Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 is a study in extreme imbalance when tested in Hitman 2. The data places this combination at rank 1746 out of 1795 tested combos, putting it in the bottom 3% of all systems benchmarked for this title. This is not a configuration that will deliver a playable experience at modern standards; it is a pairing where a flagship 12-core processor is completely hamstrung by an entry-level graphics card from a previous generation. The benchmark results make the bottleneck clear: this is a GPU-limited scenario at nearly every resolution and setting, and the CPU’s potential is largely left untapped.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1746 out of 1795 is a severe indictment of the system's gaming performance in Hitman 2. This places the configuration in the bottom percentile, meaning the vast majority of other CPU-GPU pairings tested deliver higher frame rates. The data shows that the RX 570 is the primary constraint, dragging down what would otherwise be a top-tier CPU. The Ryzen 9 7900X itself sits in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 50,556. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 (scoring 50,598) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (scoring 50,738), both of which are within 0.5% of its performance. However, this CPU strength does not translate to gaming success here. The GPU’s average score of 30,158 places it in the 74th percentile, but its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which is misleading; the RX 570 is an end-of-life product that simply cannot keep up with modern titles. The combination’s low rank is a direct consequence of the GPU being a legacy part, not a reflection of the CPU’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is an end-of-life product built on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process. It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. These specs are from 2017, and the data shows they are insufficient for Hitman 2 at higher settings. The GPU’s low texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s are simply not enough to process the game’s scenes. Its FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS is a hard ceiling for compute workloads. In this game, the GPU’s limitations are evident in the frame rates. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 69.6 FPS, but this is the only setting where it approaches a playable level. At Ultra settings, the frame rate collapses to 27.3 FPS. The 4 GB VRAM is also a likely contributor to the poor performance at higher resolutions, as the game’s assets may exceed this capacity, causing stuttering and reduced frame rates. The data indicates that the RX 570 is the definitive bottleneck, and its performance is not competitive with even its nearest rivals in the benchmark database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a powerhouse, but its role in this combo is largely wasted. It is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture built on a 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a large 64 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it excels, scoring 43,695 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,168 in single-core. Its 3DMark scores are also strong, with 12,536 for max threads and 1,093 for single thread. However, in Hitman 2, the game does not require this level of processing power at the resolutions tested. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU still delivers 69.6 FPS, which is below the 144 Hz that this CPU could theoretically support in less GPU-bound titles. The CPU’s 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support are irrelevant when the GPU cannot feed frames fast enough. The 7900X is a top-tier part, but pairing it with an RX 570 is like putting a racing engine in a car with bicycle wheels; the engine’s power is never fully realized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals the performance envelope of this combo. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield an average of 69.6 FPS, Medium drops to 49.3 FPS, High to 43 FPS, and Ultra to a stuttery 27.3 FPS. This shows a clear scaling pattern, but even the best-case scenario is not ideal for competitive play. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates fall further: Low produces 42.8 FPS, Medium 35.2 FPS, High 24.4 FPS, and Ultra only 20 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, indicating the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count. At 3840x2160, the situation becomes dire. Low settings manage 25.3 FPS, Medium 16.4 FPS, High 11.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to a slideshow-like 8.6 FPS. The data shows that this combo is only viable for 1080p gaming at Low or Medium settings, and even then, the frame rates are far from smooth. The Ultra preset is largely unplayable at every resolution, with the 4K Ultra result of 8.6 FPS being a clear indicator of the GPU’s limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is a stark illustration of the bottleneck. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 69.6 FPS at 1080p to 42.8 FPS at 1440p (a 38.5% drop) and then to 25.3 FPS at 4K (a 63.6% drop from 1080p). This pattern is consistent across all settings. At High settings, the drop is from 43 FPS at 1080p to 24.4 FPS at 1440p and 11.4 FPS at 4K. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being overwhelmed by the increasing resolution, and the CPU is not able to compensate. The data suggests that the limiting component is the GPU, as the FPS is inversely proportional to the resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain more constant across resolutions. The fact that the FPS nearly halves when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and then halves again to 4K, confirms that the RX 570’s pixel throughput is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 9 7900X has ample headroom, but it is idling while waiting for the GPU to render frames.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of playing Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, even with Low settings, the average FPS is only 25.3. At Ultra settings, it drops to 8.6 FPS, which is unplayable.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The benchmark results indicate that Low settings at 1920x1080 produce the highest average frame rate of 69.6 FPS. Medium and High settings yield 49.3 and 43 FPS, respectively, while Ultra drops to 27.3 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30,158. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has a score of 30,109, which is a deltaPct of 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30,097, also a 0.2% difference. This indicates they are statistically similar in synthetic tests, but the RX 570 is an end-of-life product.

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

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU, the Ryzen 9 7900X, ranks in the 93rd percentile and has a high average benchmark score of 50,556. The FPS drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ryzen 9 7900X and its closest rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average score of 50,556. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, has an average score of 50,598, which is a deltaPct of -0.1% (meaning the Intel is slightly faster). The AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT scores 50,738, a -0.4% delta.

Q: Can this combo achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 2560x1440 is 42.8 FPS on Low settings. All other settings, including Medium (35.2 FPS), High (24.4 FPS), and Ultra (20 FPS), fall well below 60 FPS.