Hitman 2

Hitman 2, a 2018 stealth title, demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070. The measured data indicates that this combination is heavily influenced by resolution and graphical preset, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across various configurations, examines the CPU and GPU roles, and provides recommendations based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 96 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 61 FPS, a reduction of 35 FPS, and then to 33 FPS at 4K, a further reduction of 28 FPS. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling significantly with pixel count, placing increasing strain on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070.

The scaling behavior becomes even more pronounced when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 70 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this falls to 45 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to just 24 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings is 46 FPS, which is a substantial 65.7% reduction in performance. This demonstrates that while the CPU can feed frames at lower resolutions, the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated as resolution increases, particularly under the demanding Ultra preset.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system has headroom, as the CPU is more capable of keeping up with the GPU's output. However, the 4K results, especially at Medium (43 FPS) and High (33 FPS), show that the RTX 5070 is the limiting component. The difference between 1440p and 4K is larger than the difference between 1080p and 1440p, which is typical for a GPU that is being pushed to its limits. This implies that for 4K gaming, the user would need to rely on lower presets to achieve playable framerates, as even Medium settings dip below the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The benchmark data shows an average of 61 FPS for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination at 2560x1440 resolution with High settings.

Q: Does the system achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS recorded is 57 with Low settings. All other presets (Medium, High, Ultra) fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 43, 33, and 24 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 169 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 70 FPS. This represents a 99 FPS difference, with the Ultra preset being approximately 58.6% slower than Low.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium settings?

A: For the 1920x1080 Medium preset, the measured data includes a minimum FPS of 108 and a maximum FPS of 146, with an average of 127 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations in Hitman 2?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination is ranked 1635 out of 3001 tested combos for this game. This places it in the 54.5th percentile, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of all tested systems.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a mobile processor with 16 cores and 22 threads, built on Intel's Meteor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 17984.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1810.5 in single-core. This places the CPU in the 85th percentile against all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance.

In the context of Hitman 2, the CPU's role appears to be sufficient to avoid becoming a major bottleneck at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low yields 169 FPS suggests the CPU can handle the game's logic and draw calls efficiently. However, the CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is minimal. It is only 0.1% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and 0.2% slower than the Intel Core 7 250H. It is also 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845.

The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the GPU. The benchmark results suggest that as resolution increases, the CPU's influence on the final frame rate diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The data indicates that the CPU is a capable partner for the RTX 5070 in this title, providing enough headroom to let the GPU's performance dictate the outcome at higher settings. The processor's 45 W TDP is typical for a mobile part, and its performance is competitive with other high-end mobile and desktop chips, as evidenced by its Cinebench scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is ranked 1635 out of 3001 tested combinations in Hitman 2. This rank places it in the 54.5th percentile, which means it performs better than 54.5% of all tested systems. While not a top-tier performer, this is a solid mid-to-upper range result, indicating that the combo is capable of running the game well.

This ranking suggests that while the individual components are powerful, the overall system performance is not exceptional enough to break into the top echelon. The GPU's percentile rank against all GPUs is 82, and the CPU's is 85, which are both strong. However, in this specific game, the combination of these two components results in a rank that is closer to the median. This could be due to the game's optimization or the specific balance between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's performance in Hitman 2's engine.

The delta percentages from the CPU's nearest rivals are all negative, but very small (ranging from -0.1% to -0.7%). This indicates that the Core Ultra 9 185H is statistically tied with its nearest competitors in synthetic tests. Therefore, the 1635 rank is likely more influenced by the GPU's performance and how it scales with the CPU in this specific game. The data shows that the combo is not a top performer, but it is far from being a weak one, offering a balanced experience for a 2018 title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of frame rates in Hitman 2, especially at higher resolutions and settings. This GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. It has a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. The GPU's compute power is rated at 30.87 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 29137 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 82nd percentile against all GPUs.

The GPU's role is clearly defined by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 169 FPS, but this drops to 57 FPS at 4K Low. This 112 FPS difference is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering load. The GPU's memory bandwidth and capacity are also factors; the 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for this game, but the bandwidth is taxed at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is interesting. It is 0.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 0.8% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100. However, it is 1.2% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 2% slower than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. These delta percentages are small, suggesting that the RTX 5070's performance is closely matched by other professional-grade GPUs in synthetic tests, though its gaming-specific features may differ. In Hitman 2, the GPU's performance dictates that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, while 1440p requires Medium settings to stay above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably:

• Low: Average 169 FPS.
• Medium: Average 127 FPS, with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 146 FPS.
• High: Average 96 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops notably:

• Low: Average 108 FPS.
• Medium: Average 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS.
• High: Average 61 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 45 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is under significant strain:

• Low: Average 57 FPS.
• Medium: Average 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS.
• High: Average 33 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 24 FPS.

The data shows that the step from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a 35 FPS loss (from 96 to 61). The step from 1440p to 4K at High settings results in a 28 FPS loss (from 61 to 33). This indicates that the GPU's performance degrades in a non-linear fashion as resolution increases, with the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) yielding only 24 FPS, which is not a smooth gaming experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1080p gaming, the High preset is the recommended choice. It provides an average of 96 FPS, which is well above the standard 60 FPS target and offers a significant visual improvement over Medium (127 FPS) without the performance cost of Ultra (70 FPS). For users with high refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 127 FPS is a viable option, but High offers a better balance of fidelity and smoothness.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the best option for a smooth experience. It delivers an average of 81 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. The High preset at 61 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended for a consistent experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

For 4K, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 57 FPS. The Medium preset at 43 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced stealth gameplay, but it will not feel smooth in action-heavy sequences. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for 4K, as they yield 33 FPS and 24 FPS respectively, which are too low for a responsive experience.

In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is achieved by using High settings at 1080p or Medium settings at 1440p. For 4K, users must compromise with Low settings to achieve near-60 FPS performance. The data clearly shows that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, and the CPU has sufficient headroom to support lower-resolution, high-refresh-rate gaming.