Hitman 2

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

The measured data for Hitman 2 across three resolutions and four presets reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern, with the GPU becoming the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers 182 FPS on average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 117.2 FPS, a reduction of approximately 36%, while 4K Low yields 60.8 FPS — roughly 67% below the 1080p figure. This steep decline at lower presets indicates that even at reduced graphical load, the engine's demands at higher pixel counts rapidly outpace what the RTX 5060 can sustain.

The scaling behavior shifts notably when examining higher quality presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 104.4 at 1080p to 65.9 at 1440p, then down to 36.4 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 37%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 45%. This accelerating loss per resolution step is a classic signature of pixel-throughput saturation — the GPU's render output units and memory bandwidth become the limiting factor, not the CPU. For context, the RTX 5060 has 48 ROPs, a 128-bit memory bus, and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, figures that explain why 4K High lands at just 36.4 FPS.

Ultra settings amplify this trend further. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 73.9 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 48.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 27.7 FPS. The relative decline from 1080p to 4K Ultra is about 63%, nearly identical to the 67% decline seen at Low settings. This consistency across presets suggests that the limiting component is not a specific graphical feature but rather the raw fill rate and memory throughput at higher resolutions. The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are well within the CPU's ability to feed frames, but 4K pushes the RTX 5060 into a territory where average frame rates dip below 30 FPS on Ultra, making it unsuitable for smooth play at that resolution with maximum quality.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution further underscores the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the spread is 108.1 FPS (182.0 vs 73.9), indicating substantial headroom for higher settings. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 69.0 FPS (117.2 vs 48.2). At 4K, the spread compresses to 33.1 FPS (60.8 vs 27.7). A narrower gap at higher resolutions means the GPU is already saturated; raising quality settings adds relatively less absolute cost because the pixel count is already taxing the hardware. The single-thread performance of the 5800X, which scores 943 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3445 in passmark_single_thread, is far ahead of what Hitman 2's engine requires at 4K, so there is no indication of a CPU-side limit at any resolution tested.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is a 5000-series processor built on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, using TSMC's 7 nm process. It provides 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. For a stealth title like Hitman 2, which relies on simulating AI, crowd behaviors, and complex physics in sandbox levels, the CPU's multi-threaded capacity matters, but the game's frame pacing at high FPS depends more on single-core speed. The 5800X delivers a 3dmark_16_threads score of 7586 and a 3dmark_single_thread score of 943, showing strong scaling from 2 threads (1846) to 8 threads (6035) before plateauing at max threads (7578). This indicates that the processor has ample headroom for the game's typical thread utilization, which rarely exceeds 8 threads for this engine generation.

Looking at the nearestRivals data, the 5800X sits at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27606. It is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, which scores 27535, a delta of only 0.3% in favor of the 5800X. It also matches the Intel Core i7-13700H (27716, -0.4% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12600KF (27827, -0.8% delta). In the context of Hitman 2 at 1080p Low, where the measured average is 182 FPS, the CPU is not the limiting factor — the data shows that even at 4K Low (60.8 FPS), the frame rate scales almost entirely with resolution, not with CPU load. The 5800X's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23571 and single-core score of 3327 reinforce that it can handle the game's AI and simulation demands without bottlenecking the RTX 5060, even at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

The L3 cache configuration — 32 MB shared across all 8 cores — is beneficial for Hitman 2's open-ended levels, where repeated asset access and pathfinding calculations can benefit from a large, fast cache. The 5800X also supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, which is sufficient for this title. Since the measured FPS at 1080p Low (182) is exceptionally high, and the single-thread benchmark scores are in the top quartile of all CPUs, the data strongly suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800X provides a stable platform for Hitman 2, with no CPU-induced frame drops visible in the recorded averages. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures that the game's primary simulation thread runs at maximum frequency, which is critical for maintaining high minimum frame rates in dense crowd scenes.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the decisive factor in this combo's performance, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture (chip GB206) using a 5 nm TSMC process, with 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GPU boosts to 2497 MHz and features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Hitman 2, which was released in 2018 and is not particularly VRAM-hungry by modern standards, the 8 GB capacity is not a limiting factor at the tested settings. However, the memory bandwidth and ROP count directly explain the resolution scaling seen in the measured data.

At 1080p High, the RTX 5060 produces 104.4 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, 73.9 FPS. The transition to 1440p reduces these to 65.9 FPS and 48.2 FPS, respectively. The 4K results — 36.4 FPS High and 27.7 FPS Ultra — demonstrate that the GPU's fill rate cannot keep up with the 8.3 million pixels of 4K when quality settings are elevated. The pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are respectable for a mid-range card, but they are insufficient for maintaining 60 FPS at 4K in this title. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 19.18 TFLOPS is adequate for the game's shader complexity, but the memory subsystem, with only a 128-bit interface, becomes a clear bottleneck at high pixel counts.

The RTX 5060's nearestRivals data places it at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109. It is statistically tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158, -0.2% delta), while being 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and 0.6% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile. These deltas are negligible, indicating that the RTX 5060's raw compute performance is comparable to several other cards in its class. However, in Hitman 2 specifically, the measured data shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K and at Ultra settings across all resolutions. The 60.8 FPS at 4K Low is the only 4K result that approaches playable smoothness, and even that is barely above 60 FPS. The 145 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU indicate that the card is power-efficient, but efficiency does not translate to headroom when the pixel workload is this high.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The measured average is 104.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is a smooth experience for a stealth game, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 27.7 FPS, which is below playable smoothness for most users. Even at 4K High, the average is 36.4 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5800X compare to its nearest CPU rival?

A: The 5800X has an average benchmark score of 27606, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27535) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700H (27716, where the 5800X is actually 0.4% lower). The differences are minimal, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS with High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 65.9, which is above 60. At 1080p High, it is 104.4 FPS. Therefore, 1440p High is the highest resolution that sustains over 60 FPS with High settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5060's performance in Hitman 2 compare to its closest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, which is exactly 0% different from the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097). It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158, where the RTX 5060 is actually 0.2% lower). The data shows they are statistically tied in synthetic tests.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1080p Low?

A: The data indicates the GPU is still the primary limiter, though less severely. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 182, which is very high. Given the CPU's single-thread score of 943 in 3dmark, it is unlikely to bottleneck at this setting, but the GPU's pixel throughput is still the constraining factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the data shows that Ultra settings deliver 73.9 FPS, which is smooth and visually rich. Pushing to High at 1080p yields 104.4 FPS, offering a significant margin for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors. Since the game is stealth-oriented and not a fast-paced shooter, the extra visual fidelity of Ultra at 1080p is recommended, as the 73.9 FPS average remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, High settings produce 65.9 FPS, which is the sweet spot for this resolution. Medium settings at 1440p yield 87 FPS, but the visual downgrade may not be worth the extra smoothness unless the display is 144 Hz or higher. Ultra at 1440p drops to 48.2 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target for most users. Therefore, High is the clear recommendation for 1440p, balancing visual quality with a playable frame rate.

For 4K, the data presents a challenging scenario. Only Low settings achieve an average above 60 FPS (60.8 FPS), while Medium drops to 49.9 FPS and High to 36.4 FPS. Ultra at 4K is effectively unplayable at 27.7 FPS. Given these numbers, the recommended approach is to play at 1440p High (65.9 FPS) rather than 4K Low, as the resolution difference is noticeable but the frame rate consistency at 1440p High provides a better overall experience. If 4K is mandatory, Low settings are the only viable option, but the data shows that the visual compromise is steep relative to the performance gain. In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Ultra (73.9 FPS) for maximum quality, or 1440p High (65.9 FPS) for a balance of sharpness and smoothness.