Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, shows a wide performance gulf across its four presets and three resolutions when paired with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the GPU at higher settings, but which can deliver very smooth gameplay when the graphics load is reduced. The challenge is finding the point where visual fidelity and frame rate meet the player's expectations, as the differences between presets are substantial.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the “Medium” preset is the most balanced choice for this combination, offering a significant jump in frame rate over “High” without the harsh visual compromises of “Low.” At 1920x1080, “Medium” produces an average of 101.9 FPS, which is a 40% improvement over the 72.6 FPS seen at “High.” This makes “Medium” the only preset other than “Low” to comfortably exceed the 100 FPS mark at 1080p, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The data suggests that the jump from “Medium” to “High” costs a substantial 28.3 FPS, while the jump from “Medium” to “Low” gains 30.2 FPS, positioning “Medium” as a clear middle ground that preserves more visual detail than “Low” while maintaining a high level of performance.

For users with a 1440p monitor, “Medium” remains the best option, delivering an average of 64.9 FPS. This is just below the 70 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for smooth action, but it is far more playable than the 47.2 FPS average at “High.” The “Low” preset is the only way to get a high frame rate at this resolution, with an 81.4 FPS average, but it likely strips away too much of the game's atmosphere. At 4K, the situation changes; even “Low” only manages a 44.2 FPS average, and “Medium” drops to 35.8 FPS. Here, the “Low” preset is the only viable choice for a playable experience, though it still falls short of a locked 60 FPS. The data clearly shows that “Ultra” is not a practical option at any resolution, as it only achieves a 55.8 FPS average at 1080p and falls to a 20.9 FPS average at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the dominant performance limiter in this system for Hitman 2. The GPU's specifications show a 6 GB GDDR6 memory pool on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The core clock runs at 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost, with a 160 W TDP. The data points to a clear VRAM or compute bottleneck at higher settings, as the frame rate collapses when moving from “Medium” to “High” and then to “Ultra.” For instance, at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 101.9 on “Medium” to 72.6 on “High,” a 29.3 FPS loss, and then further down to 55.8 on “Ultra.” This pattern suggests that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM or its 1920 shading units are saturated by the increased texture detail and effects in the higher presets.

The GPU's overall standing is modest, with a percentile rank of 58 among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 16074. In the nearest rival comparisons, the RTX 2060 sits very close to the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which has a deltaPct of 0.5, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, which is 1.7% faster. This indicates that the RTX 2060 is a mid-range part that struggles with the demands of Hitman 2's more ambitious settings, particularly at higher resolutions. The 4K results are especially telling, with the “Ultra” preset producing a 20.9 FPS average, which is barely a slideshow. This is a clear sign that the GPU's compute power and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the game's most demanding configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At the “Low” preset, the average FPS drops from 132.1 at 1080p to 81.4 at 1440p, a 38% reduction, and then to 44.2 at 4K, a further 46% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is expected when a GPU is working harder to fill more pixels. The same trend is visible at other settings, but the percentage drops are more severe at higher presets. For example, at “High,” the 1080p average of 72.6 FPS falls to 47.2 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 26.9 FPS at 4K (a 43% drop from 1440p).

This scaling pattern implies that the limiting component is the GPU's rasterization and pixel throughput, not the CPU. The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be a bottleneck at these resolutions, given its strong synthetic benchmark scores. The data suggests that players targeting 4K with this combo will have to rely on the “Low” preset, and even then, they will not achieve a locked 60 FPS. The 1440p resolution appears to be the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and performance, but only with the “Medium” or “Low” presets. The shift from 1080p to 4K is not linear, and the performance cost of each resolution step is substantial, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the primary factor limiting high-resolution play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all combinations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: “Low” averages 132.1 FPS, “Medium” averages 101.9 FPS, “High” averages 72.6 FPS, and “Ultra” averages 55.8 FPS. These figures show that a 60 FPS experience is achievable at “High,” but only “Low” and “Medium” provide headroom for higher refresh rates. The jump from “High” to “Ultra” is a 16.8 FPS loss, which is a significant penalty for the extra visual features.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 81.4 FPS for “Low,” 64.9 FPS for “Medium,” 47.2 FPS for “High,” and 34.9 FPS for “Ultra.” The “Medium” preset is the only one that stays above the 60 FPS line, while “High” falls into the 40s, which can feel less fluid for fast-paced stealth action. At 3840x2160, the performance drops considerably: “Low” averages 44.2 FPS, “Medium” averages 35.8 FPS, “High” averages 26.9 FPS, and “Ultra” averages 20.9 FPS. No preset achieves a playable 60 FPS at 4K, and even the “Low” setting struggles to maintain a consistent 45 FPS. The data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch goal only for those who can tolerate lower frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: The “Medium” preset is the only one that clears the 60 FPS bar, with an average of 64.9 FPS at 2560x1440. The “High” preset falls short at 47.2 FPS, and “Low” is the only other option to exceed 60 FPS, at 81.4 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle Hitman 2 at 4K?

A: The data indicates that 4K is not a strong point for this combo. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 44.2 FPS on the “Low” preset, while “Ultra” produces only 20.9 FPS. No setting achieves a smooth 60 FPS experience at this resolution.

Q: How much of a performance hit is the “Ultra” preset compared to “High”?

A: At 1080p, the “Ultra” preset drops the average frame rate from 72.6 FPS to 55.8 FPS, a 16.8 FPS reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 47.2 FPS to 34.9 FPS, and at 4K, it goes from 26.9 FPS to 20.9 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results point to the GPU being the primary limiter. The frame rate scales heavily with resolution and settings, which is typical of a GPU-bound workload. The Intel Core i5-13400F has a high multi-threaded score of 21279 in Cinebench R23, suggesting it has ample headroom for this title.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996, putting the RTX 2060 just 0.5% ahead. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 are 1.7% faster, with scores of 16351.

Q: What is the average FPS on the “Low” preset at 1080p?

A: The “Low” preset at 1920x1080 produces an average of 132.1 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. This makes it the only preset capable of fully utilizing a 120Hz or higher refresh rate monitor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F appears to be a capable partner for the RTX 2060 in Hitman 2, showing no signs of being a bottleneck in the measured data. The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a 20 MB shared L3 cache. The synthetic benchmarks are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a single-core score of 3004, which puts it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's role in this game is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. Given that the frame rate drops so significantly with increased resolution and settings, the data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU is likely capable of pushing far more frames than the RTX 2060 can render, especially at lower resolutions. For instance, the 132.1 FPS average at 1080p “Low” could potentially be higher if the GPU were faster, as the CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 indicate strong multi-core performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 also shows decent per-core strength, which is important for games that are not perfectly threaded. The data implies that the i5-13400F has enough performance headroom to handle the game's AI and physics without impacting frame rates, leaving the RTX 2060 as the sole arbiter of visual settings and resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1455 out of 1795 tested combos in Hitman 2. This places it in the lower 19% of all combinations, indicating that it is a modest performer for this specific title. The ranking is not surprising given the GPU's mid-range status (58th percentile) and the game's demanding nature at higher settings. However, the ranking does not tell the full story, as the combo is capable of delivering excellent performance at 1080p with the right settings.

The combo's position in the rankings is likely dragged down by the RTX 2060's inability to handle “Ultra” settings or 4K resolutions effectively. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, which place it close to rivals like the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (-0.5% delta), suggest that the CPU is not the weak link. The data shows that the combo can achieve a top-tier experience at 1080p with “Medium” or “Low” presets, but it falls behind other combos that feature more powerful GPUs. For a 2019-era GPU paired with a 2023-era CPU, the results are consistent with expectations, but the overall ranking of 1455 out of 1795 highlights that this is not a high-end gaming system for Hitman 2. The data indicates that the RTX 2060 is the component holding the combo back from a higher ranking, as the CPU performance is competitive with much newer parts.