Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 pairing delivers a playable but constrained experience in Hitman 2, with the data revealing a system where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution and settings increase. The benchmark results show a steady performance hierarchy across three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear picture of what this combination can achieve in the stealth title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this pairing at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 116.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 77.2 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 44 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GTX 1070 is working progressively harder to fill the increasing pixel count. The scaling is consistent with a graphics card that has sufficient power for lower resolutions but begins to struggle as pixel throughput demands rise.

The High preset shows a similar pattern, with 69.6 FPS at 1080p dropping to 42.8 FPS at 1440p and settling at just 25 FPS at 4K. The 4K result falls below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered the minimum for smooth gameplay, confirming that 4K is not a viable option for this combo at higher quality settings. The Medium preset follows the same trajectory, starting at 91.4 FPS at 1080p, declining to 54.5 FPS at 1440p, and reaching 28.5 FPS at 4K.

The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 116.1 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the Ryzen 7 5800XT can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions. The frame rate drops become more pronounced as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of GPU limitation. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus width are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for maintaining playable rates at 4K with demanding settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the decisive factor in this game’s performance envelope. With a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, the Pascal architecture GPU provides 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a constraint at 4K. The GPU’s 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs are configured to handle mainstream resolutions efficiently, but the data shows diminishing returns as pixel counts escalate.

The GTX 1070 sits at the 51st percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, which scores 12241 (0.7% faster), and the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER at 12504 (1.4% faster). This places the GPU in the mid-range tier of the current market, which aligns with the measured FPS results. At 1080p, the card delivers respectable performance across all settings, but the Ultra preset at 49.4 FPS shows the limits of its capability when maximum quality is demanded.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Hitman 2’s texture requirements at 1080p and 1440p, but the Ultra preset at 4K may be pushing memory capacity and bandwidth to their limits. The performance drop from Low to Ultra at 4K (44 FPS to 20.2 FPS) indicates that both memory bandwidth and compute throughput are being saturated. The GPU’s DirectX 12 support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant for Hitman 2, which can leverage modern graphics APIs for improved efficiency.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 1500 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower 16th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual components might suggest, given that the CPU sits at the 86th percentile among all processors while the GPU is at the 51st percentile. The discrepancy indicates that the GTX 1070 is holding back the overall system performance in this game, preventing the powerful CPU from reaching its potential.

The combo ranking reflects the GPU-bound nature of Hitman 2 at higher settings. The Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is capable of far more than what the GTX 1070 can feed it in most scenarios. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 959 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3359, is underutilized when paired with a GPU that limits frame rates to the levels seen in the measured data.

The ranking suggests that for Hitman 2 specifically, this combo is not optimized for maximum performance. Users seeking higher frame rates would need to consider a more powerful GPU or reduce settings to achieve better results. The 1500th position out of 1795 combos indicates that there are 295 configurations that perform worse, placing this pairing in the lower third of tested systems for this particular game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 116.1 FPS, providing a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 91.4 FPS, still comfortably playable, while High produces 69.6 FPS, which is adequate for most gaming scenarios. The Ultra preset drops to 49.4 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target but still playable for slower-paced stealth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance decreases noticeably but remains usable at lower settings. Low settings produce 77.2 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p gaming. Medium settings deliver 54.5 FPS, a playable rate for this resolution. High settings drop to 42.8 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but falls short of the smoothness expected at 1440p. The Ultra preset manages only 29.8 FPS, making it unsuitable for consistent gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the limitations of the GTX 1070 become fully apparent. Low settings achieve 44 FPS, which is playable but shows the strain of 4K rendering. Medium settings drop to 28.5 FPS, and High settings fall to 25 FPS. The Ultra preset produces just 20.2 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for most users. These results demonstrate that 4K is only viable at the lowest settings, and even then, the frame rate hovers near the edge of playability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT plays a supporting role in Hitman 2, providing ample processing power that rarely becomes the limiting factor. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, the CPU offers strong multi-threaded performance that is largely untapped by this game. The base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensure responsive gameplay, while the 32 MB of L3 cache helps reduce memory latency in CPU-intensive scenes.

The CPU’s benchmark results indicate substantial headroom. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and Passmark multithread score of 27988 demonstrate that the processor is more than capable of handling Hitman 2’s demands. The 3dmark 8-thread score of 6141 and 16-thread score of 7683 further confirm that the CPU can handle multiple concurrent tasks without becoming a bottleneck.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the system achieves 116.1 FPS, suggesting that CPU performance is sufficient to feed the GTX 1070 effectively. The Ryzen 7 5800XT’s single-thread performance, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3538, ensures that game logic and AI calculations proceed without stalling the frame pipeline. The CPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all processors reinforces that it is not the weak link in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset at 91.4 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, providing a smooth experience with room to spare. The High preset at 69.6 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, while the Ultra preset at 49.4 FPS remains playable but approaches the lower limit of acceptable frame rates.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 77.2 FPS delivers the smoothest experience, but the Medium preset at 54.5 FPS is the recommended choice for most players. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a frame rate that is adequate for Hitman 2’s deliberate pacing. The High preset at 42.8 FPS is acceptable for those who can tolerate slightly lower smoothness, but the Ultra preset at 29.8 FPS is not recommended.

At 3840x2160, the only viable option is the Low preset at 44 FPS, which offers a playable frame rate but with reduced visual quality. The Medium preset at 28.5 FPS and High at 25 FPS fall below the 30 FPS threshold and are not recommended for consistent gameplay. The Ultra preset at 20.2 FPS should be avoided entirely. For the best overall experience, the data suggests using 1080p with High settings or 1440p with Medium settings, both of which provide a good balance of visual fidelity and performance for this hardware combination.