Hitman 2

The pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a wide spread of frame rates in Hitman 2, with the game’s engine proving highly responsive to both resolution and the three quality presets tested. The measured data reveals a system that can dominate at 1080p and 1440p but ultimately hits a performance ceiling at 4K, where the GPU’s rasterization workload becomes the primary constraint. Across the twelve measured configurations, the combo demonstrates a clear hierarchy of performance that is consistent with the architectural capabilities of both components.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 exposes a steep performance gradient that becomes more punishing as settings increase. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 217 FPS at 1080p to 139 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 78 FPS, and then further to 74 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower settings, the CPU and GPU are working in relative balance, allowing the system to push very high frame rates at 1080p, but the pixel count increase at 1440p and 4K begins to weigh more heavily on the graphics card.

Moving to the Medium preset, the average FPS at 1080p is 163, which falls to 104 FPS at 1440p and then to 55 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 47%, showing that the cost of rendering at 4K is disproportionately higher than the step from 1080p to 1440p. The High preset follows a similar trajectory, with 123 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, starting at 91 FPS at 1080p, falling to 58 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 31 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts depending on the resolution. At 1080p, the high frame rates, particularly the 217 FPS at Low, indicate that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls to maintain very high output. However, the steep decline at 4K, especially the 31 FPS at Ultra, points to the GPU’s pixel throughput being the decisive factor. The RTX 4080’s 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, but Hitman 2’s engine demands significant fill-rate and shading resources at 4K, which limits the combo to sub-60 FPS averages on the highest preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, is the dominant component in this system’s gaming performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical resource for Hitman 2 at high resolutions where texture streaming and memory allocation are heavy. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases, with the gap between the Low and Ultra presets widening from 126 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 4K.

The card’s clock speeds, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, are high for a mobile part, and the measured FPS reflects this. At 1440p High, the average of 79 FPS shows that the GPU can handle the game’s visual complexity with headroom, while at 4K High, the 42 FPS average suggests that the GPU is working near its limits. The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is not a bottleneck in this title; the data shows that the frame rate drops are more attributable to compute and memory bandwidth demands than to capacity limitations.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 scores 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER in average benchmark score, and it is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7% in pure compute benchmarks. In Hitman 2 specifically, the GPU’s performance is strong enough to push 4K Medium to a playable 55 FPS average, but the Ultra preset’s 31 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the game’s most demanding settings are too heavy for this card at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3001 tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and RTX 4080 holds the 956th position in Hitman 2. This rank places it in the upper third of all combos tested, though it is not among the top performers. The combo’s ranking suggests that while the components are individually capable, the overall system is not optimized for the absolute highest frame rates in this specific game, likely due to the CPU’s mobile design and the GPU’s power envelope.

The CPU itself, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX, has an average benchmark score of 63173, which places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F, scores 63080, a delta of 0.1%, making them effectively equivalent in compute performance. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G scores 63331, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 trails by 0.5%. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX scores 62738, a 0.7% deficit. This indicates that the 265HX is a high-performing mobile CPU, but its rank in the game is tempered by the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.

The combo’s rank of 956 out of 3001 is a reflection of the balance between the two components. At 1080p, the system can produce frame rates that would compete with higher-ranked combos, such as the 217 FPS at Low. However, at 4K Ultra, the 31 FPS average is a significant drag on the overall ranking, pulling the combo down relative to systems with more powerful desktop-class GPUs. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high frame rates across all presets, rather than 4K, where it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear guide for the optimal settings at each resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 123 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it offers a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 91 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but the Medium preset at 163 FPS offers a significant frame rate advantage for competitive play. The Low preset’s 217 FPS is excessive for most use cases, but it demonstrates the system’s headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 79 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a solid frame rate that is close to the 60 FPS target while retaining most of the game’s visual features. The Medium preset at 104 FPS is a strong alternative for those who prefer higher frame rates, and it remains smooth. The Ultra preset at 58 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, so it may be acceptable for players who are not sensitive to minor frame rate dips, but it is not ideal. The Low preset at 139 FPS is available for maximum performance, but it sacrifices too much visual quality for the gain.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 55 FPS is the highest playable setting, though it is still below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 42 FPS is playable but not smooth, and the Ultra preset at 31 FPS is not recommended for a satisfying experience. The Low preset at 74 FPS is the only setting that achieves a comfortable frame rate at 4K, but it severely reduces the game’s visual impact. For the best overall experience, the data supports using the High preset at 1440p, where the combo delivers a strong balance of frame rate and image quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 217 FPS, the Medium preset averages 163 FPS with a minimum of 138 FPS and a maximum of 187 FPS, the High preset averages 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 91 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 126 FPS, showing a wide range of performance scaling. The Medium preset’s minimum of 138 FPS ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains high, while the maximum of 187 FPS indicates that the system can push well beyond the average in less complex areas.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 139 FPS, the Medium preset averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, the High preset averages 79 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 58 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 89 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but the Ultra preset’s 58 FPS average is below it. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 81 FPS, which is less pronounced than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming a larger factor in the performance equation.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 74 FPS, the Medium preset averages 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, the High preset averages 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 47 FPS shows that there are scenes where the frame rate dips below 50 FPS, which can be noticeable. The Ultra preset’s 31 FPS average is a significant drop from the High preset’s 42 FPS, indicating that the Ultra settings introduce a substantial additional load on the GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for gaming workloads. In Hitman 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough to potentially expose CPU bottlenecks. The 217 FPS average at Low settings suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates, but the scaling to higher settings shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as the workload increases.

The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and a single-core score of 5737, indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4500 is competitive, and the data shows that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck in this game at resolutions above 1080p. However, the combo’s rank of 956 out of 3001 suggests that the CPU’s mobile design, with a 55 W TDP, may limit sustained performance compared to desktop-class alternatives.

The nearest rival CPUs, such as the Intel Core i7-13790F with a 0.1% higher average score, show that the 265HX is on par with previous-generation desktop parts in raw compute. However, in gaming, the CPU’s performance is sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4080 at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU is the primary constraint. The data indicates that the CPU’s 20 cores and high boost clock are more than adequate for Hitman 2’s engine, which is known for being well-optimized for multi-threaded workloads. The measured FPS at 1080p Low, where the CPU is most stressed, shows no signs of a bottleneck, as the frame rate exceeds 200 FPS.