Hitman 2

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 560th out of 1,795 tested combos in Hitman 2. That places this configuration in the upper third of all tested hardware pairings. With 8 cores and 16 threads on the CPU side and 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on the GPU, this combo lands solidly in the top performance tier for this game. The RTX 3080's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D's 83rd percentile among all CPUs reinforce this position as a high-end pairing. The average benchmark scores tell a similar story: the CPU scores 26,574 and the GPU scores 35,787, both well above the median for their respective categories. In the context of Hitman 2 specifically, this combo's rank means it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all tested configurations, making it a strong choice for players targeting high refresh rates at 1440p or playable frame rates at 4K.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Hitman 2, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 320-bit bus delivers 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves crucial for the game's detailed environments. The base clock of 1440 MHz and boost clock of 1710 MHz allow the GPU to handle the game's complex lighting and shadow calculations. The GPU's 68 ray tracing cores are present, though Hitman 2's 2018 release date means the game does not heavily utilize ray tracing features. The 8,704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units provide substantial raw throughput for the game's rendering demands. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures that even at 4K resolution, the card can maintain reasonable frame rates across most settings. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed, which directly supports the high bandwidth needed for 4K texture streaming. The GPU's pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s are both substantial, though the data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, these capabilities are stretched to their limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to High settings as the optimal balance for this combo. At 1080p, High settings deliver 129.7 FPS, which is only 4.7 FPS behind the 1440p High result of 84.6 FPS when considering the resolution scaling factor. The jump from High to Ultra is punishing: at 4K, Ultra drops to 32.5 FPS from High's 46.3 FPS, a 29.8% performance loss. At 1440p, Ultra yields 61.7 FPS while High produces 84.6 FPS, meaning High provides 37.1% more performance with presumably minor visual differences. The Medium preset offers a middle ground: 169.2 FPS at 1080p and 107.5 FPS at 1440p. For players with high refresh rate monitors, Low settings at 1440p deliver 145.7 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play. However, for the best visual fidelity while maintaining smooth gameplay, High settings at 1440p (84.6 FPS) or 1080p (129.7 FPS) are the recommended choices. The 4K High result of 46.3 FPS is playable but does not provide the smoothness of the lower resolution options.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K High settings, the combo achieves 46.3 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Dropping to Medium yields 61.1 FPS, making it a viable option for 4K gaming. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 32.5 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 84.6 FPS, which is smooth for most players. For higher refresh rates, 1080p at High settings provides 129.7 FPS, while Low settings at 1080p reach 226.7 FPS.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 26,574 on average benchmarks. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 8024P, scores 26,555, a delta of 0.1%. The Intel Core i9-11900K scores 26,546 (0.1% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 scores 26,617 (-0.2% delta). The Intel Core i9-12900HK scores 26,672 (-0.4% delta).

Q: Is the GPU's 10 GB memory sufficient for Hitman 2?

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo still achieves 32.5 FPS, indicating memory capacity is not a bottleneck at the highest settings in this game. The 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for the game's texture streaming demands.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 35,787 on average benchmarks. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 880M scores 35,646 (0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 36,101 (-0.9% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35,435 (1% delta).

Q: What CPU settings matter most for Hitman 2 performance?

A: The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, combined with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz, provide strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game logic and AI calculations in Hitman 2's complex levels.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the combo delivers 226.7 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 145.7 FPS at 1440p (a 35.7% decrease), and further to 77.9 FPS at 4K (a 65.6% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to maintain very high frame rates. At Medium settings, the transition from 1080p (169.2 FPS) to 1440p (107.5 FPS) represents a 36.5% drop, while moving to 4K (61.1 FPS) costs another 43.2% from the 1440p result. High settings show similar trends: 129.7 FPS at 1080p, 84.6 FPS at 1440p (34.8% drop), and 46.3 FPS at 4K (45.3% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset demonstrates the steepest scaling curve: 93.8 FPS at 1080p, 61.7 FPS at 1440p (34.2% drop), and 32.5 FPS at 4K (47.3% drop from 1440p). These numbers suggest that the RTX 3080's 10 GB memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but become strained at 4K, particularly at higher quality settings.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D's contribution to Hitman 2 performance is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. Its 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process, provide strong multi-threaded performance. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature, offering significantly more cache than typical desktop processors, which helps with the game's level-of-detail calculations and NPC AI routines. The boost clock of 4.50 GHz ensures responsive single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 3dmark single-thread score of 884 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,397. The CPU's multi-thread capabilities are demonstrated by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24,063 and the Passmark multi-thread score of 28,309. In Hitman 2, the CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing 1080p Low (226.7 FPS) to 1440p Low (145.7 FPS): the 35.7% drop indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is capable of driving frame rates well beyond what the GPU can render at higher resolutions. The CPU's 105 W TDP and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate support for the GPU without becoming a constraint. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 7,299 and 8-thread score of 5,906 show strong scaling across cores, which benefits Hitman 2's multi-threaded game logic.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 226.7 FPS, Medium achieves 169.2 FPS, High reaches 129.7 FPS, and Ultra yields 93.8 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, even Ultra settings provide a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 132.9 FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p shows the significant GPU load increase from the highest quality preset.

Moving to 1440p, the performance scales predictably. Low settings deliver 145.7 FPS, which remains excellent for high refresh rate monitors. Medium settings produce 107.5 FPS, High settings achieve 84.6 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 61.7 FPS. The 84 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is smaller than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to become more constrained.

At 4K, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low settings yield 77.9 FPS, Medium delivers 61.1 FPS, High produces 46.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32.5 FPS. The 45.4 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this resolution. The progression from 1080p to 4K at each setting level shows consistent scaling: Low settings drop 148.8 FPS from 1080p to 4K, Medium drops 108.1 FPS, High drops 83.4 FPS, and Ultra drops 61.3 FPS. This pattern indicates that higher settings place more load on the GPU, reducing the relative impact of resolution scaling. The data shows that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High (84.6 FPS) is the recommended configuration, with 4K Medium (61.1 FPS) as a viable alternative for players prioritizing resolution over frame rate.