Hitman 2

Hitman 2, despite its 2018 release, remains a demanding title at maximum settings, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by the graphics preset. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is only viable for 60 fps gaming at 1440p, while High settings provide a more versatile experience across all resolutions. The RTX 5090's immense power is often held in check by the game's engine and the CPU at lower resolutions, making it a classic case of a GPU bottleneck that only appears at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific pairing in Hitman 2, the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, High produces an average of 196.5 fps, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, the average remains highly playable at 123.9 fps, and even at 4K, the game maintains a smooth 64.6 fps average. This makes High the only preset that clears the 60 fps threshold at 4K while still offering substantial visual upgrades over Medium.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K gaming, as the average frame rate drops to 51 fps, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. However, at 1440p, Ultra yields a 94.6 fps average, making it a viable option for gamers with 144Hz displays who prioritize maximum graphical details. At 1080p, Ultra achieves a 146.1 fps average, still providing a high-refresh-rate experience. Conversely, the Low preset is only relevant for extreme frame rate chasing, delivering 346.3 fps at 1080p, but it sacrifices too much visual quality for a title like this.

The Medium preset serves as a middle ground, producing a 260.2 fps average at 1080p and an 86.7 fps average at 4K. While it offers a playable 4K experience, the jump from Medium to High only costs about 22 fps at 4K (from 86.7 to 64.6) but provides a significant improvement in visual quality. Therefore, the data strongly supports High as the default recommendation, with Ultra reserved for 1080p and 1440p gaming sessions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This is particularly relevant for Hitman 2 at 4K, where texture data and geometry can consume significant memory resources. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and its 21,760 shading units allow it to process the game's complex scenes efficiently, as evidenced by the 64.6 fps average at 4K High settings.

The RTX 5090's performance in this game is also contextualized by its benchmark scores. Its Passmark G3D score of 39,650 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that it is among the top tier of graphics cards. The data shows that this GPU is capable of delivering over 120 fps at 1440p High, which suggests that its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is more than enough for Hitman 2's engine. The GPU's role becomes most apparent at 4K, where its raw power is necessary to maintain high frame rates, as the CPU becomes less of a limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hitman 2, the Ryzen 5 7600 and RTX 5090 pairing achieves a rank of 13 out of 1,795 combos. This places it in the top 1% of all tested systems, which is an exceptional result. The high ranking is primarily driven by the RTX 5090's top-tier performance, as the GPU is responsible for rendering the game's visuals, while the CPU provides sufficient support to avoid severe bottlenecks.

This ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show that the combo can handle the game at high refresh rates even at 1440p. The data indicates that this is a high-end configuration that will not struggle with Hitman 2 under any settings combination. However, the rank also suggests that there are 12 other combos that perform slightly better, likely featuring CPUs with higher single-thread performance or additional cores that can further push frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo's performance across different resolutions and settings.

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high across the board. The Low preset leads with an average of 346.3 fps, followed by Medium at 260.2 fps, High at 196.5 fps, and Ultra at 146.1 fps. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial (200.2 fps), highlighting the significant impact of graphical settings on performance.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain very high but show a tighter spread. The Low preset averages 220.5 fps, Medium drops to 168.7 fps, High to 123.9 fps, and Ultra to 94.6 fps. The ratio between settings is more consistent here, with each step up in quality costing roughly 25-30% of the previous frame rate.

At 4K, the GPU is pushed much harder. The Low preset still achieves a 121.7 fps average, but Medium falls to 86.7 fps, High to 64.6 fps, and Ultra to 51 fps. This demonstrates that 4K is the resolution where the RTX 5090's capabilities are fully utilized, and where the choice of settings becomes critical for maintaining a playable frame rate.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 4K with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 51 fps, which is below the 60 fps target for smooth gameplay. To achieve 60 fps at 4K, you must use the High preset, which averages 64.6 fps.

Q: What is the best preset for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming?

A: For 144Hz or higher monitors at 1080p, the High preset is recommended, as it delivers a 196.5 fps average. The Ultra preset also works well at 146.1 fps, but High provides a substantial performance headroom with minimal visual compromise.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The difference is 125.9 fps. The Low preset averages 220.5 fps, while the Ultra preset averages 94.6 fps. This shows that the Ultra preset is roughly 57% slower than Low at this resolution.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7600 holding back the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates are so high (346.3 fps on Low) that the CPU is likely a limiting factor. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as the frame rates scale more directly with the graphical settings.

Q: What is the combo's ranking compared to other tested systems?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 and RTX 5090 combination ranks 13th out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 1% of all systems tested for Hitman 2.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM matter for Hitman 2?

A: The game is from 2018, and while 32 GB is far more than necessary, the high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming at 4K is not a bottleneck, contributing to the high frame rates observed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that this CPU is capable of supporting very high frame rates, as the 1080p Low preset achieves 346.3 fps, which is likely near the engine's limit.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,992 and a single-core score of 3,246, indicate strong performance. Its Passmark single-thread score of 3,910 and its 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest that it provides solid single-thread performance, which is critical for gaming. However, the data also shows that its average benchmark score of 26,617 is very close to that of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (26,574) and Intel Core i9-11900K (26,546), with deltas of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. This indicates that while the 7600 is a strong gaming CPU, it is not head-and-shoulders above previous-generation flagship parts.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts from the CPU to the GPU. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 196.5 fps at 1080p to 123.9 fps at 1440p, and then to 64.6 fps at 4K. This represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% drop from 1440p to 4K.

This pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is likely the bottleneck, as the frame rate is extremely high. At 4K, the GPU is fully saturated, and the frame rate scales almost linearly with the pixel count. The gap between the Low preset at 1080p (346.3 fps) and at 4K (121.7 fps) is a 65% reduction, which is a larger drop than what is seen at High settings (67% reduction from 196.5 to 64.6). This suggests that the game is more CPU-bound at lower resolutions, and the GPU's raw power becomes the deciding factor at 4K. The data confirms that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming or smooth 4K gaming with adjusted settings.