Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a clear performance hierarchy in Hitman 2, where resolution scaling exposes the RTX 4070 as the primary bottleneck at higher settings. The data shows a predictable decline in frame rates as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly depending on the graphics preset. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 171 FPS, which falls to 110 FPS at 1440p and 58 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop when moving to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU becomes increasingly strained as pixel count rises. At Ultra settings, the trend is more severe: 72 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and just 24 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 30 FPS playability threshold, suggesting that this configuration is not suited for maximum fidelity at 4K in Hitman 2.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows an expected curve, but the shape of that curve reveals which component governs performance. At Low settings, the 1080p result of 171 FPS drops to 110 FPS at 1440p — a 36% decline — and then to 58 FPS at 4K, which is another 47% reduction. This steep drop at 4K Low, despite the relatively modest graphical demands, indicates that the RTX 4070's rasterization throughput is the limiting factor. The GPU is being pushed to its limits even at Low settings when rendering 8.3 million pixels.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly less aggressive in relative terms: 129 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The 1440p result represents a 36% reduction from 1080p, while 4K is 46% lower than 1440p. The Medium preset at 4K still manages to stay above 40 FPS, which is a playable range for a stealth game that doesn't demand twitch reflexes. However, the gap between 1440p and 4K remains substantial, confirming that the GPU is the constraining factor at higher resolutions.

High settings show a similar pattern with 97 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The 1440p result is 36% lower than 1080p, and the 4K result is 47% lower than 1440p. The 33 FPS at 4K High is borderline, sitting just above the 30 FPS minimum that many players consider acceptable. The Ultra preset is the most punishing: 72 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops below 30 FPS, making the experience noticeably stuttery during busy scenes.

The data suggests that the Core Ultra 9 275HX is not the limiting factor in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 171 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 72 FPS result indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower pixel counts. The bottleneck becomes evident only when the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are overwhelmed by the 4K resolution, particularly at higher presets. For players targeting 4K, the RTX 4070 will require setting adjustments to maintain smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 62 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 46 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. 1080p delivers higher frame rates — up to 171 FPS at Low — but the visual clarity of 1440p is generally preferred for a stealth game where detail matters.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, the combo produces 58 FPS, which is smooth. At 4K Medium, it drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 33 FPS. The 4K Ultra setting is not recommended, as the 24 FPS average is below the 30 FPS threshold for acceptable playability. Players should stick to 4K Medium or Low for a consistent experience.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 72 FPS versus 97 FPS on High, a 26% reduction. At 1440p, the difference is 46 FPS versus 62 FPS, a 26% drop. At 4K, Ultra produces 24 FPS compared to 33 FPS on High, which is a 27% reduction. The visual uplift from High to Ultra may not justify the frame rate cost, especially at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Yes, the benchmark data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 171 FPS, suggesting the CPU can handle high frame rates. However, as resolution increases, the frame rate drops disproportionately, indicating that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being saturated. The Core Ultra 9 275HX has ample headroom based on the 1080p results.

Q: What settings should I use for a 60 FPS target?

A: For a 60 FPS target, the data suggests 1080p Ultra (72 FPS) or 1440p High (62 FPS) as the best options. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 46 FPS, which falls short of 60 FPS. At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS — the highest is 58 FPS at Low settings, which is close but not quite there.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1606 out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking, which is consistent with the RTX 4070 being a mid-range mobile GPU. The ranking reflects the overall performance across all tested resolutions and settings, not just the peak frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays a decisive role in Hitman 2's performance, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit memory bus proving sufficient for the game's demands. The GPU's 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is ample for the textures and geometry in Hitman 2, even at 4K resolution. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this title, as the game's memory footprint is well within this allocation. The core clock behavior — with a base of 1920 MHz and boost up to 2475 MHz — provides the raw compute throughput that drives the frame rates observed in the benchmark data.

The RTX 4070's 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the pixel processing that becomes the bottleneck at 4K. The 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are the specifications that determine how quickly the GPU can fill the screen. At 4K Ultra, the 24 FPS result indicates that these units are being pushed to their limits. The 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the theoretical peak, but real-world gaming performance is limited by memory bandwidth and ROP throughput, especially at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 200 W TDP suggests that power delivery is not a constraint in this mobile configuration. The data shows that the RTX 4070 outperforms its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — it scores 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56. However, it trails the RTX 4080 Mobile by 1.3% in average benchmark score. In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's performance is consistent with its 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, which places it in the upper tier of available graphics processors.

The GPU's memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) contributes to the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth figure. This bandwidth is critical for maintaining frame rates at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU must stream large amounts of texture data. The 192-bit bus width is narrower than higher-end cards, but Hitman 2 does not appear to be memory-bandwidth limited based on the scaling data. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K is more consistent with compute and fill-rate limitations rather than memory bandwidth saturation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 171 FPS average, which is exceptionally smooth and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium settings drop to 129 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. High settings yield 97 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 72 FPS. The 1080p results show that the Core Ultra 9 275HX can fully feed the RTX 4070 at this resolution, as even the most demanding preset stays well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings achieve 110 FPS, which remains highly playable. Medium settings produce 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, offering a good balance of quality and speed. High settings drop to 62 FPS, which is right at the 60 FPS target for most players. Ultra settings fall to 46 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The 1440p results suggest that this resolution is the sweet spot for the combo, with High settings providing the best blend of visual fidelity and performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings achieve 58 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. Medium settings produce 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, showing some frame time variance. High settings drop to 33 FPS, which is acceptable for a slow-paced stealth game but not ideal. Ultra settings fall to 24 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K results indicate that players should avoid Ultra and consider Medium or Low for a playable experience.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the 109-148 FPS range shows excellent consistency. At 1440p Medium, the 70-95 FPS range is also stable. At 4K Medium, the 37-50 FPS range indicates some variability but remains within playable bounds. This suggests that Medium is the most predictable preset across resolutions, with the least frame time variance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 1606 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all configurations. This is a middle-of-the-pack result, which reflects the RTX 4070's position as a mid-range GPU in the GeForce 40-series lineup. The ranking is based on aggregate performance across all tested resolutions and settings, so it captures both the strong 1080p results and the weaker 4K Ultra performance.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores provide context for this ranking. The Core Ultra 9 275HX achieves a 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 67469. Its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (0.3% lower score), AMD EPYC 4484PX (0.5% lower), and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX (0.6% lower). This indicates that the CPU is a top-tier performer, but the GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs drags down the combined result. The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 places it just 0.1% above the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, but 1.3% below the RTX 4080 Mobile.

The 1606th rank out of 3001 combos suggests that many configurations with higher-end GPUs outperform this setup in Hitman 2. However, the ranking is not a reflection of poor performance — it simply indicates that the RTX 4070 is not a top-tier 4K GPU. The combo's strengths are evident at 1080p and 1440p, where it delivers competitive frame rates. Players using this configuration should target 1440p for the best experience, as the 4K results are only acceptable at lower presets.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience with this combo in Hitman 2, the data points to 1440p High as the optimal configuration. This setting delivers 62 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while providing the visual benefits of High-quality textures and effects. The 1440p Medium preset is also a strong choice, offering 82 FPS with a tight 70-95 FPS range, which is ideal for players who prioritize smoothness over visual fidelity.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 72 FPS is the best choice for players who want maximum visual quality without sacrificing frame rate. The 1080p High setting at 97 FPS is another excellent option, providing a significant frame rate buffer for demanding scenes. For players targeting high-refresh-rate displays, the 1080p Low setting at 171 FPS is the only preset that can fully utilize a 144 Hz or higher monitor in this game.

At 4K, the recommendations are more constrained. The Low preset at 58 FPS is the only setting that approaches 60 FPS, but it sacrifices visual quality significantly. The Medium preset at 44 FPS offers a better balance, with the 37-50 FPS range still being playable. The High preset at 33 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 24 FPS should be avoided. For 4K players, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it provides the best compromise between visual quality and playable frame rates.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most consistent performance across all resolutions. The minimum and maximum frame rates are available for this setting at every resolution, showing that the frame pacing is stable. At 1080p Medium, the 109-148 FPS range is excellent. At 1440p Medium, the 70-95 FPS range is solid. At 4K Medium, the 37-50 FPS range is acceptable for a stealth game. This consistency makes Medium the safest choice for players who want predictable performance regardless of their display resolution.