Hitman 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor from the Alder Lake-S family, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In the context of Hitman 2's measured results, this CPU does not appear to be the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but its thread management and single-core performance shape the upper limits of frame rates at 1080p. The processor's benchmark profile shows a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a max-thread score of 5890, indicating strong per-core capability that matters for a stealth title where AI routines and physics can spike single-thread demand.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the jump from 1080p Low at 132 FPS to 1080p Ultra at 55 FPS is a 77 FPS drop, which is a dramatic scaling tied to GPU load rather than CPU limits. The i5-12400's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 place it in a position where it can feed the RTX 2060 adequately at 1080p, but the data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 19 FPS, which is far below what the CPU alone would cause. This indicates that the CPU's role in this pairing is to provide consistent minimum frame pacing at lower settings, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4, DDR5) are relevant for Hitman 2's open-ended level design, where loading new areas and streaming textures can create memory bandwidth pressure. However, the measured FPS deltas between settings show that the i5-12400 is not the constraint: at 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 63, which is 21 FPS higher than 1440p High at 48 FPS, and the CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 suggests it has headroom for the game's multi-threaded systems. In short, the CPU establishes a high ceiling, but the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus become the deciding factor for playability at higher presets.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 sufficient for Hitman 2 at 1080p?

A: Yes. The data shows 1080p Low at 132 FPS average and 1080p High at 75 FPS average, which are well above playable thresholds. The CPU's 12 threads and 4.40 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom, as the frame rate scaling between settings is driven by GPU load.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Hitman 2?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all four settings remain above 55 FPS average, with Ultra at 55 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 35 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even Medium only reaches 34 FPS, so 1080p is the sweet spot.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 perform relative to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290, which is within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171) and 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199). It essentially matches the older GeForce GTX 580 (15283) with a 0% delta.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 4K in Hitman 2?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 19, and at 4K High it is 25. These are GPU-bound results. The i5-12400's Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 6715 shows it can handle the game's logic, but the RTX 2060 cannot push enough pixels to maintain higher frame rates.

Q: What settings preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: Medium at 1440p yields 63 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS and maximum of 73 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset that stays above 60 FPS on average. High at 1440p drops to 48 FPS, so Medium is the recommended choice.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its closest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score is 18683, placing it 0.1% below the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697) and 0.3% below the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730). It is 0.9% above the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519).

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the average FPS drops from 132 to 45, a 66% reduction. This is a massive hit that cannot be attributed to the CPU, which maintains consistent performance across resolutions in synthetic tests. The RTX 2060's pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are simply insufficient for 4K in a game like Hitman 2, which features dense environments with many draw calls.

At Medium settings, the scaling from 1080p (99 FPS) to 1440p (63 FPS) to 4K (34 FPS) shows a steady decline: 36 FPS lost from 1080p to 1440p, then 29 FPS lost from 1440p to 4K. This indicates that the GPU's 6 GB memory buffer and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU's memory controller or cache. When comparing High settings, the drop from 75 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p to 25 FPS at 4K is a 50 FPS total loss, which is proportionally consistent with a GPU that has 48 ROPs and 1920 shading units.

The most telling sign of GPU limitation is the Ultra preset: 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. This 36 FPS drop across the resolution range is steeper than the CPU's performance curve would suggest. The i5-12400's 3DMark 8-thread score of 4745 and 4-thread score of 3012 show it has enough compute for the game's stealth AI, but the RTX 2060's FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is what governs these numbers. Benchmark results indicate that for 4K play, the GPU is the sole limiting component, and even lowering to Low settings only recovers to 45 FPS, which is still below the 60 FPS target.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2936 out of 3711 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower-third percentile of all tested configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's age and memory limitations: the RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which places it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU performs at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. The mismatch between the two components' percentiles explains the combo's low rank — the CPU is capable, but the GPU drags the overall result down.

In practice, this rank means that most other tested combos will outperform this pairing in Hitman 2, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, this combo only achieves 19 FPS, which is unplayable, and even at 1080p Ultra, it scores 55 FPS. Relative to the combo's rank, the CPU's benchmark rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% higher), but these are not gaming-specific comparisons. The GPU's rivals, meanwhile, include the AMD Radeon RX 7600, which is 0.8% lower in average score, showing that the RTX 2060 is not far off from newer budget cards in raw compute.

The rank of 2936 out of 3711 indicates that this combo is positioned for 1080p gaming as its primary use case. The measured FPS data supports this: 1080p Low at 132 FPS and 1080p Medium at 99 FPS are strong results, but the 4K Ultra result of 19 FPS is among the lowest in the database. Benchmark results suggest that if the goal is 1440p or higher, this combo requires significant settings reductions, which is reflected in its low overall rank.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific pairing in Hitman 2, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a 75 FPS average. While Low achieves 132 FPS and Medium achieves 99 FPS, High represents the highest preset that remains comfortably above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a stealth game where smooth camera movement matters.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. The data shows 63 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS, which is the only 1440p option that stays above 60 FPS on average. High at 1440p drops to 48 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Low at 1440p achieves 84 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant for a game that relies on environmental readability for stealth mechanics.

For 3840x2160, no preset is fully satisfactory, but Low at 45 FPS is the only option that approaches playability. Medium at 4K is 34 FPS, High is 25 FPS, and Ultra is 19 FPS. If 4K is a requirement, the data suggests that Low is the only viable setting, and even then, the frame rate is below 60 FPS. For most users, the recommended configuration is 1080p High or 1440p Medium, depending on monitor resolution. The measured rows show that the RTX 2060's 6 GB memory is sufficient for Medium at 1440p but struggles with High and Ultra due to texture streaming demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear progression: Low averages 132 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS, High averages 75 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. The 77 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p indicates that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, as the CPU's performance headroom is not exhausted. The Medium preset's frame time variance (84-114 FPS) suggests stable performance, while Ultra's 55 FPS average is the first sign of GPU saturation.

At 2560x1440, the measured results show Low at 84 FPS, Medium at 63 FPS (minimum 54, maximum 73), High at 48 FPS, and Ultra at 35 FPS. The 49 FPS drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is proportionally similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board. The Medium preset at 1440p is the most consistent, with a 19 FPS range between minimum and maximum, indicating that the GPU is not being pushed to its thermal or memory limits. High and Ultra at 1440p show significant degradation, with Ultra falling below the 40 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the data shows Low at 45 FPS, Medium at 34 FPS (minimum 29, maximum 39), High at 25 FPS, and Ultra at 19 FPS. The 26 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest absolute gap across all resolutions, but the percentages tell a different story: Ultra is 58% slower than Low. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 29 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users. The 4K results confirm that this combo is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming, with even the lowest settings failing to reach 60 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are the limiting factors, and the i5-12400's CPU performance is never the bottleneck in any measured configuration.