Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 5 8400F with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 produces a fascinating case study in Hitman 2, where the game's age and the hardware's modern architecture create a significant shift in bottleneck behavior across resolutions. Benchmark results show this combo achieves a combo rank of 88 out of 1,795 tested configurations, placing it in the top 5% of all pairings tested for this title. The data reveals a system that excels at high-refresh 1080p and 1440p play, while 4K Ultra settings push the GPU to its limits, with the CPU demonstrating remarkable headroom that keeps frame rates high even when the graphics load intensifies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a dramatic scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the frame rate dropping by roughly half when moving from 1080p to 4K at equivalent settings. At Low settings, the system delivers 321.2 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 203.1 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 36.8% reduction), and then to 109.2 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 46.2% further reduction). This scaling curve indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the RTX 5080's massive compute resources are being held back by the Ryzen 5 8400F's single-thread performance.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens substantially at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between Low (321.2 FPS) and Ultra (134.8 FPS) is 186.4 FPS, representing a 58% performance drop. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 119.5 FPS (from 203.1 to 83.6 FPS), and at 4K, it tightens further to 61.9 FPS (from 109.2 to 47.3 FPS). This pattern suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes progressively more saturated, and the relative cost of Ultra settings grows in absolute terms.

The 4K results are particularly telling. At 4K High, the system produces 64.5 FPS, which is playable but far from the high-refresh territory seen at lower resolutions. Dropping to 4K Medium yields 82.3 FPS, while 4K Low reaches 109.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 47.3 FPS, indicating that the RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's demands, but the raw compute load of 4K Ultra exceeds what the GPU can handle at high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 88th out of 1,795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 95th percentile of all pairings. This ranking reflects the RTX 5080's position in the GPU hierarchy—it sits in the 89th percentile among all GPUs tested—paired with a CPU that ranks in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. The synergy between these two components is notable: the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 951, Cinebench R23 single-core of 2,943) allows it to feed the GPU effectively in this game, which is known for its CPU-bound nature at lower resolutions.

When compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the Ryzen 5 8400F shows a near-tie with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (deltaPct of 0), and it trails the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 and AMD EPYC 9474F by only 0.1-0.2%. It leads the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F by 0.3%. This clustering indicates that the 8400F's Zen 4 architecture provides competitive multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 20,851) while its single-thread capabilities are strong enough to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

The GPU's nearest rivals present an interesting contrast. The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 59,188 places it 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580, while it trails the Intel Arc Pro A60 by 1.9% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X by 2.6%. These delta values are remarkably small, suggesting that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5080 is closely matched with these other GPUs. However, in actual Hitman 2 gameplay, the measured FPS data shows the RTX 5080 delivering performance that justifies its high percentile ranking.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High settings, the system produces 64.5 FPS average, which is playable. For smoother performance, 4K Medium yields 82.3 FPS, and 4K Low reaches 109.2 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 47.3 FPS, which may feel less fluid.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The bottleneck shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU likely limits performance, as evidenced by the massive frame rates (321.2 FPS at Low) that suggest the GPU has headroom. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, with Ultra settings reducing performance to 47.3 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 88th out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. The CPU ranks in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 89th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 203.1 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 83.6 FPS. This represents a 119.5 FPS difference, or roughly a 59% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 8400F hold back the RTX 5080?

A: Benchmark data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20,851 and single-core score of 2,943 indicate strong performance. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 321.2 FPS, showing the CPU can drive very high frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 5080's memory configuration affect Hitman 2?

A: The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which was released in 2018. The memory constraints are unlikely to be a limiting factor at any resolution or settings level tested.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance: Low settings produce 321.2 FPS, Medium produces 241.7 FPS, High produces 179.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 134.8 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors even at Ultra settings, with the frame rate remaining above the 120 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings produce 203.1 FPS, Medium produces 152.3 FPS, High produces 115.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 83.6 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of 83.6 FPS is still well within the range of high-refresh gaming, and the High preset at 115.6 FPS approaches the 120 FPS mark.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 109.2 FPS, Medium produces 82.3 FPS, High produces 64.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 47.3 FPS. The 4K results show that while the system can handle 4K gaming, the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth play. The 4K High result of 64.5 FPS just barely exceeds this threshold, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming on this configuration.

The scaling between settings at each resolution follows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 186.4 FPS. At 1440p, this difference narrows to 119.5 FPS. At 4K, the difference is 61.9 FPS. This trend indicates that the GPU's performance headroom shrinks as resolution increases, with the RTX 5080 becoming more fully utilized at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 plays a dominant role in determining Hitman 2's performance, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's compute resources become the primary constraint. The GPU's specifications include a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz, with 10,752 shading units and 112 ROPs. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s, which are more than adequate for a game from 2018.

The GPU's memory subsystem is particularly relevant for Hitman 2's performance. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the RTX 5080 provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration ensures that texture streaming and memory bandwidth are not bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra settings where the game may demand significant memory resources. The GPU's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance provides substantial headroom for the game's rendering workloads.

At 1080p, the GPU's performance is so high that the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 8400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, are sufficient to drive frame rates above 300 FPS at Low settings. However, the GPU's capabilities are not fully utilized at these settings, as evidenced by the diminishing returns when moving from Medium to High to Ultra at 1080p. At 4K, the GPU's role becomes paramount, with the Ultra preset pushing the RTX 5080 to its limits and producing 47.3 FPS.

The GPU's thermal and power characteristics—a TDP of 360 W and a suggested PSU of 750 W—indicate that this is a high-power component. The dual-slot design and 304 mm length make it a physically large card, but these factors do not directly impact Hitman 2's performance. The GPU's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs tested, combined with its average benchmark score of 59,188, confirms that it is a top-tier component capable of handling demanding titles like Hitman 2 at high resolutions and settings.