Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a clear, if stark, picture in Hitman 2. The data shows a system where the graphics card is the overwhelming bottleneck at every resolution, with the processor's substantial headroom going largely unused. The measured frame rates are consistently low, and the scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU that is simply outmatched by the demands of this title at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe, indicating a purely GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 44 at 1080p to 28 at 1440p, a reduction of 16 frames, and then plummets to just 15 at 4K. This represents a 66% loss in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign that the RX 580’s rendering capabilities are being exhausted long before the CPU can become a factor.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 77 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p, and finally to 26 at 4K. The 4K Low result of 26 FPS is barely playable, while the 4K High result of 15 FPS is a slideshow. This is not a situation where lowering resolution can salvage a playable experience at 4K; even the lowest settings cannot push the average above 30 FPS at that resolution.

The data suggests that the limiting component is unequivocally the Radeon RX 580. The Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, has ample processing power, but the GPU’s fill rate and shading throughput are insufficient for Hitman 2’s engine at higher resolutions. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a 36% drop in average FPS across all settings, and the transition from 1440p to 4K shows a further 46% drop. These are large, linear declines that point directly at the graphics card's memory bandwidth and compute units being the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this combination is found at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This preset yields an average FPS of 77, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 19 FPS (from 77 to 58), which is a significant drop for a single tier of visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 49 FPS is the only playable option, though it falls short of the 60 FPS target. Medium at 1440p drops to 37 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth action title where reaction time matters. High and Ultra settings at 1440p are not recommended, as they produce 28 and 21 FPS respectively, which will feel sluggish and unresponsive.

For 4K, the data provides no viable options. The best result is Low at 26 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. The Ultra preset at 4K averages just 11 FPS, making it a purely theoretical exercise. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this combo. The best experience per the measured rows is a strict trade-off: 1080p Low for performance, or 1080p Medium for a balance of 58 FPS and improved visuals, accepting that the frame rate dips to 49 FPS in the minimum recorded frame.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). Its base clock is 4.40 GHz and it boosts up to 5.60 GHz. The benchmark data indicates that this CPU is not the limiting factor in Hitman 2, as its scores are exceptionally high. For instance, the Cinebench R23 multicore score is 32172 and the single-core score is 2253, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role is largely passive. The frame rates are so low due to the GPU that the processor never has to work hard to feed frames. The data shows that the 9900X has a massive amount of headroom; even the most demanding CPU scenarios in this title would not stress its 12 cores. The game's engine appears to be more dependent on single-thread performance for its core logic, and the 9900X's single-thread score of 2253 in Cinebench R23 is more than sufficient.

The 9900X's nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database include the Intel Core i9-14900, which scores 58115 on average, a delta of -1.1% relative to the 9900X's score. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, a delta of 0.2%. These comparisons show that the 9900X is at the top of the pack for general processing, but this strength is irrelevant to the Hitman 2 results. The bottleneck is so pronounced that even a much weaker CPU would produce identical frame rates with the RX 580.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X and the Radeon RX 580 ranks 3388 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the bottom 9% of all configurations. This low rank is entirely attributable to the graphics card, as the CPU is a top-tier part. The rank reflects the overall system performance, and the RX 580's age and capabilities drag the entire combo down.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 53, meaning it performs better than 53% of all GPUs, but its average benchmark score of 12928 is close to that of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which scores 12986, a delta of -0.4%. The RX 580 also sits near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940, a delta of -0.1%. These rivals are all older or lower-tier parts, and none of them are suited for modern gaming at high resolutions.

The combo’s ranking in the 3388th position out of 3711 indicates that the vast majority of other CPU-GPU pairings tested on this site deliver better frame rates in Hitman 2. The data shows that this pairing is fundamentally unbalanced for this game. The CPU is overkill for the GPU, and the GPU is underwhelming for the game’s demands at anything above 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system achieves playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 77, and at 1080p Medium, it is 58 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The measured results indicate no. At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 26, and at High settings, it drops to 15 FPS. These numbers are too low for a playable experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this setup?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The frame rates are low across all resolutions, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K is linear, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 49 on Low to 37 on Medium. This is a 12 FPS reduction for one step up in visual quality.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score of 12928 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which scores 12986, a delta of -0.4%. It is also close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940.

Q: What is the Ultra preset performance at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 32. This is a significant drop from the Medium preset’s 58 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is too demanding for this GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured data for Hitman 2 is as follows.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 77 FPS average
• Medium: 58 FPS average, with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 67 FPS
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 32 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 49 FPS average
• Medium: 37 FPS average, with a minimum of 31 and maximum of 43 FPS
• High: 28 FPS average
• Ultra: 21 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 26 FPS average
• Medium: 20 FPS average, with a minimum of 17 and maximum of 23 FPS
• High: 15 FPS average
• Ultra: 11 FPS average

The pattern is consistent: each increase in resolution or settings tier results in a substantial, predictable drop in frame rate. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, which show a variance of about 18 FPS at each resolution, suggesting some scene complexity variation. The overall data set is a clear demonstration of a GPU that is out of its depth for this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary determinant of performance in this setup. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1257 MHz, with a boost clock of 1340 MHz. The card is based on the Polaris 20 chip using the GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its compute power is rated at 6.175 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

These specifications, while respectable for the card’s 2017 release, are insufficient for Hitman 2’s demands at high settings. The 8 GB of VRAM is not the issue at 1080p, but the 256-bit memory bus and the 2304 shading units are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates when the resolution increases. The data shows that the card’s performance drops by roughly a third every time the resolution is doubled, which is a direct consequence of its limited fill rate and memory bandwidth.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range standing. Its Passmark G3D score is 8813, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1005. These scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the GTX 1660 SUPER and RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, both of which are also older or entry-level parts. In Hitman 2, the RX 580’s role is to be the limiting factor; the CPU waits for it, and the resulting frame rates are a direct measure of its rendering capabilities. The card’s 185 W TDP and dual-slot design are irrelevant to the performance figures, which are uniformly low across all tested configurations. The data makes it clear that for this game, the RX 580 is the component that defines the experience, and that experience is one of compromise and low settings.