Hitman 2

The measured results for Hitman 2 on the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile place this combination at rank 818 out of 3711 tested configurations. Across the 12 measured data points, the system delivers a low of 35 FPS at 4K Ultra and a high of 249 FPS at 1080p Low, with the scaling pattern clearly exposing the GPU as the primary limiter at high resolutions while the CPU provides exceptional headroom at 1080p. The following analysis breaks down the data into resolution scaling, CPU and GPU roles, settings recommendations, and a full FPS breakdown.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all four settings presets, which is the strongest evidence that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 249 at 1080p to 85 at 4K — a reduction to 34% of the original value. At High, the drop is from 141 to 48, again 34%. Medium goes from 186 to 64, which is 34.4%, and Ultra falls from 104 to 35, representing 33.6%. This uniform ~66% reduction aligns almost exactly with the pixel-count difference between 1080p and 4K (4x the pixels), meaning the GPU’s shading, TMU, and ROP throughput are fully saturated when moving to 4K.

The scaling also shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 1080p. With a 249 FPS average at Low, the Ryzen 9 8945HX is delivering far more frames than the GPU can process at that resolution. The 1080p results are effectively GPU-bound as well, but the high absolute numbers indicate the CPU can easily sustain frame rates above 200. The min/max data for the Medium preset reinforces this: at 1080p Medium, the range is 158 to 214 FPS (a 56 FPS spread), while at 4K Medium the range narrows to 54 to 73 (a 19 FPS spread). The larger variance at 1080p reflects the GPU’s ability to burst through scenes when the CPU can feed it, while at 4K the GPU is constantly at its limit, compressing the frame-time variance.

The practical implication is that any resolution above 1080p will be strictly GPU-limited. At 1440p, the average FPS across presets is 90 High, 159 Low, 119 Medium, and 66 Ultra — all still playable, but the drop from 1080p is roughly 36% for each preset, again confirming the pixel scaling. For a 4K display, the only settings that deliver a smooth experience are Low (85 FPS) and Medium (64 FPS), while High and Ultra fall to 48 and 35 respectively. The data shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable target for this combo, and 4K High is borderline.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture (Dragon Range), with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It carries 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 42713 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6030 in single-core, while Passmark multithread score is 51405 and single-thread is 3907. These numbers place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals show negligible differences: the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX averages 76155 (a 0.1% lower score), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P averages 76492 (0.4% higher), the Threadripper PRO 9945WX averages 76513 (0.4% higher), and the Ryzen 9 9950X3D averages 75779 (0.6% lower). So the 8945HX sits within a 0.6% window of these four processors, making it a top-tier mobile CPU.

In Hitman 2, the CPU role is to feed the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 249 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate that no modern GPU would bottleneck at. The single-thread performance (6030 Cinebench R23 single-core) is crucial for a 2018 stealth title that relies on game logic and AI, and the boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the raw single-thread speed. The 16 cores are largely idle in this game, but the high thread count ensures that any background tasks or future engine updates will not cause dips. The 64 MB L3 cache helps with repetitive scene data, and the dual-channel DDR5 bandwidth (83.2 GB/s) supports the CPU’s ability to push data to the GPU without stalling.

The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. Even at 4K Ultra where the average FPS is 35, the frame rate is limited by the GPU’s pixel throughput, not the CPU. The fact that 1080p Low produces 249 FPS proves the CPU can handle the game’s simulation with massive headroom. The 95th percentile ranking confirms that this processor is a top-tier mobile part, and the 0.1% delta against the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX indicates that the CPU choice has negligible impact on Hitman 2’s performance compared to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium yields 186 FPS (min 158, max 214), which is 45 FPS higher than High (141 FPS) and 82 FPS higher than Ultra (104 FPS). The minimum of 158 FPS at 1080p Medium is still above 144Hz, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh displays. At 1440p, Medium averages 119 FPS (min 101, max 137), which is 29 FPS above High (90 FPS) and 53 FPS above Ultra (66 FPS). The 101 FPS minimum remains smooth. At 4K, Medium averages 64 FPS (min 54, max 73), which is 16 FPS above High (48 FPS) and 29 FPS above Ultra (35 FPS). The 54 FPS minimum is borderline but playable, while High and Ultra at 4K dip into the 30-40s, which is unacceptable for a stealth game where timing matters.

Low settings are also viable but sacrifice too much visual detail. At 4K, Low gives 85 FPS (compared to 64 Medium), but the gap narrows to 11 FPS at 1080p (249 vs 186). The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot because it delivers a 64% higher FPS than High at 4K and a 32% higher FPS at 1080p, with minimal visual degradation in most games. Ultra is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 104 FPS, but even then Medium is 82 FPS higher. For a 144Hz display, 1080p Medium (186 FPS) or 1440p Medium (119 FPS) are the best options; for a 4K display, Medium (64 FPS) is the only preset that maintains a playable frame rate above 60, while Low (85 FPS) offers a 21 FPS higher but with reduced effects.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest average FPS is 249 at 1080p with Low settings. The second highest is 186 at 1080p Medium.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to 4K Medium?

A: 4K Ultra averages 35 FPS, while 4K Medium averages 64 FPS (with a minimum of 54 FPS). Ultra is 29 FPS lower, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the performance rank of this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and RTX 5090 Mobile ranks 818 out of 3711 tested configurations, placing it in the top 22% of all combos.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor in Hitman 2 at 1080p?

A: No. The CPU delivers 249 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far above any typical display refresh rate. The CPU’s single-thread score of 6030 (Cinebench R23) and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide ample headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 Mobile compare to the RTX 4070 Ti in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5090 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 45152, while the RTX 4070 Ti has 44795, giving the RTX 5090 Mobile a 0.8% higher score. In Hitman 2, the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, with a 66% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the GPU and how does it affect the game?

A: The GPU has 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s bandwidth. For a 2018 game like Hitman 2, 24 GB is far more than needed, and the bandwidth does not limit the 4K results.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 82 RT cores, and 328 tensor cores. It runs at a base clock of 990 MHz and a boost clock of 1515 MHz, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its FP32 performance is 31.80 TFLOPS, and it has a texture rate of 496.9 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 169.7 GPixel/s. The GPU is built on a 5 nm process with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 5871 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 201834 in Geekbench OpenCL, 198405 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 30034 in Passmark G3D. Its average benchmark score is 45152, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs.

The nearest rival data shows that the GPU is closely matched with several other high-end parts. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT has an average score of 45384 (0.5% lower), the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti has 44795 (0.8% higher), the Intel Arc A730M has 45592 (1% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada has 45972 (1.8% lower). This places the RTX 5090 Mobile in the same performance tier as the RTX 4070 Ti, but with a 24 GB memory buffer and GDDR7 memory.

In Hitman 2, the GPU is the limiting component at 1440p and 4K. The 66% drop from 1080p to 4K is exactly proportional to pixel count, meaning the GPU’s pixel throughput (169.7 GPixel/s) is fully utilized at 4K. The 24 GB VRAM is never a constraint—the game’s textures are modest for a 2018 title—so the bottleneck is raw shading and ROP performance. At 1080p, the GPU still limits the frame rate, but the CPU is capable of pushing 249 FPS, which is above the GPU’s ability to render, so the frame rate is still GPU-bound. The 82 RT cores are unused in Hitman 2 (which has no ray tracing), so the FP32 and pixel rate are the key factors. The 1515 MHz boost clock and 31.80 TFLOPS are the performance determinants.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the exact average, minimum, and maximum FPS values measured for each resolution and settings combination. All data is directly measured, and the combo rank is 818 out of 3711.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 48 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 85 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 64 | 54 | 73 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 35 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 90 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 159 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 119 | 101 | 137 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 66 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 141 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 249 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 186 | 158 | 214 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 104 | - | - |

The Medium settings are the only preset where minimum and maximum values were recorded, providing a reliable frame-time envelope. At 4K Medium, the min 54 FPS is the lowest recorded frame, which is still above the 30 FPS threshold for playability. At 1440p Medium, the min 101 FPS is comfortably above 60, and at 1080p Medium, the min 158 FPS is extremely high. The data shows that Ultra settings reduce average FPS by 41% at 1080p (104 vs 186), by 44% at 1440p (66 vs 119), and by 45% at 4K (35 vs 64) compared to Medium. High settings are between Medium and Ultra, but Medium consistently delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance.