Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 lands at rank 1739 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This is a pairing where the GPU’s 59th percentile standing against all GPUs and the CPU’s 73rd percentile against all CPUs suggest a system that can handle the game, but with clear trade-offs at higher resolutions and settings. The data indicates a balanced pairing for 1080p gaming, but one that will require settings management to maintain smooth frame rates at 1440p or 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1739 out of 3001 tested combinations puts it just past the midpoint of the database. This is not a top-tier configuration for Hitman 2, but it is far from the bottom. The ranking reflects a system that can deliver playable performance at 1080p across all settings, with the CPU and GPU each contributing enough to avoid severe bottlenecks in most scenarios.

Looking at the individual components, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 19039 places it in the 73rd percentile of all processors, which is respectable for a 6-core part. Its nearest rivals in the database—the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, Intel Core 3 201E, Intel Core i5-1335U, and AMD EPYC 7773X—all post average scores within 0.3% of the i5-12400F. This means the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no anomalies in the data.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 16014 puts it in the 59th percentile of all graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 1% lower. This positions the RX 9060 as a solid mid-range option, competitive with the RTX 3060 Ti in raw benchmark terms, though Hitman 2’s specific workload may favor one over the other depending on resolution and settings.

The rank of 1739 suggests that while this combo can run Hitman 2, it is not optimized for maximum quality at high resolutions. The measured FPS data shows a steep drop-off as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K. At 1080p, the combo performs well, with average FPS ranging from 66 at Ultra to 159 at Low, but at 4K, even Medium settings only yield 41 FPS on average.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4nm process at TSMC. It packs 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1700 MHz, with a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. Memory runs at 2250 MHz, or 18 Gbps effective.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is critical at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the game’s demands push the GPU to its limits. The measured FPS data shows 23 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is unplayable for most users. At 4K Medium, the average climbs to 41 FPS, with minimums at 35 and maximums at 47. This suggests the GPU is struggling with the pixel count at 4K, and the 8 GB VRAM may be a contributing factor, though the data does not explicitly isolate VRAM usage.

The GPU’s shading units, TMUs, and ROPs—1792, 112, and 64 respectively—are modest for a 4K-capable card. The texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s are solid for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the pixel fill rate becomes a bottleneck. The FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS is competitive for the mid-range, but Hitman 2’s rendering workload at 4K Ultra requires more than this GPU can deliver.

At 1440p, the GPU performs much better. High settings yield 58 FPS on average, and Low settings reach 102 FPS. This indicates that the RX 9060 is well-suited for 1440p gaming, with enough headroom for most settings. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, with even Ultra settings hitting 66 FPS on average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S family, built on Intel’s 10nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, and it features 18 MB of shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is less demanding than the GPU’s, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU dominates performance. The CPU’s single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1680. Hitman 2 is known for being more CPU-dependent at lower resolutions, and the data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 159 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the GPU’s capabilities.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is also adequate. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and 3DMark max-threads score of 5912 show that it can handle the game’s background tasks without issue. The 12 threads are sufficient for Hitman 2’s AI and physics calculations, which scale across cores but do not require extreme thread counts.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU becomes less of a factor. The FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (90 to 58 FPS) is more attributable to the GPU than the CPU, as the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant while the GPU’s pixel-pushing load increases. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 73rd against all CPUs indicates it is above average, and its nearest rivals’ scores within 0.3% suggest it is performing exactly as expected.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Hitman 2 with this combo shows a clear pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 159 FPS on average, Medium hits 119 FPS with minimums of 101 and maximums of 137, High reaches 90 FPS, and Ultra drops to 66 FPS. This makes 1080p gaming smooth for most users, even at Ultra settings.

Moving to 1440p, the FPS drops significantly. Low settings average 102 FPS, Medium averages 76 FPS with a range of 65 to 88, High averages 58 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36% at High settings (90 to 58 FPS), which is expected given the increase in pixel count. At 1440p, Medium settings provide the best balance of quality and performance, with the minimum FPS of 65 staying above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the combo struggles. Low settings average 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming is only viable at Low or Medium settings, and even then, the minimum FPS at Medium (35) may cause noticeable stutters in busy scenes. The gap between 1440p and 4K is steep, with High settings dropping from 58 FPS at 1440p to 31 FPS at 4K, a 47% reduction.

The settings scaling is also notable. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 93 FPS (159 to 66), while at 4K, the difference is 31 FPS (54 to 23). This indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as increasing settings has a smaller absolute impact on FPS when the GPU is already saturated. At 1080p, the CPU can keep up, so settings have a larger effect on FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component in this combo. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 90 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p, then to 31 at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as resolution increases.

At Low settings, the drop is less severe but still significant: 159 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result of 54 FPS is the only 4K setting that approaches playable territory, but even that is below the 60 FPS target many gamers prefer. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely contributing factors, as 4K textures can exceed 8 GB in some games, though the data does not confirm this directly.

The resolution scaling suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would not drop as much from 1080p to 4K, since the CPU workload stays roughly constant. Instead, the steep drops indicate that the GPU is the limiting component at 1440p and especially at 4K. At 1080p, the CPU may be the limiting factor at Low settings (159 FPS), but at higher settings, the GPU takes over.

For users targeting 1440p, the combo is viable at Medium settings, with an average of 76 FPS. For 4K, the data suggests that only Low settings are playable, and even then, the average of 54 FPS is not ideal for fast-paced action. The combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can handle Ultra settings at 66 FPS, or 1440p at Medium settings for a balance of quality and performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows 1080p Medium is the sweet spot, with 119 FPS average and a minimum of 101 FPS. For 1440p, Medium settings at 76 FPS average is the best balance, while 4K is only viable at Low settings with 54 FPS average.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 23 FPS, which is not playable for most users. The GPU is the limiting factor, as the pixel count at 4K exceeds what the RX 9060 can handle at high quality settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU may be the limiting factor, with 159 FPS average. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as FPS drops significantly with resolution increases, indicating the CPU is not the constraint.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 9060’s average benchmark score is 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and 1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700. This places it in a competitive mid-range position.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the combo averages 58 FPS, which is playable but not optimal for competitive play. Medium settings provide a better experience with 76 FPS average and a minimum of 65 FPS.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM enough for Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The data does not directly measure VRAM usage, but 4K performance is poor across all settings, with the best result being 54 FPS at Low. This suggests the GPU’s memory and bandwidth are insufficient for 4K in this game.