Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a decidedly mixed experience in Hitman 2, characterized by excellent performance at mainstream resolutions but a significant collapse at 4K. Analysis of the measured frame rates reveals a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p, where it can push well beyond the 144Hz refresh rate territory. The data positions this pairing as a strong 1080p and capable 1440p solution, with 4K being viable only at the lowest settings preset.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 illustrates a classic scaling pattern dictated by the GPU's capabilities. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 97.5 FPS at 1080p to 63.8 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 34.6%. Moving further to 4K yields only 35.4 FPS, which is a 63.7% drop from the 1080p figure and a 44.5% decrease from the 1440p result. This steep decline is a clear indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, with its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit memory bus struggling to feed the massive 4K frame buffer.

The scaling behavior is consistent across all settings presets, though the magnitude of the performance penalty varies. With the Low preset, the frame rate falls from 173.8 FPS at 1080p to 108.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 59.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 65.7% drop from 1080p to 4K. The relative consistency of these percentage drops suggests that the bottleneck remains on the GPU across all settings, as the CPU is not being saturated even at lower resolutions. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to have sufficient headroom to keep feeding the RTX 4060 at these frame rates.

The most telling data point for identifying the limiting component comes from the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the combo manages 72 FPS, which drops to 45.5 FPS at 1440p and a near-unplayable 26.7 FPS at 4K. The 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K under the Ultra preset is the most severe of all settings tested. This reinforces the conclusion that the GPU's compute throughput and memory bandwidth are the definitive constraints. The 4K Ultra result of 26.7 FPS is particularly instructive, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playable frame rates, confirming that this configuration is not suited for maximum fidelity at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the gameplay experience. For users targeting 1080p, the Ultra preset offers an average of 72 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. However, the High preset provides a more comfortable margin at 97.5 FPS, which is 35.4% faster than Ultra. Given the relatively small visual difference between High and Ultra in many titles, the High preset at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot, delivering a frame rate that can take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors without sacrificing significant visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more nuanced. The High preset yields 63.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little room for drops in demanding scenes. The Medium preset offers a more stable experience at 83.5 FPS, a 30.9% improvement over High. For players who prioritize consistency over maximum visual quality, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended choice according to the data. The Low preset at 108.4 FPS is smooth but sacrifices too much visual detail for the average user, making Medium the optimal balance between performance and fidelity.

For 4K gaming, the data is unequivocal: the Ultra preset at 26.7 FPS is not viable for a playable experience. The High preset at 35.4 FPS is marginally better but still below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 59.6 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, and even it falls just short of the 60 FPS mark. Benchmark results indicate that the RTX 4060 is not equipped for 4K gaming in Hitman 2 at high fidelity settings. Users with 4K displays would be better served by reducing the resolution to 1440p, where the Medium preset provides a far superior experience.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of 60 FPS gaming at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate for the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 is 72 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS target. The High preset achieves 97.5 FPS, providing an even larger margin.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: The data suggests the Medium preset is optimal. It achieves an average of 83.5 FPS, which is 30.9% higher than the High preset's 63.8 FPS, offering a more consistent experience while maintaining a reasonable level of visual quality.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K resolution?

A: Only at the lowest settings. The Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 59.6 FPS, while the High preset drops to 35.4 FPS and the Ultra preset falls to 26.7 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming at high fidelity is not a viable option.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score is 20875. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, scores 20897, a delta of -0.1%. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE also scores 20900, with a delta of -0.1%. This indicates the 5500 is essentially on par with these competing processors.

Q: How does the GPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321, a delta of -0.6%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 23338, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the RTX 4060 is slightly slower than both in average synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with the Low preset?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 achieves an average of 173.8 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate for this combination, indicating that the CPU and GPU are well-matched for low-fidelity, high-refresh-rate gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows a clear performance gradient across presets. The Low preset delivers a robust 173.8 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play. Moving to Medium, the frame rate drops to 131.5 FPS, a 24.3% reduction. The High preset further reduces performance to 97.5 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS standard. The Ultra preset, at 72 FPS, is the most demanding at this resolution but remains playable. The spread from Low to Ultra is 101.8 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of settings on performance at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. The Low preset achieves 108.4 FPS, which is a 37.6% drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset yields 83.5 FPS, and the High preset falls to 63.8 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 45.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stuttering in crowded scenes. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 62.9 FPS, showing that the GPU's limitations become more pronounced as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the configuration is clearly out of its depth at higher settings. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 59.6 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 41.6 FPS, a 30.2% reduction from Low. The High preset falls to 35.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 26.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 32.9 FPS, indicating that even the most aggressive settings changes cannot bridge the gap to a smooth experience. The data shows that 4K resolution should be avoided for this combination unless the player is willing to accept Low preset visuals.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds a rank of 1016 out of 1795 total combinations for Hitman 2. This places it in the 56.6th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of configurations but is far from the top tier. The rank suggests that while this combo is capable of good performance at 1080p and 1440p, it is not a high-end solution for this specific game.

The ranking is likely held back by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance is competitive with its peers. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-12500, show a delta of -0.1%, indicating virtually identical average scores. The RTX 4060, however, sits slightly below its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, with the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti both posting higher average scores. This suggests that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing relative to its competitive set.

Comparatively, the combo's rank of 1016 indicates that it is in the middle of the pack. For a system with a modern Zen 3 CPU and an Ada Lovelace GPU, this position is somewhat underwhelming, particularly at 4K where the measured frame rates are among the lowest for any resolution. The data implies that users seeking a higher rank would need to pair the CPU with a more powerful GPU to overcome the 4K bottleneck, as the CPU itself does not appear to be the limiting factor in most scenarios.