Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 9 5900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination places the 12-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900X alongside the 8 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, forming a pairing that sits at the 2631st position out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions but demonstrates surprising headroom at 1080p, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance can shine through. The data suggests this is a combo that rewards players who prioritize high refresh rates at 1080p over pushing 4K visuals, with the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth becoming the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 145 FPS at 1080p to 93 FPS at 1440p, then further to 49 FPS at 4K. This represents a 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER's shading units and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count quadruples. The pattern holds across all settings presets, with High settings delivering 82 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p, and just 28 FPS at 4K — a 66% drop that mirrors the Low preset's scaling behavior.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data in the measured results, showing 109 FPS average at 1080p with a range of 92-125 FPS, then 69 FPS at 1440p with a 59-80 FPS range, and finally 37 FPS at 4K with 31-43 FPS. The proportional scaling across all three presets strongly implies that the limiting component is the GPU, not the CPU. If the Ryzen 9 5900X were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or compress as resolution increases, since CPU workload per frame stays relatively constant while GPU workload grows. Instead, the linear degradation points squarely at the RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 256-bit memory bus.

At Ultra settings, the situation becomes more extreme: 60 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 21 FPS is below playable thresholds for most action-oriented stealth gameplay, and even the 1440p Ultra average of 39 FPS sits at the edge of what could be considered smooth. The 1080p Ultra score of 60 FPS, however, suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER can handle maximum visuals when resolution is kept modest. The data implies that this combo's sweet spot is 1080p, where even High settings maintain 82 FPS and Low settings push toward 145 FPS, giving players ample room to prioritize either visual fidelity or raw responsiveness.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the measured data shows that 1080p Ultra delivers exactly 60 FPS on average, making it the highest visual preset that remains playable at this resolution. At 1440p, High settings produce 52 FPS, which falls short of 60 FPS but remains playable for slower-paced stealth gameplay; Medium at 1440p offers 69 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS — the best option is Low at 49 FPS, with Medium at 37 FPS and High at 28 FPS being progressively more marginal.

The most balanced recommendation from the data is 1080p High at 82 FPS, which offers a significant frame rate cushion while presumably retaining most visual features compared to Ultra. For players who prioritize smoothness above all, 1080p Low at 145 FPS provides nearly double the frame rate of High, which could be beneficial in fast-paced combat scenarios where reaction time matters. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS appears to be the safest choice, as the min FPS data indicates that even demanding scenes stay near the 60 FPS mark.

Players with 4K displays face a difficult trade-off based on the numbers. The 4K Medium preset at 37 FPS with a 31 FPS minimum would likely feel stuttery during intense firefights, while 4K Low at 49 FPS is more playable but sacrifices visual quality that many would consider essential at such high resolution. The data suggests that this combo is not well-suited for 4K gaming in Hitman 2, and players should either drop to 1440p or accept lower visual settings if they must use a 4K panel.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The measured data shows 4K Low at 49 FPS, 4K Medium at 37 FPS, and 4K High at 28 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches playability, while Ultra at 4K drops to 21 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for 60+ FPS gameplay?

A: At 1080p, all four presets achieve at least 60 FPS on average, with Ultra hitting exactly 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (93 FPS) and Medium (69 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while High falls short at 52 FPS.

Q: How does the Medium preset's frame consistency compare across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data. At 1080p, it averages 109 FPS with a range of 92-125 FPS. At 1440p, it averages 69 FPS with a range of 59-80 FPS. At 4K, it averages 37 FPS with a range of 31-43 FPS.

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

A: The resolution scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. Frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering. The Ryzen 9 5900X's strong single-thread performance appears sufficient for this game.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 82 FPS. This is between the 60 FPS of Ultra and the 109 FPS of Medium, making High a solid middle-ground choice for 1080p gaming.

Q: How does the 1440p Ultra preset perform relative to 1080p Ultra?

A: 1440p Ultra delivers 39 FPS, which is 21 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra's 60 FPS. This represents a 35% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p at maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings is available with playable results across the board. Low settings produce the highest average at 145 FPS, followed by Medium at 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 125 FPS. High settings achieve 82 FPS, while Ultra drops to exactly 60 FPS. This ordering shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and performance, with a 85 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates compress considerably. Low settings average 93 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a 59-80 FPS range, High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 39 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 54 FPS, reflecting the GPU's increasing workload at higher pixel counts. The Medium preset's minimum of 59 FPS is noteworthy because it suggests that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains close to the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER struggles to maintain fluid gameplay. Low settings average 49 FPS, Medium averages 37 FPS with a 31-43 FPS range, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 31 FPS indicates that frame pacing could become erratic during complex scenes. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 28 FPS, showing that even dropping to the lowest settings cannot overcome the GPU's resolution limitations.

The complete dataset reveals a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution costs roughly 30-35% of frame rate, regardless of settings preset. This uniformity across presets reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the dominant constraint. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are clearly not the limiting factor, as frame rates scale predictably with pixel count rather than showing CPU-related stalls or inconsistencies.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 2631st out of 3711 tested combinations in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower third of all systems tested for this game. The percentile positioning suggests that while this hardware is capable of running the game, it does not deliver the high-end performance that many other combos achieve. The rank of 2631 implies that roughly 71% of tested combinations outperform this setup, which aligns with the RTX 2060 SUPER's age and its 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its standing: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 0.4% higher, the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 1.5% higher, while the Intel Arc A770M scores 1.6% higher. These small deltaPct values indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER sits in a tightly contested performance band where minor differences separate competitors. The RTX 3060 Mobile being only 0.4% faster is particularly notable, as it suggests the desktop RTX 2060 SUPER remains competitive with newer mobile parts.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 9 5900X holds an 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41376. Its nearest rivals are extremely close: the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H at 0.3% higher, the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H at 0.4% higher, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 at 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14650HX at 0.5% lower. This clustering within a 1% band shows that the 5900X's computational performance is well-matched with modern mid-range and high-end mobile processors, even though it is a desktop part from 2020.

The disparity between the CPU's strong 87th percentile ranking and the GPU's more modest 62nd percentile ranking explains the combo's overall position. The GPU is the weaker link in this pairing, dragging down the system's Hitman 2 performance relative to what the CPU alone might suggest. The 2631st combo rank reflects this imbalance, showing that a more balanced GPU would likely improve the game's performance more than any CPU upgrade.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X brings substantial computational resources to this pairing, with 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 Vermeer architecture. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz can boost up to 4.80 GHz, providing strong single-thread performance that is critical for Hitman 2's AI-driven stealth gameplay. The 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527 demonstrate this capability, while the 3dmark_16_threads score of 9075 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 show the multi-threaded headroom.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache is generous and likely helps with game world data that Hitman 2's large, open-ended levels require. The 8,300 million transistors on a 7 nm process from TSMC give it efficiency that allows a 105 W TDP, which is modest for a 12-core part. The PassMark multi-thread score of 39002 and single-thread score of 3469 further confirm that this CPU has no trouble feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates.

However, the measured FPS data does not show any CPU-related bottlenecks in this game. The consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions indicates that the Ryzen 9 5900X is not limiting performance at any setting. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work to do and CPU demands would be most likely to surface, the 145 FPS average suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates without breaking a sweat. The 24 threads are likely overkill for Hitman 2, which may not scale perfectly across all cores, but the strong single-thread performance ensures that the game's primary thread runs efficiently.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the performance bottleneck in this combo, as evidenced by the measured FPS scaling. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K where larger textures and higher pixel counts demand more memory throughput. The GPU's 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s, which directly impact how many pixels and textures can be processed per frame.

The 1470 MHz base clock and 1650 MHz boost clock are modest by modern standards, and the 12 nm process from TSMC means the 10,800 million transistors generate more heat and consume more power than newer architectures. The 175 W TDP and suggested 450 W PSU indicate this is a mid-range power draw, but the GPU's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs shows it has been surpassed by many newer parts. The PassMark G3D score of 16462 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 reflect its DirectX 12 capabilities, which Hitman 2 can utilize.

The GPU's nearest rivals show it is competitive with mobile RTX 3060 parts, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's age is showing at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 21 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests the GPU simply lacks the compute throughput (7.181 TFLOPS FP32) to handle maximum settings at 4K. Even at 1440p Ultra, the 39 FPS result indicates that players must choose between resolution and visual quality. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K textures in Hitman 2's detailed environments may push against this limit, potentially causing texture streaming issues that the FPS data alone cannot capture.