Hitman 2

The data shows that pairing the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 in Hitman 2 produces a combination that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals a noticeable CPU limitation at 1080p. This setup delivers playable frame rates across the board, but the experience is defined by a clear trade-off: exceptional performance at 1440p and above, versus a ceiling at 1080p that prevents the RTX 5080 from fully stretching its legs.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K is a textbook demonstration of GPU scaling, but with a critical inflection point. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 184.6 at 1920x1080 to 115.2 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 37.6%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average falls to 62.8, which is a 45.5% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary limiting component at these resolutions, with the workload scaling almost entirely on the graphics card.

However, the story changes at 1080p. The jump from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 at High settings only yields a 60.2% increase in frame rate, from 115.2 to 184.6. This is a smaller relative gain than what the GPU alone should provide, suggesting that the Intel Core i5-11400F begins to cap performance at lower resolutions. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the average FPS peaks at 260.8, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 206.9. The 4K Low result of 109.9 further illustrates that the CPU is not the bottleneck when pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Ultra, the 1080p average of 131.3 falls to 85.7 at 1440p and then to 45.7 at 4K. The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are 65.2% for Ultra, 66.0% for High, 65.9% for Medium, and 57.9% for Low. The slightly smaller drop at Low settings indicates that even with reduced graphical load, the CPU maintains a relatively stronger influence, but the GPU still dominates the scaling curve.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. At 4K, Ultra is the only setting that dips below 60 FPS, with an average of 45.7. High at 4K achieves 62.8, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the optimal choice for a smooth experience at maximum resolution. Medium at 4K offers 81.2, providing a substantial buffer for demanding scenes, while Low at 109.9 is the only setting that delivers a high-refresh-rate experience at this resolution.

For 1440p, the data indicates that Ultra is the sweet spot. The 85.7 average at Ultra is well above the 60 FPS target, and moving to High only increases the average to 115.2. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically significant, the 85.7 FPS figure at Ultra provides both fidelity and fluidity. The 152.6 average at Medium and 206.9 at Low are available for players prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, but they are unnecessary for a standard 1440p monitor.

At 1080p, the situation is inverted. The CPU limits the upper ceiling, but all presets are playable. Ultra at 131.3 is the recommended preset for maximum visual quality, as it remains above 120 FPS. High at 184.6 and Medium at 238 are excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, but the 260.8 average at Low shows diminishing returns. The data suggests that Ultra at 1080p is the best balance, as the CPU prevents the GPU from being fully utilized at lower presets, making the visual upgrade of Ultra essentially free in terms of frame rate cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align directly with the observed performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Hitman 2 at any resolution, as the game does not appear to be memory-constrained based on the measured FPS scaling. The lack of min FPS data means we cannot assess frame-time consistency, but the average scores suggest no memory-related stutter.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 10752 shading units, produce a theoretical FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS. In Hitman 2, this raw compute power translates directly into the observed performance at 4K, where the 62.8 average at High settings indicates a GPU-bound scenario. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are high enough to handle the game's detailed environments without becoming a limiting factor.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 59188, place it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Arc A570M (58239, 1.6% delta) and the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, -1.9% delta), but these comparisons are based on general compute workloads, not Hitman 2 specifically. The game data shows that the RTX 5080 is not the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, where the FPS scales directly with resolution, confirming that its 16 GB VRAM and fast memory bandwidth are adequate for all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low 260.8, Medium 238, High 184.6, and Ultra 131.3. The gap between Low and Ultra is 129.5 FPS, or 49.7%, which is a large spread but still leaves every preset above the 120 FPS mark. The transition from Medium to High costs 53.4 FPS (22.4%), while High to Ultra costs another 53.3 FPS (28.9%), indicating that the Ultra preset has the most significant impact on performance.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 206.9, Medium 152.6, High 115.2, and Ultra 85.7. The drop from Low to Ultra is 121.2 FPS, or 58.6%. The Medium to High transition costs 37.4 FPS (24.5%), and High to Ultra costs 29.5 FPS (25.6%). These figures show a more consistent scaling pattern than at 1080p, as the GPU becomes the primary driver of performance.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 109.9, Medium 81.2, High 62.8, and Ultra 45.7. The spread from Low to Ultra is 64.2 FPS, or 58.4%. The Medium to High transition costs 18.4 FPS (22.7%), and High to Ultra costs 17.1 FPS (27.2%). The 4K Ultra result of 45.7 is the only measurement below the 60 FPS threshold, marking it as the only unplayable combination for a standard refresh rate.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at High settings. The 4K High average is 62.8 FPS. At Ultra, it drops to 45.7, which is below 60 FPS. Medium at 81.2 and Low at 109.9 are also above the threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the limiting factor. The 1080p Low average is 260.8, but the 1440p Low average is 206.9, showing a smaller resolution-based drop than expected. The 1080p High average of 184.6 is only 60.2% higher than the 1440p figure, suggesting the i5-11400F caps performance.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is recommended. The 1440p Ultra average is 85.7 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maximizing visual quality. High at 115.2 is also viable, but the data shows Ultra is not overly punishing.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, scores 58239, a 1.6% delta. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60326, a -1.9% delta. These are general compute scores, not Hitman 2 performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: The 4K Low average is 109.9 FPS, while the 4K Ultra average is 45.7 FPS. This is a difference of 64.2 FPS, or 58.4%, showing the significant cost of the Ultra preset.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM of the RTX 5080 cause any issues in Hitman 2?

A: The data does not show any memory-related performance issues. The FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, indicating that the 16 GB GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for all tested configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark results show a 3DMark max threads score of 5652 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372, placing it in the 75th percentile versus all CPUs. In Hitman 2, this CPU is sufficient for maintaining playable frame rates, but it does introduce a ceiling at 1080p.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 260.8, but at 1440p Low, it is 206.9. If the CPU were not a limiting factor, the 1080p result would be higher relative to 1440p, given the reduced pixel count. The 1080p Medium average of 238 is also close to the Low result, suggesting that the CPU is already near its maximum output for this game. The processor's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate, but they are not as fast as the GPU's memory subsystem.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, -0.2% delta). These rivals have similar synthetic scores, but the i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are its defining feature for gaming. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 indicates that single-threaded performance is not a major weakness, but the overall multi-threaded score of 5619 in the 16-thread test suggests that Hitman 2 may not fully utilize all 12 threads, leaving the CPU as a secondary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 105th out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 5.9% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The GPU's high percentile (89) drives this ranking, as the RTX 5080 is clearly the dominant component in this pairing.

The rank of 105 out of 1795 indicates that most other combos above it likely feature more powerful CPUs that can better feed the RTX 5080 at 1080p. The data supports this interpretation: the CPU's performance ceiling at 1080p prevents the combo from achieving even higher frame rates, which would improve its relative standing. At 1440p and 4K, the combo is likely competitive with many higher-ranked systems, as the GPU's capabilities are fully utilized.

The gap between this combo's rank and its underlying hardware potential is a direct result of the CPU bottleneck observed at low resolutions. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F scores similarly to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel Core i7-1260P, but in Hitman 2, the game's engine appears to be more sensitive to the CPU's single-threaded performance and memory latency. The 105th rank is a solid achievement for a 6-core processor from the Rocket Lake generation, but it highlights that the RTX 5080 would benefit from a higher-end CPU to reach its full potential in this title.