Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combo ranks in the 1817th position out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, indicating that while this pairing is far from the top tier for this title, it is also not at the bottom. The rank suggests that the combination is adequate for baseline play but will require compromises in settings to achieve higher frame rates, particularly at elevated resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1817 out of 3001 places it in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 40% of tested systems perform worse. This is a mid-pack result for a stealth game that is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The data indicates that the CPU and GPU are both capable components individually, but their combined performance in this specific title lands them in a crowded middle ground. The ranking implies that users should not expect top-tier performance, but the system will handle the game without being a bottleneck for casual play.

Benchmark results show the CPU achieving an 83rd percentile ranking against all CPUs, which is solidly above average. The GPU, in contrast, sits at a 61st percentile against all GPUs. The disparity between these two percentile figures is telling: the processor is a stronger relative performer than the graphics card. This imbalance suggests that in Hitman 2, the graphics card is likely to be the limiting factor in most scenarios, a hypothesis supported by the resolution scaling data discussed later.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). These specifications are moderate for a modern discrete GPU, and the 61st percentile ranking reflects this.

In Hitman 2, the GPU’s role is crucial, but the VRAM capacity is a notable constraint. At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to deliver strong performance, as seen in the measured FPS data. However, the 8 GB VRAM becomes a limiting factor as resolution increases. The game’s texture and geometry demands at higher settings can push against this limit, which likely contributes to the significant frame rate drops observed at 4K. The RTX 4060’s 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs are adequate for 1080p gaming, but the data shows that the card struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Ultra settings, where the average FPS falls to 22.

The GPU’s 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance is a reasonable figure for its class, but the game’s engine appears to be sensitive to the memory bandwidth and capacity. The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the data indicates a clear performance cliff. This suggests that the GPU’s memory subsystem, rather than its raw compute power, is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which points directly to the GPU being the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 153 FPS. This drops to 98 FPS at 1440p and further to 52 FPS at 4K. This scaling shows a reduction of 36% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. For example, at High settings, the average FPS goes from 87 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p to 30 at 4K. This represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets indicates that the scaling is primarily driven by the resolution itself, not by the specific settings. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has 16 cores and 22 threads, which is more than sufficient for a title released in 2018. The resolution scaling shows that performance is heavily dependent on the GPU’s workload. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would not drop so dramatically with resolution increases. The fact that 4K Ultra yields only 22 FPS while 1080p Low yields 153 FPS is definitive evidence that the graphics card is the primary constraint.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently delivers high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average is 153 FPS, and even at Ultra, it maintains 64 FPS. At 1440p, the average FPS ranges from 41 on Ultra to 98 on Low, while at 4K, the average falls to between 22 and 52 FPS. For a smooth experience, 1080p is the recommended target.

Q: How does the RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The measured data shows a sharp drop in performance at 4K across all settings. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 22, which is unplayable. The 8 GB VRAM is likely insufficient for the game’s high-resolution textures at Ultra settings, contributing to this poor result. Even at 4K Low, the average is only 52 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling with the resolution itself, not just the settings.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H ranks in the 83rd percentile for CPUs, and its 16 cores and 22 threads are more than adequate for Hitman 2. The resolution scaling shows that frame rates drop consistently with increasing resolution, which is a clear sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor here.

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

A: At 1440p, the average FPS on Low settings is 98, while on Ultra settings it drops to 41. This represents a 58% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset. The gap is significant, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the Ultra settings at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo’s GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666, a 0.2% difference, while the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, a 0.3% difference. These are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the RTX 4060’s raw performance is statistically equivalent to these competing parts.

Q: What is the expected performance at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers an average of 115 FPS, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. This is a very playable frame rate that provides a smooth experience for a stealth game. The minimum FPS indicates that the game remains fluid even in demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo’s performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo performs strongly. With Low settings, the average FPS is 153. Medium settings yield an average of 115 FPS, with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 132. High settings produce an average of 87 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 64 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this hardware, with all settings delivering at least 64 FPS on average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 98 FPS. Medium settings average 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 and a maximum of 84. High settings average 55 FPS. Ultra settings average 41 FPS. At this resolution, the combo is still capable of delivering playable frame rates on Medium and Low settings, but High and Ultra require compromises.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal. Low settings average 52 FPS. Medium settings average 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45. High settings average 30 FPS. Ultra settings average 22 FPS. At 4K, the combo is only playable on Low settings, and even then, the average frame rate is below 60 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this pairing in Hitman 2.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep. For example, High settings drop from 87 FPS at 1080p to 30 FPS at 4K, a 65% reduction. Low settings drop from 153 FPS to 52 FPS, a 66% reduction. This consistent drop across settings underscores the GPU’s inability to handle the pixel throughput required at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and a single-core score of 1743. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 32697, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The data suggests that the CPU is more than capable of this task. The game was released in 2018, and its CPU demands are relatively modest. The 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s single-threaded tasks, as evidenced by the strong single-core performance in benchmarks.

The nearest rivals to the CPU include the Intel Core i5-14600T and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, both of which have nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Core Ultra 7 155H’s score of 32697 is within 0.2% of the i5-14600T’s 32707. This indicates that the CPU’s performance is competitive with other mid-range processors, and it should not be a source of bottleneck in this game.

The CPU’s 28 W TDP is low, which is typical for a mobile processor. This suggests that the CPU is power-efficient, but it also means that sustained performance may be limited by thermal constraints in a thin-and-light laptop. However, the benchmark results show that the CPU is capable of delivering strong multi-threaded performance when needed. For Hitman 2, the CPU’s performance is a non-issue, as the GPU is clearly the limiting factor in all but the lowest resolution and settings.