Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a playable but inconsistent experience in Hitman 2, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The combo ranks in the 43rd percentile of tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the database, yet the data reveals that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower settings, creating a bottleneck that shifts entirely based on resolution and preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases, a pattern that points directly at the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory buffer and its overall compute limits. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 194 FPS, which drops to 124 FPS at 1440p and further to 66 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is being pushed progressively harder while the CPU likely has headroom to spare. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 66% performance loss, which is substantial but not unusual for a title that is heavily geometry and shading bound.

Under High settings, the scaling curve flattens somewhat: 110 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%, which is nearly identical to the Low preset scaling. This consistency suggests that the rendering load scales linearly with pixel count, and the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is being saturated at the higher resolutions. The 4K High result of 38 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 1440p High at 70 FPS is acceptable but not ideal for a stealth title where frame pacing matters.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend with 146 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, indicating noticeable frame time variance. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 81 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p, and just 28 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is completely unplayable, and even 1440p Ultra at 52 FPS is marginal. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is a 65% loss, which reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor throughout the resolution range.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070's specifications explain why it struggles at 4K in Hitman 2. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the memory bandwidth is rated at 448.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a bottleneck at 4K when texture data and frame buffers grow large. The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz are typical for the Ampere architecture, and its 5888 shading units provide 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. However, the 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS suggests that raw compute is insufficient for the highest settings, and the 4K High result of 38 FPS indicates that even moderate settings strain the memory subsystem.

The data shows that the GPU's performance relative to its peers is middling. The RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which scores 17083 and is 0.7% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 at 1% slower. On the faster side, the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468 at 1.5% ahead. This places the RTX 3070 in a narrow performance band where small differences in driver optimization or game-specific settings can swing results. In Hitman 2's measured FPS, the GPU's 8 GB memory likely causes texture thrashing at 4K Ultra, as the 28 FPS average is disproportionately low compared to the 50 FPS at 4K Medium.

The GPU's pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are high enough for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the fill rate requirements exceed what the chip can deliver while maintaining the shader load. The 184 TMUs and 96 ROPs are well balanced for a card in this class, but the 220 W TDP and dual-slot cooler suggest that thermal throttling could occur during extended sessions, though the measured data does not include temperature or clock behavior during gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 5 225 and RTX 3070 ranks 1601 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 43rd percentile. This is a below-average result for a pairing that includes a modern 10-core CPU and a capable 30-series GPU. The rank suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average FPS in this title, likely because the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory is a limitation that other cards with more VRAM or faster memory avoid.

The CPU itself is not the weak link. The Core Ultra 5 225 scores in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945, which is 0% different, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 at 0.2% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 at 0.4% faster. The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 at 0.5% faster. These deltaPct values are all within 0.5% of each other, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 225 is competitive with these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks, but the Hitman 2 combo rank is dragged down by the GPU's performance ceiling.

The combo rank of 1601 out of 3711 means that roughly 57% of tested configurations outperform this pairing in Hitman 2. This is surprising given the CPU's high percentile ranking, but it underscores that Hitman 2 is a GPU-bound title at most settings. The data suggests that pairing the Core Ultra 5 225 with a more powerful GPU would dramatically improve the combo rank, while swapping the CPU for a weaker model would have minimal impact on the measured FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 194 FPS, which is high enough for any refresh rate monitor. Medium settings average 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS, indicating smooth frame delivery with minimal stutter. High settings average 110 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Ultra settings average 81 FPS, which is playable but shows that the GPU is starting to struggle with the highest quality assets.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 124 FPS, which is still very good. Medium settings average 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, providing a playable experience with some headroom. High settings average 70 FPS, which is acceptable for a stealth game that doesn't require twitch reflexes. Ultra settings average 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard and may cause noticeable judder in crowded scenes.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3070's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 66 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, meaning the experience will dip below 45 FPS during intense moments. High settings average 38 FPS, which is not smooth. Ultra settings average 28 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for most users.

The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, all presets are playable, with even Ultra exceeding 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium consistently stay above 60 FPS, with High at 70 FPS being borderline. At 4K, only Low settings approach playability, and even then the 66 FPS average leaves little margin for frame drops.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience on this combo, the data points to 1440p Medium as the sweet spot. The 93 FPS average with a 79 FPS minimum ensures that the game stays above the 60 FPS threshold in nearly all situations, while the Medium preset still provides a visually rich environment. The 1440p Medium result is a 24% improvement over 1440p High's 70 FPS, and the visual difference between Medium and High in Hitman 2 is often subtle, making the performance gain worthwhile.

At 1080p, the recommendation shifts to High settings, which delivers 110 FPS. This is a 25% reduction from Medium's 146 FPS but provides better shadows, textures, and ambient occlusion that are visible in Hitman 2's detailed environments. The 1080p Ultra setting at 81 FPS is also viable, but the 35% performance loss from High is not justified by the incremental visual improvements.

For 4K users, the data suggests that only Low settings are worth considering. The 66 FPS average at 4K Low is playable, but the 50 FPS at 4K Medium is too inconsistent, and the 38 FPS at High is a poor experience. If 4K is a priority, lowering the resolution to 1440p and using Medium settings provides a dramatically better experience than pushing 4K Low, as the 93 FPS versus 66 FPS difference is substantial.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p. At 1440p Ultra, the 52 FPS average is below the 60 FPS standard, and at 4K Ultra, the 28 FPS result is unusable. For users who insist on Ultra quality, the data suggests that this GPU cannot handle Hitman 2's highest settings at reasonable frame rates, and a more powerful GPU would be required.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample capacity for game logic and AI calculations. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 25891 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3655 in single-core, which are strong results for a desktop part.

The CPU's role in Hitman 2's measured FPS is secondary to the GPU, but the data shows that it is not a bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the 194 FPS average is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game, as the engine's draw call processing and AI simulation can become CPU-bound at very high frame rates. However, the 10 cores and 10 threads are sufficient for Hitman 2's workload, which is not heavily multithreaded compared to other modern titles.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 85% versus all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 36938, indicate that it performs comparably to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Ryzen 5 5500X3D, with deltaPct values of 0% and -0.2% respectively. These rivals have similar core counts and clock speeds, and the data suggests that none of these CPUs would produce significantly different results in Hitman 2 when paired with the RTX 3070.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and 3 nm process node from TSMC mean it runs efficiently, but these specs do not directly influence the measured FPS. The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for feeding the GPU, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the RTX 3070's PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting component in this pairing, and users should focus on GPU upgrades to improve Hitman 2 performance, rather than CPU upgrades.