Hitman 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 presents a six-core, 12-thread configuration built on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. This 7 nm desktop processor operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, paired with a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core. For a stealth title like Hitman 2, which relies heavily on AI routines, crowd simulations, and complex scripted sequences, the balance between single-thread responsiveness and multi-thread capacity is critical. The CPU's single-thread benchmark scores—882 in 3dmark single-thread and 260 in Cinebench R15 single-core—indicate solid per-core performance that helps maintain frame pacing in scenes where the game's logic layer is the bottleneck.

The Ryzen 5 5600's multi-threaded capabilities are represented by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,309 and a Passmark multithread score of 21,541. These figures place the processor in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, suggesting it handles the parallel workloads of modern game engines competently. In Hitman 2 specifically, the game's engine can utilize up to several threads for physics, pathfinding, and rendering tasks. The 12 threads available here provide enough headroom to prevent the CPU from becoming a limiting factor in most scenarios, though the data reveals that at lower resolutions and settings, the processor's influence on final frame rates becomes more pronounced.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR4 support is adequate for feeding the GPU with game data. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 5,641 and max-thread score of 5,659 show consistent scaling as thread count increases, with only a marginal gain beyond eight threads. This suggests that for gaming workloads, the processor's six physical cores deliver the majority of the performance, while the additional logical threads provide diminishing returns. In Hitman 2's real-time stealth simulation, this translates to stable frame delivery in crowded environments where NPC count and AI calculations spike.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a combo rank of 377 out of 1,795 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places the configuration in the top 21% of all tested combos, a strong showing given that the CPU sits in the 79th percentile and the GPU in the 83rd percentile among their respective component categories. The rank demonstrates that this pairing extracts near-optimal performance from the hardware, with the CPU and GPU complementing each other well for this particular game title.

Benchmark results indicate that the CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score—Intel Xeon D-1746TER at 21,635, AMD EPYC 9554P at 21,899, and AMD EPYC 9534 at 21,900—perform within 0.6% of the Ryzen 5 5600's 21,765 average. These are enterprise-class processors with different architectural priorities, yet the Ryzen matches them in synthetic workloads. The Intel Core i7-11700F trails by 0.9%, showing that the 5000-series architecture holds its own against Intel's competing desktop offerings.

The combo rank of 377 reflects not just raw component strength but how well the two parts work together in Hitman 2's specific rendering pipeline. With the GPU's 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077 and the CPU's solid multi-threaded performance, the system avoids the severe bottlenecking that can plague mismatched pairings. The data suggests that this combination hits a sweet spot where the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at most settings, with the GPU becoming the primary determinant of frame rates at higher quality presets.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution-dependent scaling that highlights where the system's bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 258 FPS, but this drops to 163.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 86.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed as pixel count increases. The CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions, as the rendering workload grows and the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth become the primary drivers of performance.

The scaling pattern across settings tells a more nuanced story. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 106.7 FPS at 1080p to 65.8 FPS at 1440p and 36.1 FPS at 4K—a 66.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low setting ratio. This consistency suggests that the limiting factor remains the GPU across all quality presets, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom even at lower resolutions. However, the absolute FPS values at 1080p Ultra (106.7) versus 1080p Low (258) indicate that the GPU is also the primary constraint within each resolution, as the 141.5% performance gap between settings far exceeds what CPU limitations would allow.

The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 48.5% frame rate drop (from 96.2 to 49.5 FPS), which is more severe than the 32.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p (from 142.4 to 96.2 FPS). This non-linear scaling is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios where the increased pixel count at 4K—2.25 times that of 1440p—overwhelms the rendering pipeline. The data confirms that Hitman 2 at this combo becomes increasingly GPU-limited as resolution rises, with the Ryzen 5 5600 providing adequate processing power throughout.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 258 FPS average, while Medium reaches 195.1 FPS and High hits 142.4 FPS. Ultra settings yield 106.7 FPS, meaning the jump from Low to Ultra costs 151.3 FPS (58.6% reduction). These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has substantial headroom even at maximum quality, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays without compromise.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but show the GPU starting to feel the load. Low settings average 163.4 FPS, Medium drops to 123 FPS, and High maintains 96.2 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 65.8 FPS, which is still playable but approaches the threshold where competitive players might prefer lower settings for smoother motion. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 59.7% reduction, closely mirroring the 1080p pattern, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens noticeably. Low settings still manage 86.5 FPS, but Medium falls to 65.9 FPS and High drops to 49.5 FPS. Ultra settings bottom out at 36.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that most gamers consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The 58.3% reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K matches the pattern seen at lower resolutions, but the absolute values mean that only Low settings provide a consistently fluid experience at 4K, while Medium is borderline and High/Ultra require compromise.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration, with its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs, deliver a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. For Hitman 2's detailed environments—which feature complex lighting, reflective surfaces, and dense geometry—these specifications translate to the frame rates measured across the test matrix.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS and its 48 RT cores indicate substantial compute capability, though Hitman 2's rendering pipeline primarily relies on traditional rasterization rather than ray tracing. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077 places the RTX 5070 in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rivals—AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41,610 average), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41,441), and AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41,991)—all within 0.7% of the RTX 5070's 41,687 average benchmark score.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient for Hitman 2 at all tested resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the measured frame rates. The memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and asset loading do not become bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra where the game demands the most from memory subsystems. The Passmark G3D score of 29,137 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 185,269 reflect the GPU's strong compute performance, which supports the frame rates observed in the benchmark data. The RTX 5070's 250 W TDP and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensure it can operate at full capacity without interface limitations, allowing the measured FPS results to accurately represent the hardware's true gaming potential.