Hitman 2

Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is a pairing that leans heavily on the graphics card, and the measured frames in Hitman 2 prove it. The 6-core, 6-thread processor with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the GPU at most settings, but the data shows a clear ceiling. This combo ranks 1722 out of 3711 tested combinations, putting it in the upper half of all pairings, and the performance profile suggests a system that is GPU-bound at higher resolutions and settings while becoming more balanced at lower presets.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings six physical cores and six threads, a configuration that lacks Hyper-Threading. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz are modest by modern standards, and the 9 MB of shared L3 cache is the last level of cache available to all cores. In the context of Hitman 2, a stealth game that simulates crowds and complex AI, this CPU’s multithreaded performance is adequate but not exceptional. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 place it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is roughly average in a broad field.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 0.2% higher on average, and the Intel Core i3-10305, which is 0.4% faster. It sits just ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 by 0.4%. These deltas are negligible, indicating that in pure CPU workload, this chip is interchangeable with those alternatives. For Hitman 2, this means the CPU is rarely the bottleneck; the measured FPS deltas between settings are driven by GPU load rather than CPU limits.

The processor’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface is standard for its generation, and its PCIe Gen 3, 16-lane connection is sufficient for the Radeon RX 6750 XT. The 65W TDP and Coffee Lake architecture are older, but the benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 182 FPS, which is well beyond what the CPU would constrain. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 26 FPS, a figure that points directly at the GPU struggling with pixel throughput rather than the CPU stalling. In essence, the i5-9400 is a capable partner that does not embarrass itself, but it is not the star of this show.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data across four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—reveals a clear sweet spot for this combo. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 182 FPS, which is excessive for most displays. Medium yields 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS, providing a smooth and responsive experience. High drops to 103 FPS, which is still excellent, but the jump from Medium to High costs 33 FPS, a 24% reduction. Ultra at 1080p falls to 76 FPS, which is playable but begins to introduce noticeable frame pacing issues in busy scenes.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. Medium produces 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness. High is 66 FPS, which is acceptable but less consistent, while Low is 116 FPS, which is unnecessary for this resolution. Ultra at 1440p drops to 49 FPS, making it a poor choice for action sequences where quick camera movements occur. At 4K, Medium is the only reasonable preset, with 47 FPS and a minimum of 40 FPS; High drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 26 FPS.

The recommendation is to use Medium settings for the best experience across resolutions. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 136 FPS, which is 34% higher than High and 79% higher than Ultra. At 1440p, Medium’s 87 FPS beats High by 32% and Ultra by 78%. At 4K, Medium’s 47 FPS is 34% faster than High and 81% faster than Ultra. The measured minimums at Medium—116 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K—are all above the threshold for comfortable gameplay, whereas other presets lack minimum data or fall below playable levels. For a stealth game where precision matters, Medium is the clear winner.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 136 at 1080p to 87 at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then to 47 at 4K, a further 46% drop from 1440p. This steep decline as pixel count increases indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s performance is consistent across resolutions, as the i5-9400 does not need to work harder to render more pixels; therefore, the frame rate falls proportionally with GPU workload.

At High settings, the pattern is similar: 103 FPS at 1080p, 66 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. This is a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Low settings, the combo achieves 182 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The Low preset’s 4K figure of 62 FPS is higher than the High preset’s 1440p figure of 66 FPS, which underscores that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor when settings are raised.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 76 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 36%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 47%, matching the other presets’ ratios. This consistency in percentage drops across all settings confirms that the RX 6750 XT’s rendering capacity dictates performance, not the CPU. The i5-9400 has enough headroom to avoid becoming a constraint at lower resolutions, but at 4K, even Low settings cannot exceed 62 FPS, which is a pure GPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested pairings for Hitman 2, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT holds a rank of 1722 out of 3711 combos. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning that roughly 54% of tested combos perform better in this game. The rank reflects the balance of CPU and GPU, and the data suggests that while the GPU is strong—the RX 6750 XT sits at the 71st percentile of all GPUs—the CPU drags the overall combo down slightly.

The CPU’s 47th percentile ranking is the weaker link. Its average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with a delta of -0.2% versus the i7-1068NG7 and +0.3% versus the i7-10710U. This means that swapping the i5-9400 for a marginally better or worse CPU would not significantly change the combo’s position. The GPU’s 71st percentile, with an average benchmark score of 26011, is a stronger contributor; its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, is only 0.5% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile is 1.1% slower.

The combo’s rank of 1722 indicates that it is a mid-pack performer. It is not a top-tier setup that will dominate at 4K Ultra, but it is far from a weak pairing. In Hitman 2, the measured FPS at 1080p Medium (136 FPS) and 1440p Medium (87 FPS) are competitive with many systems that rank higher, but the 4K Ultra score of 26 FPS is a clear liability. The ranking suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can leverage the GPU’s strengths without exposing the CPU’s limitations.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured FPS. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is ample for Hitman 2’s textures and geometry at all settings, even at 4K, where the game’s detailed environments demand significant memory. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, combined with a boost clock of 2600 MHz and a game clock of 2495 MHz, provide the raw compute power needed for the game’s lighting and shadow effects.

The RX 6750 XT’s 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the key metric for rasterization-heavy games like Hitman 2. The GPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its strong position, and its benchmark scores—such as 20700 in Passmark G3D and 98089 in Geekbench Vulkan—indicate solid DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance. The card’s 40 ray tracing cores are present but not heavily utilized in this title, which relies on traditional rendering techniques. The 12 GB VRAM ensures that no texture pop-in or stuttering occurs due to memory overflow, even at 4K Ultra, where the 26 FPS result is due to shader and pixel workload, not memory capacity.

The GPU’s role is evident in the FPS scaling across settings. At 1080p Low, the card is underutilized, producing 182 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it is fully saturated at 26 FPS. The card’s 250W TDP and 600W suggested PSU are typical for its class, and its performance in Hitman 2 is consistent with its position in the GPU hierarchy. The measured data shows that the RX 6750 XT is the reason this combo achieves playable frame rates at 1440p Medium, and it is also the reason 4K Ultra is not viable. The GPU is the star, but it has limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is the complete set of measured average FPS values for this combo in Hitman 2:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 182 FPS. Medium delivers 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High yields 103 FPS. Ultra drops to 76 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 46 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 33 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 27 FPS. This linear progression shows diminishing returns as settings increase, but every preset at 1080p is playable, with even Ultra exceeding 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low achieves 116 FPS. Medium produces 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High falls to 66 FPS. Ultra bottoms out at 49 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 29 FPS, from Medium to High is 21 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 17 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 74 FPS is the only one that maintains a smooth experience; High’s 66 FPS is borderline, and Ultra’s 49 FPS is not ideal for a game requiring precise timing.

At 3840x2160, Low provides 62 FPS. Medium offers 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. High is 35 FPS. Ultra is 26 FPS. The reductions are steep: 15 FPS from Low to Medium, 12 FPS from Medium to High, and 9 FPS from High to Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one with a minimum above 30 FPS, making it the sole viable option for 4K play. Low’s 62 FPS is technically playable, but it sacrifices visual quality to the point where the game’s atmosphere suffers. The data clearly shows that 4K is a stretch for this combo, and users should stick to 1440p or 1080p for the best balance of fidelity and performance.