Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a fascinating performance profile in Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018 that scales surprisingly well with modern hardware. The measured data reveals a system that can push extraordinary frame rates at lower resolutions, yet encounters a notable bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings, suggesting that the game's engine has distinct demands at different quality presets. With 8 cores and 16 threads on the CPU side and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on the GPU, this pairing represents a high-end 2022-era build, and the benchmark results show both where it excels and where it strains.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K in Hitman 2 tells a clear story about where the limiting component shifts as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 172 FPS at 1920x1080 to 110 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 62 FPS, and then further down to 58 FPS at 3840x2160, another 52 FPS drop. This pattern — roughly a 36% decline from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 47% decline from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as resolution rises, which is typical for a well-optimized engine.

Looking at Ultra settings, the scaling is even more dramatic. The RTX 4080 manages 126 FPS at 1080p Ultra, drops to 81 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and then falls to just 43 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling: a 58 FPS gap from 1080p to 1440p, then a 38 FPS gap to 4K, showing that the highest quality preset at 4K demands far more from the GPU than the resolution increase alone would suggest. This implies that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the rendering pipeline at high pixel counts.

At Low settings, the scaling reveals a different dynamic. The 5800X3D and RTX 4080 combination hits 286 FPS at 1080p, 193 FPS at 1440p, and 103 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are larger in absolute terms — 93 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, then 90 FPS from 1440p to 4K — but the frame rates remain high enough that the experience stays smooth. The fact that 4K Low still produces 103 FPS, while 4K Ultra produces only 43 FPS, suggests that the Low preset removes enough graphical load to let the GPU breathe, whereas Ultra at 4K pushes the rendering hardware to its limits.

The data indicates that this system is GPU-limited at 4K across all settings, but the degree of limitation varies widely. At Medium settings, the measured rows show 227 FPS at 1080p, 145 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K, with min/max values of 193/261 at 1080p, 123/167 at 1440p, and 66/89 at 4K. The narrow min-to-max spread at 1080p Medium (68 FPS range) versus the wider spread at 4K Medium (23 FPS range) hints that frame pacing becomes more consistent at lower resolutions where the CPU can feed frames faster.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus for a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz provide the raw throughput needed for high-resolution rendering, and the benchmark results show that this memory configuration is sufficient for Hitman 2's demands at all tested settings — there are no signs of VRAM capacity being a limiting factor, even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, translating to a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s. These numbers help explain why the RTX 4080 can deliver 103 FPS at 4K Low — the raw fill rate is high enough that even a demanding resolution like 3840x2160 doesn't overwhelm the rendering pipeline when effects are minimized. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS also supports the idea that this GPU has headroom for compute-heavy workloads.

However, the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS reveals a different side of the RTX 4080's performance. At this preset, the GPU's 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are clearly being pushed, and the frame rate suggests that Hitman 2's Ultra settings at 4K require more than the 4080 can deliver smoothly. The GPU's benchmark scores align with this interpretation: its PassMark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 place it in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, but the game's specific demands at 4K Ultra exceed what these aggregate scores predict.

The RTX 4080's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher score) and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% lower), but in Hitman 2 specifically, the measured FPS shows the 4080 performing well at lower resolutions while falling short of a smooth 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 16 GB memory pool is never stressed — Hitman 2's largest memory footprint at 4K Ultra clearly fits within this capacity, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across repeated scenes in the data.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer), operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its defining feature is the 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is unusually large for a consumer CPU and provides a significant advantage in games that benefit from cached data. The CPU's 105 W TDP and AM4 socket compatibility make it a power-efficient choice for a high-performance gaming build.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14317 and a Geekbench multicore score of 11765. Single-thread performance is also solid, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 1452 and Geekbench single-core at 2017. These metrics suggest that the 5800X3D has ample processing power for Hitman 2's AI, physics, and game logic, which is reflected in the high frame rates at 1080p where the CPU is more likely to be a factor.

At 1080p Low, the 286 FPS average indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution and preset combination. The 3DMark scores reinforce this: 2-thread score of 1746, 4-thread score of 3392, and 8-thread score of 5906 show strong scaling across core counts, while the max-thread score of 7285 suggests the CPU can handle heavily threaded workloads. Hitman 2, being a 2018 title, likely uses fewer than 8 cores effectively, but the 5800X3D's high single-thread performance ensures it can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions.

The CPU's percentile ranking at 80 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27896, places it near rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (0% delta) and Intel Core i9-10900K (0.1% delta). In Hitman 2, the 5800X3D's large L3 cache appears to be an asset, as the game's level design with many interactive objects and NPCs likely benefits from the 96 MB cache. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU can maintain high frame rates even at Ultra settings, only becoming a secondary factor at 4K where the GPU dominates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 and 5800X3D produce exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 286 FPS, Medium produces 227 FPS with a range of 193 to 261 FPS, High reaches 172 FPS, and Ultra drops to 126 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 160 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1080p imposes a significant graphical load, but the absolute numbers remain high enough for any display refresh rate. The min/max data at Medium (193/261) shows a 68 FPS spread, suggesting some variance in demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but scales down predictably. Low settings produce 193 FPS, Medium averages 145 FPS with min/max of 123/167, High achieves 110 FPS, and Ultra falls to 81 FPS. The 1440p results represent a 33-36% reduction from 1080p across most settings, consistent with the pixel count increase of 78%. The Medium preset's min/max spread narrows to 44 FPS, indicating more consistent frame delivery at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings still manage 103 FPS, Medium averages 77 FPS with min/max of 66/89, High drops to 58 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. The 4K results show that Medium is the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that threshold. The min FPS of 66 at Medium suggests that even the lowest frames stay above 60 FPS, making Medium the best choice for smooth 4K gameplay. The progression from 103 FPS at Low to 43 FPS at Ultra represents a 60 FPS swing, demonstrating how much impact quality settings have at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 77 with a minimum of 66, which is above 60 FPS. However, at 4K High the average drops to 58 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 43 FPS, so smooth 60+ FPS gameplay is only achievable at Medium settings or lower.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in this game?

A: The GPU's aggregate benchmark score of 54247 is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER, but the measured FPS in Hitman 2 shows the 4080 performing better at 1080p and 1440p than at 4K, where the game's demands exceed what the card can deliver at Ultra settings.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the system delivers 145 FPS at Medium, 110 FPS at High, and 81 FPS at Ultra, all above 60 FPS. This resolution offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with 1440p Ultra at 81 FPS being particularly strong.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The 5800X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 4.50 GHz boost clock produce 286 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating no CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when increasing settings.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 172 at 1080p to 58 at 4K, a 66% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 286 to 103 FPS, a 64% reduction, showing that resolution scaling has a consistent impact across presets.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6X memory on the RTX 4080 is more than enough for Hitman 2, as the game runs at all tested resolutions and settings without any indication of VRAM limitations, even at 4K Ultra which produces 43 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, Ultra settings at 126 FPS provide an excellent experience, and even the most demanding preset stays well above any refresh rate threshold. The 227 FPS at Medium offers headroom for high-refresh displays, while Low at 286 FPS is only useful for competitive play where maximum frame rate matters more than visuals.

At 2560x1440, Ultra at 81 FPS is the clear recommendation for visual quality, as it remains comfortably above 60 FPS. High at 110 FPS offers a smoother experience for 120 Hz displays, while Medium at 145 FPS suits 144 Hz monitors. The 1440p Medium min FPS of 123 ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay above the 120 FPS threshold.

For 3840x2160, the choice is more constrained. Medium at 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 is the highest preset that maintains a consistent 60+ FPS experience, making it the recommended setting for 4K gaming. High at 58 FPS is playable but may exhibit noticeable frame drops below 60, and Ultra at 43 FPS is best avoided unless visual fidelity is prioritized over smoothness. Low at 103 FPS provides a high-refresh 4K option but sacrifices most graphical effects. The data clearly indicates that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 344th out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 9.3% of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, though it also shows that there are over 300 combinations that achieve higher average frame rates in this specific game. Given that the combo includes an 80th percentile CPU and 86th percentile GPU, the sub-10% rank suggests that Hitman 2's performance characteristics favor certain hardware pairings over others.

The rank of 344 indicates that while this system is far above average, it is not at the very top tier for Hitman 2. The 5800X3D's 8-core configuration with 96 MB L3 cache and the RTX 4080's 16 GB memory pool are strong assets, but the game's engine appears to respond well to even higher-end configurations. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is a notable weak point, suggesting that this combo is better suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers exceptional frame rates.

The percentile data for the individual components — 80 for the CPU and 86 for the GPU — suggests that both parts are high-performing in their respective categories, yet the combined rank of 344 out of 3711 implies that many other combinations outperform it in Hitman 2 specifically. This could be due to the game's preference for certain CPU architectures or GPU features that the 5800X3D and RTX 4080 do not fully leverage. The data shows that this combo is a strong performer, but not the definitive best for this title, leaving room for other high-end systems to achieve better results.