Hitman 2

Hitman 2 with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience. The measured FPS data shows a clear hierarchy: lower resolutions and settings yield high frame rates, while 4K Ultra pushes this combination to the edge of playability. This analysis walks through the scaling behavior, component roles, and practical settings guidance based exclusively on the provided measurements.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 132 FPS at 1920x1080 to 84 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 87 FPS, or roughly two-thirds of the original performance.

Moving to Medium settings, the pattern repeats: 99 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The 1440p result is 36% lower than 1080p, and the 4K result is 46% lower than 1440p. This consistent proportional drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling bottleneck — as pixel count increases, the RTX 2060’s rendering workload grows linearly, and the CPU has enough headroom to keep up.

High settings show the same trend with lower absolute numbers: 75 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are similar — 36% from 1080p to 1440p and 48% from 1440p to 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding: 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The 1440p Ultra result is 36% lower than 1080p Ultra, and 4K Ultra is 46% lower than 1440p Ultra.

The consistency of these scaling ratios — roughly 36% between 1080p and 1440p, and roughly 46-48% between 1440p and 4K — strongly suggests the RTX 2060 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not scale so predictably with resolution. Instead, the data shows a GPU-bound scenario where each resolution step adds a predictable rendering cost.

At 4K, even Low settings only reach 45 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider smooth. Medium at 4K drops to 34 FPS, High to 25 FPS, and Ultra to 19 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable at Low settings, and even then it falls short of high-refresh expectations. The 1440p results are more encouraging: Low hits 84 FPS, Medium 63 FPS, High 48 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. The 1080p results are the strongest, with Low reaching 132 FPS and Medium hitting 99 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 provides the most consistent experience. At Medium settings, the combo averages 99 FPS, and at High settings it averages 75 FPS. Both are above 60 FPS, making 1080p the resolution where the RTX 2060 can maintain smooth frame rates across multiple presets.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 45. Medium drops to 34 FPS, High to 25 FPS, and Ultra to 19 FPS. The data shows that 4K is not a practical target for this combination beyond the lowest preset, and even Low falls short of 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with a score of 15283 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon 680M at 15270 (0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM at 15199 (0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 at 15171 (0.8% delta). The performance differences are minimal, all within 0.8% of each other.

Q: What is the CPU’s benchmark standing relative to similar processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260, placing it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 at 34222 (0.1% delta), the AMD EPYC 4244P at 34220 (0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-13450HX at 34333 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H at 34083 (0.5% delta). These deltas are all within 0.5%, indicating near-identical overall CPU performance.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest frame rate at 1440p?

A: Low settings at 2560x1440 yields an average of 84 FPS, which is the highest measured FPS at that resolution. Medium follows at 63 FPS, High at 48 FPS, and Ultra at 35 FPS. For players targeting 60 FPS at 1440p, only Low and Medium meet that threshold.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2936 out of 3711 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, reflecting the RTX 2060’s mid-range position and the CPU’s solid but not top-tier standing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 3000 series, built on the Zen 2 architecture with a 7 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 32 MB of L3 cache, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 3700X scores 2092 in Cinebench R15 multicore and 204 in single-core. Geekbench results show 8899 multicore and 1593 single-core. Passmark tests reveal a multithread score of 22458, a single-thread score of 2656, and notable results in integer math (66399) and floating-point math (39005). The CPU’s average benchmark score is 34260, placing it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs.

For Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep rendering pipelines full. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions — with consistent percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K — indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested setting. If the 3700X were bottlenecking, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between resolutions, as the CPU’s frame production ceiling would cap performance regardless of pixel count.

The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides ample parallel processing for Hitman 2’s simulation and AI workloads. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic, which is often latency-sensitive. The CPU’s percentile ranking at 84 suggests it outperforms the majority of processors in general benchmarks, giving it headroom to handle the game’s CPU demands without becoming the primary constraint.

The nearest CPU rivals — including the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, AMD EPYC 4244P, Intel Core i5-13450HX, and Intel Core Ultra 7 165H — all score within 0.5% of the 3700X in average benchmarks. This means the CPU performance tier is well established, and the differences between these processors would be negligible in Hitman 2, where the GPU dominates the frame rate outcome.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 132 FPS, which is the single highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, showing a consistent frame delivery. High settings average 75 FPS, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS. All 1080p presets exceed 55 FPS, meaning even the most demanding settings maintain playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, performance steps down noticeably. Low settings average 84 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and suitable for smooth gameplay. Medium settings average 63 FPS with a range of 54 to 73 FPS, placing the average just above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings fall to 48 FPS, and Ultra drops to 35 FPS. The 1440p results show that Low and Medium are the only presets that maintain an average above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 struggles across the board. Low settings average 45 FPS, which is below 60 FPS but still technically playable for slower-paced stealth gameplay. Medium settings average 34 FPS with a range of 29 to 39 FPS, indicating frequent dips below 30 FPS. High settings average 25 FPS, and Ultra averages 19 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach 60 FPS, and only Low exceeds 40 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 84 to 114 FPS, a spread of 30 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 54 to 73 FPS, a spread of 19 FPS. At 4K, the range is 29 to 39 FPS, a spread of 10 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU’s rendering time becomes more consistent as it becomes the dominant bottleneck, with less variation from frame to frame.

Comparing presets at each resolution, the drop from Low to Ultra is substantial. At 1080p, Low averages 132 FPS while Ultra averages 55 FPS, a difference of 77 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 49 FPS (84 to 35). At 4K, the difference is 26 FPS (45 to 19). The absolute gap narrows at higher resolutions because the GPU is already near its limits, so reducing settings yields diminishing returns.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2936 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 21% of all tested systems, indicating that a significant majority of tested combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game.

The ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning more than the CPU’s capabilities. The RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the 3700X sits at the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The combo rank is dragged down by the GPU’s relative weakness, as Hitman 2’s measured FPS data shows clear GPU-bound scaling behavior.

Comparing to the GPU’s nearest rivals — the GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600 — all have average benchmark scores within 0.8% of the RTX 2060. This means the combo’s rank would be nearly identical if paired with any of these GPUs, all of which sit in the same performance tier. The CPU’s nearest rivals are similarly clustered, so swapping the 3700X for a comparable processor would not meaningfully change the combo’s rank.

The rank of 2936 out of 3711 suggests that for Hitman 2, there are many tested combinations that achieve higher frame rates, particularly those with more powerful GPUs. However, the rank does not account for the specific settings or resolutions at which the FPS was measured — it is a single aggregate ranking for the combo in this game. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low and Medium, the combo performs well above average expectations, but at 4K, it falls far below what would be considered competitive.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and frame rate preference.

At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. The average of 99 FPS exceeds the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare, and the minimum of 84 FPS ensures that frame rate dips remain rare. High settings at 75 FPS are also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but the jump from Medium to High trades 24 FPS for marginal visual improvements. Low settings at 132 FPS are best for competitive play or high-refresh monitors, while Ultra at 55 FPS is playable but sits just below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the recommended choice for smooth gameplay, averaging 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS. This is the only preset at 1440p that maintains an average above 60 FPS. Low settings at 84 FPS are even smoother and provide a substantial frame rate buffer, making them suitable for players who prioritize responsiveness over visual detail. High settings at 48 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold and are only advisable if the player can tolerate lower frame rates for higher visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that Low settings at 45 FPS are the only practical option, and even that falls below 60 FPS. Medium at 34 FPS and High at 25 FPS are increasingly choppy, while Ultra at 19 FPS is near-unplayable for most players. Players targeting 4K with this combo should accept that frame rates will be below 60 FPS and may need to reduce the resolution to 1440p for a smoother experience.

The Medium preset’s min and max FPS data provides additional insight. At 1080p, the range of 84 to 114 FPS shows consistent performance. At 1440p, the range of 54 to 73 FPS indicates occasional dips below 60 FPS but generally smooth gameplay. At 4K, the range of 29 to 39 FPS shows that even the minimum frame rate is low, confirming the GPU’s inability to handle 4K Medium effectively.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process node and the TU106 chip. It has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmarks include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242, Geekbench OpenCL score of 65014, and Vulkan score of 65846. Passmark results show a G3D score of 14111, a GPU compute score of 5488, and DirectX 11 score of 110. The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs.

In Hitman 2, the RTX 2060 is clearly the limiting component. The resolution scaling data shows that FPS drops proportionally with pixel count, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound system. The GPU’s 6 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game’s texture loads at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the higher memory pressure contributes to the steep performance decline. The 336 GB/s memory bandwidth is adequate for mid-range resolutions but becomes a constraint at 4K Ultra, where the GPU must move more data per frame.

The boost clock of 1680 MHz represents the GPU’s maximum achievable frequency, and the measured FPS suggests that the RTX 2060 is running near its full capacity at higher resolutions. The GPU’s percentile ranking at 58 means it outperforms just over half of all GPUs, which aligns with its mid-range positioning and the observed Hitman 2 performance.

The GPU’s nearest rivals — all within 0.8% in average benchmark score — would produce nearly identical frame rates in Hitman 2. This means the RTX 2060’s performance in this game is representative of its entire performance tier, and the measured FPS values can be generalized to similar GPUs. The GPU’s role in Hitman 2 is to render the game’s detailed environments and character models, and at 1080p and 1440p, it does so effectively at Medium settings, but it cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K without significant compromises to visual quality.