Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a performance profile in Hitman 2 that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset selection. The measured data shows a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and solid 1440p performance, but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher detail settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, contextualizes them against the component's benchmark standings, and examines the roles the CPU and GPU play in shaping the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a dramatic and consistent drop in performance across all settings, indicating that the rendering load scales aggressively with pixel count. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 103 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 37 FPS, and then plummets to 35 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66% decrease in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that strongly suggests the AMD Radeon RX 7700 becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, as the GPU's pixel throughput is taxed far more heavily than the CPU's workload.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. The average frame rate drops from 76 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p, and then to a nearly unplayable 26 FPS at 4K. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is a 23 FPS loss, which is a steeper relative decline than the 27 FPS loss seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p. This non-linear degradation indicates that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are saturated at 4K, with the 16 GB frame buffer and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient to maintain fluid frame pacing at the highest detail levels.

Conversely, the Low preset shows the least severe scaling, moving from 182 FPS at 1080p to 116 FPS at 1440p and finally 62 FPS at 4K. While the 4K figure is still a 66% drop from 1080p, the absolute values remain high enough to suggest that at lower settings, the bottleneck shifts more toward the CPU. The Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, can maintain a high instruction throughput, but even its capabilities are overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels at 4K. The data indicates that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users must adhere to the Low preset, while 1440p offers a more balanced trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The maximum average FPS recorded is 182 at the Low preset. The Medium preset delivers 136 FPS, High delivers 103 FPS, and Ultra delivers 76 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1440p with the Medium preset?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, indicating smooth performance with some variance.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware in Hitman 2?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which yields an average of 62 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 46 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS, all of which are below the 60 FPS threshold for fluid gameplay.

Q: What is the performance delta between the High and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The High preset averages 103 FPS, while Ultra averages 76 FPS. This represents a 27 FPS reduction in average frame rate when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Hitman 2 compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1749 out of 3711 tested combinations, placing it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems for this game.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset across resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the minimum is 116 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum is 74 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 39 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it delivers an average of 103 FPS, providing a substantial margin above the 60 FPS standard while maintaining high visual fidelity. The Ultra preset, at 76 FPS, is also viable for users who prioritize image quality over a higher refresh rate, but the 27 FPS drop from High may not justify the marginal visual gains in a stealth game where clarity is more important than absolute detail.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It achieves an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, ensuring that frame times remain consistent even in crowded scenes. The High preset at 66 FPS is acceptable for users with adaptive sync monitors, but the Medium preset offers a safer buffer against drops. The Low preset at 116 FPS is overkill for most displays and sacrifices too much visual fidelity.

At 4K, the recommendation is singular: the Low preset. The 62 FPS average is the only setting that approaches playable territory. The Medium preset's 46 FPS, High's 35 FPS, and Ultra's 26 FPS are all too low for a smooth experience, especially in a game that requires precise timing and awareness. Users with 4K displays should either accept the Low preset or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a significantly better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured results is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 182 FPS, Medium produces 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 and maximum of 157, High produces 103 FPS, and Ultra produces 76 FPS. The progression shows a consistent 20-30% drop in performance for each step up in settings, with the gap between Medium and High being the largest at 33 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 116 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100, High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p results in a 36% reduction in average FPS across all presets, which is a typical cost for the 78% increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 62 FPS, Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The 4K results show a severe bottleneck, with even the Low preset barely maintaining 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 39 FPS indicates significant frame pacing issues, which would be noticeable as stutter during gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the specific context of Hitman 2, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and AMD Radeon RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1749 out of 3711 tested combos. This places the system in the lower half of all configurations tested for this game, which is a surprising result given the individual component specifications. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs would suggest a more favorable position, but the game's specific rendering requirements may not fully utilize the hardware's strengths.

The combo's rank is likely dragged down by the 4K performance, where the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 256-bit bus are insufficient for the highest settings. At 1080p and 1440p, the system performs admirably, but the overall ranking aggregates all resolutions, and the poor 4K results disproportionately affect the final position. The data suggests that this combo is optimized for high-refresh 1080p or solid 1440p gaming, but it is not a top-tier configuration for 4K enthusiasts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7683 and max-thread score of 7680 indicate that the CPU maintains consistent performance across all cores, which is beneficial for games that can leverage multiple threads.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 182 FPS, which is a clear indication that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach high refresh rates. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is critical for the game's AI and physics calculations. However, at 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The CPU's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR4 support are adequate, but they do not provide any advantage over more modern platforms in this scenario.

The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H and AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, show similar average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and 0.6% respectively. This indicates that the 5800XT is competitive with newer mobile and desktop parts, but it does not offer a significant edge in gaming workloads. For Hitman 2, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient, and the performance ceiling is ultimately set by the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU based on the Navi 32 chip, with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical specification for high-resolution textures and effects.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a mixed profile. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2865, and its Passmark G3D score is 20974, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16014 in average benchmarks, a 1% difference, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is 1.7% higher. These rivals are all in the same performance tier, indicating that the RX 7700 is a mid-range part.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is dominant at all resolutions, but especially at 4K. The 26 FPS average at 4K Ultra demonstrates that the GPU's compute power and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the highest settings. The 16 GB VRAM is not the limiting factor, as Hitman 2 does not typically exceed 8-10 GB, but the 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 393.4 GTexel/s texture rate are taxed heavily by the game's lighting and shadow effects. The GPU's 40 RT cores are not utilized in this game, as it does not support ray tracing, so the raw rasterization performance is the primary determinant of frame rate.

The GPU's performance at 1440p High (66 FPS) and Medium (87 FPS) shows that it is well-suited for this resolution, providing a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, as the CPU can push frame rates beyond 100 FPS. The data clearly indicates that the RX 7700 is a capable 1440p card, but it falls short at 4K, where users must significantly lower settings to achieve playable frame rates.