Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 with Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The measured frame rates for this combination reveal a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with CPU headroom becoming apparent only at 1080p. Across 12 measured data points spanning three resolutions and four quality presets, the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produce a range from 22 FPS at 4K Ultra to 152 FPS at 1080p Low, with the combination ranking 1837th out of 3001 tested combos in this game. The pattern of scaling between resolutions and settings offers a clear picture of where the performance ceiling lies and how users might configure the game for their display.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the system delivers 86 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 55 FPS at 1440p, and then plummeting to 29 FPS at 4K. That represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative effect is a 66% loss from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is a dramatic falloff that points directly to the RTX 5050's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus being saturated as pixel count quadruples.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling pattern changes character. At 1080p Low, the system hits 152 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 97 FPS — a 36% reduction — and then 4K Low produces 52 FPS, another 46% drop from 1440p. The fact that Low settings at 1080p reach 152 FPS while 4K Low only manages 52 FPS suggests that even at minimal graphical load, the GPU cannot keep pace with the pixel throughput demanded by 4K. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.60 GHz, is not the bottleneck here; the data shows the RTX 5050's raw pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s is insufficient for 4K at playable frame rates.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data in the dataset, offering a window into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and maximum of 131, showing a 34 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 73 FPS with a 62-84 range, a 22 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 39 FPS with a 33-45 range, a 12 FPS spread. This narrowing of the frame rate range at higher resolutions is telling: as the GPU becomes more saturated, the frame times become more uniform because the graphics pipeline is consistently the bottleneck. At 1080p, where the CPU has more influence on frame pacing, the variance is larger.

Ultra settings confirm the trend with the most punishing numbers. The system manages 64 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 41 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and only 22 FPS at 4K Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%, mirroring the pattern seen at other settings. The 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a stealth title like Hitman 2, where precise timing matters. The scaling behavior across all four settings shows a consistent ~35-40% loss per resolution step, which is classic GPU-bound behavior; a CPU-bound system would show much smaller drops at higher resolutions because the CPU workload would remain roughly constant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target display resolution. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 86 FPS presents the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from Medium at 114 FPS to High at 86 FPS costs 28 FPS, but High is still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for fluid gameplay. Ultra at 64 FPS is also playable, but the additional visual fidelity over High comes at a 26% frame rate cost, and the measured data shows High is the sweet spot for preserving both quality and responsiveness.

For 1440p displays, the situation becomes more constrained. High settings produce 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but still playable for a stealth game that doesn't require twitch reflexes. Medium settings at 73 FPS offer a more comfortable margin, with the 62 FPS minimum ensuring that even demanding scenes stay above 60 FPS. The data suggests Medium is the recommended preset for 1440p, as it delivers a 33% improvement over High while maintaining a frame rate that fully utilizes most 1440p monitors' refresh capabilities. Ultra at 41 FPS is not recommended, as the sub-60 FPS average indicates a compromised experience.

At 4K, no preset achieves a playable 60 FPS. Medium at 39 FPS and Low at 52 FPS are the only options that stay above 30 FPS, with Low being the only preset that approaches respectable playability. The 52 FPS at 4K Low is a significant finding — it shows that even with all graphical features dialed down, the RTX 5050 cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K in Hitman 2. For 4K users, Low settings are the pragmatic choice, but the data implies that 4K gaming is not a realistic use case for this GPU in this title. The High preset at 4K produces 29 FPS, which is borderline for a stealth game, and Ultra at 22 FPS is effectively unplayable.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows the most consistent frame time behavior, as evidenced by the available min/max data. The measured minimums at Medium — 97 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K — are all within 15% of their respective averages, indicating stable performance without severe hitches. This consistency makes Medium the safest recommendation for users who prioritize frame pacing over peak graphical fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1837th out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the 39th percentile of all tested systems. This is a below-median ranking, which is notable given that both components are relatively recent releases. The CPU sits in the 77th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile against all GPUs, yet their combination in this specific game yields a ranking that is lower than either component's individual percentile. This discrepancy suggests that Hitman 2's engine places demands on the system that neither component fully satisfies at higher resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its capability. The i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25292 is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201, 0.4% delta). It trails the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3%) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.3%) by negligible margins. These results confirm that the CPU is competitive with upper-mid-range processors from both Intel and AMD, meaning it should not be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

The GPU's rival comparison tells a more complex story. The RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 is slightly below the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153, -0.6%) and the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237, -1%), while being modestly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713, 1.6%) and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379, -1.6%). The close grouping of these rivals — all within 2% of each other — indicates that the RTX 5050 occupies a specific performance tier, but the measured in-game results suggest this tier is insufficient for Hitman 2 at higher resolutions. The combo's rank of 1837 suggests that many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs achieve better performance in this title, likely because Hitman 2's optimization favors different hardware characteristics than the RTX 5050 provides.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hitman 2 with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where all four presets achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings produce 64 FPS, while 1440p and 4K both have presets that fall below 30 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2?

A: Technically yes, but not at playable quality. The best 4K result is 52 FPS at Low settings, and Medium drops to 39 FPS. High and Ultra produce 29 FPS and 22 FPS respectively, which are below acceptable thresholds for a stealth game.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p. The frame rate drops consistently by 35-47% per resolution step, which is characteristic of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the 152 FPS result shows the CPU can drive high frame rates when the GPU is less taxed.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 is within 2% of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379). This places it in a tightly contested performance tier.

Q: What settings should I use for a 1440p monitor?

A: Medium settings at 73 FPS are the best choice for 1440p. This preset maintains a minimum of 62 FPS, ensuring consistent performance. High settings at 55 FPS are playable but may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes.

Q: Does the CPU's performance justify its pairing with this GPU?

A: The i5-13400F's benchmark scores show it performs on par with or better than processors like the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo — the GPU's inability to sustain high frame rates at higher resolutions is the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a critical factor in the measured performance. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, and the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 80 texture mapping units, combined with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, deliver 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, but the data shows this is insufficient for 4K Ultra in Hitman 2 at 22 FPS.

The GPU's 32 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s, which explains the steep resolution scaling. At 4K, the GPU must fill 8.3 million pixels per frame, and at 22 FPS Ultra, it's processing over 180 million pixels per second. The texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s also becomes a constraint at higher resolutions where texture detail increases. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the memory subsystem may struggle with the increased texture and geometry data.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 17326. The nearest rivals — AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile — are within a 1.6% delta, confirming that the RTX 5050 sits in a specific performance band. The measured in-game results at 1080p High (86 FPS) and 1440p High (55 FPS) show that this GPU is well-suited for 1080p gaming but begins to struggle at 1440p with higher settings. The 4K results, particularly the 22 FPS Ultra score, indicate that this GPU is not designed for 4K gaming in demanding titles like Hitman 2.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F features 10 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture processor has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11068. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1996.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The 152 FPS result at 1080p Low demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU with frames well beyond what most displays can show. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292, places it in strong company. The nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, Intel Core 5 120, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H — all have average scores within 0.4% of the i5-13400F, indicating that this CPU is competitive with a wide range of mid-range and upper-mid-range processors.

The 16 threads are more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which is a game that typically scales well up to 8 cores. The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides strong single-thread performance for game logic and AI, which are often single-threaded in stealth games. The 20 MB L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing memory latency during gameplay. The measured frame rates at 1080p — where CPU overhead is more likely to be exposed — show no signs of CPU limitation, as the system reaches 152 FPS at Low settings. This suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU remains the primary constraint, and the CPU has headroom to spare.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all presets. Low settings produce 152 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 114 FPS average with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS, providing the most complete frame time data. High settings produce 86 FPS average, and Ultra settings deliver 64 FPS average. All four presets at 1080p exceed the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the only one where every settings level is playable.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably but remains largely playable. Low settings produce 97 FPS average, Medium settings yield 73 FPS average with a range of 62-84 FPS, High settings deliver 55 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 41 FPS average. The step from Low to Medium represents a 25% decrease, Medium to High a 25% decrease, and High to Ultra a 25% decrease — consistent scaling across presets. The 1440p Medium result at 73 FPS is the best balance of quality and performance at this resolution, while Ultra at 41 FPS is the only preset that falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become stark. Low settings produce 52 FPS average, Medium settings yield 39 FPS average with a range of 33-45 FPS, High settings deliver 29 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 22 FPS average. The drop from Low to Medium is 25%, Medium to High is 26%, and High to Ultra is 24%, showing consistent scaling even at the highest resolution. However, only Low settings exceed 30 FPS, and no preset approaches 60 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 5050, despite its modern architecture and 13.17 TFLOPS of compute power, cannot handle 4K gaming in Hitman 2 at acceptable performance levels.

The complete dataset reveals a system that is well-matched for 1080p gaming, capable of 1440p at medium settings, and inadequate for 4K beyond low settings. The CPU's performance is never the limiting factor, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved at 1080p Low. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth define the performance ceiling, which is clearly visible in the resolution scaling pattern. For users with 1080p displays, this combination offers excellent performance across all quality presets. For 1440p users, Medium settings provide the best experience. For 4K, the data suggests that this is not a viable configuration for Hitman 2 without significant compromises in visual quality.