Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a robust performance profile in Hitman 2, with the data indicating a system that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates show a clear trajectory from high refresh rate dominance at 1080p to a more demanding, visually intensive experience at 4K. This analysis breaks down the specific roles of the CPU and GPU, interprets the scaling behavior, and provides actionable settings recommendations based on the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, revealing how the workload shifts between components. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 169.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset, the average drops to 110.4 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. The transition to 4K further reduces performance to 58.4 FPS, which is about 47% lower than the 1440p result and 66% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the rendering pipeline becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution increases.

The scaling pattern across all settings confirms this interpretation. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 298.3 FPS at 1080p to 190.7 FPS at 1440p (a 36% decrease) and then to 104.3 FPS at 4K (a 45% decrease from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across different presets suggest that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, as the raw pixel throughput demand increases. At 1080p, the data shows a less constrained environment where the CPU can feed the GPU more effectively, evidenced by the high frame rates exceeding 200 FPS on Medium and 298 FPS on Low.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 44.2, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often desired for smooth gameplay. This is a significant drop from the 4K High result of 58.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy shading and geometry load that the GPU struggles to maintain. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is 14.2 FPS, a 24% performance penalty, which highlights the diminishing returns of the highest settings at this resolution. The 1440p results show a similar but less severe trend, with Ultra at 80.7 FPS versus High at 110.4 FPS. This data suggests that for 4K gaming, the High preset is the practical ceiling for maintaining playable frame rates, while 1440p offers a comfortable margin for higher settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 provides the computational foundation for this combo, with its 8 cores and 16 threads operating on the Zen 4 architecture. The CPU’s base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz are critical for handling the game’s simulation and AI logic. The benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1049 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4136. This is relevant for Hitman 2, which typically relies on a few heavily loaded threads for game logic.

The multi-threaded capabilities are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29302 and a 3dmark_max_threads score of 8479. The CPU’s performance in the data suggests it is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested. This is evident from the scaling pattern: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 298.3 FPS, a figure that requires the CPU to process frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher settings. The 16 threads ensure that background tasks and the game’s processing demands are met without introducing stutter, as indicated by the high average FPS figures.

The CPU’s position relative to its peers reinforces its capability. The data lists the Ryzen 7 7700 with a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H with a deltaPct of 0.1, indicating near-identical performance, and the Intel Core i9-13905H with a deltaPct of -0.6. This parity means the 7700 is not a limiting factor; its performance headroom allows the RTX 4080 SUPER to operate at its full potential. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide the fast data access necessary to maintain high frame rates, which is particularly noticeable in the 1080p results where frame pacing is less reliant on GPU throughput.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This memory capacity is sufficient for Hitman 2’s textures at all tested resolutions, preventing potential bottlenecks from memory swapping. The GPU’s boost clock of 2550 MHz and 10240 shading units provide the raw compute power needed for the game’s rendering, and its performance is quantifiable through its benchmark scores.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 53610 places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has a deltaPct of 0.2, showing they are statistically tied in synthetic tests. However, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s real-world performance in Hitman 2 is more telling. At 1080p Low, the 298.3 FPS average demonstrates the GPU’s ability to render frames rapidly when not constrained by CPU overhead. The transition to 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 44.2 FPS, shows the GPU’s limits under maximum load. The 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability is heavily utilized at this resolution, and the data suggests that the pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s becomes a limiting factor.

The GPU’s architecture, Ada Lovelace, includes 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. While Hitman 2 does not heavily utilize ray tracing in its standard presets, the presence of these cores ensures future-proofing for games that do. The 16 GB VRAM is a key asset, as it allows for high-resolution textures without performance degradation. The measured difference between 4K High (58.4 FPS) and 4K Medium (77.6 FPS) is 19.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s shading units are the primary constraint, not memory bandwidth. This is further supported by the fact that the Low preset at 4K achieves 104.3 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate, showing that the GPU can handle 4K when the visual fidelity is reduced.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 122.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1080p offers 169.9 FPS, which is beneficial for high refresh rate monitors, but the visual improvement from Ultra justifies the 47.1 FPS trade-off for most users. The data shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the system has ample headroom, with the frame rate not dropping below the playable range.

At 1440p, the High preset provides the best balance, with an average of 110.4 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the Ultra preset’s 80.7 FPS, which is still playable but may not fully utilize a 144Hz monitor. The Medium preset at 145 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the High preset offers a better visual experience without compromising the frame rate. The 4K resolution is where the settings have the most critical impact. The High preset at 58.4 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth experience, as it approaches the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 44.2 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate drops below the threshold for comfortable play. The Medium preset at 77.6 FPS is the best choice for 4K if the user prefers a higher frame rate, as it provides a 19.2 FPS improvement over High while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

The data indicates that the Low preset is not recommended at any resolution for a quality experience, as it sacrifices too much visual fidelity. The measured results show that the system is capable of running the game at High or Medium settings at 4K, and the choice should be guided by whether the user prioritizes visual detail or frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, High at 4K is the definitive choice, while Medium at 1440p or Ultra at 1080p offer alternative experiences.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds a rank of 138 out of 1795 combos. This places it in the top 8% of all configurations tested for Hitman 2, indicating a high-performance pairing. The rank is a composite measure of the system’s ability to deliver high frame rates across the tested resolutions and settings. The combo’s performance is consistent with its component strengths: the CPU’s high multi-threaded score and the GPU’s strong rasterization performance work in tandem to produce excellent results.

The rank of 138 suggests that while this combo is not the absolute fastest, it outperforms the vast majority of systems. The data shows that the combination is particularly effective at 1080p and 1440p, where the frame rates are high enough to take advantage of high refresh rate displays. At 4K, the combo is still capable, but the rank reflects that there are systems with more powerful GPUs that can achieve higher frame rates at this resolution. The nearest rivals to the individual components provide context: the CPU’s performance is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (deltaPct 0.1), and the GPU is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (deltaPct 0.2). This indicates that the combo’s rank is not limited by a single component, but rather represents a balanced system that delivers a strong overall experience in Hitman 2.