Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a striking performance profile in Hitman 2, with results that reveal a system capable of extremely high frame rates at lower resolutions while showing clear signs of GPU-bound scaling at 4K. The combination ranks 652nd out of 3,001 tested combos, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations tested for this title, a position that reflects the strong but not absolute top-tier nature of this pairing.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 (Strix Halo) architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W and a quad-channel LPDDR5X memory interface providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a mobile-class processor. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 35,314 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2,044 in single-core, and 4,147 in Passmark single-thread tests, indicating strong per-thread performance that is relevant for a game like Hitman 2.

Hitman 2, released in 2018, is a stealth game that typically relies more on single-threaded performance than on massive multi-core scaling, though modern patches can utilize multiple threads. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395's single-core capabilities—evidenced by its 2,044 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 4,147 Passmark single-thread score—are notably high, which helps explain the high frame rates observed at 1080p where CPU overhead is more likely to matter. The processor's 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and any secondary game threads, but the data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most measured scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 238 FPS average, which is among the highest values in the measured set, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions. The processor's percentile rank of 95 among all CPUs further underscores its strong positioning, with its average benchmark score of 77,740 placing it close to rivals like the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76,513, +1.6% delta) and the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,097, -1.7% delta), meaning the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 sits within a tight performance band around these desktop-class parts.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 652 out of 3,001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This places the system in the 78th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms roughly 78% of the configurations tested for this game. While this is a solid result, it is not in the top tier, which is somewhat surprising given the high-end nature of both components. The rank suggests that other combinations—likely those with more desktop-oriented CPUs or more optimized pairings—achieve higher average FPS across the tested settings. The gap between this combo's rank and its component-level performance (CPU at 95th percentile, GPU at 88th percentile) indicates that the pairing does not perfectly translate its raw component strength into game performance.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the combo's average frame rates are respectable but not record-breaking. For instance, at 1440p High, the system delivers 86 FPS, while at 1080p High it reaches 135 FPS. These numbers are strong, but the 652nd rank implies that many other combos exceed these figures, possibly due to more favorable CPU-GPU balance or better driver optimization for this specific title. The data suggests that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, despite its mobile origins, holds its own, but the RTX 4090's full potential may be slightly constrained in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the dominant factor. It is also worth remembering the combo rank is based on all settings and resolutions combined, so the system's weaker performance at 4K Ultra (34 FPS) drags down its overall standing compared to combos that might maintain higher frame rates in that demanding scenario.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions, with the CPU becoming less relevant as pixel count increases. At 1080p High, the system averages 135 FPS, which drops to 86 FPS at 1440p High (a 36% reduction) and further to 46 FPS at 4K High (a 66% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline from 1080p to 4K indicates that the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops nearly proportionally with the increase in pixel count. The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Hitman 2, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms even this powerful GPU.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 238 FPS, which falls to 152 FPS at 1440p Low (a 36% drop) and 81 FPS at 4K Low (a 66% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings—roughly 36% from 1080p to 1440p and 66% from 1080p to 4K—strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in all cases, with the CPU having sufficient headroom even at lower resolutions. This is further supported by the fact that the CPU's single-thread performance is high, and Hitman 2's engine likely does not create CPU-bound scenarios even at high frame rates. The data implies that if the RTX 4090 were paired with a faster CPU, the 1080p results might improve marginally, but the 4K results would likely remain similar, as the GPU's rendering load dominates. The scaling pattern also shows that the system is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where the 86 FPS at High settings represents a good compromise between visual fidelity and smoothness, while 4K gaming requires lower settings to achieve playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 238, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings reduce this to 178 FPS average, with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. High settings yield 135 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 99 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 139 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution. The minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings (152 FPS), but the absence of min/max data for other settings limits the depth of analysis; however, the medium data shows a 53 FPS range between min and max, suggesting frame time variability that could be noticeable in gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings produce 152 FPS average, Medium settings 114 FPS average (with min 97 FPS and max 131 FPS), High settings 86 FPS average, and Ultra settings 64 FPS average. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with the Low setting seeing a 36% reduction, Medium a 36% reduction, High a 36% reduction, and Ultra a 35% reduction. This uniformity reinforces the GPU-bound nature of the system at this resolution. The Medium settings at 1440p show a 34 FPS range between min and max, which is narrower than at 1080p, indicating more stable frame pacing at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 81 FPS, Medium settings 61 FPS (with min 52 FPS and max 70 FPS), High settings 46 FPS, and Ultra settings 34 FPS. The 4K results show a dramatic drop-off, with even Low settings not reaching the 100 FPS mark. The Ultra setting at 4K produces only 34 FPS, which is likely below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a stealth title where precise aiming and quick reactions are required. The Medium settings at 4K show an 18 FPS range between min and max, which is relatively tight, suggesting that the GPU is consistently maxed out. Across all resolutions, the Medium settings provide the only complete min/max data, offering a glimpse into frame time consistency: at 1080p, the range is 53 FPS; at 1440p, it is 34 FPS; and at 4K, it is 18 FPS. This trend towards narrower ranges at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, as frame rates become more constrained and less variable when the GPU is fully utilized.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with a chip designated AD102 and a process node of 5 nm. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster operation pipelines, along with 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Hitman 2's texture and geometry demands, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's raw compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4090 scores 38,194 in Passmark G3D and 9,223 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs. However, the nearest rivals listed for the GPU—such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326 avg score, 0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140 avg score, 0.3% delta)—are not direct competitors in terms of gaming performance, as these are professional or workstation-oriented cards. The delta percentages are negligible, indicating that the average benchmark scores of these rivals are nearly identical to the RTX 4090's 60,347 avg score, but this is likely due to the broad mix of benchmarks included in the average, rather than reflecting gaming performance parity.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the FPS scaling. The RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM is never likely to be a limiting factor, as Hitman 2's requirements are modest compared to modern titles, and the memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is not a bottleneck. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz is high, and the card's thermal design power of 450 W suggests it can sustain these clocks under load. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4090 is capable of delivering 238 FPS at 1080p Low, which is near the limits of many display refresh rates, but the GPU falls to 34 FPS at 4K Ultra, highlighting the immense computational demand of 4K rendering in this game. The GPU's performance at 4K Ultra, despite its massive compute resources, suggests that Hitman 2's engine has significant overhead at extreme settings, or that the game is not fully optimized to leverage the RTX 4090's architecture.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 178 FPS average, which is high enough for any display, and the minimum FPS of 152 indicates that frame dips are unlikely to be noticeable, providing a smooth experience. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 114, with a minimum of 97 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable gameplay, and the visual improvement over Low settings is significant. At 4K Medium, the average FPS drops to 61, with a minimum of 52 FPS, which is borderline but playable, especially for a game like Hitman 2 that does not require twitch reflexes. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it provides the only complete min/max data across all resolutions, suggesting that the game's engine is most stable at this setting level.

High settings offer a noticeable visual upgrade but come with a performance cost. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 135, which is still excellent, but at 1440p High, it drops to 86 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 46 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p, where the average FPS is 99, but at 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 64 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 34 FPS, making this preset unsuitable for resolutions above 1080p. Low settings provide the highest frame rates (238 FPS at 1080p, 152 FPS at 1440p, 81 FPS at 4K), but the visual quality reduction is substantial, and the data suggests that the extra performance is not necessary for a game like Hitman 2, where the stealth gameplay benefits from visual clarity to spot enemies and environmental details. Therefore, for most users, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended configuration, as it provides a comfortable frame rate (114 FPS) with good visual fidelity, while 4K users should consider Medium settings for a playable experience, accepting the 61 FPS average as a compromise.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p with Medium settings provides the best balance, with an average of 114 FPS and a minimum of 97 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. At 1080p, the system can reach 238 FPS on Low settings, but 1440p Medium offers a better visual experience without sacrificing frame rate stability.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 61, which is playable, and at 4K Low, it reaches 81 FPS. However, 4K High (46 FPS) and 4K Ultra (34 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has an average benchmark score of 77,740, which is 1.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76,513) and the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (76,492), and 1.7% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,097). This places it in a competitive band with these high-end desktop processors.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 a bottleneck in this pairing?

A: The data suggests that the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as frame rates drop consistently by about 36% from 1080p to 1440p and 66% from 1080p to 4K across all settings. The CPU has sufficient headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (238 FPS).

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for this system in Hitman 2?

A: Minimum FPS is only recorded for Medium settings: 152 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. No min or max FPS data is available for Low, High, or Ultra settings in the measured results.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 652nd out of 3,001 tested combinations, which places it in the top 22% of all combos. This indicates it outperforms roughly 78% of tested configurations, though it does not reach the top tier of performance for this game.