Hitman 2

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1837th out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This percentile position reflects a pairing where the GPU is clearly the dominant component for performance, but the overall result is dragged down by a CPU that sits at the 47th percentile against all processors. The combo's rank suggests that while this system can deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted settings, it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K, particularly at higher quality presets.

The ranking becomes more meaningful when examining the individual component standings. The RTX 5050 holds the 66th percentile among all GPUs, a respectable position for a modern entry-level card. In contrast, the i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU ranking indicates it is a middling processor by current standards. This disparity between component tiers explains why the combo lands near the 61st percentile overall rather than higher — the CPU is holding back the GPU's potential in a game that does benefit from strong single-thread performance. Benchmark results indicate that this combination is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the GPU can stretch its legs, while the CPU's limitations become more apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates climb higher.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for Hitman 2 at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows it becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings, where the average frame rate drops to 22 FPS. The GPU's clock speeds are relatively modest — a 2317 MHz base and 2572 MHz boost — yet they allow the card to achieve a 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance figure. This compute capability translates into solid mid-range performance for a 2018 stealth title, though the game's engine does not heavily leverage ray tracing or tensor core features.

The RTX 5050's benchmark scores reinforce its positioning. Its PassMark G3D score of 17326 places it in the 66th percentile, while its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 indicates competent DirectX 12 performance. Compared to its nearest rivals, the card sits within 1.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (which scores 20713, a 1.6% deltaPct), and it trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL by just 0.6% (21153 vs. 21035 average). The data shows that in Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU can push 152 FPS at 1080p Low settings, demonstrating that when CPU overhead is minimized, the card has substantial headroom. However, at 4K Ultra, the combination of 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus becomes strained, resulting in the 22 FPS average that makes the game unplayable at that preset.

# FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 5050 capable of running Hitman 2 at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at certain resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo achieves 86 FPS on High, 114 FPS on Medium, and 152 FPS on Low, all comfortably above 60 FPS. At 1440p, High settings deliver 55 FPS, just short of 60 FPS, while Low settings reach 97 FPS. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS — the best result is 52 FPS on Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score is 21035, which is 1.6% higher than the RX 5600 XT's 20713 score. In practical terms, this means the two cards perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, with the RTX 5050 holding a slight edge that would translate to a marginal FPS advantage in Hitman 2.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The data shows that Medium settings at 1440p deliver 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS, providing a smooth experience. High settings drop to 55 FPS, which is still playable but less consistent. Low settings at 1440p reach 97 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is significant. Medium represents the best balance for this resolution.

Q: Does the i5-9400 bottleneck the RTX 5050 in Hitman 2?

A: Benchmark results indicate that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 152 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. However, the CPU's 47th percentile ranking and 6-core/6-thread configuration without hyper-threading indicate it will limit performance in CPU-intensive scenes, particularly when frame rates exceed 150 FPS. The CPU is more of a constraint at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do.

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

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 52 FPS. Medium settings drop to 39 FPS, High to 29 FPS, and Ultra to 22 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for maintaining playable frame rates at 4K with higher quality presets. For a consistent experience, 1440p or 1080p is recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's VRAM capacity affect Hitman 2 performance?

A: With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, the card meets Hitman 2's requirements for 1080p and 1440p at most settings. However, at 4K Ultra, the game's texture and geometry demands exceed what the 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB capacity can efficiently handle, contributing to the 22 FPS average. The memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Hitman 2 reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results: Low settings produce an average of 152 FPS, Medium settings achieve 114 FPS (with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS), High settings reach 86 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 64 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing, with even Ultra settings maintaining a playable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales predictably but with more significant drops at higher presets. Low settings deliver 97 FPS, Medium settings average 73 FPS (with a 62 FPS minimum and 84 FPS maximum), High settings fall to 55 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 41 FPS. The 1440p results show that Medium is the practical ceiling for consistent 60+ FPS gameplay, while High and Ultra require accepting lower frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles considerably. Low settings are the only playable option, averaging 52 FPS. Medium settings drop to 39 FPS with a 33 FPS minimum, High settings fall to 29 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 22 FPS. The 4K data demonstrates that this GPU-CPU combination is not suited for high-resolution gaming in Hitman 2, with even the lowest settings barely maintaining playability.

The FPS deltas between settings are revealing. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 88 FPS (from 152 to 64), a 58% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings transition costs 56 FPS (from 97 to 41), a 58% reduction. At 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is 30 FPS (from 52 to 22), a 58% reduction. This consistent 58% scaling across resolutions suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all quality levels, with the CPU playing a secondary role.

# Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data shows a predictable but steep decline in performance as pixel count increases. From 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 114 to 73, a 36% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 73 to 39, a 47% reduction. The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings is from 114 to 39 FPS, a 66% decrease.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The RTX 5050's 128-bit memory bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain the increased pixel throughput required at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM also becomes a constraint, as Hitman 2's larger textures at 4K exceed what the card can efficiently cache. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal — the i5-9400's 6 cores at 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost are sufficient to feed the GPU at 4K, where frame rates are low enough that CPU overhead is not a concern.

The data shows that resolution scaling is not linear across settings. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 152 to 52 FPS, a 66% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 64 to 22 FPS, a 66% reduction. This consistent scaling across quality presets reinforces that the GPU is the bottleneck — if the CPU were limiting, we would expect the scaling to be more pronounced at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher. The 1080p Low result of 152 FPS suggests the i5-9400 can handle high frame rates, but the GPU's limits are reached well before the CPU becomes a constraint.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture chip, built on Intel's 14 nm process, features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark scores position it as a mid-range processor: its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 6629, single-core is 935, and its Geekbench multi-core score is 5141. These figures place the i5-9400 at the 47th percentile against all CPUs, indicating it is an average performer by modern standards.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where frame rates exceed 100 FPS. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 152 FPS, which suggests the i5-9400 can keep up with the RTX 5050's output at that level. However, the CPU's 6-thread configuration without hyper-threading means it may struggle in scenes with many AI agents or complex physics calculations, which are common in stealth games like Hitman 2. The nearest rival comparisons show the i5-9400 sits within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246 vs. 2254 average score), and it trails the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 by just 0.2% (2259 vs. 2254). These close margins indicate that the i5-9400 is competitive with its peers but does not offer a significant performance advantage.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and lack of overclocking capability (multiplier is locked) mean it operates within a modest power envelope, which is appropriate for a mainstream desktop build. Its PCIe Gen 3, 16-lane interface provides adequate bandwidth for the RTX 5050, which uses a PCIe 5.0 x8 connection. The data suggests that in Hitman 2, the i5-9400 is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, where GPU limitations dominate, but it could become a limiting factor in CPU-intensive scenarios at 1080p with high frame rates. For players targeting 60+ FPS at 1080p or 1440p, the i5-9400 provides sufficient processing power, though upgrading to a CPU with more threads would offer headroom for future titles or more demanding game scenes.