Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing delivers a playable Hitman 2 experience, but the data clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The combination ranks 2158 out of 3711 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the database. However, the CPU demonstrates a strong capacity for high frame rates at 1080p, indicating that the processor is not limiting performance until the resolution drops significantly.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep performance decline as resolution increases, a classic indicator of GPU-bound rendering. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system produces an average of 90 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that average to 58 FPS, a reduction of 32 FPS. The jump to 3840x2160 is even more punishing, with the average falling to 31 FPS. This pattern—halving the frame rate from 1080p to 4K—demonstrates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is struggling to fill the additional pixels, while the Ryzen 5 8400F has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The scaling from Medium settings reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p Medium, the system hits 120 FPS, but 1440p Medium drops to 76 FPS, and 4K Medium falls to 41 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K is a substantial 79 FPS, which is far larger than the 30 FPS gap seen between 1080p and 1440p. This non-linear drop suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are exhausted at 4K, making it the limiting component.

Comparing Low settings reveals the CPU's capability. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 159 FPS, and even at 1440p Low it maintains 102 FPS. The fact that 1440p Low outperforms 1080p High (102 vs 90 FPS) confirms that the CPU is not the constraint in either scenario. The bottleneck is squarely on the GPU, as lowering resolution yields significant gains. At 4K Low, the average is 54 FPS, which is still higher than 4K High (31 FPS), proving that pixel count, not scene complexity, is what cripples the GPU.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 67 FPS, which is playable, but 1440p Ultra drops to 43 FPS, and 4K Ultra is nearly unplayable at 23 FPS. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K (31 to 23 FPS) shows an 8 FPS loss, whereas the same settings change at 1080p (90 to 67 FPS) costs 23 FPS. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that additional graphical features have diminishing returns on frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant factor in Hitman 2's performance, particularly at 1440p and 4K. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p but becomes a constraint at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, deliver a peak FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS. These specs place the GPU in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282.

The data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is roughly on par with several modern competitors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc B570, which scores 20556, and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582. The RTX 2070 SUPER trails these by 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively. It also sits slightly above the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, which scores 20480, a 1% delta. This positioning suggests that while the GPU is not obsolete, it lacks the raw power to drive Hitman 2 at 4K with high fidelity.

The VRAM capacity is a notable concern. With 8 GB, the GPU meets the demands of 1080p and 1440p Medium, but the Ultra preset at 4K likely exceeds comfortable memory usage. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 23 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are respectable, but they do not prevent the frame rate from collapsing under 4K load. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting component in every resolution above 1080p, as lowering resolution consistently improves FPS more than lowering settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F provides a strong foundation for Hitman 2, though its influence on frame rates is only visible at 1080p. This 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 8000 series features a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Built on the Zen 4 architecture (Phoenix codename) using a 4 nm process, it offers 16 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943.

The CPU's capability is reflected in its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25005. It sits extremely close to the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964, a mere 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i7-11850H (24935) and Intel Core i7-13620H (24911) are also within 0.4% of the 8400F's performance. This parity means the CPU is not a weak link in the system.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 159 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU can process game logic and draw calls quickly enough to feed the GPU. The 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and multi-thread score of 6165 suggest solid per-core performance. However, the CPU's influence diminishes at higher resolutions. At 1440p High, the system produces 58 FPS, and at 4K High, 31 FPS. These numbers are far below the CPU's potential, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck.

The 8400F's 65W TDP and 4 nm process node make it an efficient processor, but its power is not fully utilized in this pairing. The data shows that the CPU can sustain high frame rates, but the GPU cannot match its output at resolutions above 1080p. This is a classic case of a balanced CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, where the latter becomes the limiting factor in demanding scenarios.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, with an average of 90 FPS at High settings. At 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 58 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 31 FPS, making 4K unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 8400F scores 25005 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24964) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935). It also beats the Intel Core i7-13620H (24911) by 0.4%, but trails the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103) by 0.4%.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of running Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The measured FPS shows that 4K is only playable at Low settings, where the average is 54 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 41 FPS, and at High it falls to 31 FPS. Ultra settings produce only 23 FPS, which is not a smooth experience.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 159 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 67 FPS. This is a 92 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset significantly impacts performance even at the lowest resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average score of 20282. It is 1% slower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), 1.2% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), 1.3% slower than the Intel Arc B570 (20556), and 1.5% slower than the Intel Arc A750 (20582).

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Hitman 2?

A: The GPU is the limiting component in most scenarios. At 1440p Low, the system achieves 102 FPS, which is higher than 1080p High (90 FPS). This indicates that reducing resolution yields more gains than reducing settings, confirming the GPU is the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers strong performance across all settings. Low settings average 159 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium settings average 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. High settings average 90 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 67 FPS. The 1080p resolution is clearly the sweet spot, as even Ultra remains playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. Low settings average 102 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium settings average 76 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings average 58 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings fall to 43 FPS, making them less desirable for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is the only 4K preset above 50 FPS. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings average 23 FPS. The 4K resolution is only viable for low-detail or static scenes.

The data shows a clear progression: 1080p Low (159 FPS) > 1080p Medium (120 FPS) > 1440p Low (102 FPS) > 1080p High (90 FPS) > 1440p Medium (76 FPS) > 1080p Ultra (67 FPS) > 1440p High (58 FPS) > 4K Low (54 FPS) > 4K Medium (41 FPS) > 1440p Ultra (43 FPS) > 4K High (31 FPS) > 4K Ultra (23 FPS). This ordering reveals that resolution has a larger impact on FPS than settings, as 1440p Low outperforms 1080p High.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the recommended configuration. This preset averages 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS, ensuring consistent smoothness. It provides a 30 FPS improvement over High settings (90 FPS) and a 53 FPS improvement over Ultra (67 FPS), making it the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset also avoids the FPS dips seen at higher settings.

If the user prefers higher visual fidelity, 1080p High is a strong alternative, averaging 90 FPS. This is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings at 1080p are playable at 67 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra (23 FPS) may not justify the marginal visual gains. For users with 1440p monitors, Medium settings at 76 FPS is the most viable option, though High (58 FPS) is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay.

At 4K, the data suggests that only Low settings (54 FPS) provide a playable experience. Medium (41 FPS) and High (31 FPS) are too choppy for most users, while Ultra (23 FPS) is effectively a slideshow. Given the GPU's 65th percentile ranking and the measured FPS, users should prioritize resolution over settings when using this combo. The 1080p Medium preset offers the highest frame rate without sacrificing stability, making it the clear recommendation for optimal performance.