Hitman 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a broad performance envelope in Hitman 2, ranging from exceptionally high frame rates at Full HD to a playable but more demanding experience at 4K. The measured data shows a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is typical for a system where the graphics card becomes increasingly dominant at higher pixel counts. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 308 FPS, while the same settings at 3840x2160 drop to 124 FPS. This represents a substantial 59.7% reduction in average frame rate, indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with resolution. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep: at High settings, the average drops from 132 FPS at 2560x1440 to 71 FPS at 3840x2160, a 46.2% decrease. This pattern strongly suggests that at 4K, the RTX 5090 D is the primary limiting component, as the GPU's workload increases quadratically with pixel count, while the CPU's task remains relatively constant.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the combo's performance is exceptionally high across all settings, with Low presets hitting 308 FPS and Medium reaching 274 FPS. These numbers indicate that the i5-12400F is capable of feeding the RTX 5090 D adequately at lower resolutions, as the GPU has fewer pixels to process and can complete frames quickly. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 155 FPS (308 vs 153), which demonstrates that graphics settings have a profound impact even when resolution is modest. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more sensitivity to settings: Low produces 234 FPS while Ultra drops to 98 FPS. The 58.1% reduction from Low to Ultra at 1440p is slightly more pronounced than at 1080p, where the reduction is 50.3%. This trend continues at 3840x2160, where the Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 72 FPS (124 vs 52), a 58.1% drop. The narrowing absolute gap at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU limitation: when the GPU is saturated, the relative impact of settings changes diminishes because the pixel throughput is the dominant constraint. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings only produce 124 FPS, which is lower than the 4K Medium average of 93 FPS at 1440p. This indicates that the resolution increase alone imposes a heavier penalty than moving from Low to Medium at a lower resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings substantial specifications to Hitman 2, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is overkill for a game from 2018, but it ensures that memory bandwidth is never a limiting factor. The GPU's clocks are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, which are moderate for a high-end card but are backed by a massive 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s suggests that the card can fill pixels extremely quickly, which is directly relevant to Hitman 2's rendering workload. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 52 FPS, which is a demanding scenario. This is likely due to the game's draw calls and pixel shader complexity overwhelming even this powerful GPU. The benchmark results for the GPU itself show a Passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, in Hitman 2, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra is only 52, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered smooth. The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a deltaPct of -1.6 and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with -2.4, but these are mobile or compute-oriented parts, not direct gaming comparisons.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the i5-12400F and RTX 5090 D ranks 35th out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This top 1.2% placement is notable, but it is not the absolute top, which suggests that some other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates. The rank is primarily driven by the GPU's raw power, as the CPU is a mid-range part with a 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. The CPU's average benchmark score is 19,039, which places it close to the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19,047, deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core 3 201E (19,056, deltaPct -0.1). The i5-12400F is also slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (18,982, deltaPct 0.3) and the AMD EPYC 7773X (18,979, deltaPct 0.3). These rivals are all within a 0.4% performance band, indicating that the CPU is competitive with a specific tier of processors but not a top-tier performer. In the context of Hitman 2, the combo's 35th rank out of 3001 suggests that there are 34 other combinations that deliver higher average FPS, likely featuring more powerful CPUs like high-core-count parts or newer architectures. The measured data does not specify which CPUs those are, but the rank implies that the i5-12400F may be holding back the RTX 5090 D slightly in CPU-bound scenarios, such as 1080p gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates: Low averages 308 FPS, Medium averages 274 FPS with a minimum of 233 and maximum of 315, High averages 207 FPS, and Ultra averages 153 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 233 FPS is still above the High preset's average, showing that the settings scaling is not linear. At 2560x1440, the numbers drop but remain high: Low averages 234 FPS, Medium averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 201, High averages 132 FPS, and Ultra averages 98 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p produces a minimum of 149 FPS, which is still comfortably above 144 Hz refresh rates. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: Low averages 124 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 107, High averages 71 FPS, and Ultra averages 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 79 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but shows some frame time variability. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 52 FPS average, is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario. The data shows that the combo can handle 4K High at 71 FPS, which is a playable experience, but for those seeking 4K Ultra, the frame rate falls to 52 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 52 FPS. This is the lowest average across all tested configurations and falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 274, with a minimum of 233 and a maximum of 315. This indicates a very smooth experience, with the minimum still exceeding 200 FPS.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 234 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. This is a difference of 136 FPS, representing a 58.1% reduction in performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting component at 4K. The average FPS at 4K Low (124) is lower than the average at 1440p Medium (175), indicating that the resolution increase imposes a heavier penalty than changing settings, which is a sign of GPU saturation.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Hitman 2?

A: The combo ranks 35th out of 3001 tested combinations. This places it in the top 1.2% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,039. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, scores 19,047 with a deltaPct of 0, making them effectively equal. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19,056 with a deltaPct of -0.1, also essentially tied.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are typical for a desktop part of this class. The CPU's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 5,912 in 3DMark max threads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 1,680 single-core and 12,380 multi-core. These numbers indicate solid mid-range performance. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is better than roughly three-quarters of processors in the database. In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 308 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of handling the game's logic and draw calls at very high frame rates. However, the fact that the combo ranks 35th rather than higher suggests that some CPUs with higher multi-thread scores may deliver even better performance in CPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and Intel Core 3 201E, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, but their performance in Hitman 2 is not directly measured in this data. The CPU's 65W TDP and lack of integrated graphics are notable, but they do not directly impact Hitman 2 performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 274 FPS average is an excellent choice, as it provides a very high frame rate with a minimum of 233 FPS that ensures smoothness even in demanding scenes. The High preset at 1080p still delivers 207 FPS, which is more than sufficient for 144 Hz monitors, but Medium offers a 32.4% higher frame rate with likely similar visual quality. For 1440p users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset at 175 FPS is the sweet spot, as it maintains a minimum of 149 FPS, which is above 144 Hz. The High preset at 1440p averages 132 FPS, which is playable but may dip below 144 Hz in some scenes. For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 93 FPS is the best balance between visual quality and performance, with a minimum of 79 FPS ensuring a mostly smooth experience. The High preset at 4K averages 71 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but with less headroom for sudden frame drops. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 52 FPS, is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and do not mind occasional dips below 60 FPS. The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution, as it provides the highest frame rates but sacrifices too much visual quality; at 4K Low, the average of 124 FPS is high, but the game's visuals would be significantly degraded. The data shows that Medium is the most balanced preset across all resolutions, offering a substantial frame rate increase over High while likely retaining most of the visual fidelity.