Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a stealth title from 2018, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination. The measured data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals the CPU's substantial headroom at 1080p. This analysis walks through the benchmark results, examining how the frame rate scales with resolution and settings, the distinct roles of the processor and graphics card, and where this specific pairing ranks among thousands of tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across resolutions demonstrates a classic pattern of GPU limitation, but with an important nuance at the top end. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 172 FPS to 110 FPS, a reduction of 62 FPS or roughly 36%. This is a significant scaling factor, indicating that the graphics card is becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. The trend continues, but with a steeper cliff, when moving to 3840x2160, where the High preset yields an average of 58 FPS—a 52 FPS drop from the 1440p result.

The scaling behavior is not perfectly linear, which tells us about the balance of the components. At 1080p, the system is capable of producing very high frame rates; the Low preset hits an average of 302 FPS. This suggests the CPU is doing its part to feed the GPU, but the GPU is still the limiting factor even here, as the frame rates are too high for the CPU to be the sole constraint. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial, from 302 FPS down to 126 FPS, showing a 176 FPS swing purely from settings changes. This indicates that while the CPU provides a high ceiling, the GPU's workload scales dramatically with graphical fidelity.

At 4K, the picture becomes clearer. The Ultra preset averages just 43 FPS, while the Low preset manages 103 FPS. The 60 FPS difference between these two extremes at 3840x2160 reinforces that the RTX 4080 is the dominant factor in determining performance. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, the CPU is largely idle, waiting on the GPU to render each frame. The scaling from 1440p to 4K on the High preset (110 to 58 FPS) is a 47% reduction, which is a greater relative drop than from 1080p to 1440p (172 to 110 FPS, a 36% reduction). This steeper decline at higher resolutions is a textbook sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel workload saturates the graphics card's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In the context of Hitman 2, the benchmark results show that this CPU provides a robust foundation, but its role is primarily to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The measured frame rates at 1080p, particularly the 302 FPS average on Low settings, demonstrate that the CPU can handle a high instruction throughput from the game engine without stalling.

The CPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 14,769 points in multi-core and 2,085 points in single-core. These figures place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs tested, indicating strong overall performance. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with the Core Ultra 5 235 trailing the i9-13900HX by just 0.1% and leading the Ryzen by the same margin. This suggests that in purely computational tasks, the CPU is competitive with some of the best mobile and desktop chips, though its 65W TDP and 14-thread count are more modest than some high-end parts.

In gaming, however, the CPU's single-threaded performance is often more critical. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,085 is high, and this translates to the ability to maintain high frame rates in less demanding scenarios. The fact that the 1080p Low preset reaches 302 FPS indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at that setting. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 126 FPS average suggests the CPU has enough headroom to keep up with the GPU's output. The data implies that the Core Ultra 5 235 is more than sufficient for Hitman 2, and its 14 cores and 24 MB of L3 cache provide ample resources for the game's AI and simulation tasks, which often scale with core count.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear performance driver in this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is crucial for high-resolution textures and detailed environments. The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace, includes 9,728 shading units and a boost clock of 2,505 MHz, allowing for a raw compute throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS. These specifications directly correlate with the measured performance scaling.

The data shows that the RTX 4080 is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. For instance, at 2560x1440, the average frame rates range from 81 FPS on Ultra to 193 FPS on Low. This wide spread indicates that the GPU's workload is heavily influenced by settings like shadow quality, reflections, and Level of Detail, which are computationally expensive. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset's 43 FPS average highlights the immense strain of rendering at 4K with maximum fidelity. The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is a key asset here, as it likely prevents texture swapping that could cause stutters, but the raw processing power is still taxed.

Compared to its closest rivals, the RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54,247, which is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, a 0.1% delta) and slightly lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, a -2.6% delta). This suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 is on par with the SUPER variant and only marginally behind some higher-performing cards. In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU's performance dictates the experience. The 1440p High preset's 110 FPS average is a strong result, but the drop to 58 FPS at 4K High shows that users targeting 4K will need to make compromises in settings to achieve smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds a rank of 255 out of 3,711 total combinations in Hitman 2. This places it in the top 7% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The high rank confirms the GPU's power, but the CPU's contribution cannot be ignored. The fact that this combo ranks so highly suggests that the Core Ultra 5 235 is not holding back the RTX 4080 in this title.

The percentile placements are also telling. The CPU is in the 89th percentile for all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile for all GPUs. The combo ranking of 255 out of 3,711, which is roughly the 93rd percentile, is higher than either individual component's percentile. This indicates a synergistic pairing where the CPU's strong single-threaded performance complements the GPU's raw power, resulting in a system that performs better than the sum of its parts. The data shows that this is not a balanced pairing in the traditional sense; the GPU is clearly the more important component for Hitman 2's frame rates, but the CPU provides a high enough ceiling to allow the GPU to operate at its full potential, especially at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 302 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the system has a very high performance ceiling at lower resolutions.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 58 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would likely need to use the Medium preset, which averages 77 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-13900HX?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46,062, which is 0.1% lower than the i9-13900HX's score of 46,098. The performance difference is negligible in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 shows a min FPS of 123 and a max FPS of 167, with an average of 145 FPS. This indicates a relatively stable frame rate, with a 44 FPS variance between the minimum and maximum.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, even at 1080p. The frame rate varies significantly with settings (302 FPS on Low vs 126 FPS on Ultra), which is a GPU-driven workload. The CPU provides a high enough frame ceiling to not be the bottleneck.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER in this context?

A: In terms of average benchmark score, the RTX 4080 scores 54,247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54,209. The performance difference is minimal, making them effectively equivalent in raw compute.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average, minimum, and maximum frame rates measured for each resolution and settings preset. All data is measured, not estimated.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

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

| 3840x2160 | High | 58 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 103 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 77 | 66 | 89 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 43 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 110 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 193 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 145 | 123 | 167 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 81 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 172 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 302 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 227 | 193 | 261 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 126 | - | - |

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For users with a 1920x1080 display, the data shows that the High preset provides an excellent balance, averaging 172 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many monitors and offers a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset without a massive performance hit. The Ultra preset, at 126 FPS, is also viable for high-refresh displays, but the 46 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains for all users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again appears to be the sweet spot, delivering an average of 110 FPS. This is ideal for 100 Hz or 120 Hz monitors. The Medium preset, at 145 FPS, offers even higher frame rates for competitive play, but the visual fidelity is reduced. The Ultra preset's 81 FPS average is playable but may not be smooth enough for fast-paced action, and the drop from High is substantial. For the best experience at 1440p, the data suggests High settings are the recommended choice, providing a strong balance of image quality and performance.

For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The High preset averages 58 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target for console-like smoothness. The Medium preset, at 77 FPS, offers a better margin and is likely the better choice for a consistent experience, even though it requires a slight reduction in visual quality. The Ultra preset's 43 FPS average is not recommended for general play, as it falls below the threshold for smooth motion. The Low preset at 103 FPS is an option for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but the graphical compromise is significant. Therefore, the Medium preset at 4K provides the best measured balance between playability and fidelity, while High settings are acceptable for those who prefer higher visual quality and can tolerate frame rates near 60 FPS.