Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This pairing of AMD's Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA's Turing-era RTX 2060 SUPER produces a spread of frame rates that reveals a clear imbalance between the two components. Across the twelve measured configurations, the data shows a system that can deliver smooth 1080p play at most settings but struggles to maintain acceptable performance at 4K, with the GPU consistently emerging as the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads boosting up to 5.50 GHz, sits in the 94th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the RTX 2060 SUPER, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, ranks in only the 62nd percentile among all GPUs — a gap that foreshadows where bottlenecks will appear in demanding titles like Hitman 2.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate collapse from 1080p to 4K in Hitman 2 is dramatic and tells a straightforward story about which component is carrying the load. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 82 at 1920x1080 to 52 at 2560x1440, then falls to 28 at 3840x2160 — that is a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is even steeper in absolute terms: 145 FPS at 1080p falls to 93 at 1440p and then to 49 at 4K, a 66% decline as well. The consistency of this percentage decline across different settings is a strong indicator that resolution scaling is purely GPU-bound, since the CPU's workload in Hitman 2 does not increase proportionally with pixel count.

The Medium preset shows the same pattern with slightly different absolute values: 109 FPS at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 37 at 4K. The Ultra preset, which demands the most from the graphics card, sees the steepest relative fall: 60 FPS at 1080p drops to 39 at 1440p and then to 21 at 4K — a 65% reduction from the lowest to highest resolution. What is particularly telling is that the 1440p to 4K transition consistently costs roughly 45-47% of the frame rate across all settings, while the 1080p to 1440p transition costs between 35-37%. This non-linear scaling is classic GPU memory bandwidth and fill-rate pressure, suggesting that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 64 ROPs are being saturated as pixel count rises.

The fact that the Ryzen 7 9700F never appears to be the constraint is evident from the 1080p numbers themselves. At Low settings, the system produces 145 FPS, which is far below what this CPU could theoretically push in a less GPU-limited scenario. Even at Ultra settings, the 60 FPS at 1080p is more likely a GPU ceiling than a CPU limitation, given that the 9700F's single-thread score of 4691 in Passmark places it among the fastest desktop processors available. The data implies that for Hitman 2, this combination is GPU-bound at every resolution tested, with the CPU having significant headroom that remains untapped.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience with this hardware, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 stands out as the most balanced configuration in the measured data. It delivers an average of 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 125, which means even the lowest recorded frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered the baseline for fluid gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops to 82 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. At 1440p, Medium produces 69 FPS average with a 59 FPS minimum — that minimum is borderline, but the average suggests acceptable performance for most players. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 93 FPS average, making it a viable option for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend at any resolution. At 1080p it manages 60 FPS average, but at 1440p it falls to 39 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 21 FPS — all below what most players would consider smooth. The jump from High to Ultra costs 27% of the frame rate at 1080p (82 to 60 FPS) and 25% at 1440p (52 to 39 FPS), which is a substantial penalty for the incremental visual improvements that Ultra typically brings. Given that High at 1440p produces 52 FPS and Medium at 1440p produces 69 FPS, the data suggests that players with 1440p displays should seriously consider the Medium preset to maintain frame rates above 60.

For 4K displays, the situation is more constrained. The best 4K result is Low at 49 FPS, followed by Medium at 37 FPS, High at 28 FPS, and Ultra at 21 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, so 4K players will need to accept sub-60 frame rates or reduce resolution. The Medium preset at 4K with its 31 FPS minimum and 43 FPS maximum shows that even the minimum stays above 30 FPS, which is the bare minimum for playability, but the experience will be noticeably less smooth than at lower resolutions. Overall, the data points to 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium as the sweet spots for this combination in Hitman 2.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 SUPER's specifications explain much of the observed performance pattern. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has enough memory capacity for Hitman 2's textures at most settings, but the bandwidth becomes a limiting factor as resolution increases. The GPU's 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs are the physical resources that must process each frame, and the measured frame rates at 4K suggest these resources are being fully utilized. The boost clock of 1650 MHz and base clock of 1470 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance places this card in the mid-range tier of the database's GPU rankings.

The Passmark G3D score of 16462 and the percentile rank of 62 among all GPUs confirm that this is not a high-end part. The nearest rivals in the database — the RTX 3060 Mobile at 18159 (0.4% ahead), the Radeon Pro 5700 at 18189 (0.5% ahead), the Radeon RX 460 at 18373 (1.5% ahead), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18383 (1.6% ahead) — all score within 2% of the RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 18093. This clustering indicates that the card sits in a tightly contested performance tier where small differences in synthetic benchmarks translate to the frame rate gaps observed in Hitman 2.

The 4K results specifically highlight the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the card produces only 21 FPS average, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for playable performance. Even at 4K Low, the 49 FPS average suggests the card is working near its maximum capacity. The VRAM usage is not directly measured in this data, but the 8 GB capacity is likely sufficient for Hitman 2's textures at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra textures could potentially approach that limit. The GPU's 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but irrelevant for Hitman 2, which does not utilize ray tracing in this benchmark data. The card's 62nd percentile ranking versus the CPU's 94th percentile makes the performance ceiling clear: this is a GPU-limited pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution with the most headroom, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low delivers 145 FPS average, Medium delivers 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 125, High delivers 82 FPS, and Ultra delivers 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 36 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 27 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 22 FPS. This diminishing returns pattern suggests that each step up in quality costs progressively less in frame rate, which is typical for a GPU that becomes more fill-rate limited at higher settings.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute values. Low produces 93 FPS, Medium produces 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 80, High produces 52 FPS, and Ultra produces 39 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 24 FPS, Medium to High costs 17 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 13 FPS. The 1440p numbers show that the card can maintain playable frame rates at Medium and below, but High and Ultra dip into the 30-50 FPS range where some players will notice stutter. The Medium minimum of 59 FPS is just barely below 60, indicating that some scenes in Hitman 2 will push the card harder than the average suggests.

At 3840x2160, the card is clearly out of its depth. Low produces 49 FPS, Medium produces 37 FPS with a minimum of 31 and maximum of 43, High produces 28 FPS, and Ultra produces 21 FPS. The Medium minimum of 31 FPS is right at the edge of playability, and the High and Ultra averages are below 30 FPS, which will result in a visibly choppy experience. The 4K data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER cannot handle this resolution for Hitman 2 at any settings above Low, and even Low at 49 FPS is not smooth enough for a stealth game where precise timing matters.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2133 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 29th percentile of all combinations. This is a surprisingly low rank given that the CPU is in the 94th percentile and the GPU is in the 62nd percentile individually. The discrepancy between component ranks and the combo rank suggests that the GPU is dragging down the overall performance significantly, and that Hitman 2's engine does not benefit from the CPU's high multithreaded performance. The Ryzen 7 9700F's Passmark multithread score of 36470 and single-thread score of 4691 are both excellent, but the game appears to be largely single-threaded and GPU-bound.

The nearest CPU rivals in the database — the Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 (0.2% behind), the Core i7-14700KF at 70163 (0.2% ahead), the Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515 (0.7% behind), and the Core i7-14700K at 69355 (0.9% behind) — all show that the 9700F's average CPU benchmark score of 69996 is competitive with top-tier processors. Yet in Hitman 2, the combo rank of 2133 out of 3001 indicates that the GPU is the primary determinant of where this pairing lands. The fact that the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 1.6% of its average score but the combo rank is in the bottom 29% of all combinations underscores how much the RTX 2060 SUPER limits the overall experience in this specific game.

The rank also reflects that Hitman 2 is a 2018 title with a release date of 2018-11-12, meaning it was designed for hardware from that era. The RTX 2060 SUPER, released in 2019-07-08, was a mid-range card at that time, and its performance in Hitman 2 today is consistent with its age. The rank of 2133 out of 3001 suggests that 71% of tested combinations achieve higher frame rates in this game, which is a sobering statistic for a CPU that is among the fastest available. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield a much larger improvement in Hitman 2 performance than upgrading the CPU, which is already near the top of the database.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 at Medium settings delivers 109 FPS average with a 92 FPS minimum, which is the smoothest experience. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to 69 FPS average with a 59 FPS minimum, which is still playable. At 3840x2160, the best result is 49 FPS at Low settings, which is below 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produces 49 FPS average. Medium at 4K drops to 37 FPS average with a 31 FPS minimum, and High and Ultra produce 28 and 21 FPS respectively. None of the 4K configurations reach 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 62nd percentile. The frame rate drops consistently from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 18093, with the nearest rival being the RTX 3060 Mobile at 18159 (0.4% ahead), followed by the Radeon Pro 5700 at 18189 (0.5% ahead), the Radeon RX 460 at 18373 (1.5% ahead), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18383 (1.6% ahead).

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 69 FPS average with a 59 FPS minimum, which is the best balance. High drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS. Low reaches 93 FPS but sacrifices visual quality.

Q: What is the combo rank of this pairing in Hitman 2?

A: The combination ranks 2133 out of 3001 tested combos, placing it in the 29th percentile. This is significantly lower than the individual component ranks of 94th percentile for the CPU and 62nd percentile for the GPU.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9700F's specifications paint a picture of a high-end processor that is largely underutilized in Hitman 2. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), the CPU has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, which are excellent for gaming workloads that rely on single-thread performance. The Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 are both strong, and the 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that this is a top-tier part. The L3 cache of 32 MB shared and the 70.6 mm² die size on a 4 nm process at TSMC with 8,315 million transistors indicate a modern, efficient design.

However, the measured frame rates in Hitman 2 suggest that the CPU's capabilities are not being fully exercised. At 1080p Low, the system produces 145 FPS, which is likely close to the game engine's limit or the GPU's limit at that settings level, not the CPU's limit. The fact that the frame rate scales so consistently with resolution — dropping by roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck at every point. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less variation across resolutions because the CPU workload is largely resolution-independent.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database — the Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% behind), Core i7-14700KF (0.2% ahead), Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% behind), and Core i7-14700K (0.9% behind) — all have average scores within 1% of the 9700F's 69996. This clustering suggests that any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Hitman 2 when paired with the same GPU. The data therefore implies that upgrading the CPU would provide no meaningful benefit for this game, while upgrading the GPU would yield substantial improvements. The 65W TDP and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth further indicate that the CPU is not a power or bandwidth constraint in this scenario. In summary, the Ryzen 7 9700F is a capable processor that is simply waiting for a stronger GPU to pair with in Hitman 2.