Hitman 2

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

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 reveals a steep and consistent performance cliff as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 83.1 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 1440p, then drops dramatically to 31.2 FPS at 4K. That represents a 62.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which strongly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, paired with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, appears to be stretched thin when pixel count quadruples.

The scaling pattern is not linear, which is telling. Jumping from 1080p to 1440p costs about 33% of the frame rate at High settings, but the subsequent jump to 4K costs an additional 43% of the 1440p figure. This accelerating decline suggests that memory bandwidth and fill rate constraints become more pronounced as resolution increases. The RX 7600's pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s are fixed hardware resources, and the data shows they cannot keep pace with 4K's demand for pixel throughput.

At Low settings, the pattern is similar but more forgiving. The frame rate drops from 148.1 FPS at 1080p to 93 FPS at 1440p, then to 52.7 FPS at 4K. Even at the lowest quality preset, 4K still cuts performance by more than half relative to 1080p. This indicates that the resolution scaling penalty is largely independent of settings, pointing to a hard hardware ceiling rather than a software inefficiency. The 4K Ultra result of 20.8 FPS is nearly unplayable, while 4K Low at 52.7 FPS is borderline acceptable for slower stealth gameplay.

What does this imply about the limiting component? The AMD Ryzen 7 5700, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be the constraint here. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 901 and multi-thread score of 6628 are respectable, but the frame rate collapse at 4K is a classic GPU-bound signature. When resolution increases, the CPU workload per frame stays relatively constant, yet the measured FPS plummets — meaning the GPU is running out of resources. The data suggests that for 4K play, this combination is firmly GPU-limited, and even 1440p at Ultra (36.4 FPS) shows the GPU struggling.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a Zen 3 part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, with 8 cores and 16 threads running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for gaming workloads. In Hitman 2, which is known for its complex AI and simulation systems, the CPU's multi-threading capabilities could matter, but the measured data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution.

Looking at the CPU's benchmark scores, the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and single-core score of 2916 indicate strong overall processing power. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 5585 and max-thread score of 6617 show that scaling beyond 8 threads yields only marginal gains (about 18% improvement from 8 to 16 threads). This suggests that Hitman 2 likely does not fully utilize all 16 threads, but the 8 physical cores provide ample headroom for the game's simulation logic.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database — the Intel Core i9-9900K (average score 27043, deltaPct 0.7), Intel Core i7-12700H (27006, deltaPct 0.8), Intel Core i7-1370P (26991, deltaPct 0.8), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 (26909, deltaPct 1.2) — all perform within 1.2% of the Ryzen 7 5700's average benchmark score of 27220. This tight clustering indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game's performance envelope. The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs reinforces that this processor is more than adequate for Hitman 2's demands.

The fact that frame rates at 1080p Low reach 148.1 FPS while 4K Ultra drops to 20.8 FPS — a 7.1x difference — cannot be explained by CPU performance. A CPU bottleneck would show similar FPS across resolutions or at least a much smaller gap. Instead, the massive resolution scaling points squarely at the GPU. The CPU's role in this combination is to feed the GPU efficiently, and with its 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.60 GHz boost, it has sufficient single-thread performance to avoid holding back the RX 7600 at lower resolutions.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on RDNA 3.0 architecture using TSMC's 6 nm process, with a chip codenamed Hotpink Bonefish. It operates at a base clock of 1720 MHz and a boost clock of 2655 MHz, with a game clock of 2250 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications directly explain the measured performance patterns in Hitman 2.

The GPU's 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs provide a theoretical FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS. However, the data shows that this compute power is insufficient for 4K Ultra settings, where the average frame rate falls to 20.8 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a contributing factor — at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, texture memory requirements can exceed the available VRAM, causing the GPU to spill into system memory over the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20258. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (avg score 20146, deltaPct 0.6), AMD Radeon RX 460 (20088, deltaPct 0.8), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct -1.3), and Intel Arc B570 (20556, deltaPct -1.5) — all cluster within 1.5% of the RX 7600's score. This tight grouping suggests that the RX 7600 sits in a competitive performance tier, but Hitman 2's specific demands at high resolutions push it beyond its comfort zone.

The PassMark G3D score of 16634 and DirectX 12 score of 58 (out of a possible scale) indicate that the GPU handles modern APIs reasonably well, but the 4K results tell a different story. The gap between 1080p High (83.1 FPS) and 1440p High (55 FPS) is 33.8%, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 77.8% — meaning the GPU is scaling sub-linearly, already showing signs of bandwidth saturation. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, but the frame rate only achieves 37.5% of the 1080p High score, confirming the GPU is the dominant constraint.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 112.4 FPS, which is 35% higher than High's 83.1 FPS and only 24% lower than Low's 148.1 FPS. The visual quality improvement from Low to Medium is typically substantial in Hitman 2, making this the sweet spot for 1080p displays. At 2560x1440, Medium produces 71.8 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while High drops to 55 FPS — a marginal difference that may not justify the visual downgrade from Medium.

For 4K, the data is less forgiving. Medium at 3840x2160 yields 34.9 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS minimum for acceptable stealth gameplay. Low at 4K achieves 52.7 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that approaches playable frame rates. The High preset at 4K (31.2 FPS) and Ultra at 4K (20.8 FPS) are both problematic, with Ultra being nearly unplayable. Given that Hitman 2 is a stealth game where precise timing matters, a consistent frame rate is more important than absolute visual fidelity.

The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it reaches 59.7 FPS. This is just below the 60 FPS standard, but the visual enhancement from High to Ultra may not be worth the 28% performance drop (from 83.1 to 59.7 FPS). For players with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at 71.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a 30% improvement over High's 55 FPS while maintaining acceptable image quality. At 4K, Low at 52.7 FPS is the only reasonable option, and even then, players should be prepared for occasional dips during busy scenes.

The data suggests a clear hierarchy: Medium is the best overall preset for this combination, offering playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while Low is the fallback for 4K. High and Ultra are only recommended for 1080p, and Ultra should be avoided entirely at 1440p and 4K due to the severe frame rate penalties.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1207 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 67th percentile of all combinations. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest — the CPU sits in the 84th percentile while the GPU is in the 63rd percentile. The combo's ranking closer to the GPU's percentile indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, dragging the overall performance below what the CPU alone could achieve.

The gap between the combo's rank and the CPU's percentile is particularly informative. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the combo would rank closer to the 84th percentile. Instead, the 67th percentile ranking aligns much more closely with the GPU's 63rd percentile, confirming the GPU-bound analysis from the resolution scaling data. This suggests that pairing the Ryzen 7 5700 with a more powerful GPU would yield disproportionately larger gains than upgrading the CPU with the same GPU.

Among the 1795 tested combinations, this combo outperforms 588 other pairings but trails 1206. The mid-pack ranking implies that Hitman 2 is a demanding title for this hardware class, especially at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data supports this — even at 1080p Medium, the 112.4 FPS result is respectable but not exceptional, while the 4K Ultra result of 20.8 FPS is among the weakest outcomes for this game.

The ranking also highlights an interesting asymmetry: the CPU's nearest rivals all score within 1.2% of its average benchmark, yet the combo's ranking in Hitman 2 is not particularly strong. This suggests that the game's optimization favors certain GPU architectures or memory configurations that the RX 7600 does not fully exploit. Players considering this combo for Hitman 2 should prioritize GPU upgrades or lower resolution targets, as the data clearly shows the GPU is the performance ceiling.

FAQ

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

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all four presets achieve playable frame rates, with Low at 148.1 FPS, Medium at 112.4 FPS, High at 83.1 FPS, and Ultra at 59.7 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, while 4K only reaches playable levels at Low (52.7 FPS).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this setup?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The frame rate drops from 148.1 FPS at 1080p Low to 52.7 FPS at 4K Low, a 64.4% reduction, while the CPU's workload remains constant. The combo's rank of 1207 out of 1795 aligns with the GPU's 63rd percentile rather than the CPU's 84th percentile.

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

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 52.7 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 34.9 FPS, High to 31.2 FPS, and Ultra to 20.8 FPS. For consistent stealth gameplay, 4K Low is marginal, and players should expect occasional frame dips.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700's average benchmark score of 27220 is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-9900K, 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-12700H and Intel Core i7-1370P, and 1.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340, making it the top performer in its immediate rival group.

Q: What is the difference between 1080p High and 1440p Medium?

A: 1080p High delivers 83.1 FPS, while 1440p Medium delivers 71.8 FPS — a 13.6% difference. The 1440p Medium option provides higher resolution but lower preset quality, while 1080p High offers better visual effects at a lower resolution with higher frame rates.

Q: Is the RX 7600's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the 8 GB VRAM appears sufficient, as frame rates scale predictably. However, at 4K, the severe drops (31.2 FPS at High, 20.8 FPS at Ultra) suggest VRAM capacity or bandwidth limitations are impacting performance, making 8 GB marginal for 4K Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080:

• Low: 148.1 FPS
• Medium: 112.4 FPS
• High: 83.1 FPS
• Ultra: 59.7 FPS

At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 88.4 FPS, showing a 59.7% performance drop from the lowest to highest preset. The step from Low to Medium costs 24.1% of the frame rate, while Medium to High costs 26.1%, and High to Ultra costs 28.2%. The diminishing returns suggest that High is the visual sweet spot, but Ultra is still playable.

2560x1440:

• Low: 93 FPS
• Medium: 71.8 FPS
• High: 55 FPS
• Ultra: 36.4 FPS

At 1440p, the frame rate drops more steeply. Low to Medium is a 22.8% reduction, Medium to High is 23.4%, and High to Ultra is a massive 33.8% drop. The Ultra preset at 36.4 FPS is the first unplayable result, while Low and Medium remain viable.

3840x2160:

• Low: 52.7 FPS
• Medium: 34.9 FPS
• High: 31.2 FPS
• Ultra: 20.8 FPS

The 4K results are uniformly poor. Low is the only preset above 40 FPS, and it still represents a 64.4% drop from the 1080p Low score. Medium to High is only an 10.6% difference, suggesting the GPU is hitting a hard bandwidth wall, while Ultra at 20.8 FPS is barely above a slideshow. The total spread at 4K is only 31.9 FPS, compared to 88.4 FPS at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's performance ceiling compresses all settings into a narrow, low-performance band.