Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 produces a wide performance envelope in Hitman 2, spanning from highly playable frame rates at 1080p to a marginal experience at 4K Ultra. The measured data indicates a system that is clearly capable of delivering smooth stealth action at standard resolutions, but which also reveals a definitive performance ceiling when pushed to higher pixel counts and maximum quality settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the results against the combo's rank, and examines the specific contributions of the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 87 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 30 FPS at 4K. This represents a significant reduction in performance, with the 4K result being roughly one-third of the 1080p figure. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 32 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K costs an additional 25 FPS. This indicates that the workload on the GPU is increasing disproportionately as pixel count grows.

The behavior at the Low settings preset further confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 153 FPS, which drops to 98 FPS at 1440p and 52 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate remains below 60 FPS strongly suggests that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are being saturated by the sheer pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is a bottleneck for this resolution.

Comparing the scaling between Low and Ultra presets reveals that the GPU is also stressed by graphical complexity. At 1080p, the difference between Low (153 FPS) and Ultra (64 FPS) is 89 FPS, indicating that the increased shading, texture, and post-processing loads are heavily taxing the 3072 shading units. However, at 4K, the difference between Low (52 FPS) and Ultra (22 FPS) narrows to a 30 FPS gap. This compression of the performance range at 4K suggests that the GPU is hitting a hard limit, likely related to fill rate and memory bandwidth, where additional graphical detail cannot be fully processed because the render pipeline is already saturated. The data shows that 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the 52 FPS average is playable, but the Medium preset’s 39 FPS average and High preset’s 30 FPS average fall below the threshold for a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing Hitman 2 with this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this resolution, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 64 FPS, while High and Medium presets deliver 87 FPS and 115 FPS respectively. This provides the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay.

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

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The data shows that 4K is only playable at the Low settings preset, which yields 52 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 39 FPS, and the High preset to 30 FPS, both of which are below the generally accepted standard for smooth action. The Ultra preset at 4K is not viable, producing only 22 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 98 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 41 FPS. This is a 57 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset nearly halves the frame rate compared to Low, due to the increased load on the GPU's shading units and memory system.

Q: Which setting preset provides the highest frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at 1920x1080, reaching 153 FPS. This is significantly higher than the Medium preset's 115 FPS, suggesting that the extra visual effects in Medium have a notable performance cost.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck for this game?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rates scale inversely with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. While the CPU has 14 cores and 18 threads, the consistent FPS drops at 4K, even at Low settings, point to the RTX 4060 being unable to keep up with pixel output demands.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like for the Medium preset?

A: The measured data includes min and max FPS for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 97 FPS to 132 FPS, with an average of 115 FPS. At 1440p, it ranges from 62 FPS to 84 FPS, with an average of 73 FPS. At 4K, the range is 33 FPS to 45 FPS, with an average of 39 FPS. This shows a stable performance profile, with the spread between min and max being relatively consistent across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For this combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. The primary goal should be maintaining a frame rate above 60 FPS for a smooth stealth experience. At 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 87 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset's 115 FPS, but the 87 FPS figure is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring fluid gameplay without sacrificing too much graphical quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with its 64 FPS average, is also acceptable, but it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the High preset becomes the sweet spot, yielding 55 FPS. While this is below the 60 FPS mark, it is still within a playable range for a slower-paced stealth game. The Medium preset at 1440p offers a better frame rate at 73 FPS, but the visual fidelity drop from High to Medium is noticeable in texture detail and shadow quality. For users who prioritize frame rate, Medium at 1440p is the safer choice, as the 73 FPS average is more comfortable. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as the 41 FPS average is too low for consistent smoothness.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that the system is not well-suited for high-quality gaming. The Low preset is the only viable option, producing 52 FPS. This is playable, but the visual quality will be significantly reduced. The Medium preset at 4K, with 39 FPS, is a poor trade-off for the slight improvement in graphics. The data indicates that users should either stick to 1440p or accept Low settings at 4K. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is only 13 FPS, which is not worth the performance hit for the marginal visual gain.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo's performance in Hitman 2 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset achieves an average frame rate of 153 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 115 FPS, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. The High preset achieves 87 FPS. The Ultra preset achieves 64 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low settings preset achieves an average frame rate of 98 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. The High preset achieves 55 FPS. The Ultra preset achieves 41 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low settings preset achieves an average frame rate of 52 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. The High preset achieves 30 FPS. The Ultra preset achieves 22 FPS.

The data points show a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution or settings incurs a significant performance penalty. The 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that approaches the high refresh rate territory, while the 4K Ultra preset is the least performant, with a 22 FPS average that makes the game nearly unplayable. The Medium presets across all resolutions provide a balanced option, but the lack of a 60 FPS average at 1440p or above is a critical limitation for this hardware combination.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Hitman 2, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds a rank of 1817 out of 3001 combos. This places the system in the lower half of the performance spectrum for this particular game. The percentile data for the individual components provides context for this ranking: the CPU sits in the 79th percentile among all tested CPUs, while the GPU is in the 61st percentile among all tested GPUs. The fact that the combo ranks lower than the CPU's percentile suggests that the GPU is holding back the overall performance.

The combo's rank indicates that there are many other hardware configurations that deliver better frame rates in Hitman 2. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that the system struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K. The ranking is a holistic measure that accounts for all tested settings and resolutions, and the relatively low position reflects the GPU's limitations in this specific title. The CPU's performance is solid, but it is not enough to overcome the GPU's deficiencies.

The deltaPct values from the nearest rivals further illustrate the performance context. The CPU's average benchmark score is only 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i5-12600K, indicating that the 125H is a competitive mobile processor. The GPU's average score is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 780M, showing that the RTX 4060 is closely matched with mid-range contenders from previous generations. These results suggest that while the CPU is a strong performer, the GPU is a moderate one, which explains the combo's mid-pack ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance: it achieves 12,804.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 21,100 in Passmark multithread. This level of performance is well within the requirements for Hitman 2, a game that is not heavily CPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The CPU's role in this combo is to feed the GPU with enough data to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely sufficient, as the frame rates are high enough to indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor. However, the CPU's single-thread performance, as shown by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,647.5, is adequate for game logic and AI. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for the game's world streaming.

The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it is a better-than-average processor. Compared to its nearest rivals, it performs nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (0.1% slower) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (0.3% slower). This means that the CPU is not the reason for the combo's lower ranking in Hitman 2. The 14 cores and 18 threads are more than enough for this title, and the data shows that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands at lower resolutions. At 4K, the CPU's workload is significantly reduced, as the GPU is clearly the performance limiter.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the primary driver of the performance seen in these benchmark results. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the GPU's memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is a defining specification. The GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 19,545 places it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, which is a modest ranking.

The GPU's role in Hitman 2 is critical, and the measured FPS data shows its limitations. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a factor at 4K, where the high-resolution textures can exceed this amount, causing performance to drop. The 128-bit memory bus is also a bottleneck for the high pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. This is evident in the 4K results, where even the Low preset only achieves 52 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling to process the pixel data quickly enough.

The GPU's benchmark scores show that it is closely matched with the AMD Radeon 780M, which is an integrated graphics solution, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560. This suggests that the RTX 4060 is a mid-range GPU. The measured results in Hitman 2 align with this assessment: it is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, but it cannot maintain a smooth experience at 4K with high settings. The data indicates that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck for this combo in this game, and its 61st percentile ranking is a good predictor of its performance ceiling in demanding titles.