Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. This combination ranks 77th out of 3,711 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations. The data reveals a system that effortlessly handles 1080p and 1440p gaming while remaining playable at 4K, with the CPU proving more than capable of feeding the flagship GPU at every step.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected pattern: performance drops as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 342 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 219 FPS, a 36% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 117 FPS, another 47% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline at lower settings indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises, while the CPU remains largely unchallenged.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically when settings are raised. At Ultra settings, 1080p delivers 143 FPS, 1440p produces 91 FPS, and 4K drops to 49 FPS. The percentage drops between resolutions at Ultra are smaller in relative terms than at Low, which suggests the GPU is already heavily loaded even at 1080p Ultra. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is clearly sufficient for even the most demanding configuration, so the scaling is purely a function of raw rasterization throughput.

Medium settings tell a similar story with more granular data. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 257 FPS with a minimum of 218 and maximum of 295. At 1440p Medium, that average drops to 164 FPS (min 140, max 189). At 4K Medium, the average falls to 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 101. The min-to-max spread tightens as resolution increases, from 77 FPS at 1080p to 27 FPS at 4K, indicating that frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is the bottleneck.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings sees a 36% drop from 194 FPS to 124 FPS, while the 1440p to 4K transition at High drops another 47% to 66 FPS. This consistent scaling pattern suggests the game engine has no unusual optimization quirks at these resolutions. Hitman 2, released in 2018, was designed before the current generation of GPUs, and the data shows it scales almost linearly with pixel count when the CPU is not the constraint.

What the resolution scaling indicates about the limiting component is straightforward: at 1080p Low, the 342 FPS result is likely CPU-bound, as the Ryzen 7 9850X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 5.60 GHz boost clock can only feed the GPU so many frames. Once resolution increases and GPU load rises, the balance shifts. At 4K Ultra, the 49 FPS result is almost entirely GPU-limited, with the RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute being the ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for different priorities. For maximum frame rate at any resolution, Low settings deliver the highest averages: 342 FPS at 1080p, 219 FPS at 1440p, and 117 FPS at 4K. These numbers are far beyond what any display can show at 1080p and 1440p, making Low settings unnecessary for competitive play unless chasing extreme refresh rates.

Medium settings offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance in the measured rows. At 1080p, Medium produces 257 FPS average with a minimum of 218 FPS, ensuring no frame drops below 200 FPS. At 1440p, Medium delivers 164 FPS average with a 140 FPS minimum, which remains comfortably above 120 FPS for high-refresh displays. Even at 4K, Medium achieves 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum, keeping the experience smooth on standard 60 Hz panels.

High settings represent a significant visual upgrade over Medium while still maintaining excellent performance. The 1080p High result of 194 FPS and 1440p High result of 124 FPS are both excellent for competitive play. At 4K High, the 66 FPS average is above 60 FPS, making it viable for cinematic play, though the minimum frame data is not recorded for this setting, so consistency cannot be fully verified from the available measurements.

Ultra settings push the system hardest but remain playable at 1080p and 1440p. The 1080p Ultra result of 143 FPS is still very smooth, and 1440p Ultra at 91 FPS is acceptable for most players. However, 4K Ultra at 49 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a fluid experience. The data suggests that for 4K play, Medium is the sweet spot, delivering 87 FPS while keeping the minimum above 70 FPS.

For players prioritizing a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings at 66 FPS average provide a small margin above the target. For 1440p displays, High settings at 124 FPS average offer the best visual quality without sacrificing refresh rate headroom. The recommendation is clear: Medium at 4K, High at 1440p, and either High or Ultra at 1080p depending on whether visual fidelity or maximum frame rate takes precedence.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination achieve 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in Hitman 2?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 49 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum frame data is not recorded for this setting, but the average indicates that Ultra at 4K is not viable for smooth play.

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS for this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 342, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is followed by 257 FPS at 1080p Medium and 219 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, scores 79,605, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, 1.1% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959, which is 1.4% higher.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks?

A: Yes. The CPU scores 22,807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,228 in single-core. It achieves 41,318 in Passmark multithread and 4,704 in Passmark single-thread. Its average benchmark score of 58,386 places it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 74 FPS, with a maximum of 101 FPS and an average of 87 FPS. This is the only 4K setting with recorded min/max data.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Hitman 2?

A: This combination ranks 77th out of 3,711 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations tested in Hitman 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a wide spread across settings. Low settings deliver 117 FPS average, Medium produces 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 101, High drops to 66 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 68 FPS range, with each settings tier costing roughly 30-35 FPS on average. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium of 74 FPS indicates that even the lowest recorded frames remain above 60 FPS, suggesting good frame consistency at this resolution and settings combination.

At 2560x1440, performance is substantially higher. Low settings achieve 219 FPS average, Medium delivers 164 FPS with a minimum of 140 and maximum of 189, High produces 124 FPS, and Ultra reaches 91 FPS. The 1440p results show a tighter relative spread between settings compared to 4K, with Low to Ultra spanning 128 FPS. The Medium setting's minimum of 140 FPS means the combo never drops below 140 FPS at 1440p Medium, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 1920x1080, the combination reaches its peak performance. Low settings produce 342 FPS average, Medium achieves 257 FPS with a minimum of 218 and maximum of 295, High delivers 194 FPS, and Ultra hits 143 FPS. The 1080p Medium data shows a 77 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, which is the widest recorded range across all resolution and setting combinations. This wider variance at 1080p suggests that CPU-related frame pacing variations become more visible when the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings reveals consistent scaling. At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 257 at 1080p to 164 at 1440p (36% reduction) and then to 87 at 4K (47% reduction from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 194 to 124 to 66, with similar percentage drops. At Ultra, the progression is 143 to 91 to 49. The consistency of these scaling ratios indicates that the game engine scales predictably with resolution, and neither the CPU nor GPU introduces unexpected bottlenecks at any specific resolution.

The Low settings data shows the most dramatic scaling: 342 at 1080p, 219 at 1440p, and 117 at 4K. The 4K Low result of 117 FPS is particularly notable because it demonstrates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar frame rates across resolutions at Low settings, but the data shows clear resolution-dependent scaling.

How This Combo Ranks

This AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 77th out of 3,711 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 97.9th percentile of all configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the overall performance across all measured scenarios, and given that this is a top-tier CPU from 2026 paired with a flagship GPU from 2025, the high ranking is expected.

The CPU itself ranks in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs based on its average benchmark score of 58,386. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M with an average score of 58,323 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i9-14900 at 58,115 (0.5% lower), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 at 58,504 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 at 58,826 (0.7% higher). These margins are all within 1%, indicating that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D sits in a tightly contested performance band among high-end processors.

The GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (0.3% lower), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (0.6% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (1.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X at 80,959 (1.4% higher). The RTX 5090's commanding position in the GPU hierarchy is reflected in its 92nd percentile ranking, though the nearest rival scores are remarkably close given the architectural differences.

The gap between the combo's 77th rank in-game and the individual components' 92nd percentile rankings highlights how Hitman 2's engine utilizes the hardware. The game, released in 2018, does not appear to fully leverage the latest multi-core CPUs or the most advanced GPU features, which could explain why this top-tier combination does not crack the top 50. The ranking data suggests that other combos with slightly different hardware configurations achieve better results in this specific title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D features 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process. The base clock is 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and the CPU has a 120 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is evident from the frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 342 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what the game engine can produce regardless of hardware. The 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for a 2018 stealth title, and the high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance where it matters most.

The synthetic benchmark data reinforces the CPU's capabilities. Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,807 and single-core score of 2,228 demonstrate balanced performance across both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,704 is particularly relevant for gaming, as many games still rely heavily on single-core performance. The data compression score of 474,501 and floating-point math score of 81,998 show strong computational throughput.

The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature of the X3D line. In Hitman 2, which involves complex AI routines and level geometry that benefit from large caches, this could contribute to the consistently high frame rates observed even at lower resolutions. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s with DDR5 support ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

The 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58,386, places the Ryzen 7 9850X3D among the top processors available. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900, scores only 0.5% lower, showing that Intel's competing flagships are within striking distance. However, in the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's performance is more than adequate, as evidenced by the frame rates exceeding 300 FPS at 1080p Low settings.

The CPU's 4 nm process node and 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die indicate a dense, efficient design. The 120 W TDP is modest for a high-end desktop processor, suggesting that thermal management is not a concern in typical gaming scenarios. The AM5 socket platform with PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes) ensures the CPU can fully utilize the RTX 5090's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface without bandwidth limitations.