Hitman 2

The data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT reveals a pairing that is heavily influenced by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds its own at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, examining the roles of the GPU and CPU, and placing the combo in the broader context of the benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K clearly shows the shifting bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 210.8 FPS, a figure that drops to 137.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 72 FPS at 4K. This steep decline indicates that while the CPU has headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU quickly becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases. The transition from 1080p Low to 1440p Low represents a 34.6% reduction in frame rate, but the drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low is even more severe at 47.8%, underscoring the exponential load on the GPU.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 118.9 at 1080p to 74.4 at 1440p (a 37.4% decrease), and then to 40.1 at 4K (a 46.1% drop from 1440p). The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is more capable of feeding frames, allowing the GPU to work at higher utilization, but as resolution climbs, the GPU’s raw throughput dictates performance. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings is particularly telling: 87.5 FPS versus 31.7 FPS, a 63.8% reduction, which is the largest percentage loss across all settings, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and processing power are saturated at 4K Ultra.

The fact that 4K Medium (51.4 FPS) is barely above 1080p Ultra (87.5 FPS) in relative terms shows that resolution scaling has a more pronounced effect than graphical preset changes. This is characteristic of a game where the rendering pipeline is heavily pixel-bound, and the RX 7800 XT, while capable, cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings. The data points to a system that is balanced for 1440p high-refresh gaming, with 4K reserved for lower presets or less demanding scenes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a substantial bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This memory configuration is a key factor in the 4K results, as the game’s texture and geometry data at that resolution require significant throughput. The measured FPS at 4K High (40.1) and 4K Ultra (31.7) suggest that the GPU is the primary constraint, as its pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s are being pushed to their limits. The boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz are the driving clocks for this performance, and they appear to be well-utilized in the mid-range resolutions.

The RX 7800 XT’s benchmark scores place it in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32619. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (score 32540, deltaPct 0.2) and the NVIDIA P104-100 (score 32747, deltaPct -0.4). These deltaPct values are minimal, indicating that the RX 7800 XT’s raw compute performance is on par with these other cards, but the FPS results in Hitman 2 show that real-world performance is influenced by driver optimization and game-specific features.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 210.8 FPS at Low settings. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (210.8 to 87.5 FPS) shows that the GPU’s shading units (3840) and ROPs (96) are still taxed by the higher graphical fidelity. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game, as Hitman 2 does not typically exceed 8 GB at 4K, meaning the memory size is not a bottleneck, but the bandwidth and compute are. The GPU’s performance at 1440p is the sweet spot, with 137.9 FPS on Low and 104.2 FPS on Medium, indicating that the card can handle high refresh rates at this resolution without the CPU becoming a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F, a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, provides the computational backbone for this combo. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 42.7 GB/s are adequate for feeding the GPU, particularly at lower resolutions. The CPU’s benchmark scores show a strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 688 and a passmark_single_thread score of 2541, which is relevant for a game like Hitman 2 that relies on a single main thread for game logic.

The CPU’s role is most visible in the 1080p Low result of 210.8 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of processing the game’s simulation and draw calls faster than the GPU can render at higher resolutions, but it also indicates that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at this setting. However, the drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low (210.8 to 137.9 FPS) is not solely due to the GPU; the CPU’s 3dmark_8_threads score of 3929 and 3dmark_16_threads score of 4748 show that multi-threaded performance is moderate, and at 1440p, the CPU may begin to limit frame rates in scenes with many NPCs or complex AI calculations.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU database, the i5-10400F has an avgBenchmarkScore of 14168, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552 (avgScore 14115, deltaPct 0.4) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (avgScore 14277, deltaPct -0.8). The deltaPct values are small, suggesting that the i5-10400F’s overall compute capability is comparable to these processors, but its 6-core/12-thread configuration is more suited to gaming than the EPYC’s server-oriented design. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 indicate that it can handle modern game workloads, but it may not be the ideal partner for a high-end GPU like the RX 7800 XT at lower resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the limiter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 210.8 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors. Medium settings yield 156.3 FPS, still very high, while High settings drop to 118.9 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 87.5 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of high-refresh gaming even at Ultra, though the 87.5 FPS figure is notably lower than the Low setting result, showing the impact of graphical features like shadows and reflections.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU’s increasing load. Low settings produce 137.9 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 104.2 FPS, and High falls to 74.4 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p yield 58.3 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The drop from 1440p High (74.4) to 1440p Ultra (58.3) is a 21.6% reduction, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes settings that are particularly demanding on the GPU’s compute units.

At 4K, the system’s limitations become apparent. Low settings produce 72 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium drops to 51.4 FPS, High falls to 40.1 FPS, and Ultra yields only 31.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at Low or Medium settings for a smooth experience, and even then, the frame rates are below the 60 FPS threshold that most gamers consider ideal. The 4K Ultra result of 31.7 FPS is near the lower bound of playability, suggesting that users should avoid Ultra settings at this resolution unless they are willing to accept significant frame rate drops.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 698 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 38.9% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a mid-to-upper-tier performer for this game. The rank is influenced by the fact that the GPU is a strong performer, but the CPU’s moderate multi-threaded capabilities may hold back the combo in certain scenarios, particularly at 1080p where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor.

The combo’s rank is also reflected in the GPU’s percentile of 76 and the CPU’s percentile of 73, both of which are above average. However, the fact that the combo ranks 698 out of 1795 suggests that there are many other combinations that perform better, likely those with higher-end CPUs that can better feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The 4K results, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, show that the combo is capable of holding its own against other configurations, but the 1080p results indicate that a stronger CPU could unlock higher frame rates in less demanding scenes.

The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of the RX 7800 XT’s average score, suggesting that the GPU’s performance is not uniquely positioned, and the combo’s rank is more dependent on the CPU’s contribution. Overall, the data shows that this combo is a balanced pairing for 1440p gaming, but it faces stiff competition from other combinations that may offer better CPU headroom for high-refresh 1080p or more consistent 4K performance.