Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a performance profile in Hitman 2 that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset. The dataset shows a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at 1080p to a GPU-limited scenario at 4K, with the combo ranking in the top percentile of tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance gradient as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 257.2 FPS, which drops to 162.6 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 86.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 66.3% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the rendering pipeline becomes progressively more demanding on the GPU as pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern shifts with higher presets. With Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 106.7 FPS at 1080p to 66.4 FPS at 1440p (a 37.8% drop) and then to 36.3 FPS at 4K (a 45.3% drop from 1440p). The diminishing returns between 1440p and 4K at Ultra suggest that the RTX 5070’s 12 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are being saturated, as the gap between presets narrows at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 150.5 FPS (257.2 vs 106.7), which is substantial. However, at 4K, that same preset gap shrinks to 50.3 FPS (86.6 vs 36.3). This compression indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU’s performance ceiling is the limiting factor, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that the 265K’s 20 cores and 20 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 5070 at 1080p, but the GPU’s rendering capabilities cap the output at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration ranks 385th out of 1,795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 78.6th percentile of all combinations. The rank reflects the balanced performance of the 265K and RTX 5070, though it is not a top-tier pairing for this title. The CPU alone sits in the 97th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 79,102, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile with an average score of 41,687.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (deltaPct -0.2), Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct -0.2), and Intel Core i9-14900K (deltaPct -0.9). These differences are negligible, indicating that the 265K performs nearly identically to its closest competitors in general compute tasks. The AMD EPYC 7413 is 1.2% ahead, but that is a server-class chip with different thermal and power characteristics.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070’s nearest rivals show a mixed picture. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 0.2% ahead, while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 0.5% behind. The GeForce RTX 3090 is 0.6% behind, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X is 0.7% behind. These small deltaPct values suggest that the RTX 5070’s average benchmark score is tightly clustered with previous-generation high-end cards, though the actual in-game performance in Hitman 2 may differ due to architectural efficiencies.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and houses 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. Its boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz are paired with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. These specifications are directly relevant to Hitman 2’s rendering demands, particularly at higher resolutions where texture streaming and memory bandwidth become critical.

The GPU’s 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores suggest it can handle advanced effects, but the measured FPS data indicates that standard rasterization is the primary workload. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 36.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for Hitman 2 at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, memory capacity may be a limiting factor, as the frame rate drops to 36.3 FPS despite the high bandwidth.

The RTX 5070’s pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are high, but the 4K Ultra result suggests that the GPU’s compute throughput (30.87 TFLOPS FP32) is the constraint. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the GPU has headroom, but at 4K, it is fully utilized, as evidenced by the smaller FPS differences between Medium and High settings at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 257.2 FPS on Low, 193.9 FPS on Medium, 145.5 FPS on High, and 106.7 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that the 265K can push the RTX 5070 to high frame rates, with the CPU not being a bottleneck at this resolution. The step from Low to Medium is a 63.3 FPS drop, while the step from Medium to High is 48.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 38.8 FPS, showing a consistent scaling pattern.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are 162.6 FPS (Low), 125.3 FPS (Medium), 93.5 FPS (High), and 66.4 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 36.8% (Low) to 37.8% (Ultra), indicating a uniform scaling factor across presets. At this resolution, the combo still maintains playable frame rates even at Ultra, though the gap between Low and Ultra is 96.2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are 86.6 FPS (Low), 64 FPS (Medium), 48.6 FPS (High), and 36.3 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Low result is still above 60 FPS, but Medium drops to 64 FPS, and High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper: 46.8% drop for Low, 48.9% for Medium, 48.0% for High, and 45.3% for Ultra. This suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, with the CPU’s performance being less relevant.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with 93.5 FPS at High and 66.4 FPS at Ultra, both above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, only Low settings exceed 60 FPS (86.6 FPS), while Ultra drops to 36.3 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra is 106.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. This indicates that the CPU and GPU combination has significant headroom at this resolution, even with maximum settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the frame rate drops to 36.3 FPS at Ultra, and the scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep (45-49% reduction). This strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, as the CPU’s performance is less relevant at higher pixel counts.

Q: What is the combo’s rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 385th out of 1,795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 21.4% of all configurations. This is a solid result, though not a top-tier pairing for this specific game.

Q: How does the RTX 5070’s memory bandwidth affect the results?

A: The GPU has 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory. The 4K Ultra result of 36.3 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth is sufficient, but the 12 GB capacity may be a constraint at higher resolutions with Ultra settings.

Q: Are the CPU’s rivals significantly different in performance?

A: No. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and Intel Core i9-14900KF are both 0.2% behind the 265K in average benchmark scores, while the Intel Core i9-14900K is 0.9% behind. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.