Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 presents a distinct performance profile in Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title. The data shows a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial multi-threading and cache capabilities ensure high frame rates at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to explain how this specific combination behaves across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a steep decline as resolution increases, which is expected but the magnitude here is telling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 152 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 97 FPS, a 36% reduction, and at 4K it falls to 52 FPS, a 46% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the limiting component once the pixel count rises.

The trend is consistent across all settings. At Medium, the average FPS at 1080p is 114, which drops to 73 at 1440p and then to 39 at 4K. For High settings, the numbers are 86, 55, and 29 respectively. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, moving from 64 FPS at 1080p to 41 at 1440p, and finally to just 22 at 4K. These figures illustrate that the RTX 5050 cannot sustain playable frame rates at 4K on higher presets, with even the Low preset only reaching 52 FPS.

The data suggests that the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is not the primary constraint in this game. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's logic. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 152 FPS shows that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's rendering workload increases, and the frame rate drops accordingly. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The performance delta between 1080p and 4K is significant, reinforcing that players should target lower resolutions for high refresh rates or accept lower settings at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 1837 out of 3001 combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower half of all tested pairs, which is noteworthy given the strength of the individual components. The ranking reflects the balance between the high-end CPU and the entry-level GPU, where the latter drags down the overall system performance in this specific game.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 39768 puts it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 21035 places it in the 66th percentile, with rivals like the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT. The disparity in these percentile rankings explains the combo's overall position; the GPU holds the system back from achieving a higher rank.

The data shows that the combo's rank is more dependent on the GPU's capabilities than the CPU's. While the Ryzen 7 9800X3D can handle the game's processing demands, the RTX 5050's performance ceiling is what defines the experience. The measured FPS at 1080p Medium (114) is solid, but the ranking suggests that many other combinations with more powerful GPUs will outperform it. The combo’s position at 1837 out of 3001 indicates that for Hitman 2, this is a mid-to-low-tier pairing in terms of overall measured performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the decisive factor in this system's gaming performance. Its specifications include 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz. These specs are modest for modern gaming, and the benchmark results confirm that the GPU is often the bottleneck.

The 8 GB VRAM is a critical detail. In Hitman 2, which is a 2018 title, the memory capacity is likely sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the measured data shows that 4K Ultra only achieves 22 FPS. This low frame rate is not necessarily a VRAM capacity issue, but rather a rendering throughput issue, as the GPU's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 32 ROPs are limited. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are not sufficient to handle the demands of 4K with high detail.

The GPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. Its Passmark G3D score of 17326 places it in the 66th percentile, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which has a score of 20713. This indicates that the RTX 5050 is positioned at the lower end of the performance spectrum. The data clearly shows that for Hitman 2, the GPU’s raw compute power is the limiting factor, especially as resolution increases. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 is a further indication of its modest capabilities.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this combo for a high refresh rate?*

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution that provides consistently high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average is 152 FPS, and at Medium it is 114 FPS, which are suitable for high refresh rate monitors.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?*

A: The measured results indicate that 4K is not a viable option for smooth gameplay. The highest average FPS at 4K is 52 with Low settings, which is below the typical 60 FPS target. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 22 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 39768, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS and 0.8% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700. It is 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365.

Q: Is the GPU the main performance limiter in this system?

A: Yes, the benchmark data shows that frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 152 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 52 FPS, indicating the GPU cannot keep up with higher pixel counts.

Q: What is the expected frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows an average FPS of 73 at 1440p Medium, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. This indicates a fairly consistent frame time, with a 22 FPS variance between the minimum and maximum.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The system ranks 1837 out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower half of the database, reflecting the GPU's performance limitations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a high-end processor that provides significant compute power, but its role in Hitman 2 is to enable the GPU to reach its limits. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the CPU has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable feature that can help with game data access. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23230 and single-core score of 2080 demonstrate its strong processing capabilities.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system. The measured FPS at 1080p Low of 152 shows that the CPU can deliver instructions fast enough for the GPU to render a high number of frames. However, the frame rate does not scale with CPU performance; it scales with GPU load. When resolution increases, the CPU's workload remains relatively constant, but the GPU takes longer to render each frame, resulting in lower FPS.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 7 7700, which has an average score of 40081. The 9800X3D’s score of 39768 is 0.8% lower, indicating they are closely matched. This high level of CPU performance is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, a game from 2018. The processing headroom means that in this pairing, the GPU is the definitive limiting component, and the CPU’s role is to ensure it is not holding back the system's potential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and frame rate. For 1080p, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance, with an average of 114 FPS and a minimum of 97 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for most monitors. The High preset at 1080p also performs well, with an average of 86 FPS, which is still suitable for 60 Hz displays. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p yields 64 FPS, which is acceptable but shows a significant performance cost.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It achieves an average of 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS, which is right at the playable threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1440p drops to 55 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but Medium provides more headroom. The Low preset at 1440p offers 97 FPS but will reduce visual quality. For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable, with an average of 52 FPS. However, this is still below the ideal 60 FPS target, so players should be prepared for a less smooth experience.

The data shows that the Ultra preset is generally not recommended for this combo. At 1080p it provides 64 FPS, which is a 44% drop from Medium, and at 1440p it drops to 41 FPS. At 4K, it is unplayable at 22 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra settings exceeds the visual benefit in Hitman 2 for this GPU. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot across all resolutions, providing the best balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured data provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 152 FPS average.
• Medium: 114 FPS average, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS.
• High: 86 FPS average.
• Ultra: 64 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the results show a significant drop:

• Low: 97 FPS average.
• Medium: 73 FPS average, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS.
• High: 55 FPS average.
• Ultra: 41 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the performance is heavily constrained:

• Low: 52 FPS average.
• Medium: 39 FPS average, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS.
• High: 29 FPS average.
• Ultra: 22 FPS average.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the RTX 5050 provides playable frame rates (above 60 FPS) only at 1080p with Medium or lower settings, and at 1440p with Low settings. At 4K, no settings preset achieves the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating it is the most stable setting tested. The performance drops from 1080p to 1440p are substantial, ranging from a 36% reduction on Low to a 36% reduction on Ultra. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, with a 46% reduction on Low and a 46% reduction on Ultra, underscoring the GPU’s limitations at high resolutions.