Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 pairing delivers a solid Hitman 2 experience, but the data shows a clear pattern: this is a GPU-limited combo at higher resolutions and a CPU-strong one at lower settings. The benchmark results reveal where the RTX 4070 holds things back and where the 9800X3D’s 3D V-Cache muscle shines.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, and it tells the story of a graphics card that runs out of headroom as pixel count climbs. At High settings, the combo produces 134.4 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 87.4 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls to 43.4 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is far more than the resolution’s raw pixel increase would suggest—indicating the RTX 4070 is the limiting component once you leave 1080p.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low, 1080p yields 235.3 FPS, 1440p gives 152.1 FPS, and 4K lands at 82.9 FPS. The 4K figure is still playable, but the gap between 1440p and 4K is 45.5%, showing that the GPU is struggling to keep pace. At Medium, the numbers are 178.9, 113.5, and 61.7 FPS respectively. The drop from 1440p to 4K here is 45.6%, nearly identical to Low, which suggests the bottleneck is purely pixel-throughput related rather than settings-related.

Ultra settings make the GPU strain even harder. The 1080p result of 99.7 FPS is respectable, but 1440p falls to 63.9 FPS and 4K drops to 35.3 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is below the 40 FPS threshold that most players would consider smooth, and the 64.6% decline from 1080p to 4K is the largest of any preset. The conclusion is straightforward: the CPU has plenty of headroom at 1080p, but the RTX 4070’s 12 GB frame buffer and 192-bit bus become the wall at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1795 tested combinations, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 448th for Hitman 2. That places it in the top 25% of all combos, which is a strong showing given the game’s age and the fact that many newer, faster GPUs exist. The rank reflects a balance: the 9800X3D is a top-tier processor, but the RTX 4070 is a mid-range card by 40-series standards, so the pairing doesn’t crack the top 200.

The CPU itself sits in the 90th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 37780. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6353P at 37811 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 37831 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HK at 38020 (0.6% higher), and the Intel Core i5-13600KF at 38028 (0.7% higher). The deltas are tiny—less than a percentage point—meaning the 9800X3D is effectively tied with these chips in synthetic tests, but its 96 MB of L3 cache gives it an edge in games like Hitman 2 that benefit from large working sets.

The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 81st percentile with an average score of 37283. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37507 (0.6% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A at 38008 (1.9% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135 (2.2% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5300M at 36371 (2.5% lower). The RTX 4070 is competitive with these, but the margin is narrow—suggesting that in Hitman 2, the GPU’s raw compute isn’t the differentiator; the CPU’s cache is.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. That bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show it’s not enough to feed the shaders at that resolution. The card’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units are capable, but they’re paired with only 64 ROPs, which limits fill-rate-heavy scenes—and Hitman 2’s dense crowds and reflections are exactly that.

The data shows the GPU’s role is decisive at 4K. At High settings, the difference between 1440p and 4K is 44 FPS, and at Ultra it’s 28.6 FPS. The card’s 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 compute is respectable, but it’s not enough to overcome the pixel load. Compare this to the CPU: the 9800X3D has 8 cores and 16 threads, boosts to 5.20 GHz, and its benchmark scores (34004 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 4800 in single-core) are far above what Hitman 2 needs. The GPU is the bottleneck, and the VRAM is the specific constraint—12 GB is fine for 1080p, but 4K textures and effects push it to the limit.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable to excellent results across all presets. Low settings produce 235.3 FPS, Medium 178.9 FPS, High 134.4 FPS, and Ultra 99.7 FPS. The 1080p Ultra figure is above the 60 FPS target, so even maxed-out settings are smooth. The gap between Low and Ultra is 135.6 FPS, which shows the GPU has enough room at this resolution to absorb settings changes without dipping below playable.

At 2560x1440, the numbers tighten. Low yields 152.1 FPS, Medium 113.5 FPS, High 87.4 FPS, and Ultra 63.9 FPS. The Ultra setting is still above 60 FPS, but barely—a 4 FPS margin is thin. High settings at 87.4 FPS are comfortable, and Medium at 113.5 FPS is excellent. The drop from High to Ultra is 23.5 FPS, which is a significant cost for the extra visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become obvious. Low produces 82.9 FPS, which is surprising—it’s higher than the 4K High figure of 43.4 FPS by nearly double. Medium drops to 61.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.3 FPS. The 4K Low result is playable, but 4K High and Ultra are not smooth experiences. The difference between 4K Low and 4K Ultra is 47.6 FPS, meaning the settings slider has an outsized impact at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 82.9 FPS. Medium drops to 61.7 FPS, High to 43.4 FPS, and Ultra to 35.3 FPS. For a smooth 4K experience, you’ll need to stick with Low or Medium.

Q: What’s the best resolution for this pairing?

A: 1440p offers the best balance. At High settings, it produces 87.4 FPS, and even Ultra stays above 60 FPS at 63.9 FPS. 1080p is faster but leaves performance on the table, while 4K sacrifices too much.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The 9800X3D scores 37780 on average, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Xeon 6353P and 0.1% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 225. It’s 0.6% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HK and 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-13600KF. These are negligible differences.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 37283 on average, which is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A. It’s 2.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M. The margins are small.

Q: What causes the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K?

A: The GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 12 GB of VRAM and 192-bit bus can’t sustain the pixel throughput needed at 3840x2160, especially at High and Ultra settings, where 4K FPS drops to 43.4 and 35.3 respectively.

Q: Is the CPU ever the bottleneck?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo hits 235.3 FPS, which suggests the CPU is still feeding frames quickly. The 9800X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads, combined with its 96 MB L3 cache, are more than sufficient for Hitman 2’s workload. The GPU is the constraint in nearly all scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, 1440p with High settings is the sweet spot. The 87.4 FPS average is smooth, and the visual quality is close to Ultra without the 23.5 FPS penalty. If you want maximum fidelity, 1440p Ultra at 63.9 FPS is still playable, but the margin over 60 FPS is slim—any demanding scene could dip lower. For competitive or high-refresh play, 1080p Medium at 178.9 FPS or 1080p High at 134.4 FPS are excellent choices, both well above 100 FPS.

At 4K, the recommendation is to use Low settings, which deliver 82.9 FPS. Medium at 61.7 FPS is borderline playable, but the 21.2 FPS difference between Low and Medium is significant, and Low’s higher frame rate provides more headroom for stutter-free play. Avoid 4K Ultra entirely—35.3 FPS is not a smooth experience. In summary, the data says: 1440p High for balanced play, 1080p High for high-refresh, and 4K Low if you must use a 4K display.