Hitman 2

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + AMD Radeon RX 570 combo rank in Hitman 2?

A: This combination ranks 3544 out of 3711 tested combos in the game’s database, placing it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems. The data shows the pairing is heavily constrained by the GPU, which sits at the 74th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 92nd percentile.

Q: What is the best playable frame rate this system can achieve?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 70 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best options are 52 FPS at Medium and 39 FPS at High, both at the same resolution. At 2560x1440, the best average is 45 FPS on Low, and at 3840x2160, the best is 24 FPS on Low.

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

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 9900X delivers a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253, while the RX 570’s average benchmark score of 28766 places it near the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct -0.8) and RX 6800M (deltaPct -0.4). The sharp FPS drops when raising resolution point to VRAM and pixel throughput limits, not CPU compute.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmarks?

A: The RX 570’s average benchmark score is 28766, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28874), 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28580), and 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996). It also sits 1.2% above the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (28421).

Q: What CPU performance class does the Ryzen 9 9900X belong to?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 57498, which is virtually identical to the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, deltaPct -0.1) and AMD EPYC 7313 (57399, deltaPct 0.2). It trails the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, deltaPct -1.1) and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, deltaPct -1.4) by about 1%. This is a top-tier desktop part, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Does the 4 GB VRAM capacity affect performance at higher resolutions?

A: Yes. The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160, average FPS drops to 13 on High and 10 on Ultra, while at 1920x1080 the same settings yield 39 and 29 FPS respectively. The data shows a non-linear collapse at 4K, consistent with memory capacity saturation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries. It packs 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). These specifications produce a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 1920x1080, the system achieves 70 FPS on Low, 52 on Medium, 39 on High, and 29 on Ultra. At 2560x1440, those numbers fall to 45, 33, 25, and 19 respectively. At 3840x2160, the results collapse to 24, 18, 13, and 10. The gap between Low and Ultra settings grows from 41 FPS at 1080p to just 14 FPS at 4K, indicating the GPU runs out of computational headroom long before the CPU becomes relevant.

The RX 570’s 4 GB GDDR5 frame buffer is a hard constraint. The 256-bit memory interface provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p but inadequate for 4K. The average FPS at 3840x2160 High (13 FPS) is less than one-third of the 1080p High result (39 FPS), a drop that cannot be explained by pixel count alone. This points to memory capacity and bandwidth being exhausted, forcing the GPU to swap data inefficiently.

The GPU’s benchmark position reinforces this interpretation. With an average score of 28766, the RX 570 sits at the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the RX 6800M (28874, deltaPct -0.4), R9 M295X (28580, deltaPct 0.7), RX 470 (28996, deltaPct -0.8), and Quadro RTX 8000 (28421, deltaPct 1.2). These are all mid-range or older parts, and none of them are designed for 4K gaming. The data shows the RX 570 is a capable 1080p card that falls apart when resolution demands exceed its memory subsystem.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a system that is GPU-bound at every setting. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 70 at 1080p to 45 at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 24 at 4K (a 66% drop from 1080p). At High settings, the progression is 39 to 25 to 13, representing a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K.

These drops are steeper than what pure pixel count scaling would predict. Going from 1080p to 1440p increases pixel count by 78%, and from 1080p to 4K by 400%. The measured FPS drops are smaller than the pixel count increases, which suggests the GPU is not purely fill-rate limited — but the absolute numbers are so low that the distinction is academic. At 4K, even Low settings produce only 24 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for a stealth game requiring precise timing.

The pattern across settings is also telling. At 1080p, the spread between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS (70 vs 29). At 1440p, the spread narrows to 26 FPS (45 vs 19). At 4K, the spread is just 14 FPS (24 vs 10). This compression indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that changing settings has diminishing returns. The limiting component is the RX 570’s raw throughput and memory bandwidth, not the game’s graphical options.

The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal. The Ryzen 9 9900X has 12 cores and 24 threads with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and multi-thread score of 13929 show ample headroom for a game like Hitman 2. Even at 1080p Low (70 FPS), the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck, as the GPU is a 2017-era Polaris part. The measured data shows no evidence of CPU limiting at any resolution or setting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 70 FPS. Medium settings yield 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60. High settings drop to 39 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS. These numbers show a playable experience only at Low and Medium settings, with Medium providing the best balance of smoothness and visual quality.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low settings average 45 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth game where quick reactions matter. Medium averages 33 FPS with a range of 28 to 38. High drops to 25 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19 FPS. The minimum FPS data for Medium (28) is below the average for Low (45), confirming that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame times.

At 3840x2160, the system is effectively unplayable for Hitman 2. Low settings average 24 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS with a range of 15 to 20, High averages 13 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The minimum FPS of 15 at Medium is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and even the maximum of 20 is too low for a game that requires precise movement and timing.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution jump halves the frame rate at equivalent settings. From 1080p Low (70) to 1440p Low (45) is a 36% reduction, and from 1440p Low (45) to 4K Low (24) is a 47% reduction. The same pattern holds for High settings (39 to 25 to 13). This is classic GPU-bound behavior, with the RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth acting as the limiting factors.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) on a 4 nm TSMC process. It runs at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and boosts to 5.60 GHz, with a 120 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth, and it uses PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The launch MSRP is $499.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The game’s benchmarks show that even at 1080p Low (70 FPS), the system does not appear to be CPU-limited. The 3DMark scores tell the story: single-thread score of 1286, 2-thread score of 2519, 4-thread score of 4886, 8-thread score of 9114, and 16-thread score of 12552. These scores indicate strong per-core performance that can handle the game’s AI and physics calculations without bottlenecking.

The Cinebench results reinforce this. R15 multicore score of 5008 and single-core of 353, R23 multicore of 32172 and single-core of 2253. The Geekbench multicore score of 22174 and single-core of 3010 further confirm that the CPU has ample compute headroom. Passmark scores show a multithread score of 54643, single-thread of 4672, and physics score of 3381.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all server or high-end desktop parts. The AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, deltaPct -0.1) and EPYC 7313 (57399, deltaPct 0.2) are within 0.2% of the 9900X’s score of 57498. The Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, deltaPct -1.1) and Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, deltaPct -1.4) are slightly ahead. This places the 9900X in the top 92nd percentile of all CPUs, making it a non-factor in limiting Hitman 2 performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this system is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This configuration delivers an average of 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60. The minimum FPS of 44 is above the threshold for smooth gameplay in a stealth title, and the 60 FPS maximum shows the system can occasionally hit the monitor’s refresh rate.

If you require higher visual fidelity, 1080p High is playable at 39 FPS average, but the lack of minimum FPS data means frame drops could be more severe than the average suggests. Ultra at 1080p (29 FPS) is not recommended, as the frame rate dips below the playable threshold for a game where timing is critical.

At 2560x1440, Low settings (45 FPS) are the only playable option, and even then, the margin is thin. Medium at 1440p (33 FPS average, 28 minimum) is borderline, and High (25 FPS) and Ultra (19 FPS) are not viable. If you have a 1440p monitor, the data suggests dropping to 1080p for a better experience.

At 3840x2160, no settings are playable. The highest average is 24 FPS on Low, and the minimum FPS on Medium is 15. This resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware combination. The 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K in this game, regardless of settings.

The practical recommendation is to run Hitman 2 at 1080p Medium for a balanced experience. If you prioritize frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low (70 FPS) provides a very smooth experience. If you have a 1440p display, use 1080p rendering with upscaling if your monitor supports it, as the 1440p Low results (45 FPS) are noticeably less smooth than 1080p Medium (52 FPS) and have a lower minimum frame rate in the measured data.