Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti produces a fascinating set of results in Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018. The measured data reveals a system that is clearly capable of high frame rates at mainstream resolutions but struggles significantly when pushed to 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to understand where the bottleneck lies and how users should configure the game for the best experience.

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

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is dramatic and tells a clear story about system balance. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 79.6 FPS at 1080p to 51.3 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 27.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the High preset. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, but the severity increases with graphical fidelity. At Low settings, the drop is from 145.7 FPS at 1080p to 47.9 FPS at 4K, a 67% decrease. The fact that even the Low preset cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K—staying below 48 FPS—strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

However, the data also reveals that the CPU is not entirely off the hook. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 145.7 FPS, which is a high frame rate but not exceptionally so for a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The gap between Low (145.7 FPS) and Medium (111.3 FPS) at 1080p is 34.4 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High (79.6 FPS) is 31.7 FPS. These are large jumps that indicate the GPU is becoming progressively more saturated as settings increase, even at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result of 20.4 FPS is particularly telling—it shows that the RTX 3060 Ti, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is simply overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum detail settings.

The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the system is reasonably balanced, with the CPU capable of feeding the GPU enough data to achieve over 145 FPS on Low. As resolution increases to 1440p, the GPU load rises, and the frame rate drops by roughly 35-40% depending on settings. The 4K results, which all fall below 48 FPS regardless of preset, indicate a pure GPU bottleneck. The RTX 3060 Ti's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient for the pixel count of 4K in this title, particularly when the game's stealth mechanics require consistent frame pacing.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets except Ultra exceed 58 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (92.1 FPS) and Medium (70.3 FPS) remain above 60 FPS. The 3840x2160 results are all below 48 FPS, making 4K unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any settings?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where even Low settings yield only 47.9 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 145.7 FPS result suggests the i5-12400F is not severely bottlenecking, but the 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost of 4.40 GHz may start to limit frame rates above this level.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its closest rivals in this context?

A: The GPU's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, with a deltaPct of -0.2%, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti scores essentially identically. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is -0.5% different, and the AMD Radeon 890M is also -0.5% away. This suggests the GPU is well-matched against its direct competitors.

Q: What is the playable frame rate threshold for this game?

A: Based on the measured data, the only configurations that consistently exceed 60 FPS are 1080p Low (145.7 FPS), 1080p Medium (111.3 FPS), 1080p High (79.6 FPS), 1440p Low (92.1 FPS), and 1440p Medium (70.3 FPS). All 4K results and 1440p High/Ultra fall below 52 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-12400F's CPU performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-8700K has an average benchmark score of 19210, which is 0.1% different from the i5-12400F's score. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is 0.3% away, and the AMD EPYC 7773X is 1.3% higher. The i5-12400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs.

*Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Hitman 2 at 4K?*

A: The 4K Ultra result of 20.4 FPS suggests the 8 GB GDDR6 memory is not sufficient for maximum settings at this resolution. Even at 4K Low, the frame rate is only 47.9 FPS, indicating that memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) and compute power are both strained.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of playable configurations. For users prioritizing smooth gameplay at 1920x1080, the High preset at 79.6 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from Medium (111.3 FPS) to High (79.6 FPS) costs 31.7 FPS but likely provides significant visual improvements in a stealth game where environmental detail matters. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 58.6 FPS, which is still playable but may experience noticeable frame pacing issues in crowded scenes.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 70.3 FPS is the best option for maintaining a smooth experience above 60 FPS. The High preset at 51.3 FPS is a significant downgrade and may feel less responsive. Users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors should consider the Low preset at 92.1 FPS for competitive play, but the Medium preset offers a better visual experience for the 30 FPS penalty. The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo, as even the Low preset at 47.9 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider essential for a stealth action game.

The data suggests that the game's Ultra preset is poorly optimized for this hardware at any resolution above 1080p. The 1440p Ultra result of 36.7 FPS is 33.6 FPS lower than the Medium preset, which is a substantial drop for what may be marginal visual gains. For the best overall experience, the 1080p High preset appears to be the sweet spot, delivering 79.6 FPS while maintaining enough graphical fidelity to appreciate the game's detailed environments.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1332 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places the system in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is surprising given the individual components' performance. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 19221 and sits at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU has an average score of 25120 and is at the 69th percentile of all GPUs. The ranking suggests that Hitman 2 is particularly demanding on the GPU, as the RTX 3060 Ti's 69th percentile ranking does not translate into a high in-game performance rank.

The combo's rank of 1332 out of 1795 means that approximately 74% of tested combinations perform better in this specific game. This is notable because the CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has a nearly identical average score (19210 vs 19221, a 0.1% difference), yet the i5-12400F offers 12 threads versus the 8700K's likely lower thread count. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180, which is -0.2% different from the RTX 3060 Ti, indicating that the GPU is not underperforming relative to its peers. The low combo rank is therefore a reflection of the game's high demands on the GPU, not a flaw in the pairing itself.

The data implies that users with this combo should not expect top-tier performance in Hitman 2 at high resolutions. The rank of 1332 suggests that many other systems, possibly with higher-end GPUs, will achieve better frame rates. However, the combo's performance at 1080p is respectable, and the ranking should be interpreted in the context of the game's age (release date 2018-11-12) and its graphical intensity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results show a strong single-thread score of 909 in 3dmark_single_thread and a multicore score of 5912 in 3dmark_max_threads. In Cinebench R23, the multicore score is 16518 and the single-core score is 2332. These numbers indicate a capable processor that should not be a bottleneck in most games.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p Low result of 145.7 FPS. This frame rate is high but not exceptional, suggesting that the 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution. However, the boost clock of 4.40 GHz is relatively modest compared to higher-end CPUs, and the 65W TDP may limit sustained performance. The passmark_single_thread score of 3481 indicates solid single-threaded performance, which is important for a stealth game that may rely on AI calculations.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 versus all CPUs places it above average, but its performance relative to the GPU in this game suggests that the processor is not the primary limiting factor. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K at all settings confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The i5-12400F's 12 threads should handle the game's multi-threaded workload, but the data does not show any CPU-specific performance cliffs at lower resolutions. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, which is 0.1% lower, indicating that the i5-12400F is competitive with older high-end processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 145.7, Medium 111.3, High 79.6, and Ultra 58.6. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decrease of roughly 30 FPS per step, with the largest drop between Medium and High at 31.7 FPS. The 1080p results are all above 58 FPS, making this resolution the most playable.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 92.1, Medium 70.3, High 51.3, and Ultra 36.7. The drop from Low to Medium is 21.8 FPS, but the drop from Medium to High is 19 FPS, and High to Ultra is 14.6 FPS. The 1440p results show that only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, with Medium at 70.3 FPS being the recommended preset for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 47.9, Medium 40.2, High 27.8, and Ultra 20.4. The 4K results are all below 48 FPS, with the drop from Low to Medium being 7.7 FPS, Medium to High being 12.4 FPS, and High to Ultra being 7.4 FPS. The 4K data indicates that this combo cannot achieve playable frame rates at this resolution, with the Ultra preset at 20.4 FPS being particularly poor.

The difference between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 97.8 FPS (145.7 vs 47.9), while at Ultra settings the difference is 38.2 FPS (58.6 vs 20.4). This shows that the GPU's performance scales poorly with resolution, likely due to the 8 GB memory capacity being insufficient for 4K textures and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth being saturated.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is based on the GA104 chip with an Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It has 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1410 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FP32 performance is 16.20 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's performance is the primary determinant of frame rates at resolutions above 1080p. The 4K results, which all fall below 48 FPS, demonstrate that the RTX 3060 Ti cannot handle the pixel count and texture demands of 4K in this game. The GPU's 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a mid-to-high-tier card, but the game's demanding nature at 4K exposes its limitations. The passmark_g3d score of 20349 is respectable, but the 4K Ultra result of 20.4 FPS suggests that the GPU's 16.20 TFLOPS is insufficient for maximum settings at this resolution.

The GPU's memory of 8 GB is a potential limiting factor. At 4K, the game likely requires more than 8 GB of VRAM for high-resolution textures, leading to memory swapping and reduced performance. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth may also be insufficient for the data throughput required at 4K. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180, which is -0.2% different, indicating that the RTX 3060 Ti is not underperforming relative to its peers. However, the combo rank of 1332 out of 1795 suggests that many other GPU/CPU combinations achieve better results in this specific game, likely due to higher VRAM capacities or faster memory bandwidth.