Hitman 2

The pairing of an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 in Hitman 2 creates a fascinating study in generational imbalance. The data shows a 2018-era six-core processor driving a current-generation 2025 Blackwell GPU, and the benchmark results reveal a system that is simultaneously capable of high refresh rates and severely constrained by its older architecture. This combination ranks 432nd out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 24% of all pairings, a solid but not dominant position given the GPU's potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The system delivers an average of 147.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is a very playable frame rate for a stealth game, indicating the pairing is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors at this resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19,616. It sits within a tight cluster of rivals, being 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-1345U and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F. This places it squarely in the mid-range of CPU performance.

Q: What is the performance gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system achieves 105.4 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 3840x2160 with the same Ultra settings, the average FPS drops dramatically to 34.1 FPS. This represents a 67.6% reduction in performance.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This configuration is a key factor in its performance across different settings and resolutions.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The data indicates that High settings at 2560x1440 provides an average of 94.3 FPS, which is a good balance of visual fidelity and performance. Medium settings offer 123.3 FPS, but High provides a smoother experience for a stealth game that benefits from visual clarity.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 scores 11,186 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,579 points in single-core. The multi-core score is roughly 7 times higher, highlighting the benefit of its 6 cores and 12 threads in heavily threaded workloads, though its single-core performance is less impressive for older game engines.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is the potential bottleneck in this configuration. It is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen+ architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. While its 65W TDP and 12 nm process node are modest by modern standards, its core count is sufficient for a game like Hitman 2. The processor's single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 1,579 Cinebench R23 score, is a limiting factor in a game that relies heavily on a primary simulation thread.

The data suggests this CPU can push high frame rates, but it reaches a ceiling. At 1080p Low settings, the system hits 199.7 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum output for this title. When the GPU is less stressed at lower resolutions, the CPU's ability to feed it frames becomes the deciding factor. The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are adequate, but the architecture's lower IPC (instructions per clock) compared to newer designs is evident. The benchmark results show a 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, confirming it is an average performer today, not a high-end one. This creates a scenario where the RTX 5070's potential is capped by the Ryzen 5 2600 in CPU-bound scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a powerhouse that is largely waiting for its driver. With 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs, it is a high-end part on paper. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth are more than sufficient for Hitman 2's textures and geometry. The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built for modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, which the game supports. Its raw compute power is immense, with a FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS.

In this pairing, the GPU's performance is heavily influenced by the CPU. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is fully engaged, and the system only manages 34.1 FPS. However, this is likely a case where the CPU cannot prepare frames fast enough, even at this high resolution. When we look at 1080p Low, the system achieves 199.7 FPS, which is still a high number but not the 250+ FPS one might expect from such a powerful GPU. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking versus all GPUs shows it is a top-tier component, but these results show it is not being allowed to stretch its legs. The 47.9 FPS at 4K High is a more reasonable result, suggesting that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting here, but the overall trend points to a system that is not perfectly balanced.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 432 out of 1,795 tested combinations places it in the upper quartile of systems. This is a respectable position, but it is not reflective of the RTX 5070's capabilities alone. The data implies that pairing this GPU with a newer, faster CPU would likely yield a significantly higher rank. The performance is good enough for a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p, but the system is leaving performance on the table.

The rank suggests that while this is a capable gaming machine, it is not an optimal one. The CPU's age is the primary culprit. In a game like Hitman 2, which is not exceptionally demanding on multi-core CPUs but does require strong single-thread performance, the Ryzen 5 2600's limitations become apparent. The combination is more than adequate for a standard 60 FPS experience, but it struggles to consistently deliver high refresh rates at higher resolutions. The data indicates a system that is good, but not great, relative to the potential of its components.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, High settings offer an excellent balance, delivering 147.2 FPS. This is high enough to take advantage of a 144Hz monitor and still provides good visual quality. Choosing Ultra at 1080p is also viable, but the drop to 105.4 FPS is significant for a modest visual gain.

For 1440p, High settings are the clear winner. The 94.3 FPS average is smooth and visually impressive. While Medium offers a higher 123.3 FPS, the visual fidelity at High is worth the frame rate trade-off for a game that relies on atmosphere and detail. At 4K, the system struggles. The only playable option is Low, which yields 85.3 FPS, but this compromises the visual experience significantly. High settings at 4K are a borderline 47.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth game requiring precision. The data suggests that 1440p High is the "sweet spot" for this hardware pairing, providing a high-quality experience without the frame rate penalties of 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of very high frame rates: 199.7 FPS on Low, 179.7 FPS on Medium, 147.2 FPS on High, and 105.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 94.3 FPS, showing a significant impact of graphical settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but the scaling is more pronounced. The system achieves 162.7 FPS on Low, 123.3 FPS on Medium, 94.3 FPS on High, and 66.9 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 95.8 FPS, a similar absolute drop, but the percentage drop is larger relative to the lower starting point.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. The system manages 85.3 FPS on Low, 68.7 FPS on Medium, 47.9 FPS on High, and 34.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 51.2 FPS, but the system is clearly struggling to maintain playable frame rates at this resolution. The data shows that the CPU is likely the limiting factor at 1080p, while the GPU becomes more of a constraint at 4K, though the CPU's inability to feed it frames is still a factor.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K illustrates the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p High, the system produces 147.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces the frame rate by 35.9% to 94.3 FPS. Finally, moving to 4K High results in a 67.4% drop from the 1080p figure, landing at 47.9 FPS.

This scaling pattern is indicative of a CPU-bound system at lower resolutions. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the CPU is struggling to keep up with the GPU's output at 1080p. If the system were purely GPU-bound, we would expect a larger drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p. The steep decline to 4K, however, shows that the GPU is now becoming the primary constraint, but the CPU's limitations are still present. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 2600 is a significant bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, preventing the RTX 5070 from reaching its full potential. The system is only truly GPU-bound at 4K, where the resolution is high enough to saturate the GPU's resources, but even then, the CPU's lower performance prevents it from pushing frame rates higher.