Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a robust, high-refresh-rate experience in Hitman 2, though the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p and 1440p, the combination produces triple-digit frame rates across most settings, indicating that the CPU is keeping pace. However, at 4K, the frame rates drop dramatically, highlighting the GPU as the primary limiting factor under heavy pixel load. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to explain how the resolution scaling, component roles, and settings choices interact for this specific configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 128 FPS at 1080p to 82 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 46 FPS. Moving to 4K, the average plummets to 44 FPS, which is a 65.6% decrease compared to the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the rendering workload is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a game with demanding visual effects.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the 1080p average is 227 FPS, dropping to 145 FPS at 1440p and 77 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 170 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, yields 95 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and only 32 FPS at 4K. This consistent scaling suggests that the game is highly sensitive to resolution, and the performance headroom available at lower resolutions is quickly consumed as pixel count rises.

The data indicates that the limiting component changes with resolution. At 1080p, the high frame rates, particularly the 227 FPS at Low settings, suggest that the CPU is becoming a more significant factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly. However, the frame rate does not scale linearly with the pixel count, which is expected. At 4K, the dramatic drop to 32-77 FPS across all presets points to the GPU being fully saturated. The RTX 3080, with its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth, is being pushed to its limit, and the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The average FPS at 4K Ultra (32 FPS) versus 4K Low (77 FPS) demonstrates that even at the same resolution, the GPU's workload varies significantly with settings, confirming its central role in this scenario.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions. Its specifications include 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 1710 MHz, with a base clock of 1440 MHz. These characteristics are directly reflected in the measured FPS, particularly at 4K where the GPU's memory and compute resources are heavily taxed.

The VRAM capacity is a critical factor for Hitman 2 at 4K. The game's High and Ultra presets at 3840x2160 produce average frame rates of 44 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively. The relatively low performance at these settings suggests that the 10 GB VRAM buffer is being filled, and the GPU is struggling to manage the texture and geometry data required for high-detail rendering at this resolution. In contrast, the Low preset at 4K achieves 77 FPS, indicating that reducing the texture and effect quality alleviates the memory pressure and allows the GPU to operate more efficiently.

The clock speeds also play a role in the performance scaling. The RTX 3080's boost clock of 1710 MHz is the maximum sustained frequency, and benchmark results indicate that the GPU is thermally and power-limited. The 320 W TDP and the 700 W suggested PSU highlight the power draw required to maintain these clocks. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU can sustain high frame rates (up to 227 FPS at Low), but as resolution increases, the GPU's compute units are saturated, and the clock speeds may drop as power consumption rises, leading to the observed frame rate decline. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but it is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 32 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data provides clear guidance.

At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 128 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 95 FPS, which is still very playable. For gamers with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 227 FPS or the Medium preset at 170 FPS would be preferable, as they offer the highest frame rates. The Medium preset, with a minimum FPS of 144, ensures no drops below the 144 Hz refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves an average of 82 FPS, which is suitable for a 60-75 Hz monitor. The Medium preset, with an average of 109 FPS and a minimum of 92 FPS, is the best choice for maintaining a smooth experience on a 100 Hz display. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 61 FPS, which is just at the 60 FPS threshold, but the lack of a reported minimum FPS suggests potential for dips. The Low preset at 145 FPS is the choice for maximum frame rate, though it sacrifices visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The Medium preset provides an average of 58 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. This is the best option for a playable 4K experience, as it stays close to 60 FPS on average, though dips below 50 FPS are possible. The High preset at 44 FPS and the Ultra preset at 32 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as they fall below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 77 FPS is the only setting that achieves a comfortable frame rate at 4K, but it requires sacrificing most visual fidelity. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, with the Low preset being the only option for a locked 60 FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS experience at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 82 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset achieves an average of 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS, ensuring no drops below 60 FPS, making it the safest choice for a consistent experience.

*Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K with high settings?*

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 44 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that a smooth 4K experience at High settings is not achievable with this configuration.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the frame rates are very high, with the Low preset reaching 227 FPS and the High preset at 128 FPS. These numbers suggest that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU sufficiently, and the GPU is the primary driver of performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 145 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 61 FPS. This represents a 84 FPS difference, or a 57.9% reduction in frame rate when switching from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's 10 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that at 4K, the High and Ultra presets produce lower frame rates (44 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively), suggesting that the 10 GB VRAM may be a limiting factor at this resolution. The Medium preset, which likely uses less VRAM, achieves a higher 58 FPS average.

Q: Does the game scale well with multi-threaded CPUs?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600F has 12 threads, and the data shows strong performance at lower resolutions, with 227 FPS at 1080p Low. This suggests that the game can utilize multiple threads effectively, as the CPU is not a bottleneck in these scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. It features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions, where the GPU is not fully saturated.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's performance is sufficient to drive frame rates above 200 FPS at Low settings (227 FPS) and above 120 FPS at High settings (128 FPS). These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck. The data shows a clear scaling with settings, but the CPU's 12 threads appear to be well-utilized, as the frame rates remain high even at the Medium preset (170 FPS).

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the CPU's influence diminishes. The frame rates drop, but the pattern is consistent with the GPU taking on more of the workload. At 4K, the CPU's role is minimal, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The 32-77 FPS range at 4K across all presets is a direct result of GPU saturation, not CPU limitations. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 19236 and single-thread score of 2872 put it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, confirming its capability for gaming workloads. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is a solid partner for the RTX 3080, providing enough processing power to avoid holding back the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU becomes the sole determinant of performance at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 227 FPS. The Medium preset follows with an average of 170 FPS, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. The High preset achieves 128 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 95 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with each settings tier reducing the frame rate by a significant margin.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset averages 145 FPS, the Medium preset averages 109 FPS (with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 125 FPS), the High preset averages 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 61 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 84 FPS, highlighting the impact of visual quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest. The Low preset averages 77 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that breaks the 60 FPS barrier. The Medium preset averages 58 FPS, with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS, indicating some variability. The High preset averages 44 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. This data shows that at 4K, the Medium preset is the highest quality setting that can maintain an average frame rate close to 60 FPS, while the Low preset is the only option for a consistently smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination holds the rank of 840 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 28% of all configurations tested, indicating a solidly above-average performance level for this game. The percentile ranking reflects that while this combo is not at the very top tier, it outperforms the majority of other CPU-GPU pairings.

The CPU's percentile rank of 85% among all CPUs and the GPU's percentile rank of 68% among all GPUs provide context for the combo's overall standing. The CPU is a high performer, but the GPU, while capable, is not in the top tier, which explains the combo's mid-800s rank. The data shows that the combo is well-balanced, but the GPU's 68th percentile is the limiting factor in the overall ranking. The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and -0.2%, respectively. This indicates that the CPU is in a competitive performance bracket, and the final ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU. The combo's rank of 840 out of 3001 suggests that it offers a strong, high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and 1440p, but it is not optimized for 4K gaming at maximum settings, which is consistent with the measured FPS data.