Hitman 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks at position 1123 out of 1795 tested combinations for Hitman 2. This places the combo in the lower-middle tier of the database, meaning that while it can run the game, a significant portion of other hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates. The ranking reflects a balance where the GPU is decidedly the stronger component, but the overall experience is held back by the CPU's performance ceiling in this specific title.

Benchmark data positions the RX 6650 XT in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29024. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct 0.1), indicating that the card sits in a competitive performance band. The CPU, however, sits in the 50th percentile among all processors, with an average score of 2305. Its closest competitor is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which is 0.6% faster, and the Intel Core i3-10305, which is 0.2% faster. This symmetry—where the GPU is near the top of its class and the CPU is near the middle—explains the combo's mid-pack ranking.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a playable frame rate at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 85 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 55.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 32 FPS. The data indicates that 1080p is the most fluid experience, while 1440p is still acceptable for most users.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8809G, scores 2319, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2300, which is 0.2% lower. The differences are minimal, suggesting that in CPU-bound tasks, these processors perform nearly identically.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 98.8 FPS. Medium settings yield 74.7 FPS, High produces 55.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 41.8 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% of the previous frame rate.

Q: Is the GPU more powerful than its closest competitor?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, scores 29011, showing a deltaPct of 0. The AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996, which is 0.1% lower. The RX 6650 XT is effectively tied with these cards in synthetic tests.

Q: Does the combo perform better at 1080p Low or 1440p Ultra?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo averages 151.4 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it averages 41.8 FPS. The 1080p Low setting provides over 3.5 times the frame rate, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed at higher resolutions with maximum settings.

Q: How does the CPU's boost clock relate to its benchmark performance?

A: The Core i5-9400 has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. In Cinebench R23, it scores 7969 multi-core and 1125 single-core. The boost clock is crucial for single-threaded performance, which is reflected in the single-core score being a significant fraction of the multi-core result.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of GPU dependency as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 85 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 reduces that to 55.2 FPS, a drop of 35%. At 3840x2160, the frame rate falls to 32 FPS, a further 42% reduction from the 1440p result. This scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 6650 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become limiting factors at higher pixel counts.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 151.4 FPS at 1080p to 98.8 FPS at 1440p, then to 52.6 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%, which is substantial. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 63.5 FPS at 1080p to 41.8 FPS at 1440p, then to 22.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely playable, indicating that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming at maximum quality.

The data suggests that the RX 6650 XT is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads, running at a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU's compute resources—2048 shading units and 64 ROPs—are overwhelmed. The 280.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is also a constraint at 4K, where texture and geometry data demands are highest.

Settings Recommendations

For this combo, the optimal balance between visual quality and frame rate is found at 1920x1080 with High settings, yielding 85 FPS. This provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. If a higher frame rate is desired, dropping to Medium at 1080p raises the average to 113.8 FPS, a 34% improvement with a modest reduction in visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the best experience is at Medium settings, which produces 74.7 FPS. High settings at this resolution drop to 55.2 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay, but Medium offers a safer margin. Ultra settings at 1440p are not recommended, as the 41.8 FPS result falls below the smoothness threshold for many users.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that only Low settings (52.6 FPS) are viable for consistent play. Medium settings at 38.9 FPS might be tolerable for some, but High (32 FPS) and Ultra (22.1 FPS) are too choppy for a game that requires precise timing and observation. The 4K resolution is clearly beyond the intended scope of this hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the combo's capabilities across all resolution and settings combinations.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 151.4 FPS
• Medium: 113.8 FPS
• High: 85 FPS
• Ultra: 63.5 FPS

This shows a linear degradation as settings increase. The jump from Low to Medium is a 25% reduction, from Medium to High is a 25% reduction, and from High to Ultra is a 25% reduction. The combo is clearly capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p with lower settings.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 98.8 FPS
• Medium: 74.7 FPS
• High: 55.2 FPS
• Ultra: 41.8 FPS

The scaling here is steeper. From Low to Medium is a 24% drop, but from Medium to High is a 26% drop, and from High to Ultra is a 24% drop. The 1440p resolution is a sweet spot for Medium settings, where the frame rate remains above 70 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 52.6 FPS
• Medium: 38.9 FPS
• High: 32 FPS
• Ultra: 22.1 FPS

The 4K results are uniformly low. Even at Low settings, the frame rate is only 52.6 FPS, which is marginal for a stealth game where smooth camera movement is important. The Ultra setting at 22.1 FPS is effectively unplayable, reinforcing that 4K is not a target resolution for this combo.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are modest, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, AI, and physics, while the GPU handles rendering. The data suggests that the i5-9400 is sufficient for 1080p gaming, as the frame rates at High settings (85 FPS) are not severely CPU-limited. However, the lack of hyper-threading (6 threads for 6 cores) may cause occasional stutters in complex scenes, although this is not directly measured in the FPS data.

The CPU's 50th percentile ranking among all processors indicates it is an average performer. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8809G, is only 0.6% faster in synthetic benchmarks, suggesting that the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. The 4.10 GHz boost clock is adequate for single-threaded workloads, which is why the 1080p frame rates are high.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 4K results show that the RX 6650 XT cannot maintain high frame rates regardless of the CPU's performance, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint in this pairing. The CPU's 65W TDP and 6 cores are well-matched for a mid-range GPU, but the combination is not designed for extreme resolutions or settings.