600 million transistors. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure that becomes increasingly stressed as resolution rises. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the card also carries 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, though Hitman 2's engine does not heavily leverage these features.

The data indicates that the GPU's 65th percentile standing is reflected in its measured performance. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 90 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional. The GPU's FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p gaming, but the card's 64 ROPs and 2560 shading units begin to show their age at higher resolutions.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's role becomes more defined when examining the 4K results. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the card manages 54 FPS, but this drops to 31 FPS on High and 23 FPS on Ultra. This pattern suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute throughput are the limiting factors at 4K, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames. The card's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is simply insufficient to sustain high detail levels at this resolution, leading to the significant FPS drops observed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. Starting at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 90 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, this drops by 35.6% to 58 FPS. At 3840x2160, the average further falls to 31 FPS, representing a 65.6% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 2070 SUPER's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints.

The Low settings preset shows the most dramatic resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 159 FPS. At 1440p Low, this drops to 102 FPS (a 35.8% reduction), and at 4K Low, it falls to 54 FPS (a 66% reduction from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across resolutions for the Low preset suggest that the GPU is operating near its fill-rate limits even at lower detail settings, with the CPU remaining underutilized.

Interestingly, the Medium settings preset shows the smallest relative drop from 1080p to 1440p. At 1080p Medium, the average is 120 FPS, dropping to 76 FPS at 1440p (a 36.7% reduction). At 4K Medium, the average is 41 FPS. This pattern indicates that the Medium preset strikes a balance where the GPU's compute units are more efficiently utilized, but the 4K resolution still overwhelms the 8 GB memory buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER, not the i7-14700KF, is the limiting component at all resolutions above 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2,158 out of 3,711 tested configurations places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings in Hitman 2. This ranking, combined with the CPU's 94th percentile standing among all processors (average benchmark score of 70,163), confirms that the graphics card is the bottleneck in this pairing. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking (average score of 20,282) is significantly lower than the CPU's, creating an imbalance that hampers overall performance.

The nearest rival GPUs to the RTX 2070 SUPER provide context. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20,480 (1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20,534 (1.2% higher), and the Intel Arc B570 scores 20,556 (1.3% higher). The Intel Arc A750 leads this group with 20,582 (1.5% higher). In Hitman 2, this tight grouping means that swapping the RTX 2070 SUPER for any of these cards would likely yield similar FPS results, given the game's engine characteristics.

The CPU's nearest rivals further illustrate the mismatch. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% lower score), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% lower), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% lower) are all within 1% of the i7-14700KF's synthetic performance. Yet, in-game, these differences would be imperceptible because the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot leverage the CPU's full 20 cores and 28 threads. The combo rank of 2,158 suggests that many pairings with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would outperform this specific configuration in Hitman 2.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a formidable processor on paper, featuring 20 cores and 28 threads from the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, combined with a 33 MB shared L3 cache, provide exceptional single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and a single-core score of 6,235, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

However, the measured FPS data in Hitman 2 reveals that this CPU power is largely untapped. The game's engine, released in 2018, does not scale well beyond a handful of cores. The i7-14700KF's 28 threads and 2 MB per-core L2 cache are overkill for the game's workload, and the processor's 125 W TDP and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) are more than sufficient to feed the RTX 2070 SUPER. The data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU would theoretically be most stressed, the combo achieves 159 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a bottleneck.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—all within 1% of its average score—would perform identically in Hitman 2. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% lower), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% lower), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% lower) all have similar core counts and clock speeds. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, which scores 1% higher, might offer marginal gains, but the RTX 2070 SUPER would still limit in-game performance. The CPU's role in this combo is to ensure zero frame drops due to processor limitations, which it does admirably, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's 65th percentile standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 159, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings reduce this to 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 137. High settings drop further to 90 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 67 FPS. This resolution showcases the GPU's ability to handle the game at high frame rates, though Ultra settings still fall short of 144Hz territory.

Moving to 2560x1440, the impact of the GPU's limitations becomes apparent. Low settings average 102 FPS, which is still playable but a 35.8% drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 76 FPS (minimum 65, maximum 88), High settings average 58 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 43 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the RTX 2070 SUPER is now working harder, but the CPU's headroom ensures consistent frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is borderline acceptable. Medium settings average 41 FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47), High settings drop to 31 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS. The 4K results clearly show that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB memory buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain high detail levels at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 23 FPS is particularly telling, as it represents a 65.6% drop from the 1080p High result of 90 FPS, highlighting the GPU's inability to process the increased pixel count and texture detail.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 120 FPS (minimum 102) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for competitive play. The High preset at 90 FPS still provides a solid experience, but the 30 FPS difference between Medium and High is significant. Ultra at 67 FPS is playable but sacrifices the high refresh rate advantage that the CPU-GPU combo can deliver at lower settings.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 76 FPS (minimum 65) is the recommended choice. This provides a smooth experience that stays above 60 FPS in most scenes. The High preset at 58 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay, but the Medium preset's higher minimum FPS ensures fewer stutters during action sequences. The Low preset at 102 FPS is an option for players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, but the Medium preset offers a better visual experience without a major FPS penalty.

At 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset at 54 FPS is viable for consistent gameplay. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 35 FPS that could cause noticeable hitches. The High preset at 31 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are not recommended for a playable experience. Players with a 4K display should either accept the visual downgrade to Low settings or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p, where the Medium preset provides a much better balance of quality and performance. The CPU's power ensures that no frame drops occur due to processor limitations, but the GPU's data indicates it is the definitive bottleneck at 4K.