Hitman 2

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

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process node from TSMC. It runs at a 2.40 GHz base clock and boosts up to 5.30 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. This CPU sits in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 64,640, placing it within a tight cluster of rivals: it trails the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3%, while leading the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F by 0.3% and the AMD EPYC 7343 by 0.7%.

For Hitman 2, a stealth game released in late 2018, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining consistent frame pacing in crowded environments. The game's AI-driven crowd systems and complex interaction logic can spike single-thread demand, and the Ultra 7 265's 5.30 GHz boost clock provides strong headroom for those moments. The 20 threads, while not all directly utilized by a game of this era, ensure that background system tasks and game logic never contend for the same cores. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 159 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work. The 20-core count also means that even if Hitman 2's engine only scales across a handful of threads, the remaining cores can handle the game's simulation overhead without impacting frame delivery.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216 and single-core score of 5,960 reinforce its capability for gaming workloads. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for Hitman 2, as the game's engine often relies on a primary thread for game state updates. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,689 further confirms this strength. The processor's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 also helps feed the game's streaming needs, especially when moving between large, detailed levels. The 30 MB L3 cache is substantial, allowing frequently accessed game data to stay on-die rather than being fetched from system memory.

What the data implies is that in this pairing, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. The measured FPS patterns across resolutions show a consistent drop as resolution increases — from 159 FPS at 1080p Low to 54 FPS at 4K Low — which indicates the GPU is taking over as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU's headroom allows the GPU to run at its maximum output, but the frame rates still climb proportionally with lower settings, suggesting that even at 1080p, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component rather than the CPU. The CPU's strength in synthetic benchmarks, like the 42,216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and the 522,983 in PassMark data compression, speaks to its overall capability, but in Hitman 2 specifically, the single-core performance is what matters most for maintaining playable frame rates.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. It runs at a 1605 MHz base clock and 1770 MHz boost clock, with memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 9.062 TFLOPS, and it occupies the 65th percentile of all GPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 20,282. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.5%: it trails the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 1%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.2%, the Intel Arc B570 by 1.3%, and the Intel Arc A750 by 1.5%.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is dominant across all measured configurations. The game's detailed environments, with their intricate lighting and shadow systems, place heavy demands on the rasterization pipeline. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this title at all tested settings, as the game was released in 2018 and does not require more than 8 GB even at 4K Ultra. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming remains smooth, which is critical in a game where players move through large, visually dense levels.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance profile in this game reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 67 FPS average, while at 1080p Low it reaches 159 FPS — a 2.37x improvement from lowering settings. This scaling is typical of a GPU that is fully utilized. At 4K, the GPU's limitations become more apparent: 4K Ultra drops to 23 FPS, which is barely playable, while 4K Low recovers to 54 FPS. The 4K Medium setting shows 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47, indicating some frame time variance.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 18,169 and its DirectX 12 score of 67 provide context for its general capability. Hitman 2 supports DirectX 12, and the GPU's 12 Ultimate API support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering features. The 40 RT cores are present but largely unused in this game, as Hitman 2 does not heavily rely on ray tracing. The 320 tensor cores also remain idle for this workload. The GPU's texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s are the key metrics for this game's fill-rate demands.

The data suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the bottleneck at every resolution tested. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario: at Low settings, the frame rate falls from 159 to 54 FPS (a 66% reduction), while at Ultra settings it falls from 67 to 23 FPS (a 66% reduction). This proportional decline indicates that the GPU's rendering capacity is the limiting factor, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

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

The measured FPS data across three resolutions reveals a predictable pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the combo delivers 159 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the figures are 120 FPS at 1080p, 76 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K — a 37% drop to 1440p and a 66% drop to 4K. High settings show 90 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 66% respectively. Ultra settings show 67 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K, again with a 36% drop to 1440p and a 66% drop to 4K.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings is telling. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the absolute FPS at 1080p would be capped at a certain level regardless of GPU load, and the percentage drops would be less severe at higher resolutions where the GPU takes longer per frame. Instead, the uniform 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the constraint. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate is the theoretical ceiling, and as resolution increases, the number of pixels to be shaded grows proportionally.

The 1440p to 4K transition is particularly steep: at High settings, FPS drops from 58 to 31 (a 47% reduction), while at Low settings it drops from 102 to 54 (a 47% reduction). This 4K penalty is expected for a GPU with 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 8 GB VRAM does not appear to be a limiting factor, as the game's textures at 4K would require less than 8 GB even at Ultra settings.

What this scaling implies is that users targeting 4K will need to significantly reduce settings to achieve playable frame rates. The 4K Medium setting at 41 FPS (with a 35 FPS minimum) is borderline playable, while 4K Low at 54 FPS is more comfortable. For 1440p, the High setting at 58 FPS is playable, and Medium at 76 FPS is smooth. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra (67 FPS) exceed 90 FPS, with Low reaching 159 FPS and Medium at 120 FPS.

The data also reveals that the CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock and 20 cores are not holding back the GPU at any resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would plateau at lower resolutions regardless of GPU settings. Instead, the scaling is smooth and proportional, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance in this game.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1,725 out of 3,001 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 57th percentile of all tested system combinations, meaning roughly 57% of tested combos perform worse and 43% perform better. The rank reflects the GPU's mid-tier position — the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs — while the CPU is near the top at the 93rd percentile.

The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-pack rank underscores that the GPU is the performance limiter. A stronger GPU paired with this CPU would likely push the combo significantly higher in the rankings, while a weaker CPU would not meaningfully reduce the combo's rank given the GPU-bound nature of the workload. The combo's rank of 1,725 is consistent with the RTX 2070 SUPER's position relative to other GPUs: it sits just below the RTX 3070 Mobile (which trails by 1.2% in GPU benchmark scores) and just above the Intel Arc A750 (which is 1.5% slower).

In the context of Hitman 2 specifically, the combo's rank suggests that most higher-ranked systems are paired with more powerful GPUs. The CPU's 20 cores and high clock speeds provide ample headroom, but the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 9.062 TFLOPS of compute are the binding constraints. The 4K Ultra result of 23 FPS is the weakest measured point, while the 1080p Low result of 159 FPS is the strongest. The median performance across all settings and resolutions is approximately 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

This rank also implies that users with this combo should prioritize GPU upgrades over CPU upgrades if they want better Hitman 2 performance. The CPU's nearest rivals — all within 0.7% in average score — would not produce meaningfully different results in this game. Conversely, moving to a GPU in a higher percentile would directly translate to higher frame rates, as the game is clearly GPU-bound across all measured configurations.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1080p delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with Low at 159 FPS, Medium at 120 FPS, High at 90 FPS, and Ultra at 67 FPS. At 1440p, High achieves 58 FPS and Medium 76 FPS, while 4K only reaches playable levels at Low (54 FPS) and Medium (41 FPS).

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. This is evidenced by the consistent 66% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which indicates GPU-bound scaling. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and strong single-core performance (5,960 in Cinebench R23) suggest it has ample headroom, while the GPU's 65th percentile ranking aligns with the combo's mid-pack performance.

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

A: No. The measured 4K Ultra average is 23 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. Even 4K High only reaches 31 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 9.062 TFLOPS of compute are insufficient for this game at 4K with high visual quality.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20,282, placing it 1% above the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, 1.2% above the RTX 3070 Mobile, 1.3% above the Intel Arc B570, and 1.5% above the Intel Arc A750. These differences are marginal and would translate to only a few FPS in Hitman 2.

Q: What is the CPU's nearest rival in terms of performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265's average benchmark score of 64,640 is 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823) and 0.7% below the AMD EPYC 9124 (65,104), while being 0.3% above the Ultra 7 265F (64,438) and 0.7% above the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202). These differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: Does lowering settings help more at higher resolutions?

A: Yes. At 4K, dropping from Ultra to Low improves FPS from 23 to 54 (a 135% increase). At 1080p, the same setting change improves FPS from 67 to 159 (a 137% increase). The proportional improvement is similar, but the absolute gain at 4K (31 FPS) is more impactful for playability than at 1080p (92 FPS).

# Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a clear settings hierarchy based on resolution targets. For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 120 FPS (with a 102 FPS minimum and 137 FPS maximum) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset at 90 FPS is also excellent, providing improved visuals while maintaining smoothness. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 76 FPS (65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum) is the recommended choice, as it stays comfortably above 60 FPS. The High preset at 58 FPS is marginally playable but risks dropping below 60 FPS in intense moments. The Low preset at 102 FPS is smooth but sacrifices visual fidelity, while Ultra at 43 FPS is not recommended for consistent gameplay.

For 4K, the Low preset at 54 FPS is the only setting that approaches playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 41 FPS (35 FPS minimum) may be acceptable for less action-heavy sequences, but the Low preset provides the most consistent experience. High (31 FPS) and Ultra (23 FPS) are not recommended for 4K play.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame time performance, as evidenced by the available min/max data: 102–137 FPS at 1080p, 65–88 FPS at 1440p, and 35–47 FPS at 4K. This consistency suggests that Medium settings balance CPU and GPU load well, avoiding the extreme frame time spikes that can occur at Ultra settings.

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

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 159 FPS average
• Medium: 120 FPS average (102 FPS minimum, 137 FPS maximum)
• High: 90 FPS average
• Ultra: 67 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 102 FPS average
• Medium: 76 FPS average (65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum)
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 54 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average (35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum)
• High: 31 FPS average
• Ultra: 23 FPS average

The complete dataset shows that the combo's best performance is at 1080p Low with 159 FPS, and its worst is at 4K Ultra with 23 FPS. The frame rate deltas between settings are consistent across resolutions: at 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 39 FPS (25%), from Medium to High costs 30 FPS (25%), and from High to Ultra costs 23 FPS (26%). At 1440p, the equivalent drops are 26 FPS (25%), 18 FPS (24%), and 15 FPS (26%). At 4K, the drops are 13 FPS (24%), 10 FPS (24%), and 8 FPS (26%).

This proportional scaling across all resolutions and settings reinforces that the GPU is the sole performance determinant. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 9.062 TFLOPS compute are the hard limits, and the CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide all the support the game needs. The 4K Medium setting's min/max range of 35–47 FPS shows a 12 FPS variance, which is larger in percentage terms (34%) than the 1080p Medium range of 102–137 FPS (35 FPS variance, also 34%), indicating that frame time consistency scales proportionally with resolution.