Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a striking performance profile in Hitman 2, with benchmark results showing that the 2018 stealth title becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions reveal a system that can push well beyond 200 FPS at lower settings but drops to exactly 50.2 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the RTX 5090's raw power is tempered by the Ryzen 7 3700X's Zen 2 architecture in certain scenarios. This combination ranks 103rd out of 1,795 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations evaluated.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a clear pattern of GPU saturation at higher resolutions, while CPU limitations emerge at lower ones. At High settings, the average FPS moves from 190.4 at 1920x1080 to 127.6 at 2560x1440, then falls sharply to 65 at 3840x2160 — a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline at 4K indicates the RTX 5090 is being pushed to its limits by Hitman 2's rendering load, with the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth proving insufficient to maintain high frame rates at Ultra settings.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern shifts dramatically. The 1080p result of 233.5 FPS drops to 205 at 1440p (a 12% reduction) and then to 119.8 at 4K (a 42% drop from 1440p). The relatively modest decline between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings suggests the Ryzen 7 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads are becoming the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The CPU's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock, combined with its 32 MB L3 cache, appear to cap performance around the 233 FPS mark even when the GPU has significant headroom.

The Ultra preset tells a different story: 142.7 FPS at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, and 50.2 at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 47% reduction, nearly identical to the Low preset's 42% drop across the same range. This consistency across presets suggests that at 4K, the RTX 5090's rendering pipeline — with its 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs — is the dominant constraint regardless of quality settings.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 233.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Even at 1440p Low, the system maintains 205 FPS, showing the RTX 5090's capability in this title.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K across different presets?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 119.8 at Low settings to 50.2 at Ultra. Medium produces 86.6 FPS, while High delivers 65 FPS, demonstrating that 4K gaming requires careful preset selection.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data suggests CPU limitation at 1080p, where the difference between Low (233.5 FPS) and High (190.4 FPS) is relatively small. The 8-core, 16-thread processor's passmark single-thread score of 2,656 likely constrains maximum frame rates around the 230-240 FPS range.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 103rd out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 5.7% of all CPU-GPU pairings evaluated for Hitman 2.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 512-bit bus width and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity for Hitman 2's 4K textures. However, the measured 4K Ultra result of 50.2 FPS suggests memory bandwidth is not the limiting factor — the GPU's compute throughput is.

Q: What is the CPU's overall benchmark standing relative to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28,631, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. It sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12600, Intel Core i5-12600H, AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, and AMD EPYC 7203P.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090's role in Hitman 2 is characterized by its massive compute resources: 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs working at boost clocks up to 2,407 MHz. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide substantial headroom for the game's stealth mechanics and detailed environments, but the measured results show this power is not fully utilized at 1080p.

The 32 GB GDDR7 memory running at 1,750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth across a 512-bit bus. This configuration is far beyond what Hitman 2 requires — the game's 2018 origins mean it was designed for hardware with a fraction of this memory capacity. At 4K Ultra, the GPU achieves 50.2 FPS, which is only 21% of the 1080p Low result of 233.5 FPS, indicating that the RTX 5090's rendering overhead at Ultra settings creates a significant performance penalty.

The GPU's passmark G3D score of 39,650 places it at the 94th percentile of all graphics cards, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D at 0.1% difference. The GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile sits 0.2% behind, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3%. These scores confirm the RTX 5090's position as a top-tier GPU, but Hitman 2's engine does not scale perfectly with its capabilities — the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,411 suggests the card excels in modern workloads that Hitman 2's older engine cannot fully leverage.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 103 out of 1,795 tested configurations, this pairing places in the top 5.7% of all CPU-GPU combinations evaluated in Hitman 2. This ranking reflects the RTX 5090's dominance as a graphics processor — its 94th percentile standing among all GPUs — combined with the Ryzen 7 3700X's respectable 85th percentile CPU ranking. The gap between these percentile positions (94 vs. 85) suggests the CPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

The Ryzen 7 3700X's average benchmark score of 28,631 places it within 0.2% of its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i5-12600 (28,654, -0.1%), Intel Core i5-12600H (28,666, -0.1%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28,591, +0.1%), and AMD EPYC 7203P (28,583, +0.2%). This tight clustering indicates the CPU's performance is well-established, but its 2019 architecture (Zen 2 on 7 nm) cannot fully feed the RTX 5090's appetite for draw calls and physics calculations at high frame rates.

The combo's 103rd place ranking is particularly notable given the RTX 5090's position as one of the fastest consumer GPUs available. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 233.5 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional for a flagship GPU. This suggests that the Ryzen 7 3700X's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock, along with its 32 MB L3 cache, create a performance ceiling that prevents the combo from breaking into the top 100 rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 233.5 FPS average, followed by Medium at 210.5 FPS, High at 190.4 FPS, and Ultra at 142.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 90.8 FPS, representing a 39% performance penalty for maxing out all quality options.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the first signs of GPU pressure. Low settings average 205 FPS, which drops to 169 at Medium, 127.6 at High, and 95 at Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 110 FPS, or 54% — a larger relative penalty than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low settings average 119.8 FPS, Medium drops to 86.6, High falls to 65, and Ultra bottoms out at 50.2 FPS. The Ultra-to-Low difference at 4K is 69.6 FPS, representing a 58% penalty. This scaling pattern — increasing percentage penalties at higher resolutions — confirms that the RTX 5090's compute resources are the primary constraint at 4K, while the CPU's influence wanes.

The 1440p High result of 127.6 FPS is particularly interesting when compared to the 1080p High result of 190.4 FPS — a 33% reduction. Meanwhile, the 4K High result of 65 FPS is a 49% reduction from 1440p High. This non-linear scaling suggests that Hitman 2's engine becomes progressively more GPU-intensive as resolution increases, with the RTX 5090's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s becoming the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the most balanced experience, delivering 169 FPS average — well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining visual quality. The 1440p High preset at 127.6 FPS is also viable for players with high refresh rate monitors, as it stays above 120 FPS while providing better visual fidelity.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset's 119.8 FPS average is the only option that exceeds 100 FPS, but the Medium preset at 86.6 FPS provides a better visual experience at a still-playable frame rate. The High preset at 65 FPS is borderline for competitive play but acceptable for the stealth genre's typically slower pacing. The Ultra preset at 50.2 FPS should be avoided for action sequences, as frame rates below 60 FPS can compromise the responsive controls required for silent takedowns and evasion.

At 1080p, the High preset at 190.4 FPS offers the best combination of visual quality and performance for players with 144Hz or 240Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 142.7 FPS remains above 120 FPS, making it a viable option for players prioritizing image quality. The Low preset's 233.5 FPS is only useful for extreme competitive play or very high refresh rate displays, as the visual downgrade is substantial.

The data indicates that the Medium preset provides the most consistent experience across all resolutions: 210.5 FPS at 1080p, 169 FPS at 1440p, and 86.6 FPS at 4K. This preset appears to be the sweet spot for the Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 5090 combination, balancing the CPU's single-thread limitations with the GPU's massive compute capabilities.