Hitman 2

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a wide spread of performance in Hitman 2, ranging from a highly playable 132 FPS average at 1080p High to a demanding 33 FPS average at 4K Ultra. This combination ranks 791st out of 3001 tested combos, placing it in the upper quartile of all systems tested for this title. The data reveals a system with substantial headroom at lower resolutions but one that becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution and settings scale upward.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 5080 produce a 132 FPS average at 1920x1080 with High settings, indicating a smooth experience for most displays.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and 0.2% behind the Intel Core 7 250H, making these processors effectively equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5080 sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56083, placing it ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S by 0.6% and behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%.

Q: Does the frame rate drop significantly when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 Medium, the average FPS is 112, compared to 175 at 1920x1080 Medium, representing a 36% reduction in average frame rate when resolution increases.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The peak average comes at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the combo achieves 233 FPS, highlighting the CPU's ability to feed the GPU at lower graphical loads.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5080 have and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Hitman 2's requirements at all tested settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 378 mm² containing 45,600 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2617 MHz, with memory running at 1875 MHz for 30 Gbps effective speed. This configuration delivers 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, alongside 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, making it a high-end mobile-class part despite its desktop-oriented specifications.

In Hitman 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly pronounced as settings rise. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 33, which is a 58% reduction from the 79 FPS average at 4K Low. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5080's shading and rasterization throughput is the primary constraint at maximum quality presets. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured runs, as even the highest settings at 3840x2160 do not appear to exceed available memory, given that no outlier frame drops are recorded beyond the expected average.

The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores suggest headroom for ray-traced or DLSS-enhanced workloads, though Hitman 2's measured data does not include such features. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth provides ample data throughput for the game's texture streaming, contributing to the solid frame pacing observed at Medium settings where min/max FPS are recorded. At 2560x1440 Medium, the 95 FPS minimum and 128 FPS maximum indicate consistent performance, with the GPU maintaining a stable output despite the CPU's 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth being significantly lower than the GPU's.

The RTX 5080's percentile ranking of 87 and average benchmark score of 56083 place it in a competitive position, though the measured Hitman 2 results show that even this powerful GPU struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data suggests that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads become more relevant to sustaining high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that shifts the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 233 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 132 FPS on High and 97 FPS on Ultra. This 58% reduction from Low to Ultra at 1080p indicates that even at the lowest resolution, the GPU's workload increases substantially with quality settings, though the CPU still manages to feed it adequately.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low setting average falls to 149 FPS, a 36% drop from the 1080p Low result. The High setting at 1440p yields 84 FPS, a 36% reduction from 1080p High, while Ultra at 1440p produces 62 FPS, a 36% decline from 1080p Ultra. This consistent 36% scaling factor across settings suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting component at 1440p, as the resolution increase demands proportionally more pixel throughput.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more severe. Low settings produce 79 FPS, a 47% drop from 1440p Low. Medium at 4K delivers 60 FPS, a 46% reduction from 1440p Medium's 112 FPS. High at 4K falls to 45 FPS, a 46% decline from 1440p High's 84 FPS, and Ultra at 4K plummets to 33 FPS, a 47% drop from 1440p Ultra's 62 FPS. The consistent 46-47% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings confirms that the RTX 5080's raw pixel throughput is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the CPU has ample headroom given its strong single-thread performance.

The data shows that the transition from 1080p to 1440p introduces a moderate bottleneck shift, while the jump to 4K fully saturates the GPU. At 1080p Low, the 233 FPS average suggests the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU could likely render more frames if fed faster. At 4K Ultra, the 33 FPS average is entirely GPU-bound, with the CPU's 1810.5 Cinebench R23 single-core score being more than sufficient for the game's AI and simulation demands. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth of the CPU is also not a bottleneck, as the GPU's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth handles the bulk of texture data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a progressive decline from Low to Ultra settings. Low settings deliver a 233 FPS average, which represents the highest frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce a 175 FPS average with a 148 FPS minimum and 201 FPS maximum, indicating very consistent frame pacing. High settings yield 132 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 97 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 58 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 43 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 35 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales similarly but with lower absolute values. Low settings achieve 149 FPS, Medium delivers 112 FPS with a 95 FPS minimum and 128 FPS maximum, High reaches 84 FPS, and Ultra falls to 62 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 37 FPS, Medium to High is 28 FPS, and High to Ultra is 22 FPS. The min/max spread at Medium settings narrows from 53 FPS at 1080p to 33 FPS at 1440p, suggesting that the GPU's frame delivery becomes more stable as resolution increases, likely due to reduced CPU-side variability.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop considerably across all settings. Low settings produce 79 FPS, Medium delivers 60 FPS with a 51 FPS minimum and 68 FPS maximum, High reaches 45 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. The min/max spread at Medium is 17 FPS, which is the tightest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and delivering frames at a steady rate. The average FPS at 4K Ultra of 33 is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth, making this preset unsuitable for competitive play or fast-paced action.

The data shows that the 4K Medium setting provides a playable 60 FPS average, while 4K High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS. At 1440p, all settings exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra reaching 62 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for maximum quality. At 1080p, all settings exceed 97 FPS, providing a high-refresh-rate experience even at Ultra. The measured FPS values consistently show that the RTX 5080's performance scales predictably with settings, with no anomalous dips or spikes beyond the recorded min/max values.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 791st out of 3001 tested combinations for Hitman 2, placing it in the 74th percentile of all systems. This ranking reflects a strong overall performance, though the CPU's average benchmark score of 35670 and the GPU's 56083 average score suggest that other combinations with higher-end CPUs or GPUs will outperform this pairing in this specific title.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance ceiling. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 has an average score of 35719, which is 0.1% higher than the Core Ultra 9 185H, while the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728, 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35802, 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909, 0.7% higher. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in Hitman 2's performance, as the game's frame rates are largely GPU-dependent at higher settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The AMD Radeon 8060S has an average score of 55757, which is 0.6% lower than the RTX 5080's 56083, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, 2.3% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher. These small deltas suggest that the RTX 5080 is competitively positioned among its peers, though the RX 9070 GRE holds a slight edge in synthetic benchmarks.

The combo's rank of 791 out of 3001 means that approximately 26% of tested combinations deliver better performance in Hitman 2. This is a respectable position, given that the CPU is a mobile part (45 W TDP) while the GPU is a high-end desktop-class component. The 233 FPS average at 1080p Low demonstrates that this combo can handle high-refresh-rate gaming, while the 33 FPS at 4K Ultra shows its limitations at the highest fidelity. The data indicates that the combo's ranking is driven more by the GPU than the CPU, as the CPU's performance is nearly identical to several rivals with much lower average scores.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all settings provide playable frame rates, with Low delivering 233 FPS, Medium 175 FPS, High 132 FPS, and Ultra 97 FPS. For a 144 Hz display, High settings at 1080p offer the best balance, as the 132 FPS average is close to the refresh rate while providing better visual quality than Medium. For a 240 Hz display, Low settings at 233 FPS are the only option that fully saturates the refresh rate, though Medium at 175 FPS is still a strong choice for most users.

At 2560x1440, the recommended settings shift toward higher presets. Ultra delivers 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the best visual quality. High settings at 84 FPS offer more headroom for VRR displays and are recommended for competitive play where frame rate is prioritized. Medium at 112 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, as it provides a smooth experience with reduced graphical fidelity. Low at 149 FPS is only necessary for extreme refresh rate displays or when minimizing input latency.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Medium settings deliver 60 FPS, which is the minimum for a smooth experience on standard 60 Hz displays. High settings at 45 FPS and Ultra at 33 FPS fall below this threshold and may result in noticeable stuttering or input lag. For 4K gaming, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a playable frame rate while still offering reasonable visual quality. Low settings at 79 FPS are viable for 4K displays with higher refresh rates, but the visual compromise may not be worth the frame rate gain.

The data suggests that the combo is best utilized at 1440p with High or Ultra settings, where it delivers 84 FPS and 62 FPS respectively, providing a balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p, the system has significant headroom, and users can prioritize either maximum frame rates with Low settings or near-maximum quality with Ultra settings. At 4K, the system is limited to Medium settings for a playable experience, and users seeking higher quality should consider reducing resolution or accepting lower frame rates. The min/max FPS data at Medium settings across all resolutions shows consistent frame pacing, making Medium a reliable choice for users who prioritize stability over absolute visual quality.