Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 to deliver a fascinating, if somewhat lopsided, performance profile in Hitman 2. The data reveals a system where the GPU is overwhelmingly dominant, and the CPU’s role shifts dramatically depending on the resolution and settings chosen. This combination, ranked 110th out of 3001 tested combos in this game, demonstrates that even a mid-range processor can support a flagship graphics card when the workload scales appropriately.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, boosting up to 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In the context of Hitman 2, a stealth game from 2018, this CPU configuration proves more than adequate to feed the RTX 4090, but the data shows its influence wanes as resolution increases. The CPU’s performance percentile stands at 85, meaning it outperforms 85% of all CPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score is 36938. This places it in a dead heat with its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945 avg, 0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018 avg, -0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093 avg, -0.4% delta), and Intel Core i9-12900T (37112 avg, -0.5% delta). These near-identical scores suggest that for this game, the Ultra 5 225 is effectively interchangeable with those competitors in CPU-bound scenarios.

The processor’s cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. In a game like Hitman 2, which features large, dense environments with many AI characters, the L3 cache is likely critical for maintaining consistent frame pacing. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 334 FPS average, which is extraordinarily high and indicates the CPU can saturate the GPU even at such a low graphical load. The fact that the Ultra 5 225 achieves this with only 10 threads, rather than relying on high core counts, points to strong single-core performance. Indeed, its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and PassMark single-thread score of 4412 are robust figures, though the data does not directly correlate these to game performance. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz is likely the primary driver here, as Hitman 2’s engine historically responds well to high-frequency cores rather than sheer core counts. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 also appears sufficient, as no memory-related stutters are evident in the min FPS figures at Medium settings.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its nearest rival in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ultra 5 225’s average benchmark score is 36938, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945 (0% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D by just 0.2% (37018), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 by 0.4% (37093), and the Intel Core i9-12900T by 0.5% (37112). Effectively, these four CPUs are performance twins.

Q: What is the best 4K result for this combo in Hitman 2?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is achieved at Low settings with 114 FPS. Medium settings yield 85 FPS (min 73, max 98), High settings produce 65 FPS, and Ultra drops to 48 FPS. There is no scenario where the combo exceeds 114 FPS at 4K.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 become the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests that at 1920x1080, the GPU is the limiting factor. At Low settings, the combo reaches 334 FPS, at Medium 251 FPS (min 213, max 288), at High 190 FPS, and at Ultra 140 FPS. These enormous frame rates indicate the CPU is pushing far more frames than the GPU can render, as evidenced by the massive gap between Low and Ultra settings.

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

A: This specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 110th out of 3001 tested combos in the database. This puts it in the top 3.7% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The only min FPS values provided are for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the min is 213 FPS; at 2560x1440, the min is 136 FPS; and at 3840x2160, the min is 73 FPS. No min FPS figures are available for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

Q: Is the RTX 4090’s performance percentile higher than the CPU’s?

A: Yes. The RTX 4090 has a percentileVsAllGpus of 88, while the Ultra 5 225 has a percentileVsAllCpus of 85. This three-point difference indicates the GPU is relatively stronger in its own market than the CPU is in its respective market.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals a textbook pattern of GPU-bound behavior. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the average FPS at High settings drops from 190 to 121 to 65. This represents a 36% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65.8%, which is substantial but expected for a game pushing that many more pixels. At Low settings, the progression is 334 FPS (1080p) to 214 FPS (1440p) to 114 FPS (4K) — a similar relative decline, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor even when the graphical load is minimal. The fact that the 1080p Low result of 334 FPS is nearly three times the 4K Low result of 114 FPS illustrates just how heavily pixel throughput dictates performance here.

What is particularly telling is the Medium settings data, which includes min FPS figures. At 1080p Medium, the average is 251 FPS with a min of 213 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 160 FPS with a min of 136 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 85 FPS with a min of 73 FPS. The min FPS values scale proportionally with the averages, suggesting no sudden CPU-related frame hitches. This consistency implies the CPU is maintaining a stable frame delivery pipeline, and the performance degradation is purely a function of GPU rendering load. The Ultra preset shows the steepest relative drop: 140 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that many gamers consider playable, indicating that even the RTX 4090 struggles with maximum settings at 4K in this title. The data clearly points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at all resolutions, with the CPU never appearing to limit performance given the extraordinarily high frame rates observed at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a comboRankInGame of 110 out of 3001 tested combinations. This ranking places the system in the 96th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Hitman 2, meaning it outperforms 96.3% of other configurations. However, the rank is somewhat paradoxical given the components involved. The RTX 4090 is an end-of-life flagship GPU with a percentileVsAllGpus of 88, while the Ultra 5 225 is a mainstream desktop CPU with a percentileVsAllCpus of 85. A system built around such a powerful GPU would theoretically rank higher if paired with a more capable CPU, but the data suggests that Hitman 2 does not heavily tax the processor, allowing this mid-range CPU to keep pace with more expensive counterparts.

The fact that this combo ranks 110th, rather than higher, likely reflects the presence of other tested combos with faster CPUs that deliver marginally better performance in CPU-limited scenarios. Yet, given that the CPU’s nearest rivals all have nearly identical average scores (within 0.5% of each other), the ranking differential must come from elsewhere — possibly from how the CPU interacts with the GPU in specific game workloads. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 334 FPS, which is exceptional, but the ranking suggests that other combos with higher-end CPUs (like Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 parts) might push even higher frame rates in the least demanding scenarios. The 110th rank out of 3001 is still an outstanding result, placing this system well ahead of the vast majority of configurations, but it also indicates that for pure maximum FPS chasing, a stronger CPU would be required to fully exploit the RTX 4090’s potential in Hitman 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 334 FPS (no min/max provided). Medium settings yield 251 FPS average, with a min of 213 and max of 288. High settings achieve 190 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 140 FPS average. These figures show a clear progression where each step up in settings costs approximately 50-60 FPS, with Low to Medium costing 83 FPS, Medium to High costing 61 FPS, and High to Ultra costing 50 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 214 FPS, Medium at 160 FPS (min 136, max 184), High at 121 FPS, and Ultra at 89 FPS. The deltas between settings are 54 FPS (Low to Medium), 39 FPS (Medium to High), and 32 FPS (High to Ultra). The shrinking gaps as settings increase suggest diminishing returns from graphical presets at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data shows: Low at 114 FPS, Medium at 85 FPS (min 73, max 98), High at 65 FPS, and Ultra at 48 FPS. The settings deltas are 29 FPS (Low to Medium), 20 FPS (Medium to High), and 17 FPS (High to Ultra). At 4K, the differences between presets compress further, indicating that the GPU is so heavily loaded that the relative cost of each setting level decreases. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the only average below 60 FPS in the entire dataset, making it the only potentially unplayable configuration for smooth gameplay. The min FPS at 4K Medium (73 FPS) is notably higher than the average at 4K Ultra (48 FPS), suggesting that even a single setting tier drop can provide a significant performance safety margin.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based strictly on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings produce well above 60 FPS, with even Ultra achieving 140 FPS. However, the jump from High (190 FPS) to Ultra (140 FPS) costs 50 FPS, which may not be worth the visual fidelity gain unless the user has a high-refresh-rate monitor capable of 140 Hz or more. For most 1080p users, Medium at 251 FPS or High at 190 FPS provide the best balance, as both far exceed any standard monitor’s refresh rate, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is likely marginal relative to the 26% FPS hit.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation becomes clearer. Ultra at 89 FPS is still smooth for most players, but High at 121 FPS offers a 36% improvement over Ultra while presumably sacrificing some graphical detail. Medium at 160 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors (144 Hz or 165 Hz), as it exceeds those thresholds. Low at 214 FPS is excessive for any current display and would only be useful for benchmark purposes. The sweet spot for 1440p appears to be High settings, which delivers 121 FPS average — comfortably above 60 FPS and close to 120 Hz capabilities.

At 3840x2160, the data presents a tougher choice. Ultra at 48 FPS is below the desired 60 FPS threshold and would likely exhibit noticeable stutter on a 60 Hz display. High at 65 FPS just barely crosses the 60 FPS line, making it the minimum viable preset for smooth 4K gameplay. Medium at 85 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS with a min of 73 FPS, ensuring no drops below the refresh rate. Low at 114 FPS is the best option for those wanting to maximize performance, but the visual downgrade from Medium to Low is substantial. For 4K, Medium settings offer the best trade-off, delivering 85 FPS average and 73 FPS minimum, which guarantees a fluid experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the extraordinary performance observed. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. For Hitman 2, a game from 2018, this memory configuration is massively overprovisioned, but it ensures zero texture streaming issues even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s base clock is 2235 MHz, boosting to 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, deliver a FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS. The RTX 4090’s percentileVsAllGpus is 88, and its average benchmark score is 60347, placing it far above the CPU’s relative standing.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326 avg, 0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140 avg, 0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896 avg, -2.5% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58657 avg, 2.9% delta). These rival comparisons are interesting because they show the RTX 4090 is actually slightly behind some professional cards in average benchmark scores, despite being a gaming flagship. This likely reflects the different workloads these benchmarks measure, but in Hitman 2 specifically, the RTX 4090’s raw rasterization power shines through. The GPU’s pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are the key specifications driving the high FPS numbers, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU can feed frames quickly enough.

The 24 GB VRAM is far more than Hitman 2 requires, but it means the game never has to swap assets, contributing to the stable min FPS figures observed at Medium settings. The GPU’s TDP of 450 W and triple-slot design indicate a power-hungry component, but the fact that it is now end-of-life (released 2022-09-19) and succeeded by the GeForce 50 series does not diminish its current performance. In this game, the RTX 4090 is the clear performance driver, with the Ultra 5 225 serving as a capable but secondary partner. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU is still the bottleneck, as the CPU’s measured benchmarks suggest it could deliver higher frame rates if the GPU were faster. This lopsided pairing, ranked 110th out of 3001, demonstrates that for Hitman 2, the GPU choice matters far more than the CPU, making this an ideal combination for gamers prioritizing graphical fidelity over raw CPU-bound frame rates.