Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Hitman 2, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. The 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor provides ample headroom, while the 10 GB Ampere GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This configuration places it in the upper-middle tier of desktop CPUs, with a percentile ranking of 82 against all CPUs in the database.

In Hitman 2, a stealth title that relies on complex AI routines and physics simulations, the CPU's multi-threaded capability is relevant. The processor scores 20,851 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,943 in single-core, which indicates a strong balance for gaming workloads. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency in the game's simulation-heavy scenes.

The 8400F's benchmark scores place it in a tight cluster with several notable rivals. Its average benchmark score of 25,064 is essentially identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (25,057, delta 0%), and it sits within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F. This suggests that for Hitman 2's CPU demands, the 8400F performs at a level comparable to these alternatives, with no meaningful advantage or disadvantage in raw compute.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 228.2 FPS. This high frame rate in a low-detail scenario indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU without creating a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,091 and max-thread score of 6,165 further substantiate that the processor can handle the parallel workloads Hitman 2 presents, particularly in crowded environments with multiple NPCs.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1440 MHz with a boost clock of 1710 MHz, and it carries a 320 W TDP.

For Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's texture loads at all tested settings, but the compute demands scale sharply. The GPU's performance percentile of 80 against all GPUs puts it in the upper echelon, though its average benchmark score of 35,787 places it in close competition with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101, delta -0.9%) and the AMD Radeon 880M (35,646, delta 0.4%).

The RTX 3080's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are not directly stressed in standard rasterization benchmarks for Hitman 2, but the 8,704 shading units handle the game's lighting and shadow calculations. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 94.2 FPS, which drops to 60.6 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 34.2 FPS at 4K Ultra. This progression highlights the GPU's compute ceiling under heavy load.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s is a critical factor at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K Medium (57.8 FPS) versus 4K High (47.2 FPS), the performance gap is significant, indicating that memory bandwidth and shader throughput are being saturated by the increased pixel count and texture detail.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 131.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 85.9 FPS, a reduction of 45.4 FPS or roughly 34.6%. At 4K High, the average FPS falls to 47.2, which is a further drop of 38.7 FPS from 1440p, representing an additional 45% reduction.

This scaling behavior is consistent with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor. The CPU's performance at 1080p Low (228.2 FPS) demonstrates that it can handle the game's logic far beyond what the GPU can render at higher settings. When resolution increases, the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the constraint, not the CPU's thread utilization.

The 4K Ultra result of 34.2 FPS is particularly telling. This is below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider smooth, and it indicates that the RTX 3080 is struggling with the combination of maximum detail and 3840x2160 resolution. The gap between 4K Medium (57.8 FPS) and 4K Ultra (34.2 FPS) is 23.6 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a massive computational penalty that the GPU cannot offset.

At 1440p, the picture is more balanced. The 1440p Ultra result of 60.6 FPS is playable, and the 1440p Low result of 145.8 FPS shows that when the GPU load is reduced, the CPU can push frame rates high enough to take advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors. The data strongly suggests that for this combo, 1440p is the sweet spot where both components are utilized effectively, while 4K is strictly GPU-limited.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Hitman 2?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 228.2 at 1080p Low settings, demonstrating the CPU's ability to drive very high frame rates when GPU load is minimal.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F's average score of 25,064 is within 0.3% of the Ryzen 5 7500F (24,993) and essentially tied with the Ryzen 7 2700X (25,057, delta 0%).

Q: Is the RTX 3080 a bottleneck at 4K resolution in this game?

A: The data indicates a clear GPU bottleneck at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 34.2 FPS and 4K High of 47.2 FPS show that the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at this resolution with high settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the combo achieves 131.3 FPS, while at 1440p High it drops to 85.9 FPS, a decrease of 45.4 FPS that is attributable to the increased pixel count.

Q: Does the CPU show any signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions?

A: The 1080p Low result of 228.2 FPS suggests the CPU has substantial headroom, but the 1080p Ultra result of 94.2 FPS indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor even at this resolution with high detail.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE?

A: The RTX 3080's average score of 35,787 is 0.9% lower than the RX 7900 GRE's 36,101, indicating near-parity in synthetic benchmarks.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 548th out of 1,795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 69.5th percentile of all tested combos, which is a respectable position given the hardware's specifications.

This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The CPU's 82nd percentile performance against all CPUs and the GPU's 80th percentile performance against all GPUs suggest that neither component is dramatically outclassing the other, creating a well-matched pairing. The rank of 548 indicates that there are 547 combos that perform better, likely featuring newer or higher-tier GPUs such as the RTX 40-series or Radeon RX 7000-series cards.

The data shows that this combo is positioned in the upper-middle tier of performance for Hitman 2. The 1440p High result of 85.9 FPS is competitive, and the 1080p High result of 131.3 FPS exceeds the requirements for smooth gameplay on standard monitors. However, the 4K Ultra result of 34.2 FPS pulls the overall ranking down, as users seeking maximum visual fidelity at 4K will find this combo insufficient.

The ranking also reflects the age of the GPU. The RTX 3080, released in late 2020, is now considered end-of-life, and its performance is being surpassed by newer architectures. Despite this, the combo's rank of 548 out of 1,795 shows that it remains a capable option for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Hitman 2, with the CPU providing a solid foundation for future GPU upgrades without requiring a platform change.