Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in Hitman 2 produces a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher loads. Benchmark data shows that this combination ranks 196th out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the top percentile of systems for this title. The results indicate that while the RTX 4090 is capable of delivering exceptionally high frame rates, the aging six-core processor begins to limit performance at lower resolutions, creating a dynamic where the user must select settings based on their target resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system delivers an average of 190 FPS on High settings, but this drops to 121 FPS at 1440p and further to 65 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a subsequent 46% reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a total performance drop of 66%, which is substantial and indicates that the GPU is under significant load at the higher resolutions.

The pattern becomes more nuanced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 263 FPS, which drops to 214 FPS at 1440p and 114 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 57%, which is less severe than the High settings drop. This suggests that at Low settings, the system is less GPU-bound, and the CPU has more headroom to feed frames. The data indicates that the limiting component shifts depending on the settings preset; at Low settings, the CPU plays a larger role in determining final frame rates, while at High settings, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint.

The frame time data available for Medium settings reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 237, with a minimum of 201 and a maximum of 272. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 184. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 85 FPS with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 98. The spread between minimum and maximum frame times at each resolution is relatively consistent, suggesting that the system maintains stable performance without major stuttering. The fact that the 4K Medium minimum of 73 FPS is close to the 4K High average of 65 FPS indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor’s benchmark scores show a single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 5652 in 3DMark max threads. In Cinebench R23, the processor achieves a single-core score of 2024 and a multi-core score of 14340. These figures place the CPU in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, which indicates it is a capable mid-range part, but it is not a top-tier performer by modern standards.

The processor’s performance in Hitman 2 is best understood by looking at the 1080p Low results. The 263 FPS average at this setting suggests that the CPU is able to feed the GPU with a high number of frames, but the fact that the 1080p High average is 190 FPS shows that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, even at the lowest resolution. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game, but the data shows that the processor’s six cores are not a limiting factor in most scenarios. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1691 and single-thread score of 868 indicate that the processor has decent single-core performance, which is important for a game like Hitman 2 that relies heavily on game logic and AI.

The nearest rivals to this CPU in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which is 0.3% faster, and the Intel Core i5-12450H, which is 0.4% faster. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is 0.6% slower. These small delta percentages indicate that the i5-11400F is sitting in a performance band with other mid-range processors, and its impact on Hitman 2 performance is consistent with that positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 196 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places the system in the top 5% of all tested configurations, which is an impressive result given that the CPU is not a flagship part. The ranking suggests that the RTX 4090’s raw power is able to compensate for the CPU’s limitations in this particular game, allowing the combo to outperform many systems with more balanced but less powerful components.

The high rank is primarily attributable to the GPU’s dominance. The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347, which places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60, which is 0% different, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, which is 0.3% slower. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% faster, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% slower. These figures show that the RTX 4090 is at the top of the GPU performance hierarchy, and this is reflected in the high combo rank.

When compared to other combos, the data indicates that the i5-11400F does not drag the system down significantly. The 1080p High result of 190 FPS is far above the 60 FPS target that most gamers consider playable, and even the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is only slightly below that threshold. The combo’s ranking is thus a reflection of the GPU’s ability to push high frame rates across all resolutions, with the CPU providing sufficient support to avoid severe bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 263 FPS on Low settings, 237 FPS on Medium settings, 190 FPS on High settings, and 140 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium settings preset shows a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS, indicating a tight frame time distribution. The drop from Low to Ultra is 47%, which shows that the GPU is increasingly stressed as visual quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the system delivers an average of 214 FPS on Low settings, 160 FPS on Medium settings, 121 FPS on High settings, and 89 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 58%, which is a larger percentage drop than at 1080p, confirming that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor. The 1440p High result of 121 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the 1440p Ultra result of 89 FPS provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers an average of 114 FPS on Low settings, 85 FPS on Medium settings, 65 FPS on High settings, and 48 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 58%, which is consistent with the 1440p scaling. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the only measured result that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting is not ideal for a smooth experience. The 4K High result of 65 FPS is just above the threshold, while the 4K Medium result of 85 FPS provides a comfortable margin.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed across most settings. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The memory clock is 1313 MHz, with an effective speed of 21 Gbps. The GPU has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and it is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial, with 16384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. It also includes 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s, and the pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s. The FP32 performance is 82.58 TFLOPS, which is the same as the FP16 performance due to a 1:1 ratio. These figures demonstrate that the RTX 4090 is an extremely powerful GPU that can handle the most demanding games at high resolutions.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is clear from the resolution scaling data. The fact that the 4K High average of 65 FPS is so much lower than the 1080p High average of 190 FPS shows that the GPU is being heavily utilized at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the only setting that causes the GPU to struggle, as the game’s Ultra preset likely includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU’s resources. The GPU’s 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as Hitman 2 does not require large amounts of video memory even at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for different resolutions. For a 1080p display, any settings preset will provide a smooth experience, with even the Ultra preset achieving 140 FPS. The Low preset at 263 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, but the Medium preset at 237 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. For 1080p users, the Medium preset is recommended as it delivers a high frame rate while still providing decent visual fidelity.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 121 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is also viable for users with 120 Hz monitors, but the High preset offers a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 160 FPS is an option for users who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, but the High preset is a better overall experience.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 85 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience while maintaining reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 65 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for frame rate drops, while the Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for a consistent experience. The Low preset at 114 FPS is an option for users who prioritize frame rate, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K is the sweet spot for this combo, as it delivers a high enough frame rate to avoid stuttering while still utilizing the GPU’s capabilities.