Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers a strong performance profile in Hitman 2, placing 68th out of 1795 tested combos. The data shows a system that can handle high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions while still providing playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured results to give a practical picture of what this pairing offers.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 4K (3840x2160), High produces an average of 62.7 FPS, which is comfortably playable for a stealth title. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K is steep — a drop from 62.7 FPS to 45.3 FPS, a reduction of over 27%. Since Hitman 2 is a methodical stealth game, the visual fidelity gain from Ultra may not justify losing that much smoothness.

At 1440p (2560x1440), High delivers 115.8 FPS, which is excellent for fast camera movements and reaction-based gameplay. The Medium preset at this resolution hits 153.1 FPS, while Ultra drops to 86.4 FPS. For players with 144Hz displays, High settings at 1440p are the sweet spot, as they achieve nearly the full refresh rate without sacrificing much visual quality. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 207.4 FPS, but the graphical downgrade is likely too severe for most users.

At 1080p (1920x1080), all presets exceed 136 FPS. High settings yield 183.3 FPS, and Medium provides 242.9 FPS. The Low preset at 322.7 FPS is the absolute ceiling for this combo, but it is recommended only for competitive or high-refresh-rate scenarios. Ultra at 1080p still holds at 136.3 FPS, making it a viable option for players who prioritize image quality over extreme frame rates.

The overall recommendation is to use High settings for a consistent experience across all three resolutions. The performance scaling from Medium to High is minimal in terms of cost, while the Ultra preset imposes a significant frame rate penalty that does not align with the game's stealth-focused pacing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. This 9000-series chip is built on the Zen 5 architecture using a 4 nm process, and it carries a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The benchmark results show strong multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and a Geekbench multicore score of 18413. Single-thread performance is equally robust, hitting 4800 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3341 in Geekbench single-core.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is significant because the game's simulation and AI routines can scale with thread count. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10081 indicates that the processor can handle heavy parallel workloads, which is relevant for maintaining stable frame times during crowded scenes. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all tested processors places it well above the average, and its nearest rivals — the Intel Xeon 6353P, Intel Core Ultra 5 225, Intel Core i9-13900HK, and Intel Core i5-13600KF — are all within 0.7% of its average benchmark score. This suggests that the 9800X3D is not bottlenecking the GPU in this pairing.

The high L3 cache is particularly beneficial for game data that is frequently accessed, and the boost clock of 5.20 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, such as physics calculations or AI pathfinding, are executed quickly. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 322.7 FPS, which indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively even at very high frame rates. The CPU's 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support provide sufficient data throughput for the game's level streaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 10752 shading units and 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is substantial, and the boost clock of 2617 MHz helps drive the frame rates seen in the measured data. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 36565 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 reflect its high-end positioning, placing it in the 89th percentile among all GPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Arc A570M, Intel Arc Pro A60, Intel Arc A580, and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X, with deltas ranging from -1.9% to +2.6%. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is closely matched with those cards in synthetic tests, though the real-world Hitman 2 results show that this specific pairing performs well above what those rivals would likely achieve.

The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Hitman 2 at any resolution, as the game's texture demands are not extreme. The GPU's 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs handle the pixel and texture work efficiently, which is evident in the 4K High result of 62.7 FPS. At 1440p, the GPU scales admirably, with High settings producing 115.8 FPS and Medium reaching 153.1 FPS. The 1080p results confirm that the RTX 5080 is not the limiting factor — the Low preset at 322.7 FPS shows headroom that is likely constrained by the CPU or engine overhead rather than GPU compute.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are strong indicators of its ability to handle the game's rendering workloads. The measured data shows a smooth progression from Low to Ultra settings, with the most severe drop occurring between High and Ultra at 4K, which is typical for a GPU that is being pushed to its limits at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 68 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 3.8% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result for a high-end pairing. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's high bandwidth and compute capabilities.

Compared to other combos in the database, this setup outperforms the vast majority of systems, with the rank indicating that only 67 other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The data suggests that the combo is well-matched — neither component is drastically over- or under-powered relative to the other. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking and the GPU's 89th percentile ranking are nearly aligned, which typically indicates a balanced system that avoids significant bottlenecks.

The measured FPS results corroborate the high rank. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 115.8 FPS, which is a demanding target for many systems. The 4K Ultra result of 45.3 FPS is lower but still within a playable range for a stealth game. The rank of 68 suggests that while the combo is excellent, there are a few configurations that push even higher frame rates, likely those with more powerful GPUs or CPUs that excel in specific game workloads.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p High provides the best balance, with 115.8 FPS, while 4K High is also playable at 62.7 FPS. The 1080p results are all above 136 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the Ultra preset affect performance compared to High?

A: At 4K, Ultra drops to 45.3 FPS from High's 62.7 FPS, a reduction of 17.4 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra yields 86.4 FPS versus 115.8 FPS on High, and at 1080p, Ultra achieves 136.3 FPS versus 183.3 FPS on High.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low?

A: The 322.7 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4800, is sufficient to keep the GPU fed, though the engine's frame rate cap may also be a factor.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 68th out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.8% of all systems tested in Hitman 2.

Q: What is the VRAM requirement for Hitman 2 with this GPU?

A: The RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is ample for the game at any of the tested resolutions and settings, as the data shows no signs of memory-related performance drops.

Q: Does the 3D V-Cache on the CPU benefit Hitman 2?

A: The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps with game asset access, and the strong 3DMark 16-thread score of 10081 indicates good multi-threaded performance, which is beneficial for the game's AI and simulation workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 110.2 FPS average
• Medium: 82.6 FPS average
• High: 62.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 45.3 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 207.4 FPS average
• Medium: 153.1 FPS average
• High: 115.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 86.4 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 322.7 FPS average
• Medium: 242.9 FPS average
• High: 183.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 136.3 FPS average

The scaling across resolutions is consistent: dropping from 4K to 1440p roughly doubles the frame rate at each settings level, while moving from 1440p to 1080p adds another significant boost. The largest relative gain from a settings reduction occurs at 4K, where moving from Ultra to High recovers 17.4 FPS, whereas the same change at 1440p recovers 29.4 FPS and at 1080p recovers 47 FPS. The data indicates that the combo is most efficient at 1440p, where it maintains high frame rates even at Ultra settings (86.4 FPS), making it a strong choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 4K Ultra result of 45.3 FPS is the only measured point below 60 FPS, which is relevant for players with 4K displays who prioritize maximum visual quality over frame rate smoothness.