Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 produces a distinctly GPU-limited experience in Hitman 2, with performance scaling that clearly favors lower resolutions and settings. Across all measured configurations, the combo demonstrates that the GTX 1070 is the primary constraint, while the Ryzen 5 7600 provides ample headroom. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the role of each component, and how this pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 67 FPS average. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 43 FPS, a reduction of 24 FPS (approximately 36%). At 4K High, the average falls to 23 FPS, which is roughly one-third of the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is saturated by pixel count and shading work, not a CPU that is running out of threads or clock headroom.

The Low preset shows the same trend but from a higher baseline. At 1080p Low, the system produces 119 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it drops to 76 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 40 FPS. The ratio between 1080p and 4K Low is nearly identical to the High preset, reinforcing that resolution is the dominant factor. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are sufficient for the game’s data at 1080p, but the 256.3 GB/s bandwidth and 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput become limiting as pixel count quadruples.

Medium settings provide the only rows with min and max FPS data, offering a glimpse into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 30 FPS, with a minimum of 26 FPS and a maximum of 35 FPS. The delta between min and max is roughly 26-30% of the average in each case, suggesting that while the GPU is the bottleneck, it is not producing erratic spikes.

The data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The Ryzen 5 7600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the constraint at any resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, which is not the case. The 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS average is essentially unplayable, while 1080p Low at 119 FPS shows the ceiling of what this GPU can deliver. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 36% drop, and from 1440p to 4K is another 47% drop (using High settings), indicating a consistent pixel-driven limitation.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings reach 50 FPS average, while 1440p Ultra drops to 32 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 17 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070’s memory capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. At 4K, the highest average FPS is 40 on Low settings, and the lowest is 17 on Ultra. The memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is likely a key constraint, as the pixel and texture data at 4K exceeds what this mid-range Pascal card can efficiently process.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7600 holding back the GTX 1070 in this game?

A: No. The FPS scaling across resolutions indicates a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s high single-thread performance (999 score in 3dmark_single_thread) and multi-thread capability (6503 in 3dmark_max_threads) are more than sufficient for Hitman 2’s engine at the tested settings.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 119 FPS average, while Ultra produce 50 FPS average. This is a 69 FPS difference (approximately 58% lower performance on Ultra). The gap narrows at higher resolutions, with a 23 FPS difference at 1440p and a 23 FPS difference at 4K.

Q: Does the combo rank high among tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 3072 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower percentile of systems, which aligns with the GTX 1070’s position relative to other GPUs in the database.

Q: What is the playable experience at 1440p Medium?

A: At 1440p Medium, the combo averages 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. This is borderline playable for a stealth game, but the 48 FPS minimum might be noticeable in crowded scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz and it boosts to 5.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 999 in 3dmark_single_thread and 6503 in 3dmark_max_threads. The Cinebench R23 scores are 1852 single-core and 12735 multi-core. These figures indicate a strong modern CPU that rarely becomes the limiting factor in a game like Hitman 2, which is more dependent on GPU throughput.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3. This is ample for game logic and draw call processing. The memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. For a 2018 title like Hitman 2, this CPU provides far more bandwidth and compute headroom than the game requires Comparison with nearest rivals shows the 7600 is tightly grouped: it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900KF, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U, while being 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS. This clustering indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo’s performance.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is best seen in the consistency of the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 119 FPS, which is likely near the game’s engine limit for this scene. The fact that the FPS scales down proportionally with resolution increases suggests the CPU is never starved. The 7600’s 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded game logic runs efficiently, while the 12 threads handle background tasks without affecting frame times. The CPU’s percentile rank of 78 (vs all CPUs) indicates it outperforms most processors in the database, which supports the conclusion that the GPU is the bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 3072 out of 3711 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the 17th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 83% of tested systems deliver higher performance. This low rank is almost entirely attributable to the GTX 1070, which has a percentile rank of 47 vs all GPUshare. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 9780, and its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 (0.2% behind), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (0.5% behind), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (0.6% ahead), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (0.7% ahead). These are all older or workstation-oriented cards, indicating the GTX 1070 sits at the lower end of modern gaming GPUs.

In contrast, the CPU’s nearest rivals include higher-tier mobile and desktop parts, but the delta is small. The 7600’s average benchmark score is 26324, with a percentile rank of 78. This mismatch between CPU and GPU performance is reflected in the combo rank. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a faster GPU would dramatically improve the rank, as the CPU has significant headroom. The 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS is a clear indicator that the GPU is overwhelmed, while the 1080p Low result of 119 FPS shows the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower settings.

The rank also implies that for Hitman 2 specifically, the game’s engine is not particularly demanding on the CPU. Many combos with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs will outperform this pairing. The 3072 rank out of 3711 is a useful data point for users who prioritize other games or workloads, as it isolates this combo’s performance in a GPU-heavy title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience balances frame rate and visual fidelity. The most playable configuration is 1920x1080 with High settings, yielding 67 FPS average. This provides a smooth experience for a stealth game where precision matters. The step up to Ultra at 1080p drops to 50 FPS average, which is still playable but sacrifices 17 FPS for marginal visual gains. The drop from High to Medium at 1080p is 22 FPS (from 89 to 67), so High is a reasonable middle ground.

For users who prefer higher resolution, 2560x1440 with Medium settings is the only viable option, producing 57 FPS average. The 1440p High result of 43 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and may be noticeable. The 1440p Low result of 76 FPS is smooth but visually sparse. The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo, as even Low settings only reach 40 FPS, and Medium drops to 30 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS is unplayable.

The data suggests that the Low preset offers the best performance headroom, with 119 FPS at 1080p and 76 FPS at 1440p. However, for a stealth game like Hitman 2, the visual detail from Medium or High settings can aid in spotting enemies and environmental cues. The Medium preset provides a balanced trade-off, with 89 FPS at 1080p and 57 FPS at 1440p, both of which include min and max FPS data showing stable frame times. The recommendation is to use 1080p High for the best balance, or 1440p Medium if resolution is prioritized over consistency.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce 119 FPS average. Medium settings produce 89 FPS average, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. High settings produce 67 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 50 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 69 FPS, indicating that the GPU is highly sensitive to shading and texture quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 76 FPS average. Medium settings produce 57 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. High settings produce 43 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 32 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, showing that the resolution increase compresses the settings range.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings produce 40 FPS average. Medium settings produce 30 FPS average, with a minimum of 26 FPS and a maximum of 35 FPS. High settings produce 23 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 17 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 23 FPS, indicating that the GPU is so overwhelmed that settings changes have a smaller relative impact.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min and max FPS data, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the min is 76 FPS and max is 102 FPS, a range of 26 FPS. At 1440p, the min is 48 FPS and max is 65 FPS, a range of 17 FPS. At 4K, the min is 26 FPS and max is 35 FPS, a range of 9 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, reducing variance but also reducing headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a Pascal architecture GPU with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock is 1506 MHz and boost clock is 1683 MHz. The memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU has a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS. These specs define a mid-range card from the 10-series, now considered end-of-life.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is dominant. The FPS scaling across resolutions and settings shows that the card’s compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 performance is insufficient for 4K Ultra (17 FPS) but adequate for 1080p Low (119 FPS). The 8 GB VRAM is not exhausted at 1080p, but the memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s becomes a constraint at 4K, where texture and pixel data demands outpace what the GDDR5 can feed.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 47th percentile vs all GPUs. Its average score is 9780, with nearest rivals including the AMD FirePro W5000 (0.2% behind) and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (0.5% behind). The GPU’s PassMark G3D score is 13498, and its DirectX 11 score is 100, indicating it handles older APIs well. In Hitman 2, which supports DirectX 12, the GPU’s score of 48 in PassMark DirectX 12 suggests that the newer API may not be fully optimized for this Pascal card, potentially explaining some of the performance drop at higher settings.

The GPU’s TDP is 150 W, with a suggested PSU of 450 W. Its 267 mm length and dual-slot design are standard. The GPU’s release date of 2016-06-09 means it predates the game’s release by over two years, and its end-of-life status indicates it is no longer in production. The data confirms that this GPU is the bottleneck in this combo, and any upgrade path would require addressing the GPU first to see meaningful gains in Hitman 2.