Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware, particularly at higher resolutions. This analysis examines the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, using measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a system capable of extreme frame rates at 1080p, while 4K Ultra presents a significant challenge, highlighting the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly by settings preset. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 190 FPS at 1920x1080 to 121 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.3%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 65 FPS, which is 46.3% lower than the 1440p result and a substantial 65.8% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at these higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. The system achieves 140 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 89 FPS at 1440p (a 36.4% drop) and then plummets to 48 FPS at 4K (a 46.1% drop from 1440p, and a 65.7% drop from 1080p). The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is nearly identical for both High (65.8%) and Ultra (65.7%) suggests that the additional graphical features enabled by Ultra scale consistently with resolution. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the RTX 4090 struggles to maintain high frame rates when pushing over eight million pixels.

Conversely, the Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p, the average FPS is a massive 309. Scaling to 1440p reduces this to 214 FPS, a 30.7% drop. At 4K, the average is 114 FPS, which is 46.7% lower than the 1440p result and 63.1% lower than at 1080p. While the frame rates are still high, the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is slightly less severe than at higher settings. This suggests that at Low settings, particularly at 1080p, the CPU begins to play a more significant role, preventing the frame rate from scaling purely with GPU load.

The Medium preset offers the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 251 FPS with a minimum of 213 FPS. At 1440p, the average is 160 FPS (min 136), and at 4K, it's 85 FPS (min 73). The difference between average and minimum FPS grows from 38 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p and 12 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that frame time consistency improves when the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as the CPU has more headroom to feed it frames.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its defining feature is the large 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is typical of the X3D line. In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, AI, and draw calls, and its performance is reflected in the high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The benchmark results indicate that this CPU is exceptionally capable, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3494 and a multithread score of 25047. This strong single-thread performance is crucial for gaming, as many game engines, including those from this era, rely heavily on a few primary threads. The data supports this, as the system is able to achieve 309 FPS at 1080p Low, a scenario where the GPU is not heavily taxed and the CPU's ability to process frames quickly becomes the limiting factor.

While the CPU has a TDP of just 65 W, its performance is far from modest. It sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 44573. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466, 0.2% slower) and the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, 0.5% slower), placing it in the upper echelon of processors. However, the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS demonstrates that even a top-tier CPU cannot compensate for the sheer rendering workload placed on the GPU at that resolution and preset combination.

In this pairing, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, but it provides the necessary headroom to deliver exceptional performance at 1080p and 1440p. The 6-core/12-thread configuration appears sufficient for Hitman 2, as the frame rates at 1080p are so high that they exceed the refresh rate of most monitors. The data shows a processor that is well-matched to a flagship GPU for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, while at 4K, the GPU's limitations are the dominant factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of the performance trade-offs between quality presets. The most balanced experience appears to be at the High preset. At 2560x1440, this preset yields an average of 121 FPS, which is a solid result for a high-refresh-rate monitor. Moving up to Ultra at the same resolution drops the average to 89 FPS, a 26.4% performance penalty for the increased visual fidelity. The High preset offers a superior balance of image quality and frame rate at 1440p.

For users with 4K displays, the situation is more constrained. The High preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 65 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset at 4K provides 85 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it a better choice for smoother gameplay. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 48 FPS, falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

At 1080p, all presets deliver extremely high frame rates. Even Ultra achieves 140 FPS, making it the obvious choice for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, as the performance cost is relatively low compared to the visual benefits. The Low preset at 1080p yields 309 FPS, which is only relevant for competitive play on 360Hz+ displays, as the visual quality is significantly reduced for a marginal gain in frame rate over the Medium preset's 251 FPS.

Considering the data, the High preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, balancing visual quality with a high average frame rate. For 4K, the Medium preset is the pragmatic recommendation, as it provides the best playable frame rate without dropping to Low settings. The Ultra preset is best reserved for 1080p or for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, accepting the sub-60 FPS performance at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 127th out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 4.2% of all tested configurations, a strong result that reflects the high performance of both components. The 4090 is a flagship GPU with a Passmark G3D score of 38194, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 89th percentile.

This ranking suggests that while the individual components are near the top of their respective charts, the specific combination is not the absolute best for this game. The 127th rank out of 3001 indicates that there are 126 other combinations that perform better. These could include configurations with even more powerful CPUs, such as higher-core-count or higher-clock models, that are better able to feed the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions where the CPU bottleneck is more apparent.

The combo's ranking reflects the overall strength of this pairing, but the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS shows that it is not immune to the demands of the game at its highest settings. While the RTX 4090 is a dominant GPU, its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0.0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% delta), which are not gaming-oriented cards and are far behind in real-world gaming performance. The ranking of 127th is a data-driven assessment of the combo's aggregate performance across all tested settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve high refresh rates?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 121 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1920x1080, it can reach 190 FPS on High and 140 FPS on Ultra.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but not at the Ultra preset. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 65 FPS, while the Medium preset provides a better 85 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the CPU's cache size affect performance?

A: The CPU has 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large cache is beneficial for gaming, as it helps reduce memory latency and can improve frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, as seen in the high 1080p results.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the primary bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes. The steep drop in FPS from 1440p to 4K at all settings indicates the GPU is the limiting component. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 121 at 1440p to 65 at 4K, a 46.3% reduction.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 121 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 89 FPS. This represents a 26.4% performance decrease for the higher visual quality.

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

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 127th out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS values for each resolution and settings preset.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|:--------- |:------- | ------: | ------: | ------: |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 48 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | High | 65 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 85 | 73 | 98 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 114 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 89 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 121 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 160 | 136 | 184 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 214 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 140 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 190 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 251 | 213 | 288 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 309 | - | - |

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a colossal GPU, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, along with 128 RT cores and 512 Tensor cores. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The GPU's boost clock is 2520 MHz.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is to render the game's detailed environments, lighting, and shadows. The data shows that the GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K resolution. The transition from Medium to Ultra at 4K results in a drastic FPS drop from 85 to 48, a 43.5% reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects, such as higher-quality shadows and reflections, place an immense load on the GPU's compute and memory resources.

The RTX 4090's massive 24 GB VRAM buffer is unlikely to be a limiting factor in this game, as Hitman 2 is not known for being VRAM-hungry at these settings. The performance is instead limited by the raw compute power of the GPU. The 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but the data shows it is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra in this title.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals in the database is interesting. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0.0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% delta), which are professional workstation cards. This comparison highlights that the RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60347 is in a different class than its gaming peers, and its real-world gaming performance, as shown in the Hitman 2 data, is far superior to those professional cards. The GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, and its capabilities determine the playable settings at 4K.