Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti pairing delivers a solid, high-refresh-rate experience in Hitman 2 at 1080p, but the data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions and four quality presets paint a clear picture of a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, yet capable of exceptional performance when configured appropriately.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario, particularly at higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 83.5 at 1080p to 56.9 at 1440p, a 31.9% reduction, and then plummets to 29.2 at 4K, which is 65% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's processing power, is the primary constraint at these resolutions and settings.

The pattern holds true across all presets, but the magnitude of the drop varies. At Low settings, the system achieves 202.7 FPS at 1080p, 129 FPS at 1440p, and 71.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 64.6% drop from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests that resolution scaling is uniform, but the absolute headroom at lower settings means even the 4K result remains playable.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, performance falls from 76.3 FPS at 1440p to 40.7 FPS at 4K, a 46.7% reduction. This near-halving of performance indicates that the 4K resolution demands roughly double the pixel throughput, and the RTX 3070 Ti, with its 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth, begins to struggle with the memory and shading requirements. The data shows that 1440p is the effective sweet spot for this combo, offering frame rates above 56.9 FPS even at Ultra, while 4K requires a significant settings compromise to maintain smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 836 in 3dmark and a multi-thread score of 5411 in the max-threads test, placing it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. In Hitman 2, which is a stealth game that typically relies on moderate CPU utilization for AI, physics, and world simulation, this processor provides ample headroom.

The evidence for CPU sufficiency lies in the scaling behavior. At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 202.7 FPS, which is close to the ceiling for many displays and well beyond what most gamers would target. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 83.5 FPS average suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is still the limiting factor at this resolution. If the Ryzen 5 5500 were holding the system back, we would expect to see less differentiation between presets at 1080p, but the data shows a clear 119.2 FPS spread between Low and Ultra settings at that resolution.

The Cinebench R23 results, with a multicore score of 16429 and a singlecore score of 2319, further support this interpretation. Hitman 2 benefits from the processor's strong single-thread performance for game logic and its twelve threads for background tasks and streaming. The L3 cache of 16 MB is adequate for the game's asset streaming, and the DDR4 memory support with a dual-channel bus provides sufficient bandwidth. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 is not the limiting component in this pairing at any resolution tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 202.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the system has substantial headroom for competitive or high-refresh-rate play at lower quality presets.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 1440p, the combo delivers 76.3 FPS on High and 100.6 FPS on Medium settings, both above the 60 FPS threshold. However, Ultra settings drop to 56.9 FPS, which falls just below the target.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: At 4K, the system achieves 71.7 FPS on Low and 52 FPS on Medium, but drops to 40.7 FPS on High and 29.2 FPS on Ultra. Viable 4K gameplay requires Low or Medium settings, depending on the desired frame rate target.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 20875, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12500 and 0.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7J13. This puts it in close contention with its direct competitors.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 30849 and sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 83.5 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and indicates that maximum quality settings are playable at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired performance level. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as the 83.5 FPS average exceeds the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 118.6 FPS offers a significant boost for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual fidelity loss may not be worth the extra 35.1 FPS for most players.

At 1440p, the High preset provides the best balance, delivering 76.3 FPS with good visual quality. The Medium preset at 100.6 FPS is superior for gamers with 144 Hz displays, but the jump from High to Medium involves a noticeable reduction in shadow quality and texture detail. The Ultra preset at 56.9 FPS is borderline, and the data suggests that High is the recommended preset for a stable 60+ FPS experience.

For 4K, the Low preset at 71.7 FPS is the only option that exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium at 52 FPS is acceptable for gamers who prioritize visuals over frame rate. The High preset at 40.7 FPS and Ultra at 29.2 FPS are below the generally accepted playability threshold for fast-paced action, though Hitman 2's methodical gameplay may tolerate lower rates. The data indicates that 4K users should select High settings if they prioritize image quality over frame rate, but Medium is the recommended compromise.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 715th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 60th percentile of all pairings, indicating that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it sits comfortably in the upper-middle range of tested systems.

The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The Ryzen 5 5500's performance, as measured by its 20875 average benchmark score, is competitive with the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897. The RTX 3070 Ti's 30849 average benchmark score is similarly competitive, with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 at 31112 being the closest rival. This balanced pairing ensures that neither component severely bottlenecks the other, which is reflected in the consistent frame rates observed across different settings.

The rank of 715 out of 1795 suggests that many other combinations deliver higher average frame rates, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs. However, the data shows that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the 4K results being the weakest aspect of its performance profile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Hitman 2 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 202.7 FPS on Low settings, 155.3 FPS on Medium, 118.6 FPS on High, and 83.5 FPS on Ultra. This represents a full range of 119.2 FPS between the lowest and highest quality presets, demonstrating the significant impact of graphical settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 129 FPS on Low, 100.6 FPS on Medium, 76.3 FPS on High, and 56.9 FPS on Ultra. The range narrows to 72.1 FPS, reflecting the increased GPU load at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 71.7 FPS on Low, 52 FPS on Medium, 40.7 FPS on High, and 29.2 FPS on Ultra. The range reduces to 42.5 FPS, with all settings showing a significant performance penalty compared to lower resolutions.

The data reveals that the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs an average of 36.9% performance across all settings, while the transition from 1440p to 4K costs an additional 45.7%. This compounding effect underscores the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions and supports the conclusion that 1440p is the optimal resolution for this pairing.