Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination. The measured frame rates reveal a system with substantial headroom across most settings, but the data also indicates where the performance ceiling lies. This analysis interprets the collected figures to provide guidance on optimal configuration and component behavior.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across resolutions and presets points to High as the optimal settings preset for this combination. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, which represents the best balance between visual fidelity and performance in the measured rows. While the Ultra preset at the same resolution produces an average of 52 FPS, this is likely to be below the refresh rate of many high-end displays, making the visual gains of Ultra less practical than the smoother motion of High. The data shows that stepping down to Medium at 4K yields 93 FPS, but the increase from Medium to High is a modest 22 FPS difference, suggesting that High offers the most efficient use of the GPU's capabilities for a premium experience.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the 2560x1440 High preset achieves an average of 132 FPS, which is an excellent target for high-refresh-rate gaming. This setting provides a significant jump from the 93 FPS at 4K High, making it the recommended choice for competitive or fast-paced play where fluidity is paramount. The 1920x1080 High preset, with an average of 207 FPS, is exceptionally high, but at this resolution, the system is likely becoming more CPU-bound, as evidenced by the scaling patterns discussed later. The data suggests that High settings are the sweet spot, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium without the disproportionate performance cost seen when moving to Ultra.

The Ultra preset, while the most visually demanding, shows the steepest performance drop. At 4K, the average FPS falls to 52, a 26.8% reduction from the High preset's 71 FPS. This pattern is consistent across all resolutions, with 1440p Ultra at 98 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 153 FPS. These figures indicate that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU, and the performance gains over High are not commensurate with the frame rate loss, especially at higher resolutions. Therefore, based purely on the measured data, High settings provide the most consistent and enjoyable experience across all three tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing for Hitman 2. Its role is clearly defined by the VRAM and clock specifications provided. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This massive memory allocation is far beyond the requirements of a 2018 title, ensuring that texture streaming and asset loading are never bottlenecks at any of the tested resolutions or settings. The high bandwidth is also crucial for maintaining stable frame rates, especially at 4K where the demand on memory throughput is highest.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, are central to its compute performance. The boost clock is the sustained operational frequency under load, and the data suggests it is effectively utilized. The measured FPS at 4K High (71 FPS) versus 1080p Low (365 FPS) shows a massive 5.1x difference, which is a strong indicator of the GPU's scaling under varying resolutions. The RTX 5090 D's compute capabilities, including its 21760 shading units and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are more than sufficient to handle Hitman 2's rendering demands. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are key metrics that directly influence fill-rate-dependent scenes, and the high FPS figures at lower resolutions confirm that these are not limiting factors.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its role. The passmark_g3d score of 44065 and the 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 14326 demonstrate its raw graphics processing power. In the context of Hitman 2, the RTX 5090 D is not just capable; it is over-provisioned. The performance bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions is almost entirely the GPU's rendering load, not its memory or bandwidth. The data shows that as settings increase from Low to Ultra, the average FPS decreases consistently, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. This is particularly evident at 4K, where the Ultra preset's 52 FPS average is the lowest measured, indicating that the GPU is working at its limit with the most demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 365, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but marginally. The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 52 FPS, which is technically playable but may not be smooth on high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 207 at 1920x1080 to 71 at 3840x2160 with High settings, representing a 65.7% reduction.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM a limiting factor in Hitman 2?

A: No, the benchmark data shows no indication of VRAM limitations. The high FPS at all resolutions and settings suggests that the 32 GB memory pool is more than sufficient for this game.

Q: Which settings preset shows the most significant FPS drop between resolutions?

A: The Low preset shows the largest relative drop, going from 365 FPS at 1080p to 124 FPS at 4K, a 66% decrease.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 1440p Medium compare to 4K High?

A: The 1440p Medium preset averages 175 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 4K High's 71 FPS. The higher resolution at High settings imposes a much greater load on the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are exceptionally high. The Low preset leads with an average of 365 FPS, followed by Medium at 274 FPS (with a min of 233 and max of 315), High at 207 FPS, and Ultra at 153 FPS. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU are not heavily stressed, allowing for frame rates that far exceed standard display refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. The Low preset still achieves a very high 234 FPS average. The Medium preset averages 175 FPS (min 149, max 201), while High drops to 132 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 98 FPS, is the first to fall below the 100 FPS threshold, indicating a more substantial GPU workload. This resolution represents a good balance for high-refresh-rate gaming, with the High preset offering a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the primary limiting factor. The Low preset averages 124 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS (min 79, max 107), and High drops to 71 FPS. The Ultra preset, with an average of 52 FPS, is the most demanding configuration tested. The data shows a clear and consistent decline in performance as resolution increases, with the gap between presets widening at higher resolutions. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution has a direct and significant impact on the frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals important information about the system's limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS decreases from 207 at 1920x1080 to 132 at 2560x1440, and finally to 71 at 3840x2160. This represents a 36.2% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.2% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with a more pronounced drop at the higher resolution. This pattern strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the number of pixels to render quadruples from 1080p (2.07 million) to 4K (8.29 million), placing an exponentially higher load on the rasterization and shading units.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more dramatic: 365 FPS at 1080p, 234 FPS at 1440p, and 124 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 66%, which is larger than the 65.7% drop seen at High settings. This suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor, but the reduced visual complexity allows for higher absolute FPS, making the resolution scaling more apparent. The fact that the FPS does not scale linearly with pixel count indicates that while the GPU is the main constraint, there are also other system-level inefficiencies that become more pronounced at higher resolutions, possibly related to memory bandwidth or driver overhead.

The data clearly shows that Hitman 2 is heavily GPU-bound with this hardware combination. The CPU's role is secondary, as the frame rates at 1080p are so high that they would only be constrained by the display's refresh rate, not the processing power. The scaling behavior confirms that if a user wants to increase FPS, lowering the resolution has a much more significant impact than lowering the settings preset. For example, moving from 4K High (71 FPS) to 1440p High (132 FPS) yields an 85.9% performance increase, while moving from 4K Ultra (52 FPS) to 4K High (71 FPS) only yields a 36.5% increase.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D's role in Hitman 2 is to provide a stable foundation for the GPU. With 12 cores and 24 threads, its multi-threaded capabilities are strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a Passmark multithread score of 56154. However, Hitman 2 is not a game that heavily utilizes many cores. Its single-thread performance is more critical, and the 9900X3D delivers a strong Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1269. These figures are more than sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D with draw calls and game logic data, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of work.

The CPU's clock speeds, with a base of 4.40 GHz and a boost of 5.50 GHz, are high, and the 128 MB of L3 cache is a notable feature for gaming. This large cache helps reduce memory latency, which can be beneficial in complex scenes with many objects. However, the benchmark data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p, the FPS is so high (207 FPS at High) that it's likely the CPU's limit is being approached, but the GPU is still the dominant factor. At 4K, the GPU load is so high that the CPU has ample headroom, and its performance has a negligible impact on the final frame rate.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the data shows it is competitive. It is 0.6% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, but 1.3% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 2.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700F. This places it in a good position for gaming, but the differences are small and unlikely to be perceptible in Hitman 2. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 54762 confirm its high-end status. In this game, the CPU's role is to ensure consistent frame pacing and avoid stutter, which its high single-thread performance and large cache help to achieve.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 1st out of 3001 tested combos for Hitman 2. This top ranking demonstrates the sheer performance headroom of both components. The RTX 5090 D, with its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 77712, is a flagship product that dominates most other graphics cards. Its nearest GPU rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, are 1.6% slower, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is 2.4% slower. This shows that the RTX 5090 D is at the very top of the performance hierarchy.

The CPU's contribution to this top ranking is also significant. While the GPU is the primary driver of FPS in Hitman 2, the CPU's high performance ensures that it does not hold the GPU back. The 9900X3D's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs and its competitive position against rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (0.6% slower) and Intel Core i7-14700F (2.1% faster) mean it is a top-tier processor. The combination of a top-1 percentile GPU and a top-10 percentile CPU results in the best possible performance for this game.

The data shows that this combo achieves the highest measured FPS at every resolution and settings preset. For instance, at 4K High, it produces 71 FPS, while at 1080p Low, it achieves 365 FPS. These are the best results in the database for Hitman 2, confirming its rank. The combo's performance is so high that it is likely to be overkill for most users, but for those seeking the absolute maximum frame rates and visual fidelity, this pairing is the definitive choice according to the measured data. The rank of 1 out of 3001 is a clear and unambiguous statement of its dominance in this specific game.