Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a striking performance profile in Hitman 2, characterized by a massive disparity between CPU and GPU capabilities. The data shows this combo achieves playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, but the headroom available at lower resolutions indicates the processor is the limiting factor in many scenarios. This analysis examines the measured results across resolutions and presets, contextualizing the combo’s rank against other tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: The highest measured average is 306 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 48.4 FPS, which is the lowest recorded value across all tested configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings yield 124.8 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 89.9 FPS, representing a significant 34.9 FPS penalty for the higher preset.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s 24 GB VRAM show any limitation in this game?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, there is no indication of VRAM capacity issues; the performance scaling across resolutions follows expected GPU-bound patterns rather than memory constraints.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 50th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of all configurations evaluated for this game.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Medium at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 306 FPS, while Medium averages 253.9 FPS, a difference of 52.1 FPS between the two presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S processor, built on Intel’s 10 nm process, features an 18 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 909 in 3dmark and a multicore score of 5912 in 3dmark_max_threads, indicating solid per-core performance that matters for games like Hitman 2, which typically rely on fewer threads.

The CPU’s behavior becomes evident when examining frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 306 FPS, a figure that far exceeds any display’s refresh rate and suggests the CPU is the primary driver of performance at this setting. However, as resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the frame rates drop dramatically—216.1 FPS to 124.8 FPS at High, and further to 66.9 FPS at 4K High—which demonstrates the GPU taking over as the bottleneck. This pattern is classic for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU: the processor can feed frames quickly at low resolutions, but the GPU’s workload dominates at higher pixel counts.

The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5895 and the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 16518 indicate the i5-12400F has ample headroom for gaming workloads. Its percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs places it above average, but its nearest rivals tell an interesting story. The Intel Core i7-8700K scores within 0.1% of this chip, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is only 0.7% behind, meaning the i5-12400F sits in a competitive mid-range tier. In Hitman 2, this translates to frame rates that are never CPU-limited at 4K, but at 1080p, the processor’s ceiling becomes the limiting factor, capping performance at around 306 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets across three resolutions, and the optimal choice depends heavily on the target display. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates: Low averages 306 FPS, Medium 253.9 FPS, High 192 FPS, and Ultra 138.8 FPS. Given that even Ultra exceeds 120 FPS, the recommendation is to use Ultra for maximum visual fidelity, as the frame rate remains well above typical 60 Hz and 120 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the picture shifts. High settings average 124.8 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors, while Medium hits 159.5 FPS and Low reaches 216.1 FPS. Ultra drops to 89.9 FPS, still playable but below the 120 FPS threshold that many competitive players prefer. The data suggests High is the sweet spot at 1440p: it provides the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, staying above 120 FPS while offering superior graphics compared to Medium or Low.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more constrained. High averages 66.9 FPS, which is smooth for most gaming scenarios, while Medium averages 88.1 FPS, and Low reaches 116 FPS. Ultra drops to 48.4 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but falls short of the 60 FPS standard. For 4K, the recommendation is Medium or High, with High offering a more detailed image at a still-respectable 66.9 FPS, and Medium providing a safer margin at 88.1 FPS. Ultra is only advisable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds the 50th position out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2.8% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the RTX 4090’s dominance as a GPU, given that the CPU is a mid-range part. The GPU’s percentile rank of 91 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, far exceeds the CPU’s percentile of 77 and average score of 19221. This disparity suggests the combo’s high rank is driven almost entirely by the graphics card.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which scores 0.4% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla P40, which scores 0.5% lower. These professional-grade cards are not typical gaming hardware, but their presence in the rankings indicates the RTX 4090’s raw compute power. In Hitman 2 specifically, the combo’s 50th rank out of 1795 means it outperforms the vast majority of systems, likely including many with flagship CPUs paired with lesser GPUs. The CPU’s nearest rivals—the i7-8700K, i5-1335U, and Ryzen 5 7533HS—all score within 1.3% of the i5-12400F, confirming that this processor is not a differentiator in the ranking.

The measured FPS data supports this analysis. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 48.4 FPS, which is a demanding workload for any system, yet the rank of 50 suggests that most other combos fare worse. At 1080p Low, the 306 FPS figure is exceptional, and the rank reflects this capability. However, the CPU’s mid-range nature means that at lower resolutions, the combo may not reach the absolute top tier, as systems with higher-end processors could push even higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its AD102 chip, built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, contains 76,300 million transistors and features 16384 shading units. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz, combined with its 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance, make it one of the most powerful consumer graphics cards ever produced.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is evident in the frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 138.8 FPS, but this drops to 89.9 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 48.4 FPS at 4K Ultra—a clear GPU-bound pattern. The GPU’s pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for this 2018 title, which was released before the RTX 4090’s 2022 launch. The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 12_2 feature level ensure full compatibility with the game’s rendering requirements.

The RTX 4090’s benchmark scores reinforce its capability. Its passmark_g3d score of 38194 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 9223 place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the Tesla T4, which scores 0.4% higher, and the Quadro P6000, which scores 1.3% higher—all within a narrow band that suggests the RTX 4090 is at the top of the consumer GPU hierarchy. In Hitman 2, this means the GPU is never the limiting factor at any resolution; instead, the CPU becomes the bottleneck at 1080p, where the 306 FPS Low setting represents the processor’s maximum output rather than the GPU’s capability.

The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what Hitman 2 requires, even at 4K Ultra, where the game’s textures and effects could realistically fit within 8 GB. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s ensures that data transfer is never a constraint, and the 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide headroom for future titles, though Hitman 2 does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and 450 W TDP suggest it is a flagship part that will remain competitive for years, and its performance in this game confirms that it is the primary reason this combo ranks 50th out of 1795.