Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a mid-pack result in Hitman 2, ranking 2389 out of 3001 tested combinations. This places the combo in the lower-mid tier of the database, with measured frame rates that range from 18 FPS at 4K Ultra to 126 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that can handle the game at 1080p with reasonable fluidity, but struggles significantly at higher resolutions and maximum settings, revealing a clear GPU bottleneck in this particular pairing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread mobile processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with a Dragon Range codename. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 watts. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. In PassMark, the CPU achieves a multithread score of 51405 and a single-thread score of 3907. These scores place the CPU at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it performs in the top tier of processors overall.

In the context of Hitman 2, a stealth game that typically relies more on single-thread performance for game logic and AI, the Ryzen 9 8945HX's single-core capabilities are substantial. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 607 and R20 single-core score of 2532 suggest the CPU can handle the game's simulation demands without becoming a limiting factor at most settings. The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX with a delta of 0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with a delta of 0.6%, showing the 8945HX is essentially neck-and-neck with competing high-end mobile and desktop parts.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache, distributed as 1 MB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core, provides ample cache for game data. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 126 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution and settings level. Even at 1080p Medium, the system maintains 95 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at these settings. The CPU's passmark physics score of 2168 and floating point math score of 117453 further indicate strong computational throughput that supports the game's physics and simulation systems. However, as resolution increases and the GPU load rises, the CPU's role diminishes relative to the GPU's rendering workload, which becomes the dominant constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a mobile GPU based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process with a chip size of 149 mm² and 16,900 million transistors. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with memory clocked at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The GPU's 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 13.17 TFLOPS, with matching FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio.

The GPU's benchmark results show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334, and a Vulkan score of 89381. In PassMark, the GPU scores 17326 in G3D and 9184 in compute. These results place the RTX 5050 at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, which is above average but not exceptional. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with a delta of -0.6%, the AMD Radeon HD 8970M with a delta of -1%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with a delta of 1.6%. This indicates the RTX 5050's performance is closely matched with these older and mid-range parts.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes critical at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows a steep drop as resolution increases, with the GPU being the primary limiting factor. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 71 FPS, but at 1440p High, it drops to 46 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to just 24 FPS. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution rendering with demanding settings. The GPU's 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide ray tracing and AI capabilities, but the data does not include any ray tracing benchmarks for this game, and the standard rendering performance appears to be the main constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain playable frame rates in Hitman 2?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where average FPS stays above 50 across all settings. At 1080p, the combo achieves 53 FPS at Ultra, 71 FPS at High, 95 FPS at Medium, and 126 FPS at Low. At 1440p, only Low settings (81 FPS) and Medium settings (60 FPS) maintain playable averages, while at 4K, no setting exceeds 43 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212, which places it within 0.1% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (76155) and within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (75779). It is slightly behind the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76492) by -0.4% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76513) by -0.4%.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the combo achieves 95 FPS at 1080p and 60 FPS at 1440p. This represents a drop of 35 FPS, or approximately a 36.8% reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings.

Q: Is the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the combo only achieves 24 FPS at High, 32 FPS at Medium, and 18 FPS at Ultra settings. Even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 43 FPS. These low frame rates suggest the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU's overall bandwidth are not sufficient for smooth 4K gameplay in Hitman 2.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 2389 out of 3001 indicate about its performance?

A: The rank of 2389 out of 3001 places this combo in the bottom 20% of all tested combinations for Hitman 2. This indicates that while the combo can deliver acceptable performance at 1080p, the overall balance of CPU and GPU results in a lower-tier standing in the database for this specific game.

Q: How does the GPU's performance percentile compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 5050 is at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, has an average score of 21153, which is -0.6% different. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile, with a score of 21379, is -1.6% different, showing the RTX 5050 is closely clustered with these parts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo in Hitman 2. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 95 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS, offering a smooth experience with a good balance between visual quality and frame rate. The minimum FPS of 80 ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the threshold for fluid gameplay. High settings at 1080p achieve 71 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for frame drops.

At 1440p, Medium settings achieve 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this resolution, as High settings drop to 46 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in a stealth game where precise timing matters. The 51 FPS minimum at 1440p Medium is borderline but generally acceptable for a game of this genre. Low settings at 1440p reach 81 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra frame rate.

At 4K, no setting provides a satisfactory experience. Even Low settings only achieve 43 FPS, and Medium settings fall to 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Hitman 2, as the frame rates are too low for smooth gameplay. For the best measured experience, the recommendation is 1080p Medium, which provides 95 FPS average with a minimum of 80 FPS, or 1440p Medium if higher resolution is preferred, at 60 FPS average with a 51 FPS minimum.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2389 out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower-mid tier of the database, with approximately 79.6% of tested combos performing better. The rank reflects the imbalance between the high-performing CPU and the mid-range GPU, where the CPU's 95th percentile standing is offset by the GPU's 66th percentile performance.

The CPU's strong benchmark results, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a PassMark multithread score of 51405, do not translate into top-tier gaming performance because Hitman 2's frame rates are heavily dependent on GPU rendering. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2502 and PassMark G3D score of 17326 indicate mid-range capability, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The rank of 2389 suggests that in a database of 3001 combos, this pairing is better suited for CPU-intensive workloads rather than high-end gaming at demanding resolutions. The data shows that this combo is more competitive at 1080p, where it ranks higher relative to other combos, but falls behind at 4K where the GPU's limitations become pronounced.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average frame rates across settings: Low achieves 126 FPS, Medium achieves 95 FPS (with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 109), High achieves 71 FPS, and Ultra achieves 53 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 73 FPS, showing a significant impact of settings on performance at this resolution. The minimum FPS at Medium settings (80 FPS) is notably close to the average, indicating consistent frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: Low achieves 81 FPS, Medium achieves 60 FPS (with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 70), High achieves 46 FPS, and Ultra achieves 34 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 47 FPS, with each settings tier reducing performance by approximately 13-15 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (51 FPS) is lower relative to the average, suggesting more frame time variance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly: Low achieves 43 FPS, Medium achieves 32 FPS (with a minimum of 27 and maximum of 37), High achieves 24 FPS, and Ultra achieves 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is only 25 FPS, indicating that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily constrained that settings changes have a reduced relative impact. The minimum FPS at Medium (27 FPS) is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, confirming that 4K is not a practical resolution for this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance curve that indicates GPU-bound behavior. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 126 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p, a reduction of 45 FPS (approximately 35.7%), and further to 43 at 4K, a reduction of 83 FPS from 1080p (approximately 65.9%). At Medium settings, the drop is from 95 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p (36.8% reduction) and to 32 FPS at 4K (66.3% reduction from 1080p). At High settings, the drop is from 71 FPS at 1080p to 46 FPS at 1440p (35.2% reduction) and to 24 FPS at 4K (66.2% reduction).

The consistent reduction pattern across settings, with approximately a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K, strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component. The number of pixels increases by 77.8% from 1080p to 1440p (2.07 million to 3.69 million) and by 300% from 1080p to 4K (2.07 million to 8.29 million), and the FPS drops correlate with this pixel count increase rather than with CPU limitations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more stable across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale linearly with resolution. The data indicates that the RTX 5050's rendering throughput, constrained by its 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary factor limiting performance at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 9 8945HX has ample headroom to handle the game's CPU demands even at 4K.