Hitman 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 pairing in Hitman 2 presents a study in bottleneck dynamics. The data reveals a configuration where the modern 12-core processor is held firmly in check by the older Turing-based GPU, with frame rates collapsing as resolution and settings climb. This combination ranks 1479th out of 1795 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower tier of configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's age rather than the CPU's capability.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 74.9 FPS, but this drops to 45.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 27.7 FPS at 4K. That represents a 39% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 40% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear, suggesting the rendering pipeline is saturated at every step.

The pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 132.6 FPS, which is a high refresh rate result. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 85.1 FPS, a 36% decrease, and 4K Low falls to 42.6 FPS, another 50% drop. This consistent halving of performance with each resolution step indicates that the RTX 2060's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU or game logic.

The Ultra preset tells the most revealing story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 54.9 FPS, but 1440p Ultra falls to 32.7 FPS, and 4K Ultra collapses to a nearly unplayable 17 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution widens as resolution increases, from a 2.4x difference at 1080p (132.6 vs 54.9) to a 2.5x difference at 4K (42.6 vs 17). This suggests that the GPU's compute units are overwhelmed by the combined load of higher resolution and more complex shading.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the decisive component in this pairing. Its specifications include 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs. These figures place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, according to its benchmark score of 14111 in PassMark G3D.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS suggests the GPU is not only compute-bound but also potentially hitting memory capacity limits, causing thrashing. The fact that the gap between Low and Medium at 4K is only 6 FPS (42.6 vs 36.6) while the gap between Medium and High is 8.9 FPS (36.6 vs 27.7) indicates that the memory subsystem is strained earlier than the shader units.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with an average score of 15996 (0.5% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 16351 (1.7% higher). The RTX 2060 sits just below these, and its performance in Hitman 2 aligns with this relative standing. The data suggests that the GPU's Turing architecture, with its 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, provides no meaningful advantage in this non-ray-traced title, as the raw rasterization performance is what matters.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 99.9 FPS, which is a smooth, high-refresh experience. At 1440p Medium, the result is 63.4 FPS, which remains playable on standard 60Hz displays. Even at 4K Medium, the 36.6 FPS is borderline but above the 30 FPS console-style baseline.

The High preset is a reasonable choice only at 1080p, where the 74.9 FPS still provides a good experience. At 1440p High, the 45.8 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions except perhaps 1080p, where the 54.9 FPS is acceptable but not optimal.

The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates, with 132.6 FPS at 1080p being the standout result. However, the visual compromise is significant, and the 85.1 FPS at 1440p Low suggests that users with 1440p monitors could consider this preset for competitive play. For most users, the data points to Medium as the sweet spot, as it provides a substantial improvement over Low without the steep performance penalty of High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows the combo's capability. Low produces 132.6 FPS, Medium 99.9 FPS, High 74.9 FPS, and Ultra 54.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 25% reduction, while the step from Medium to High is also 25%, and High to Ultra is 27%. This consistent degradation suggests that each preset tier adds a similar computational load.

At 2560x1440, the results are 85.1 FPS for Low, 63.4 FPS for Medium, 45.8 FPS for High, and 32.7 FPS for Ultra. The relative drops are larger here, with Low to Medium being 25%, Medium to High being 28%, and High to Ultra being 29%. This indicates that the GPU is becoming less efficient as resolution increases, with each preset tier costing more performance.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 42.6 FPS for Low, 36.6 FPS for Medium, 27.7 FPS for High, and 17 FPS for Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is only 14%, but Medium to High is 24%, and High to Ultra is a severe 39%. This non-linear scaling at 4K suggests that the GPU hits a hard wall between High and Ultra, likely due to memory bandwidth saturation or VRAM exhaustion.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1479 out of 1795 places it in the 82nd percentile from the bottom, meaning only 316 combinations perform worse in Hitman 2. This is a low ranking that reflects the RTX 2060's age and its position in the GPU hierarchy. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier part. The Ryzen 9 9900X has a percentile of 94 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54450.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D with an average score of 54681 (0.4% higher) and the Intel Core i7-14700F with 54097 (0.7% lower). The 9900X's 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and multi-thread score of 13929 show it is a powerful processor. However, in this game, the GPU bottleneck negates this advantage entirely. The ranking suggests that in Hitman 2, the RTX 2060 is the sole determinant of the experience, and the 9900X's headroom is wasted.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all presets remain playable. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 54.9 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 32.7 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 17 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's benchmark scores place it near the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% lower) and AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (1.7% lower). In-game, this translates to the observed frame rates, which are consistent with these relative standings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the RTX 2060?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark percentile of 94 and its high multi-thread scores (e.g., 46438 in Cinebench R23) far exceed what Hitman 2 requires. The FPS drops are entirely attributable to the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling pattern.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low produces 132.6 FPS while Ultra produces 54.9 FPS, a difference of 77.7 FPS. This represents a 58% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 42.6 FPS. Medium drops to 36.6 FPS, High to 27.7 FPS, and Ultra to 17 FPS. The 4K results are below the 60 FPS target for all presets.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1479th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower tier, reflecting the RTX 2060's performance ceiling rather than the CPU's capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 64 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46438 and a single-core score of 6555. The PassMark multi-thread score of 54643 and single-thread score of 4672 further confirm its high-end status.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role is minimal. The game's engine does not appear to be CPU-intensive, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale linearly with GPU load. The 9900X's 24 threads are largely idle, and its 3DMark 2-thread score of 2519 suggests that even with limited thread usage, it has ample headroom. The data implies that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting, as the FPS differences between presets are almost entirely explained by GPU workload.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K with an average score of 55304 (1.5% higher) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF with 55421 (1.8% higher). These rival CPUs would perform identically to the 9900X in this game, given the GPU bottleneck. The conclusion from the data is that any modern mid-range or high-end CPU would produce the same results with this GPU, making the 9900X's power irrelevant for Hitman 2 specifically. The bottleneck is unambiguously the RTX 2060, and the CPU's impressive specifications are wasted in this particular title.