Hitman 2

# Hitman 2 — Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a benchmark profile in Hitman 2 that is dominated by the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 24 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock ensure the frame rate ceiling is rarely constrained by processor throughput. Measured results span from 334 FPS at 1080p Low to 48 FPS at 4K Ultra, with the data indicating a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at lower settings to GPU-bound behavior as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a consistent and steep drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is characteristic of a system where the RTX 4090's rendering load becomes the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 334 at 1080p to 214 at 1440p, a reduction of 120 FPS, and then to 114 at 4K, another 100 FPS drop. This scaling pattern—roughly a 36% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a further 47% decrease from 1440p to 4K—indicates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom with 24 threads.

At Medium settings, the same resolution progression shows 251 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are somewhat smaller than at Low, suggesting that the additional graphical work at Medium settings does not disproportionately burden the GPU relative to the CPU. However, the absolute FPS loss from 1080p to 4K is 166 FPS, which is a 66% reduction. This indicates that the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 384-bit bus are being exercised heavily, but the card still maintains playable frame rates at 4K Medium.

High settings present a slightly different pattern: 190 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 65 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 69 FPS (36%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 56 FPS (46%). This suggests that the transition to 4K imposes a nearly constant relative penalty across settings, which is expected for a game like Hitman 2 that scales rendering resolution linearly with pixel count. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 140 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K—a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU can keep the RTX 4090 well-fed, as the FPS figures exceed typical high-refresh-rate thresholds. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the clear limiter, with the Ultra preset dropping below 60 FPS. The scaling behavior suggests that users targeting 4K should expect to sacrifice either resolution or graphical fidelity, as the RTX 4090 cannot maintain high frame rates at maximum settings in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In Hitman 2, this specific CPU-GPU combination achieves a combo rank of 110 out of 3001 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3.7% of all systems evaluated. This rank reflects the overall frame rate performance across all measured resolutions and settings, and the high standing is consistent with the raw hardware capabilities: the RTX 4090 is in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of CPUs.

The combo rank of 110 indicates that while this is a very high-performing pairing, it is not the absolute fastest for Hitman 2. The top 109 combinations presumably include more recent or more specialized hardware, but the data in this pack does not specify which those are. What is clear is that the 110th rank out of 3001 is a strong result, especially given that the GPU is rated at the 88th percentile and the CPU at the 96th percentile, meaning both components are above average but not at the extreme top of their respective hierarchies.

The nearest rivals for the CPU in synthetic benchmarks—Intel Xeon 6520P, AMD EPYC 4564P, AMD EPYC 9175F, and AMD EPYC 4565P—have average scores within 2.1% of the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, but those are server-class processors not typically paired with a GeForce RTX 4090 in gaming systems. The GPU's nearest rivals, including Intel Arc Pro A60 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, are workstation cards with average scores within 2.9% of the RTX 4090, yet none of those would produce similar gaming frame rates due to architectural differences. The combo rank therefore reflects the synergy of this particular pairing rather than the performance of either component in isolation.

Benchmark results indicate that the system's performance in Hitman 2 is not limited by the CPU, given that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has a PassMark multithread score of 68,574 and a single-thread score of 5,068, both of which are far above what this game requires. The rank of 110 is more likely constrained by the GPU's absolute performance ceiling at 4K Ultra, where the RTX 4090 produces only 48 FPS, pulling the overall average down despite stellar results at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, with base and boost clocks of 2235 MHz and 2520 MHz respectively. In Hitman 2, these specifications translate to the frame rates measured across the four settings presets. The 24 GB capacity is far beyond the requirements of this 2018 title, meaning memory capacity is never a constraint; instead, the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth determine performance at higher resolutions.

The RTX 4090's 16,384 shading units and 512 TMUs provide substantial fill rate, with a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. These figures explain why the card achieves 334 FPS at 1080p Low, where pixel throughput is not a bottleneck. As resolution increases, the pixel workload grows quadratically, and the card's 176 ROPs must handle the output, which is why 4K Ultra drops to 48 FPS—the pixel rate becomes the limiting factor at that extreme setting.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is more than sufficient for Hitman 2's DirectX 12 rendering path, but the game's compute shaders and lighting models do not appear to scale perfectly with this card's architecture. The measured FPS at 4K High (65 FPS) versus 4K Medium (85 FPS) shows a 20 FPS difference, indicating that the High preset's additional effects (likely shadow quality and reflections) impose a significant but not insurmountable load. The 4K Low result of 114 FPS demonstrates that when graphical effects are stripped away, the RTX 4090 can still deliver high frame rates even at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 and a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 place it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. In Hitman 2, the GPU's performance is strongest at 1080p and 1440p, where it can push well beyond 144 Hz at High settings, but at 4K, it settles into a range that requires settings adjustments for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings is as follows: Low 334, Medium 251, High 190, Ultra 140. The Medium preset also records a minimum FPS of 213 and a maximum of 288, indicating tight frame pacing. These figures show that at 1080p, the RTX 4090 is rarely constrained, and the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's 5.50 GHz boost clock helps ensure the CPU does not bottleneck even at Low settings where draw calls dominate.

At 2560x1440, the averages are Low 214, Medium 160, High 121, Ultra 89. The Medium preset shows a min-max range of 136 to 184 FPS, which is a wider spread than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU's workload is becoming more variable at this resolution. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 32 FPS (from 121 to 89), which is a 26% reduction, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely ambient occlusion and shadow resolution) are expensive.

At 3840x2160, the averages are Low 114, Medium 85, High 65, Ultra 48. The Medium preset has a min-max range of 73 to 98 FPS, which shows significant frame time variance even at this setting. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K is 17 FPS (from 65 to 48), a 26% reduction similar to 1440p, but the absolute values are low enough that Ultra becomes borderline unplayable. The 4K Low result of 114 FPS is the only 4K setting that approaches high-refresh-rate territory.

Across all resolutions and settings, the data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings reduces FPS by roughly 20-30%, with the largest absolute drops occurring at the Low-to-Medium transition at each resolution. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (140) is higher than the 1440p High (121), which is higher than the 4K Medium (85), illustrating that users can trade resolution and settings to achieve a target frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 160 FPS and a minimum of 136 FPS. This combination ensures that frame rates never dip below 136 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. At this setting, the game maintains fluid motion without the significant FPS penalty of the Ultra preset, which drops to 89 FPS at 1440p.

For users with 1080p displays, the High preset at 190 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it provides a substantial improvement over Medium (251 FPS) in visual fidelity while still delivering frame rates far beyond what most monitors can display. The Ultra preset at 1080p (140 FPS) is also viable, but the 50 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual gains for competitive play.

At 4K, the data suggests that Medium is the highest playable setting, with an average of 85 FPS and a minimum of 73 FPS. The High preset at 65 FPS average is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 48 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. Users with 4K displays should start at Medium and only consider High if they can tolerate occasional frame dips below 60 FPS.

The Low preset at any resolution produces very high frame rates (334 FPS at 1080p, 214 FPS at 1440p, 114 FPS at 4K), but this setting strips away most graphical effects, which is counterproductive for a stealth game where visual clarity matters. The optimal recommendation is to prioritize Medium or High at 1080p or 1440p, and Medium at 4K, to maintain both playability and visual quality.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 334, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this pairing in Hitman 2.

Q: Can this system run Hitman 2 at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 85 with a minimum of 73, while at 4K Low it is 114. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset affect performance compared to High?

A: At each resolution, the Ultra preset reduces average FPS by approximately 26% compared to High. Specifically, 1080p drops from 190 to 140 FPS, 1440p from 121 to 89 FPS, and 4K from 65 to 48 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 110 out of 3001 tested combos in Hitman 2, placing it in the top 3.7% of all systems evaluated.

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

A: At 1080p, the data shows very high frame rates (140-334 FPS depending on settings), indicating that the CPU with 24 cores and a 5.50 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the RTX 4090, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor only at higher settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 Medium is 136, with a maximum of 184 and an average of 160. This setting provides the most consistent frame pacing among the measured configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, built on a 3 nm process with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. In Hitman 2, these specifications ensure that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p where the processor must handle game logic and draw calls alongside the GPU. The PassMark single-thread score of 5,068 and multithread score of 68,574 confirm that both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads are handled with ample headroom.

The game's reliance on single-thread performance is typical for a stealth title from 2018, and the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is well-suited to this. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,439 and multi-core score of 44,253 place this CPU in the 96th percentile of all processors, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs available. In Hitman 2, this translates to the ability to maintain frame rates above 140 FPS even at 1080p Ultra, which is a CPU-intensive scenario due to the high frame rate requiring rapid draw call processing.

The CPU's 24 threads are more than sufficient for Hitman 2, which does not scale particularly well with core counts beyond eight or so. The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 334 FPS, which is likely near the engine's internal limit rather than a CPU constraint. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further, as the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant factor, and the frame rate drops to 48-114 FPS depending on settings.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is adequate for feeding the RTX 4090's 24 GB frame buffer, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for GPU data transfer. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is not used for gaming in this configuration, but its presence does not detract from performance. Overall, the CPU's contribution to Hitman 2 performance is to ensure that the GPU is never starved for data, allowing the RTX 4090 to reach its full potential at every resolution and setting.