Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware, particularly at higher resolutions. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 across various settings and resolutions. The measured data provides a clear picture of where this combination excels and where its limitations become apparent, offering a definitive guide for optimizing the experience.

Settings Recommendations

The performance data for this CPU and GPU combination in Hitman 2 reveals a clear hierarchy across the four available presets. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 91 FPS, which is highly playable, but the step down to High yields a substantial increase to 123 FPS. The Medium preset pushes performance further to 163 FPS, while Low reaches a staggering 217 FPS. The data suggests that for players with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, providing a frame rate well above the 144 Hz threshold without sacrificing the visual fidelity that comes with the High preset.

Moving to 1440p, the differences between presets become more critical. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 58 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The High preset, however, provides a significant boost to 79 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a smooth and visually rich experience at this resolution. The Medium preset delivers 104 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual jump from Medium to High is often considered substantial in a game like Hitman 2, where detail and stealth mechanics benefit from clearer visuals. The Low preset at 139 FPS is exceptionally fast but undermines the game's atmospheric qualities.

At 4K, the GPU is heavily tasked, and the choice of settings becomes the defining factor between a playable and a slideshow-like experience. The High preset manages an average of 42 FPS, which is on the cusp of playability. The Medium preset offers 55 FPS and includes measured minimum and maximum frame rates of 47 and 64 FPS, indicating a more stable experience than the High preset's data. The Ultra preset falls to an unplayable 31 FPS. Therefore, for a 4K experience, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it is the only setting that consistently maintains a frame rate above 50 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for a smooth experience in a third-person stealth game. The Low preset at 74 FPS is an alternative for those who prioritize smoothness above all else, but the Medium preset strikes the optimal balance between performance and visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration for Hitman 2. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide ample resources for the game's detailed environments. The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace, built on a 5 nm process, includes 9728 shading units and 76 RT cores, though the game's age means ray tracing is not a factor in these results. The boost clock of 2505 MHz, up from a base of 2205 MHz, ensures the card operates at high frequencies under load, directly contributing to the frame rates observed in the data.

The benchmark results show a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the RTX 4080's role becomes more pronounced. At 1080p, the CPU is often the limiting factor, but the GPU still manages to produce frame rates well over 200 FPS at Low settings. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU's workload scales significantly, and the performance differences between presets become more defined. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 34457 and its 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs underscore its high-end positioning, which is consistent with the performance data. Its average benchmark score of 54247 places it nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a delta of only 0.1%, indicating that this specific card is performing at the top of its class, though slightly behind rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which holds a 2.6% higher average score.

The transition in frame rates from Low to Ultra settings at any resolution highlights the GPU's ability to handle varying levels of graphical complexity. The data shows that the RTX 4080 can comfortably handle the game's engine at High settings in 1080p and 1440p, but the demands of 4K Ultra prove to be too much, resulting in an average of just 31 FPS. This indicates that while the GPU is exceptionally powerful, the game's Ultra preset at 4K imposes a workload that exceeds its capabilities, necessitating a reduction in settings for a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across the three resolutions provides a clear picture of how this combination scales and where the bottleneck lies. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 123 FPS to 79 FPS, a reduction of 35.8%. This is a significant drop, but it is typical for a high-end GPU, indicating that the GPU is still the primary workhorse, but the increased pixel count is beginning to tax it. The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even more dramatic, with the average FPS plummeting from 79 to 42, a further reduction of 46.8%. This steep decline confirms that at 4K, the GPU is operating at its limits, and the sheer number of pixels being rendered is the dominant factor in performance.

This pattern is consistent across all presets. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 217 FPS at 1080p to 139 FPS at 1440p, and then to 74 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36.0% and 46.8%, respectively. The consistency of these drops across different presets indicates that the scaling is primarily resolution-driven, rather than being influenced by specific settings. The data suggests that the CPU, an Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering time becomes the limiting factor.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU are well-balanced, with the system capable of delivering very high frame rates. However, the gap between 1440p and 4K performance is substantial, indicating that the RTX 4080 is not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with this game's engine. The 4K results, even at Low settings, are only 74 FPS, which is far below the frame rates achievable at 1440p. This analysis points to the GPU as the definitive limiting component at 4K, while at 1080p and even 1440p, the system's performance is more balanced, with the CPU playing a more significant role.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is the recommended choice for 4K. It delivers an average of 55 FPS with measured minimum and maximum frame rates of 47 and 64 FPS, respectively. The High preset offers 42 FPS, and Ultra drops to 31 FPS, making them less suitable for a consistently smooth experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in terms of raw GPU compute?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209, showing a delta of just 0.1%. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which has an average score of 55698, representing a 2.6% performance deficit.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p resolution?

A: The data suggests the system is well-balanced at 1080p. With the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 3521 and an 81st percentile ranking, it is capable of supporting high frame rates. The GPU is able to push frame rates up to 217 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is not severely limiting performance, though it may prevent the GPU from reaching its absolute maximum potential.

Q: At what resolution does the GPU become the clear limiting factor?

A: The GPU becomes the definitive limiting component at 4K. The frame rate drops are most severe when moving from 1440p to 4K, with average FPS falling by 46.8% at High settings. This indicates the RTX 4080 is overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K, regardless of the quality preset.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset achieves an average of 139 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to an average of 58 FPS. This represents a 58.3% reduction in performance, showing the significant graphical workload imposed by the Ultra preset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 1232 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This places it in the top third of all configurations, which is consistent with its high-end GPU and mid-range mobile CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Hitman 2, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 1232 out of 3711 total combinations. This places the configuration in the 66.8th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the other combinations. This ranking is a reflection of the significant power of the RTX 4080, which is a top-tier graphics card, paired with a mid-range mobile processor.

The ranking is likely held back by the CPU, which, while competent, is not in the same performance tier as the GPU. The CPU's average benchmark score of 29093 places it just 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-13500HX. This indicates that while the CPU is capable, it is not a flagship part, and in a game like Hitman 2, which can be CPU-intensive at lower resolutions, this can limit the overall system's potential. The high rank reflects the GPU's dominance in most gaming scenarios, especially at higher resolutions where it is the primary driver of performance.

The combination's performance in this game aligns with its overall hardware positioning. The GPU ranks in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. The resulting combo rank of 1232 out of 3711 is a logical outcome, as the system's performance is a blend of these two components. This rank suggests that for users with this specific hardware, the experience in Hitman 2 will be strong, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, but it will not compete with systems using top-tier desktop CPUs and GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor built on Intel's Meteor Lake architecture using a 7 nm process. It features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. While the GPU is the star of the show in most gaming scenarios, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and higher frame rates. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700, indicates it has solid processing power for a mobile chip.

In Hitman 2, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p. The data shows that at Low settings, the system achieves an average of 217 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate. This suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain such performance. However, the frame rate at 1080p High is 123 FPS, and at Ultra it is 91 FPS. The scaling between these presets is less steep than the scaling between resolutions, indicating that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at these settings. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 22422 and its 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs show it is a competent performer, but it is not in the same league as high-end desktop processors.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s are adequate for gaming. Its performance is closely matched with several desktop CPUs, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, which has a near-identical average benchmark score (29123 vs 29093, a delta of -0.1%). This suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 135H performs comparably to older desktop parts, but it lacks the headroom of newer, higher-core-count processors. The data indicates that while the CPU is sufficient to avoid being a major hindrance, it is the component that prevents this system from achieving even higher rankings and frame rates at lower resolutions.