Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, remains a demanding benchmark for modern hardware, particularly at higher resolutions. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, based exclusively on the provided data. The combination ranks 2465 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of all systems tested for this specific game. The data reveals a configuration that is well-balanced at 1080p but becomes increasingly GPU-limited as resolution scales, with specific settings producing vastly different experiences.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and pronounced drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 84 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 29 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the game's rendering load scales heavily with pixel count.

This steep decline in performance points directly to the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The RTX 5060, with its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit memory bus, appears to be saturated by the pixel throughput required at 4K. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the system manages only 21 FPS, which is barely playable. In contrast, the CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions; the 1080p Low preset achieves 148 FPS, suggesting that the Core Ultra 5 135H can feed frames quickly enough when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The data suggests a classic performance curve: at 1080p, the combination is more balanced, with the CPU capable of driving high frame rates. However, the moment resolution increases, the GPU's workload expands exponentially, and the frame rate collapses. The 4K results, ranging from 21 FPS on Ultra to 51 FPS on Low, demonstrate that even the lowest settings cannot fully alleviate the GPU's struggle at this resolution. The performance drop is not linear; it is a steep cliff, confirming that for this game, the RTX 5060 is the decisive factor in determining playable resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low (148 FPS) to Medium (111 FPS) is a 25% performance hit, but the visual fidelity gain is typically substantial. The High preset (84 FPS) offers a further 24% reduction from Medium, while Ultra (62 FPS) is another 26% drop from High. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1080p, the Ultra preset is the only one that dips below that threshold, making High the optimal choice for maximizing visual quality while maintaining a comfortable frame rate margin.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset delivers 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many users. The Medium preset, at 71 FPS, becomes the best option for a fluid experience, offering a 31% performance improvement over High. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not viable for smooth gameplay, averaging only 40 FPS. The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for 1440p, balancing visual quality with a frame rate that remains above 60 FPS on average.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations are stark. The Ultra preset is unplayable at 21 FPS, and High is only marginally better at 29 FPS. The Medium preset (38 FPS) is still below the 60 FPS threshold but is the highest quality setting that achieves a frame rate above 30 FPSasi. The Low preset (51 FPS) is the only one that approaches playability, though it sacrifices most visual features. Based on the measured data, 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, it does not guarantee a locked 60 FPS. The analysis suggests that users should target 1080p for the best experience, with 1440p Medium being a strong secondary option.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Hitman 2?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo can consistently exceed 60 FPS on high settings. At 1080p High, the average is 84 FPS, while at 1440p High, it drops to 54 FPS. Therefore, 1080p is the recommended resolution for a balanced experience.

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

A: Barely. The measured 4K results are all below 60 FPS. The highest average at 4K is 51 FPS on Low settings, with Medium dropping to 38 FPS and High to 29 FPS. While technically playable on Low, the experience is not smooth enough for consistent performance.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: The performance cost is significant. The High preset averages 54 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 40 FPS. This represents a 26% performance penalty for the Ultra preset, which may not justify the visual improvements in a fast-paced stealth game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 148 FPS, indicating the CPU is capable of high frame rates. However, as settings increase, the frame rate drops, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor even at 1080p. The CPU is not the primary constraint at this resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The data includes minimum FPS values only for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the minimum is 95 FPS; at 1440p, it is 60 FPS; and at 4K, it drops to 32 FPS. These figures show that even the minimum frame rates can be quite low at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the combo's rank of 2465 out of 3711 affect expectations?

A: The rank places this combo in the lower third of all tested systems for Hitman 2. This indicates that while it can run the game, many other combinations will provide higher frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination holds a rank of 2465 out of 3711 tested combos for Hitman 2. This percentile placement suggests that the system performs worse than approximately 66% of the tested configurations. The rank is a comprehensive metric that considers all measured FPS data points across resolutions and settings. Given the game's age and the relatively modern components, this rank is surprisingly low, indicating that the specific combination of this mobile CPU and this GPU does not synergize well for this particular title.

The rank reflects a system that is not optimized for high-end gaming. While the RTX 5060 is a capable GPU, its 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus may be insufficient for the game's texture and geometry demands at higher settings. The Core Ultra 5 135H, while having 14 cores, may not provide the single-threaded performance necessary to push frame rates in a game that is not heavily multi-threaded. The data suggests that this combo is more suited for medium-quality gaming at 1080p, which aligns with its rank in the lower third of all systems.

Comparatively, the individual components have different standings. The CPU's average benchmark score is 29093, placing it in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with a score nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (delta of -0.1%). The GPU's average score is 26331, placing it in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. However, the combo's in-game rank is much lower than either component's individual percentile, suggesting a bottleneck or inefficiency specific to Hitman 2. This disconnect between component benchmarks and game performance is a key finding, implying that raw compute power does not translate directly to playable frame rates in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the dominant factor in determining Hitman 2's performance. Its specifications include 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. In the context of Hitman 2, the 8 GB memory capacity appears to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, as the frame rates drop dramatically when the rendering load increases.

The GPU's performance in this game is best illustrated by the 4K results. The average frame rate of 29 FPS on High and 21 FPS on Ultra indicates that the GPU is severely strained. The pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are not sufficient to maintain smooth performance at 4K with high detail. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p, as the CPU is likely not fully utilized when the GPU is struggling to keep up.

The RTX 5060's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a critical factor. In a game like Hitman 2, which features large, detailed environments, the GPU must constantly access textures and geometry data. The 128-bit bus width may starve the GPU of data at higher resolutions, leading to the observed frame rate drops. The fact that the Low preset at 4K (51 FPS) is nearly double the High preset (29 FPS) suggests that reducing the texture and shader load significantly alleviates the memory bandwidth pressure, allowing the GPU to operate more efficiently.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 148 FPS on Low to 62 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers an average of 111 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS. The High preset averages 84 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is the most versatile resolution, offering a wide range of playable settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 95 FPS, which is the only setting that remains above 90 FPS. The Medium preset averages 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. The High preset drops to 54 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 40 FPS. The data shows that 1440p is only playable with the Low or Medium presets if a 60 FPS target is desired.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are marginal. The Low preset averages 51 FPS, the Medium preset averages 38 FPS (with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS), the High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 21 FPS. The minimum FPS of 32 FPS at 4K Medium is particularly concerning, as it indicates significant frame pacing issues. Overall, the data reveals a clear pattern: the system is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, but the experience degrades rapidly as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with resolution. However, the CPU's single-threaded and multi-threaded performance still matters for overall system responsiveness.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700. These scores place the CPU in the 81st percentile overall. However, in Hitman 2, the CPU's performance is not the main constraint. The 1080p Low preset achieves 148 FPS, suggesting the CPU can handle the game's logic and draw calls efficiently. The drop to 84 FPS at 1080p High is more attributable to the GPU's increased workload than to CPU limitations.

The CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads are more than sufficient for a game released in 2018. The game likely does not utilize all cores effectively, and the single-threaded performance is more critical. The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz is relatively high, which should provide adequate single-threaded performance. The data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the system until the GPU is fully saturated, which occurs at higher resolutions. At 4K, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU, confirming that the GPU is the sole limiting factor in this configuration.