Hitman 2

Hitman 2 is an older title, but it still demands a balanced system at higher settings. The data for the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination shows a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions. This analysis focuses on what the measured frames indicate about the pairing’s strengths and limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly suggests that the High preset is the optimal target for most users, as it provides the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 92.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1080p, High yields 148.1 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

The Ultra preset is punishing and not recommended for a consistent experience. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 66 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to just 36.6 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 13 FPS (from 49.6 to 36.6), a 26% reduction, suggesting that the extra visual effects are not worth the performance hit.

For competitive play, the Low preset offers massive frame rate headroom. At 1080p, Low hits 258 FPS, and even at 1440p, it stays at 162.6 FPS. This makes Low the best choice for players prioritizing responsiveness over graphics. The Medium preset is a viable middle ground, offering 191.5 FPS at 1080p and 124.8 FPS at 1440p, but High provides a better visual upgrade for only a modest performance cost.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070’s specifications play a significant role in these results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The chip runs at a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. These specs are more than sufficient for Hitman 2’s engine, which is not particularly demanding on VRAM.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary performance driver at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate drops dramatically from High (49.6 FPS) to Ultra (36.6 FPS), indicating that the GPU’s shading units (6144) and ROPs (80) are being pushed to their limits. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is evident in the 1080p results, where the card delivers 258 FPS on Low, showing it is not bottlenecked by the CPU in that scenario.

The 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor here. Even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed this capacity, as the frame rates are consistent with compute-bound performance rather than memory swapping. The 48 RT cores are irrelevant for this title, as Hitman 2 does not utilize real-time ray tracing, meaning the GPU’s raw rasterization performance is what matters.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 374th out of 1795 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 21% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing. The percentile data for the individual components supports this: the CPU is in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show its competitive position. The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70104 in average benchmarks, nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, -0.4% delta). This means the CPU is not a weak link in the system. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441, 0.6% delta), which is a previous-generation flagship, indicating that the RTX 5070 trades blows with that card in synthetic tests.

Given the data, the 374th rank is likely held back by the GPU at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are more than adequate for this game’s single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 confirms the CPU’s capability, but Hitman 2’s engine does not fully utilize all 28 threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets.

1080p: The Low preset produces 258 FPS, Medium 191.5 FPS, High 148.1 FPS, and Ultra 107.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, but even Ultra remains comfortably above 100 FPS, making 1080p a non-issue for this combo.

1440p: Low yields 162.6 FPS, Medium 124.8 FPS, High 92.4 FPS, and Ultra 66 FPS. This resolution is the sweet spot for the High preset, as it maintains a smooth experience. Ultra is playable at 66 FPS, but it is close to the edge for users who prefer a locked 60 FPS.

4K: Low delivers 87.3 FPS, Medium 64.4 FPS, High 49.6 FPS, and Ultra 36.6 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Only Low and Medium are playable, with High falling below 60 FPS and Ultra being nearly unplayable.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-30% performance, regardless of resolution. The exception is the jump from High to Ultra, which is more punishing at higher resolutions, reinforcing the recommendation to stick with High.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 148.1 FPS at 1080p to 92.4 FPS at 1440p (a 38% reduction) and then to 49.6 FPS at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels is the primary factor.

At Low settings, the drop is less severe but still significant: from 258 FPS at 1080p to 162.6 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and 87.3 FPS at 4K (46% reduction). This indicates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor at 4K.

The CPU’s role is more apparent at 1080p. The difference between Low (258 FPS) and Ultra (107.7 FPS) at 1080p shows that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, as the frame rates are not capped by a CPU bottleneck. The 14700KF’s boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for Hitman 2’s AI and physics calculations. However, at 4K, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck, as the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p with this combo?

A: The High preset delivers 92.4 FPS at 1440p, making it the best choice for a smooth and visually appealing experience. Ultra drops to 66 FPS, which is playable but offers diminishing returns.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low (87.3 FPS) or Medium (64.4 FPS) settings. High (49.6 FPS) and Ultra (36.6 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold and are not recommended for a consistent experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as shown by the significant frame rate drops when moving to higher settings. At 4K, the GPU is definitively the limiting factor, with the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads providing ample headroom.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 374th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all systems. This is a strong result, driven by the CPU’s 96th percentile standing and the GPU’s 83rd percentile standing.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable at 1080p?

A: The Low preset produces 258 FPS at 1080p, which is the highest measured frame rate in the dataset. The Ultra preset still delivers 107.7 FPS, so all settings are playable at this resolution.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 5070 cause any issues?

A: No. The measured data shows no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops. Hitman 2 does not appear to exceed 12 GB, even at 4K Ultra, as the performance scaling is consistent with compute-bound limitations rather than memory capacity issues.