Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, presents an interesting case study when paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The data shows a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU's capabilities become more apparent only at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four settings presets, interpreting what the frame rates reveal about the system's bottlenecks and overall capability in this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic progression of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 190 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 121 FPS, a 36% reduction, and then to 4K High further reduces it to 65 FPS, a 46% drop from 1440p and a 66% drop from 1080p. This steep decline as pixel count increases is a strong indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary limiting factor at these higher resolutions.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With Low settings, the frame rate goes from 247 FPS at 1080p, to 213 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 114 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is a substantial 46% reduction, reinforcing that the GPU's rendering workload is the dominant constraint. Similarly, Medium settings show a fall from 223 FPS at 1080p to 160 FPS at 1440p, and then to 85 FPS at 4K. The scaling factor from 1440p to 4K remains consistently around 46-47% across Low, Medium, and High presets, which points to a purely resolution-driven performance penalty.

The Ultra preset shows the same trend but from a lower starting point. It achieves 140 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 66%, identical to the High preset, further confirming that the performance cost is tied to the number of pixels being rendered. It is only at 1080p that the scaling begins to flatten slightly, suggesting that the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F's capabilities are being approached, but the data indicates the GPU still has headroom to push frame rates well past 200 FPS on lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 190 out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 6.3% of all tested systems, signifying a very high-performing pairing for this title. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU, and given the high absolute frame rates observed, the result is expected.

The CPU itself, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with a delta of 0%, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at -0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at -0.4%. These differences are minuscule, indicating that the 5600F's compute performance is on par with these chips, and its ranking in this game is more influenced by the attached GPU.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% delta). Despite these rival scores being close in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4090's massive memory bandwidth and raw compute power are what drive the high frame rates seen here. The combo's strong rank of 190 is a direct consequence of pairing a top-tier GPU with a capable mid-range CPU that does not bottleneck it in this specific game's engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 247 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 perform at 4K resolution in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, performance varies by preset. It averages 114 FPS on Low, 85 FPS on Medium, 65 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. This shows a significant drop from lower resolutions, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in Hitman 2?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions. The frame rate scales down consistently as resolution increases, which is the expected behavior of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p, the high frame rates (140-247 FPS) suggest the CPU is keeping up adequately, though it may be more of a limiting factor at this resolution than at 4K.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 213 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS. This represents a 58% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Hitman 2?

A: This combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 190th out of 3001 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.3% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Does the CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks align with its in-game results?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600F's PassMark multi-thread score is 19236, and its single-thread score is 2872. Its nearest CPU rivals have near-identical average scores (deltas of 0% to -0.5%), which aligns with the expectation that the 5600F provides a solid, consistent foundation for gaming without being a weak point.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average frame rates for this specific system configuration in Hitman 2.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 247 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 223 FPS, with a minimum of 189 FPS and a maximum of 256 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 190 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 140 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 213 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 121 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 89 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: The average frame rate is 114 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 85 FPS, with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 65 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 48 FPS.

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. At any given resolution, the Low preset is the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates, showing a variance of about 25 FPS at each resolution, which is typical for a game with dynamic scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for gaming, as it provides a strong balance of single-thread performance for game logic and multi-thread capability for background tasks. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache is substantial and helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game engines.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role appears to be supportive. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is almost purely linear with pixel count, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. If the CPU were a significant bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at lower resolutions (e.g., 1080p), where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, we see the RTX 4090 pushing out 247 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve these very high frame rates.

The PassMark scores for this CPU, such as a single-thread score of 2872 and a multi-thread score of 19236, place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, like the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, have nearly identical average benchmark scores (deltaPct of 0% and -0.2%, respectively). This suggests that in a game like Hitman 2, which does not have extreme CPU demands, the 5600F is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking a top-tier GPU, especially at resolutions above 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings depend heavily on the target display resolution and refresh rate.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the High preset provides an average of 65 FPS, which is playable but not maxed out for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset offers a safer margin with an 85 FPS average and a minimum of 73 FPS, ensuring a smoother experience. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops to an average of 48 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth 60 FPS gameplay. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the most balanced choice.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the High preset delivers an excellent 121 FPS average, making it ideal for 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. The Ultra preset still holds up well with 89 FPS, which is perfectly acceptable for most users who prioritize visual quality over hitting maximum refresh rates. For those seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 213 FPS is an option, but the Medium preset at 160 FPS offers a strong balance of visual fidelity and speed, with a recorded minimum of 136 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system is capable of incredibly high frame rates. The Ultra preset averages 140 FPS, which is more than enough for a high-refresh-rate 144Hz panel. The High preset at 190 FPS is better suited for 240Hz monitors, and the Low preset at 247 FPS pushes the absolute limits of the hardware. For most users at 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot, providing a significant jump in visual quality over Low while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this system for Hitman 2. Its architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC and features a massive 76,300 million transistors. The GPU is equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a staggering 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This immense bandwidth is critical for high-resolution textures and is a key reason why the card maintains respectable frame rates even at 4K.

The RTX 4090's clock speeds are a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. These high clocks, combined with its 16384 shading units, deliver raw compute power that is more than sufficient for a 2018 title like Hitman 2. Its synthetic benchmark scores, such as a PassMark G3D score of 38194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271631, place it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its high-end status.

The benchmark results clearly show the GPU's role as the primary performance driver. The frame rate differences between settings presets are substantial and directly tied to the GPU's workload. For example, at 4K, the difference between Low (114 FPS) and Ultra (48 FPS) is a 58% reduction in performance, which is entirely due to the increased rendering load on the GPU. This shows that the RTX 4090 is the component that determines the quality ceiling in this game, and its capabilities allow for high frame rates even at 4K, a feat that would be impossible with a less powerful card.