Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a clear performance hierarchy across Hitman 2’s resolution and settings spectrum. The data indicates a system that scales predictably, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint at higher resolutions while the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance keeps frame rates high at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured results to understand where the bottleneck lies and how this pairing compares to other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep drop as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 148.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 98.1 FPS, a 33.8% decrease. At 4K High, the average falls to 54 FPS, which is another 45% drop from 1440p. This progressive decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, placing increasing strain on the RTX 4070 SUPER.

The scaling pattern shifts when examining lower settings. At Low settings, the 1080p result is 263.9 FPS, while 1440p Low yields 167.7 FPS, and 4K Low produces 92.4 FPS. The percentage drops are 36.5% and 44.9% respectively, which is a similar relative decline to High settings. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, regardless of the visual complexity.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. The 1080p Ultra average is 108.3 FPS, which falls to 70.3 FPS at 1440p and 40.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 37.1% of the 1080p figure, indicating that the heavier shader and texture workloads at Ultra settings amplify the resolution penalty. The data points to a system where the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the frame rate consistently tracks the GPU’s rendering workload.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s specifications align with the observed scaling behavior. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration appears adequate for Hitman 2’s requirements, as no min FPS data was recorded, suggesting that frame pacing remained stable across all tested scenarios. The boost clock of 2475 MHz and the 7168 shading units provide the raw compute throughput needed to maintain playable frame rates up to 1440p Ultra.

The GPU’s 80 ROPs and 224 TMUs handle the pixel and texture processing, which becomes more demanding at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 40.2 FPS shows the limit of the card’s capabilities under maximum load. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 84 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576, places it in the upper tier, but the data confirms that 4K Ultra in this game is beyond its comfort zone. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, has an average score of 42653, a delta of -0.2%, indicating very similar raw compute capability.

Interestingly, the GPU’s memory clocks are specified at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. This high memory bandwidth is crucial for the 4K resolution results, where texture streaming and framebuffer access become more intensive. The fact that the 4K Low result of 92.4 FPS is significantly higher than 4K Ultra suggests that the memory system is not the bottleneck at lower settings, but the shading and rasterization workload at Ultra settings overwhelms the GPU’s compute resources.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 9600X provides a strong foundation for this GPU pairing, particularly at lower resolutions. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its single-threaded performance is exceptional, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3363. This is critical for Hitman 2, which relies heavily on single-threaded game logic.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for the game’s AI and physics calculations. The 1080p Low result of 263.9 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. However, the 1080p Ultra result of 108.3 FPS versus the 4K Ultra result of 40.2 FPS shows that the CPU’s influence diminishes as the GPU becomes more constrained.

The Ryzen 5 9600X’s benchmark data places it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28246. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13490F, scores 28173, a delta of 0.3%. This indicates that the 9600X is competitive with other mid-range desktop processors. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25525, ensures that it can handle background tasks and streaming workloads without impacting game frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset provides a detailed picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results range from 263.9 FPS at Low settings to 108.3 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting produces 194.7 FPS, while High yields 148.2 FPS. These numbers show that even at 1080p Ultra, the combo maintains a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low setting achieves 167.7 FPS, Medium reaches 125.2 FPS, High produces 98.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 70.3 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is still playable, though it represents a 35.1% decrease from the 1080p Ultra figure. This suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors with this configuration, as even the heaviest settings remain above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more variable. The Low setting produces 92.4 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 69.8 FPS, High falls to 54 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 40.2 FPS. These results indicate that 4K gaming with this combo is viable at Low or Medium settings, but the higher settings require a more powerful GPU. The 4K High result of 54 FPS is borderline playable, while 4K Ultra is not recommended for competitive play.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 323rd out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the top 18% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given the mid-range positioning of both components. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where neither component severely bottlenecks the other.

The rank is particularly impressive when considering the CPU’s percentile of 85 and the GPU’s percentile of 84. Both components are above average individually, and their combination in this game yields a result that is better than 82% of tested systems. This indicates that Hitman 2 is well-optimized for this hardware configuration, with the CPU’s single-threaded strength complementing the GPU’s rasterization capabilities.

Comparing to other combos, the CPU’s nearest rivals show minimal performance differences. The Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230 both have average scores within 0.3% of the 9600X, suggesting that swapping to these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates. Similarly, the GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, has an average score within 0.2%, meaning that alternative graphics cards in this performance class would yield similar Hitman 2 results.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Ultra settings provides 70.3 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, Ultra yields 108.3 FPS, giving headroom for high refresh rate displays. For 4K, only Low settings (92.4 FPS) or Medium settings (69.8 FPS) are playable.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-threaded performance affect the game?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has a Geekbench single-core score of 3363 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603. This strong single-threaded performance is evident in the 1080p Low result of 263.9 FPS, where the CPU is not a limiting factor.

Q: Is 12 GB of VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory appears sufficient, as no minimum FPS anomalies were recorded in the data. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s supports stable frame rates even at 4K resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to other cards?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER is in the 84th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, has a score of 42653, showing a delta of -0.2%.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 323rd out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the top 18% of all systems tested. This is a strong result, given that the CPU is in the 85th percentile and the GPU is in the 84th percentile.

Q: Can this system maintain 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The 4K Ultra result is only 40.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that 4K is only viable at Low (92.4 FPS) or Medium (69.8 FPS) settings.