Hitman 2

The data for Hitman 2 with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 shows a pairing where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, but the CPU is not entirely irrelevant. The measured frames per second across resolutions and settings provide a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies and how to best configure the game for a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 131.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 82.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 37.5%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 46.6 FPS, which is only about 35.4% of the 1080p performance. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Medium settings, the frame rate goes from 173 FPS at 1080p to 108.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 55.4 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with the frame rate often halving or worse, indicating that the RTX 3080's rendering load is increasing dramatically with pixel count. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is capable of very high frame rates, but the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears able to feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms the graphics card, making it the definitive bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the centerpiece of this configuration, and its specifications align with the observed performance. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, which is substantial for a game like Hitman 2. The measured frame rates show that the card is capable of high output at 1080p, with an average of 225.4 FPS on Low settings and 131.8 FPS on High. The core clocks are listed as a base of 1440 MHz and a boost of 1710 MHz, and the card’s performance in synthetic benchmarks reflects its position in the market. Its Passmark G3D score of 25086 places it at the 80th percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 35787 is notably close to its nearest rivals. For example, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE has an average score of 36101, a delta of -0.9%, meaning the RTX 3080 is only 0.9% behind. This indicates that the RTX 3080 is a top-tier card, but its performance in Hitman 2 at 4K, where it averages 46.6 FPS on High and 30 FPS on Ultra, shows the intense demands of the game at that resolution. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested settings, as no data points to a memory capacity limitation. The card's FP32 compute of 29.77 TFLOPS and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s are high, but the game's engine still struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K on the highest presets, suggesting that raw compute power is not the only factor in play.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an excellent average of 131.8 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. Even the Ultra preset, with an average of 92.6 FPS, is playable, but High offers a significant frame rate advantage with only a minor graphical compromise. For 2560x1440, the High preset is the clear recommendation, averaging 82.3 FPS. This is a solid result that keeps the experience fluid. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 108.3 FPS, which is also very good, but High provides a better visual experience for only a modest performance cost. At 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The High preset averages 46.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for a slower-paced stealth game, but it is not ideal for a 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 4K averages 55.4 FPS, which is closer to a playable standard but still falls short. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as it averages only 30 FPS, making it a slideshow in action sequences. The data indicates that for a consistent 60 FPS experience, the High preset at 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, while 4K requires a drop to Medium or an acceptance of sub-60 FPS frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo to achieve high frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 131.8 FPS. At 2560x1440 with High settings, it averages 82.3 FPS. For the highest frame rates, 1080p is superior, but 1440p still provides a very playable experience.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 perform in synthetic benchmarks relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 3080's average benchmark score is 35787. This is 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 36101, and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile, which scores 35435. Its performance is very closely matched with these rivals.

Q: Is the i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3080 in Hitman 2?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU appears able to keep up, as the GPU produces high frame rates. The CPU's performance, with a Passmark multithread score of 12115 and a single-thread score of 2541, seems sufficient for this game.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured average frame rate for 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 55.4 FPS. This is a playable, though not perfect, frame rate for a stealth game.

Q: How does the i5-10400F's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168. This is 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14115, and 1.1% behind the Intel Core i5-8500, which scores 14332.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average frame rate of 92.6 FPS. While not as high as the High preset's 131.8 FPS, it is still a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is placed at rank 576 out of 1795 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the top third of all configurations in the database, indicating a strong, high-performance pairing. This ranking is likely driven by the powerful GPU. The RTX 3080's percentile of 80 among all GPUs and its close benchmark scores to other top-tier cards like the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE confirm its high standing. The CPU, while not the primary contributor to the ranking, is a competent partner. Its percentile of 73 among all CPUs and its average benchmark score that is within 1.2% of its nearest rivals show that it is a solid mid-range processor. The rank of 576 suggests that while this combo is capable of excellent performance, there are many other combinations in the database that can achieve higher frame rates, likely with more powerful CPUs or multiple GPUs. The data shows that this pairing is a strong contender for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, but it is not at the absolute top tier for 4K performance, which is reflected in its position in the rankings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the processing power needed to handle the game's logic. The CPU's L3 cache is 12 MB shared, and its memory bandwidth is 42.7 GB/s, which is typical for a dual-channel DDR4 setup. In synthetic benchmarks, its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 10297 and its single-core score is 1453. Its 3DMark 16-thread score is 4748, while the 2-thread score is 1350, showing a scaling that is not perfectly linear but still effective. The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 12115 and single-thread score of 2541 indicate that it is a capable processor for gaming. However, the data from Hitman 2 suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The frame rates at 1080p are extremely high, with an average of 225.4 FPS on Low settings, which shows that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to achieve such output. The drop in performance at higher resolutions is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering load. The CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame pacing and handle the game's simulation, which it does without issue. Its performance is only slightly above or below its nearest rivals, with a delta of 0.4% versus the AMD EPYC 7552 and -1.1% versus the Intel Core i5-8500, meaning it is a solid, average performer in its class, but it does not provide any exceptional advantage in this game. The data indicates that for this specific title, the CPU is a supporting actor, not the star of the show.