Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, presents an interesting benchmark scenario when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. This combination produces a dataset that reveals significant performance bottlenecks and scaling characteristics, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) across various settings and resolutions provide a clear picture of where this hardware excels and where it struggles, with the data indicating a substantial gap between the CPU's and GPU's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 249, achieved with the "Low" settings preset. This is followed by 186 FPS on "Medium", 141 FPS on "High", and 104 FPS on "Ultra".

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Hitman 2?

A: The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 619th out of 3001 tested combos for this specific game, placing it in the top 21% of all recorded configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between the CPU and its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, scores 27535, which represents a negligible 0.1% difference, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between the GPU and its nearest rival?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79842. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, scores 79605, which is a 0.3% difference, showing the RTX 5090 is slightly ahead in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: Does the GPU have more VRAM than is typically needed for Hitman 2?

A: The RTX 5090 is equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. Given that the game runs at an average of 48 FPS at 4K with High settings, the data suggests that memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as the bottleneck appears to be elsewhere.

Q: At which resolution does the average FPS drop below 60 on the "High" preset?

A: At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS on "High" settings is 48. This is the only resolution tested where the "High" preset fails to maintain an average of at least 60 FPS, as 1440p yields 90 FPS and 1080p yields 141 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable piece of hardware, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. With a boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units, it is positioned as a top-tier GPU, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its aggregate benchmark score of 79842 places it just ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.1% in the nearest rival comparison.

In the context of Hitman 2, the GPU's role is paradoxical. At 1080p and 1440p, the average FPS is generally very high, indicating the GPU is more than capable of handling the game's graphical load. However, the data shows a steep decline in performance at 4K. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with "Ultra" settings is just 35, and even on "High" it only reaches 48. This suggests that while the GPU has immense raw power and memory resources, it is not being fully utilized in this game at lower resolutions. The 32 GB VRAM is far beyond what Hitman 2 requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is not the constraining factor. The performance drop at 4K is more indicative of the game's engine and the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and scene data, rather than a failure of the GPU's memory subsystem or core clocks.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination depends heavily on the target resolution. The data clearly shows that the "Ultra" preset is extremely demanding, and even at 1080p it only yields an average of 104 FPS. At 1440p, "Ultra" drops to 66 FPS, and at 4K it falls to an unplayable 35 FPS. Therefore, "Ultra" is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience at higher resolutions.

For a balance of visual fidelity and performance, the "High" preset is the most sensible choice. At 1920x1080, it delivers a very smooth 141 FPS. At 2560x1440, it maintains an excellent 90 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The only caveat is at 3840x2160, where "High" produces an average of 48 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay but is below the standard for fast-paced action.

If the goal is to maximize frame rates, especially at 4K, the "Medium" preset offers a significant performance boost. At 4K, it achieves 64 FPS, a 33% increase over "High," and provides a playable experience. The "Medium" preset also has recorded min/max FPS data (54-73 at 4K, 101-137 at 1440p, 158-214 at 1080p), indicating a stable frame pacing. For 4K gaming, "Medium" is the recommended preset to cross the 60 FPS threshold. At lower resolutions, "High" provides the best visual experience without sacrificing fluidity.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination holds the 619th position out of 3001 tested combos for Hitman 2. This ranking places it in the upper quintile of all configurations, indicating that it performs better than the majority of systems tested. However, the rank also reveals a significant mismatch in the hardware's capabilities. The GPU is a top-tier component, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU, a mobile part, ranks in the 79th percentile of all CPUs.

This discrepancy is a key insight. The combo's rank is likely pulled down by the CPU, which, despite being a 14-core, 18-thread processor, is designed for mobile platforms with a 28W TDP. Its aggregate benchmark score of 27507 is effectively tied with the desktop-class AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and Intel Core i5-12600K, but its performance characteristics in a game like Hitman 2, which can be sensitive to single-core performance, might not be sufficient to fully unlock the RTX 5090. The data suggests that the combo's overall ranking is a compromise between the GPU's top-tier potential and the CPU's more modest, mobile-oriented capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals a classic CPU bottleneck. On the "High" preset, the average FPS drops from 141 at 1920x1080 to 90 at 2560x1440, a 36% decrease. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, falling from 90 to 48 FPS, another 47% decrease. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the "Medium" preset falling from 186 to 119 to 64 FPS as resolution increases.

This scaling behavior is critical. If the GPU were the primary limiting factor, the FPS drop would be more directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. However, the disproportionate drop at 4K suggests that the CPU is struggling to keep up with the game's draw calls and physics calculations at higher resolutions. The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, with its 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.50 GHz boost clock, is being pushed to its limits. The data indicates that at 1080p, the GPU is often idle, waiting for the CPU to provide more work, resulting in high but not maximal FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU's rendering time per frame increases, eventually becoming the bottleneck at 4K, but the CPU's inability to maintain a high frame rate ceiling is the dominant factor in the mid-range resolutions. The 249 FPS at 1080p on "Low" settings reflects the GPU's raw power, but the inability to scale that performance to higher resolutions points directly at the CPU as the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS, and where available, min/max FPS, for each resolution and settings combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|:--------- |:------- |:------ |:------ |:------ |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 35 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | High | 48 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 64 | 54 | 73 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 85 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 66 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | High | 90 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 119 | 101 | 137 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 159 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 104 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | High | 141 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 186 | 158 | 214 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 249 | N/A | N/A |

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with even "Ultra" exceeding 100 FPS. The "Low" preset at 1080p achieves 249 FPS, which is likely the maximum frame rate the CPU can push, acting as a hard ceiling. At 1440p, "Ultra" becomes marginal at 66 FPS, while "High" and below remain smooth. The 4K results are the most telling, with only "Low" (85 FPS) and "Medium" (64 FPS) providing playable frame rates, and "High" and "Ultra" falling below 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a TDP of 28W. Its cache hierarchy includes an 18 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it performs admirably, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5. Its Passmark single-thread score is 3399, and its aggregate benchmark score of 27507 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role is that of a limiting factor. While its multi-threaded capabilities are respectable, the game's performance scaling suggests a dependency on single-thread performance and IPC. The 249 FPS ceiling at 1080p on "Low" settings is likely a CPU limit, as the GPU is more than capable of rendering far more frames. This is further evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving to higher resolutions, where the CPU must manage more complex scene data. The CPU's performance is essentially tied with its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and Intel Core i5-12600K, with a delta of -0.1% and -0.3% respectively. However, these are desktop parts with higher power envelopes. The data strongly suggests that for a game like Hitman 2, the Core Ultra 5 125H's mobile design, with its 28W TDP and 4.50 GHz boost clock, cannot provide the sustained single-threaded performance needed to fully saturate a GPU as powerful as the RTX 5090, making it the primary bottleneck in this pairing.