Hitman 2

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile combination reveals a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 129 FPS average, which represents a 33% improvement over the High preset's 97 FPS while sacrificing visual fidelity that is largely imperceptible in a stealth-oriented title. The Medium preset also provides the only complete frame time data in the entire dataset, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, indicating stable frame pacing that matters for the precision required in stealth gameplay.

For users prioritizing visual quality, the High preset at 1080p remains viable at 97 FPS, but the data shows that the jump from Medium to High costs 32 FPS (a 25% reduction) for what is typically a modest increase in shadow and texture detail. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 72 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 44% performance penalty versus Medium. Given that Hitman 2's gameplay emphasizes observation and timing rather than twitch reflexes, the Medium preset at 1080p emerges as the optimal balance, offering triple-digit frame rates with the most consistent frame time data recorded.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset maintains 82 FPS average with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at this resolution delivers 62 FPS, which is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this resolution, as it preserves the frame time consistency seen at 1080p Medium while providing substantially more visual detail than the Low preset's 110 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Medium preset averages 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS, which falls below the ideal 60 FPS target. The High preset manages only 33 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24 FPS. The Low preset at 4K achieves 58 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration approaching playability. For 4K users, the data indicates that Low settings are the pragmatic choice, as the visual compromise is offset by nearly doubling the frame rate versus High settings. The measured results show a consistent pattern: Medium settings provide the best experience per the measured rows across all resolutions, with 1080p Medium being the standout configuration for this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile serves as the primary rendering engine for Hitman 2, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance patterns. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This bandwidth figure is crucial for understanding the 4K performance cliff, as the higher pixel throughput at 3840x2160 places significant demands on memory bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Mobile's boost clock of 1695 MHz and base clock of 1395 MHz, combined with 4608 shading units, deliver 15.62 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is substantial for a mobile part.

The GPU's architecture is Ada Lovelace, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die. The 144 texture mapping units and 48 raster output pipelines provide a texture rate of 244.1 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 81.36 GPixel/s. These specifications explain why the GPU handles 1080p and 1440p resolutions with relative ease, as the pixel rate is sufficient for the 2.07 million pixels at 1080p and 3.69 million pixels at 1440p, but becomes strained at 4K's 8.29 million pixels.

The GPU's benchmark performance places it in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27435. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, scores 27425, representing a 0% delta, indicating near-identical synthetic performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, which is 0.5% higher, while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell scores 27135, 1.1% lower. This competitive positioning explains why the RTX 4070 Mobile achieves playable frame rates at 1440p but struggles at 4K: its performance class is suited for high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions.

The memory configuration of 8 GB GDDR6 at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) proves adequate for Hitman 2's requirements across all tested settings, as no out-of-memory issues are evident in the data. However, the 128-bit memory bus is a limiting factor at 4K, where the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes the bottleneck. This is particularly evident in the 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS, which represents a 67% drop from the 4K Low result of 58 FPS, indicating that higher settings at 4K demand more memory bandwidth than the GPU can provide.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combination in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 Medium as the highest resolution with consistently playable frame rates, averaging 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS. While 1080p Medium delivers 129 FPS, the 1440p Medium result provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Mobile compare to desktop alternatives?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 4070 Mobile scores 27435, which is essentially identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27425, 0% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, just 0.5% higher, indicating the mobile 4070 performs near desktop high-end territory.

Q: Why does 4K performance drop so significantly at higher settings?

A: The 4K results show a steep decline from 58 FPS at Low to 33 FPS at High and 24 FPS at Ultra. This pattern indicates the GPU's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor at 3840x2160, as higher settings increase memory pressure beyond what the 128-bit bus can sustain.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 8945HX sufficient for this game?

A: The CPU's benchmark data shows it ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with a multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030. These results indicate the 16-core, 32-thread processor provides ample headroom for Hitman 2's engine.

Q: What settings preset provides the most stable frame times?

A: The Medium preset is the only configuration with complete frame time data across all resolutions. At 1080p it shows a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, at 1440p a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, and at 4K a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, indicating consistent pacing.

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

A: This combination ranks 2018 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The ranking reflects the GPU's 73rd percentile performance versus the CPU's 95th percentile, suggesting the GPU is the performance limiter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. The Low preset achieves 171 FPS average, which represents the highest frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 129 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS, providing the most complete frame time information. High settings produce 97 FPS, while Ultra drops to 72 FPS. The performance deltas between settings at 1080p are substantial: dropping from Low to Medium costs 42 FPS (a 25% reduction), from Medium to High costs 32 FPS (a 25% reduction), and from High to Ultra costs 25 FPS (a 26% reduction). This consistent percentage decrease suggests the GPU is scaling predictably with settings complexity.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with compressed absolute values. Low settings achieve 110 FPS, Medium delivers 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, High produces 62 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium at 1440p costs 28 FPS (a 25% reduction), Medium to High costs 20 FPS (a 24% reduction), and High to Ultra costs 16 FPS (a 26% reduction). This consistency across resolutions indicates that the settings presets have similar relative computational costs regardless of pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the measured results reveal the GPU's limitations. Low settings achieve 58 FPS, Medium delivers 44 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, High produces 33 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24 FPS. The percentage reductions between settings remain consistent with lower resolutions: Low to Medium costs 14 FPS (a 24% reduction), Medium to High costs 11 FPS (a 25% reduction), and High to Ultra costs 9 FPS (a 27% reduction). However, the absolute values are significantly lower, with even the Low preset failing to reach 60 FPS. The minimum frame rate of 37 FPS at 4K Medium indicates that demanding scenes can push the GPU below acceptable thresholds.

The cross-resolution analysis shows that the GPU's performance scales roughly linearly with pixel count. At Medium settings, 1080p achieves 129 FPS, 1440p achieves 82 FPS (a 36% reduction), and 4K achieves 44 FPS (a 66% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads provide sufficient processing power to maintain frame delivery across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals important characteristics about the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 61 FPS reduction (from 171 to 110 FPS, a 36% drop), while the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a 52 FPS reduction (from 110 to 58 FPS, a 47% drop). This accelerating degradation at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count grows.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern is similar but with different absolute values. The transition from 1080p (129 FPS) to 1440p (82 FPS) represents a 36% reduction, while 1440p to 4K (44 FPS) represents a 46% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings suggests that the GPU's computational resources scale predictably with resolution, independent of the settings preset.

The High settings data shows a slightly different pattern. From 1080p (97 FPS) to 1440p (62 FPS), the reduction is 36%, but from 1440p to 4K (33 FPS), the reduction is 47%. This 11-point difference between the two transitions indicates that at High settings, the 4K resolution pushes the GPU into a less efficient operating range. The Ultra settings exhibit the most severe degradation, with 1080p (72 FPS) to 1440p (46 FPS) showing a 36% reduction, and 1440p to 4K (24 FPS) showing a 48% reduction.

The resolution scaling analysis strongly indicates that the RTX 4070 Mobile is the limiting component. The CPU, with its 95th percentile ranking and multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 42713, provides ample processing power. The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking, combined with its memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, becomes the constraint at higher resolutions. The data shows that 1440p represents the practical ceiling for this combination in Hitman 2, as the 4K results across all settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold that defines smooth gameplay. The GPU's pixel rate of 81.36 GPixel/s theoretically supports 4K at low settings, but the measured 58 FPS indicates that other factors, particularly memory bandwidth, prevent higher frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX provides substantial computational resources for Hitman 2, with 16 cores and 32 threads operating at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This processor, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process, delivers benchmark scores that place it in the 95th percentile among all CPUs. The multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030 demonstrate exceptional performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. This substantial cache configuration benefits Hitman 2's engine, which relies on frequent data access for AI routines, level streaming, and physics calculations. The memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s from dual-channel DDR5 support ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

In the context of this game's results, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS scaling with resolution follows patterns consistent with GPU limitation, not CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the 171 FPS result indicates the CPU can drive frame rates well beyond what the GPU can sustain at higher settings. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores 76155 in average benchmark, a 0.1% difference, indicating these mobile flagships perform nearly identically in synthetic tests.

The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 51405 and single-thread score of 3907 further confirm its capability. The data compression score of 677755 and floating-point math score of 117453 demonstrate strong general-purpose performance. For Hitman 2, which is not known for extreme CPU demands, the Ryzen 9 8945HX provides far more processing power than required, ensuring that frame rates are determined by the GPU's capabilities rather than CPU limitations.

The processor's TDP of 55 W and mobile market segment indicate it is designed for high-performance laptops, and its 5.40 GHz boost clock is among the highest available in mobile processors. While the game launches from 2018, the CPU's modern architecture ensures compatibility and headroom for all engine features. The 32 threads allow the game engine to distribute AI, physics, and rendering tasks efficiently, though the data suggests that even at 4K Ultra, the CPU is not the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile combination ranks 2018 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2, placing it in the 54th percentile of all configurations in the database. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's exceptional performance and the GPU's mid-range positioning. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking contrasts sharply with the GPU's 73rd percentile, creating a system where the graphics card is clearly the performance limiter.

This rank of 2018 out of 3711 suggests that while this combo is capable of delivering playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, it is not among the top-performing configurations for this game. The data shows that the combo's performance is constrained by the RTX 4070 Mobile's 8 GB memory capacity and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, which limit 4K performance across all settings. Higher-ranked combos likely feature desktop-class GPUs or mobile parts with greater memory bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark placement provides context for the in-game ranking. The RTX 4070 Mobile's average benchmark score of 27435 places it near the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27425, 0% delta), which is a desktop GPU known for 1440p gaming. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, only 0.5% higher, indicating that the mobile 4070 delivers near-desktop high-end performance in synthetic tests. However, the in-game ranking of 2018 out of 3711 suggests that Hitman 2's specific engine characteristics may not favor this GPU's architecture as much as synthetic benchmarks would indicate.

The combo's ranking also reflects the CPU's contribution. With a 95th percentile CPU ranking, the Ryzen 9 8945HX ensures that no CPU bottleneck exists in Hitman 2. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the performance scaling with resolution follows GPU-limited patterns. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would show less variation across resolutions, which is not the case in the measured results.

For users considering this combination, the ranking indicates that it is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Hitman 2, with the Medium preset providing the best experience. The 4K results, while technically playable at Low settings, fall short of the performance levels that would justify the resolution upgrade. The combo's position in the upper half of the database reflects its capability as a solid mid-to-high-end mobile gaming solution, with the GPU being the component that determines its ceiling in this title.