Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, responds predictably to the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The data shows a component pairing that shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to heavily GPU-bound at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets, interpreting what the numbers reveal about the underlying hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 236 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 151 FPS, a reduction of 85 FPS or roughly 36%. At 4K, the Low preset average falls to 81 FPS. The progression from 1440p to 4K at Low settings represents another 70 FPS drop, which is a 46% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

For the High preset, the scaling is similarly pronounced. At 1080p, the average is 134 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 86 FPS, a 48 FPS decrease. At 4K, the High preset manages only 46 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is 88 FPS, meaning the 4K result is just 34% of the 1080p performance. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset tells a similar story. 1080p delivers 177 FPS average, 1440p drops to 113 FPS, and 4K falls to 60 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 64 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K costs 53 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 99 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result, and it is only slightly above the threshold for playable frame rates in a stealth game.

What does this say about the limiting component? At 1080p, the CPU plays a significant role. The Ryzen 9 5950X with 16 cores and 32 threads, boosting to 4.90 GHz, is capable of feeding the RTX 4070 enough data to reach high frame rates. The fact that 1080p Low hits 236 FPS suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at that setting. However, as resolution increases, the GPU workload grows disproportionately. The RTX 4070, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, becomes the primary constraint. The 4K results are consistently the lowest, and the gap between settings narrows in relative terms, which is typical of a GPU-limited scenario.

The data indicates that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the CPU and GPU are more balanced. At 1080p, the GPU is often idle waiting for frames, while at 4K, the GPU is saturated. The 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS is particularly telling—it shows that even with a high-end GPU, the demands of 4K in Hitman 2 exceed what this pairing can deliver smoothly at maximum settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, and its boost clock reaches 4.90 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a single-thread score of 944 in 3dmark, a multicore score of 11597 in 3dmark_max_threads, and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017. The single-core Cinebench R23 score is 1614.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with lower settings. The 1080p Low result of 236 FPS shows that the 16 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient to drive the game engine at high frame rates. The game, being a stealth title from 2018, likely does not utilize all 16 cores efficiently, but the high boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1856 confirms that even with just two threads, the CPU performs admirably.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 52073, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the Ryzen is essentially tied. The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730, which is 0.4% lower. The AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121, 0.3% higher. The Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301, 0.7% higher. These deltas are minuscule, indicating that the 5950X is competitive with these modern parts in general benchmarks.

However, in Hitman 2, the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 4K results are nearly identical across settings when compared to the 1080p results, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p, the CPU allows the GPU to reach 236 FPS on Low, but at 4K, the CPU advantage becomes irrelevant because the GPU cannot keep up. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for this workload, but they do not change the fundamental GPU-bound nature of 4K gaming.

The percentile ranking of 91 for the CPU means it outperforms 91% of all CPUs in the database. This is a high ranking, but in Hitman 2, the game's engine appears to be more dependent on GPU performance at higher resolutions. The CPU's strong multithreading capabilities (Cinebench R23 multicore 26017) do not translate into proportionally higher FPS at 4K, where the GPU's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 99 FPS. This is the lowest 1080p result among the four presets, with High at 134 FPS, Medium at 177 FPS, and Low at 236 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Medium result compare to the 1440p Medium result?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 60, while at 1440p Medium, the average is 113 FPS. The 4K result is 53 FPS lower, representing a 47% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X a bottleneck at 4K in Hitman 2?

A: The data suggests no. At 4K, the average FPS across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra are 81, 60, 46, and 34, respectively. These results are consistent with GPU-bound scaling, meaning the RTX 4070 is the limiting component, not the CPU.

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

A: The highest average FPS is 236, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is followed by 177 FPS at 1080p Medium and 151 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo rank is 916 out of 3711 tested combos. This places it in the top 24.7% of all combinations in the database.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The only minimum FPS values provided are for the Medium preset. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 51 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 96 FPS; at 1080p Medium, it is 151 FPS. Other presets do not have min FPS data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 916th out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the 75th percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the systems tested. The rank is influenced by both the CPU and GPU, but the data suggests that the GPU is the more significant factor in this game.

The CPU alone ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, has an average score of 52073, which is 0.2% higher. The RTX 4070, on the other hand, ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628, a 0.1% difference.

Given that the GPU percentile (81) is lower than the CPU percentile (91), it is reasonable to infer that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing for Hitman 2. The combo rank of 916 is higher than what the GPU percentile alone would suggest, indicating that the CPU's strength helps lift the overall performance. However, the 4K results, which are the lowest, are clearly constrained by the GPU.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is not near the top. The top combos likely feature more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4080 or higher, which would push 4K FPS above 60. The RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the 34 FPS average is below the playable threshold for many users. The combo rank reflects this: it is solidly mid-pack, not a top-tier performer.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and frame rate. At 1080p, all settings presets are playable. The Ultra preset averages 99 FPS, which is smooth for a stealth game. High averages 134 FPS, Medium 177 FPS, and Low 236 FPS. For a 60 Hz display, any preset works, but for a 144 Hz display, High or Medium would be preferable to maintain high frame rates.

At 1440p, the situation changes. The Ultra preset averages 63 FPS, which is just above 60 FPS and playable, but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. High averages 86 FPS, Medium 113 FPS, and Low 151 FPS. For a 144 Hz monitor, Medium or High are the best choices, as they provide frame rates above 100 FPS. Low at 151 FPS is also acceptable, but the visual quality drop may not be worth the extra frames.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The Ultra preset averages 34 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High averages 46 FPS, still below 60. Medium averages 60 FPS, which is exactly at the threshold, making it the minimum viable preset for a 60 Hz display. Low averages 81 FPS, which is the best option for 4K, offering a smooth experience at the cost of visual fidelity.

The best experience per the measured rows is subjective, but the data points to 1440p with High settings as the sweet spot. This combination yields 86 FPS average, which is high enough for most monitors, while maintaining better visual quality than Medium or Low. For users with a 60 Hz 4K display, 4K Medium at 60 FPS is the recommended preset, as it balances visual quality and performance. For 1080p users, High at 134 FPS offers a good balance, while Ultra at 99 FPS is also viable if visual quality is paramount.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 236 FPS. The Medium preset averages 177 FPS, with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. The High preset averages 134 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 99 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 137 FPS, with Low being 2.4 times faster than Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 151 FPS. The Medium preset averages 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. The High preset averages 86 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 63 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 88 FPS, with Low being 2.4 times faster than Ultra, similar to the 1080p ratio.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 81 FPS. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. The High preset averages 46 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 34 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 47 FPS, with Low being 2.4 times faster than Ultra. The consistency of this 2.4x ratio across all resolutions indicates that the settings presets scale uniformly, regardless of resolution.

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the min is 151 FPS and the max is 204 FPS, a range of 53 FPS. At 1440p, the min is 96 FPS and the max is 130 FPS, a range of 34 FPS. At 4K, the min is 51 FPS and the max is 69 FPS, a range of 18 FPS. The decreasing range at higher resolutions suggests that frame times become more consistent as the GPU becomes the bottleneck, whereas at lower resolutions, CPU variations cause larger fluctuations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with a chip codenamed AD104. It has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The base clock is 1920 MHz, and the boost clock is 2475 MHz. The memory operates at 1313 MHz, with 21 Gbps effective speed, providing 504.2 GB/s bandwidth across a 192-bit bus. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 scores 26927 in Passmark G3D and 14720 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3854. The GPU ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, which is 0.4% lower.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. The 4K results are consistently the lowest, and the difference between settings at 4K is smaller in absolute terms than at 1080p. For example, at 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 137 FPS, while at 4K, the gap is 47 FPS. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even lowering settings does not yield proportional gains.

The RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Hitman 2 at all tested settings. The game, released in 2018, does not have extreme VRAM requirements, so the memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The GPU's 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are more relevant. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is rendering over 8 million pixels per frame, and the 34 FPS average suggests that the pixel fill rate is being taxed.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is high, but Hitman 2's engine may not fully utilize it. The game's draw calls and shader complexity are more likely to be limited by the GPU's rasterization throughput. The fact that 4K Low achieves 81 FPS, while 4K Ultra achieves 34 FPS, shows that the GPU has headroom at lower settings but is saturated at Ultra. The boost clock of 2475 MHz is maintained under load, but the 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU indicate that the GPU is a power-hungry component.

Overall, the RTX 4070 is the primary driver of performance in Hitman 2 at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the CPU can push the GPU to its limits, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's raw throughput determines the frame rate. The 4K results, ranging from 34 to 81 FPS, show that the GPU can handle 4K at lower settings but struggles at Ultra. The 12 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck, but the 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game's texture streaming needs.