Hitman 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three resolutions paint a clear picture of a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher fidelity settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 achieves an average of 183 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 117 FPS, a reduction of 36%, and then to 4K Low at 62 FPS, which is a further 47% drop from 1440p. This steep decline as pixel count increases is the classic signature of a graphics card that is reaching its throughput ceiling.

The scaling pattern shifts when we look at the High preset. At 1080p High, the system produces 104 FPS, which is a 43% decrease from the Low preset at the same resolution. At 1440p High, the average is 66 FPS, and at 4K High, it plummets to 35 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 37%, and from 1440p to 4K it is again about 47%. This consistent percentage drop across both Low and High settings suggests that the game’s engine is scaling predictably with resolution, but the absolute numbers reveal the RTX 5060's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are being taxed heavily.

The most telling observation comes from the Medium preset, which is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 and a maximum of 158. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 88 FPS with a range of 75 to 101. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 47 FPS with a range of 40 to 54. The variance remains relatively tight in each case, which implies that the frame pacing is stable even as the GPU load increases. However, the fact that 4K Medium (47 FPS) cannot even match 1080p Ultra (76 FPS) indicates that resolution is the dominant factor in this bottleneck.

It is also worth noting the delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 107 FPS (183 vs 76), showing that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower settings. At 4K, the gap narrows to 36 FPS (62 vs 26), which means the GPU is so saturated that even dropping to Low settings cannot recover the performance lost to pixel count. The data suggests that for 4K gameplay, the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, while at 1080p, the system is more balanced but still leans on the graphics card for final output.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 104 FPS is the sweet spot, delivering a fluid experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 76 FPS is also playable and offers the highest visual fidelity, but the 27% performance cost over High may not be justified for the marginal graphical gains. The Medium preset at 137 FPS is the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, but it sacrifices visual quality that the RTX 5060 can clearly handle at this resolution.

At 1440p, the High preset at 66 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it maintains smooth gameplay while providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium. The Medium preset at 88 FPS is better suited for competitive play or for users who prioritize frame rate over detail, but the drop to 49 FPS on Ultra makes that preset impractical for most scenarios. The data indicates that 1440p Ultra is only viable for slower-paced, screenshot-oriented sessions rather than active stealth gameplay.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 62 FPS is the only setting that achieves a playable average, but it severely compromises the visual experience. The Medium preset at 47 FPS is borderline, with the minimum of 40 FPS suggesting occasional stutter during busy scenes. The High preset at 35 FPS and Ultra at 26 FPS are not recommended for any serious play. The data suggests that this combination is not ideal for 4K gaming unless the user is willing to accept Low settings, which defeats the purpose of the higher resolution.

The best experience per the measured rows is thus 1080p High for a balance of quality and speed, or 1440p Medium if the user has a 1440p panel and wants to stay above 60 FPS. The system is clearly capable of excellent 1080p performance with headroom for high refresh rates, and it can handle 1440p with reasonable settings, but 4K should be reserved for older or less demanding titles.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hitman 2 at 4K with High settings?

A: No, the measured data shows an average of 35 FPS at 3840x2160 High, which is below the generally accepted 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The minimum FPS was not recorded, but the average suggests significant stutter.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with all presets except Ultra exceeding 100 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 66 FPS is the highest quality option that remains playable.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, the drop from High to Ultra is from 104 FPS to 76 FPS, a reduction of 28 FPS (about 27%). At 1440p, the drop is from 66 FPS to 49 FPS, a reduction of 17 FPS (about 26%).

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

A: The 183 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the GPU is not the primary limiter at this setting, as the frame rate is very high. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to be feeding the GPU adequately, but the exact bottleneck cannot be determined from FPS alone.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 5060 cause issues at 4K?

A: While the data does not directly measure VRAM usage, the significant FPS drops at 4K (e.g., 47 FPS on Medium) compared to 1440p (88 FPS on Medium) suggest the GPU is struggling with the memory bandwidth and capacity demands, though the 128-bit bus is also a factor.

Q: What is the expected frame rate for 1440p Medium?

A: The measured average is 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. This makes it a solid choice for 60 Hz displays and even some 100 Hz monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 183 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium averages 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 and a maximum of 158. High drops to 104 FPS, and Ultra falls to 76 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear 107 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution but is still the limiting factor when settings are maxed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are substantially lower. Low produces 117 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium averages 88 FPS with a range of 75 to 101. High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 68 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, which shows the GPU is becoming more saturated as pixel count rises.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its comfort zone. Low averages 62 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is just 36 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU is heavily constrained by the 4K resolution, and even the lowest settings cannot fully compensate.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions: 1080p (117-158), 1440p (75-101), and 4K (40-54). This data reveals that the frame time consistency is maintained even as the average drops, which is a positive sign for stability but does not overcome the low averages at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hitman 2, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1669 out of 3711 combos. This places it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms more than half of the configurations but is not in the top tier. The rank is a composite measure that likely accounts for performance across multiple settings and resolutions, and the data suggests that while this is a competent mid-range setup, it is not a high-end performer.

The CPU itself has a percentile of 72 among all processors, and the GPU also has a percentile of 72 among all GPUs. This symmetry indicates a well-matched pairing where neither component is drastically outclassing the other. However, the combo rank of 1669 is lower than the individual component percentiles might suggest, which implies that Hitman 2 is particularly sensitive to the GPU's memory bandwidth or the CPU's single-thread performance. The nearest rival combos for the CPU include the AMD EPYC 7643 and Intel Core i7-1355U, but those comparisons are for general benchmark scores, not for Hitman 2 specifically.

The GPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks are the AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550, which are both lower-tier parts, but their deltaPct values are very small (within 0.3%). This suggests that the RTX 5060's general compute scores are similar to those parts, yet in Hitman 2, the actual FPS results are what matter. The measured data shows that the combo is capable of 1080p High at 104 FPS, which is a respectable result for a mid-range system, but the 4K performance drags down the overall ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake architecture part has an 18 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the specific memory configuration is not part of the measured data. In Hitman 2, a stealth game that typically involves complex AI and physics calculations, the CPU's role is to handle game logic and frame pacing.

The benchmark scores for this CPU show a strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257. This is important because Hitman 2, like many games from 2018, may not scale perfectly across all 12 threads. The multi-thread scores are also solid, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a Geekbench multicore score of 8564, indicating that the CPU can handle background tasks without impacting gameplay.

The data from the FPS measurements suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the FPS drops are proportional to resolution increases. However, at 1080p Low (183 FPS), the CPU is likely nearing its limit in terms of frame generation, as games rarely exceed 200 FPS without a more powerful processor. The 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate an efficient design that should not throttle during extended gaming sessions, but the actual thermal performance is not measured here.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The boost clock is 2497 MHz, and the card has a TDP of 145 W, requiring a 300 W power supply. These specifications are directly relevant to the FPS results, particularly the memory configuration.

In Hitman 2, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops. The 8 GB VRAM may be sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with high textures, the 128-bit memory bus becomes a significant bottleneck. The bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is moderate for a modern GPU, and the data shows that even at Medium settings, the 4K average of 47 FPS is far below the 1080p average of 137 FPS.

The GPU's general benchmark scores include a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3628 and a Passmark G3D score of 20891, which place it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. This is a solid mid-range performance level, but the Hitman 2 results suggest that the card is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores are present but are not directly utilized in this game, which is a 2018 title that likely does not support ray tracing. The FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS is respectable, but the game's engine appears to be more sensitive to memory bandwidth than raw compute, based on the resolution scaling patterns.