Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a playable experience in Hitman 2, but the data reveals a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. The measured results show that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can consistently hit smooth frame rates. At 4K, however, the system struggles to maintain playable performance, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data presents a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For players prioritizing a smooth experience at 1080p, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 159 FPS, which is more than sufficient for the stealth gameplay mechanics of Hitman 2. However, the Medium preset offers a more balanced experience, producing an average of 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. This is the recommended setting for 1080p as it maintains a very high frame rate while providing a substantial visual upgrade over the Low preset.

At 1440p, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot, delivering an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. The High preset at this resolution drops to 58 FPS average, which is still playable but introduces a noticeable reduction in smoothness. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, brings the average down to 43 FPS, which is below the threshold for a consistently fluid experience in a game that rewards precise timing. Therefore, for 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best compromise between visual quality and frame rate, ensuring that the game remains responsive.

The 4K resolution tells a different story. The Low preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 54 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches playability. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which can feel stuttery in action sequences. The High preset falls to 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 23 FPS, both of which are unsuitable for a game that requires quick reactions. Given these results, the Low preset is the only recommended option for 4K gaming, and even then, players may need to accept some compromises in visual fidelity to maintain a consistent frame rate.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is a central component in determining this combo's performance in Hitman 2. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, which is a critical factor at higher resolutions where texture data demands are greater. The GPU's clock speeds are notably high, with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. This high boost clock allows for significant processing throughput in lighter loads, which explains the strong performance at 1080p where the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands.

The GPU's architecture, RDNA 4.0 on the Navi 44 chip, features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. This configuration gives the card a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. These specifications are balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, as evidenced by the benchmark scores. The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks places it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is a 0.7% difference, indicating that the RX 9060 performs on par with that card in general compute tasks.

The data shows that the GPU's performance is the limiting factor at 4K resolution. The drop from 54 FPS at Low settings to 23 FPS at Ultra settings at 3840x2160 is a steep decline, which is a direct result of the GPU being overwhelmed by the pixel count. The 8 GB VRAM capacity may also be a constraint at this resolution with higher texture quality settings, as the card must manage more data than it can efficiently store. This is less of an issue at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU can maintain higher frame rates with more headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Hitman 2, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks at position 1739 out of 3001 total combos. This places it in the upper-middle tier of systems, indicating that it is a capable setup for this game but not at the top of the performance charts. The ranking suggests that while the system can handle the game well at lower resolutions, it falls short of the highest-performing configurations, which likely feature more powerful CPUs and GPUs.

The CPU itself, the Ryzen 5 5600, holds a 74th percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 20468. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V with a score of 20454 and a delta of 0.1%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G with a score of 20425 and a delta of 0.2%. This shows that the CPU is competitive with other mid-range processors, providing solid single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. The GPU, as mentioned, is in the 59th percentile, which is slightly lower than the CPU's standing, reinforcing the idea that the GPU is the more limiting component in this pairing.

The combo's rank of 1739 out of 3001 is a reflection of this balance. The CPU is strong enough to feed the GPU at 1080p, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become apparent. This ranking is not a condemnation of the hardware but rather a classification that helps users understand where this system sits relative to others. For a game like Hitman 2, which is not overly demanding on the CPU, the ranking is more heavily influenced by the GPU's capability, particularly at 1440p and 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular view of performance across all three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 159 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset delivers 119 FPS average, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS, ensuring a fluid experience without any significant frame drops. The High preset drops to 90 FPS average, which is still very smooth. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still manages an average of 66 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset produces an average of 102 FPS, which is still excellent for this resolution. The Medium preset yields 76 FPS average, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS, making it the best choice for a balance of quality and speed. The High preset drops to 58 FPS average, which is acceptable for slower-paced stealth sections but may feel less smooth during action sequences. The Ultra preset falls to 43 FPS average, which is below the threshold for a consistently fluid experience.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The Low preset gives an average of 54 FPS, which is the only setting that comes close to a smooth experience. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS, indicating significant stutter potential. The High preset delivers 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 23 FPS, both of which are unplayable for a game that requires precise timing. These figures highlight the GPU's inability to handle the 4K pixel count with this level of graphical detail.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and expected trend: performance decreases as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 43% on the Low preset (from 159 to 102), 36% on the Medium preset (from 119 to 76), 36% on the High preset (from 90 to 58), and 35% on the Ultra preset (from 66 to 43). This consistent drop suggests that the GPU is handling the additional pixel workload relatively efficiently, but the scaling is not linear, indicating that other factors such as memory bandwidth and fill rate are coming into play.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is more severe. The average FPS drops by approximately 47% on the Low preset (from 102 to 54), 46% on the Medium preset (from 76 to 41), 47% on the High preset (from 58 to 31), and 47% on the Ultra preset (from 43 to 23). This steeper decline points to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at 4K. The pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and while the GPU's clock speeds are high, the sheer volume of data exceeds what the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus can efficiently process.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component at 1080p and 1440p is the GPU, but it still has enough headroom to deliver high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's limitations become pronounced, and the CPU's role diminishes. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is more than capable of handling the game's logic at all resolutions, as evidenced by the relatively consistent frame rates at 1080p across different settings. The data confirms that for this combo, 1080p and 1440p are the target resolutions, while 4K is only viable on the lowest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system?

A: Based on the measured data, the 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. This provides a good balance between visual quality and smoothness.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?*

A: The system can only handle 4K on the Low preset, which produces an average of 54 FPS. All other 4K settings (Medium, High, Ultra) yield averages below 41 FPS, which are not recommended for a fluid experience.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. This indicates they are closely matched in general performance, though game-specific results may vary.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU, which ranks in the 74th percentile, is capable of high frame rates, but the GPU's performance drops significantly at 1440p and 4K, limiting overall frame rates.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1080p is achieved on the Low preset, which produces an average of 159 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 119 FPS, offering a better visual experience at a still very high frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combos?

A: This specific combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks at 1739 out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2, placing it in the upper-middle tier of performance.