Hitman 2

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT paired with the Intel Core i5-10400F delivers a performance profile in Hitman 2 that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphical presets. The data shows a system capable of high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p and solid 1440p performance, but one that struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K Ultra. The measured results reveal a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as resolution increases, while at lower settings, the CPU's limits become more apparent. This combination places in the 539th rank out of 1795 tested combos, indicating a mid-to-upper tier standing for this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a predictable yet steep decline across all settings, with the most dramatic drops occurring at the highest preset. At Low settings, the system delivers 222.7 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 153.3 FPS at 2560x1440, and further down to 79.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing that even at the least demanding settings, the resolution increase places significant strain on the GPU.

Moving to High settings, the scaling pattern shifts slightly. The system produces 134.7 FPS at 1080p, 83.9 FPS at 1440p, and 47.3 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 43.6%, indicating that the transition to 4K causes a proportionally larger performance penalty. This suggests that the RX 9070 XT begins to hit its memory bandwidth and pixel throughput limits as pixel count quadruples.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 101.1 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p, and just 37 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is a 63.4% reduction from the 1080p figure, and critically, it falls below the 40 FPS threshold, making it borderline unplayable for smooth action. The data indicates that at 1080p, the Core i5-10400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads can keep up with the GPU's output, but by 4K, the RX 9070 XT's rendering workload dominates the frame time budget. The scaling pattern across all presets confirms that this game is GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU's influence waning as pixel count increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and playable performance. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 134.7 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS threshold for competitive play, while Ultra only improves visual quality marginally but drops to 101.1 FPS. The Medium preset at 173.8 FPS offers a significant frame rate headroom, but High provides the better visual-to-performance ratio for most users, as the gap between High and Ultra is only 33.6 FPS, whereas Medium to High is a 39.1 FPS difference with less visual impact.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 83.9 FPS is the sweet spot, as it remains above 60 FPS while providing the enhanced detail that the preset offers. Ultra at 64 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes, and the drop to 64 FPS from 83.9 FPS at High is a 23.7% reduction that may not justify the visual upgrade. Low at 153.3 FPS is unnecessarily fast for this resolution, suggesting that users should prioritize Higher settings to utilize the GPU's capabilities.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. High at 47.3 FPS is below the 60 FPS standard, while Medium at 61.4 FPS becomes the recommended choice for a smooth experience. Ultra at 37 FPS is not recommended for gameplay, as the frame rate falls into a range where input latency becomes noticeable. Low at 79.3 FPS is playable but sacrifices most graphical features. The data supports Medium as the optimal 4K setting, delivering a playable frame rate while retaining enough visual detail to appreciate the game's stealth environments.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable frame rate the system achieves at 1080p?

A: The fastest measured result is 222.7 FPS at Low settings with a 1920x1080 resolution. For a more visually robust experience, High settings produce 134.7 FPS, while Ultra reaches 101.1 FPS.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K, Medium settings deliver 61.4 FPS, which is the only preset above the 60 FPS threshold. High drops to 47.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS, making those presets less suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p compared to 1080p?

A: At 2560x1440, the frame rates are significantly lower. High settings produce 83.9 FPS, which is 37.7% less than the 134.7 FPS at 1080p. Low settings drop from 222.7 FPS to 153.3 FPS, a 31.2% reduction.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 222.7 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 37 FPS, pointing to the RX 9070 XT's rendering limits as the main constraint.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Ultra and High settings?

A: At 1080p, Ultra is 33.6 FPS slower than High, delivering 101.1 FPS versus 134.7 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 19.9 FPS (64 FPS vs 83.9 FPS), and at 4K, it is 10.3 FPS (37 FPS vs 47.3 FPS). The relative performance gap narrows as resolution increases.

Q: How does the system rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 539th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the upper 30% of all systems tested for Hitman 2. This reflects a strong but not elite standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest performance ceiling. Low settings produce 222.7 FPS, Medium delivers 173.8 FPS, High reaches 134.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 101.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 54.6% performance reduction, with each preset step costing roughly 40-49 FPS. This resolution is clearly where the RX 9070 XT can flex its full power, as the Core i5-10400F's 12 threads appear sufficient to avoid bottlenecking.

The 2560x1440 results show a noticeable step down. Low settings average 153.3 FPS, Medium drops to 112.3 FPS, High falls to 83.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 64 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 28.4 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 19.9 FPS. This pattern suggests diminishing returns as the preset increases, with the GPU's shading units and ROPs becoming more heavily taxed.

At 3840x2160, the performance figures become modest. Low settings yield 79.3 FPS, Medium produces 61.4 FPS, High manages 47.3 FPS, and Ultra struggles to 37 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 42.3 FPS, which is the narrowest range across all resolutions. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is operating near its maximum capacity regardless of settings, and the relative cost of each preset step is smaller in absolute terms.

The overall trend across all resolutions shows that the system can comfortably exceed 100 FPS at 1080p with High settings, but at 4K, even Medium settings barely clear the 60 FPS mark. The data suggests that users targeting a consistent 60 FPS experience should stick to 1440p High or 4K Medium, while 1080p offers headroom for higher refresh rate displays.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant performance driver in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for handling the texture-heavy environments of Hitman 2 at higher resolutions. The GPU's 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s, which directly correlate with the frame rate scaling observed in the measured data.

The boost clock of 2970 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz indicate that the GPU can sustain high frequencies under load, though the 4K results suggest that raw compute power is not sufficient to overcome the resolution penalty. The FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS is substantial, yet the game's engine appears to be more limited by memory subsystem and pixel throughput than raw shader math. This is evidenced by the fact that dropping from High to Low at 4K only improves performance by 32 FPS, while at 1080p the same settings change yields an 88 FPS improvement.

The GPU's RDNA 4.0 architecture and 4 nm process node from TSMC contribute to its efficiency, but the 304 W TDP indicates it draws significant power under load. The 64 RT cores are present, though Hitman 2 does not heavily utilize ray tracing, meaning the traditional rasterization performance is the primary factor. The GPU's percentile ranking of 82 places it above most discrete GPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 575 and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, show that it performs within a narrow band of similar-class hardware. The measured FPS data confirms that the RX 9070 XT is well-matched to the Core i5-10400F for this game, as the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking ensures it does not hold back the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor at 4K.