Rust

This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination as tested in Rust, using measured FPS data and benchmark scores. The pairing represents a mid-range CPU with an enthusiast-class GPU, creating a distinct performance profile that varies significantly by resolution and settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 5 8400F demonstrates a multi-threaded benchmark score of 25,005, placing it in the 77th percentile among all tested CPUs. The nearest rivals show remarkable clustering, with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scoring 24,964 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24,935 (0.3% lower), and the Intel Core i7-13620H at 24,911 (0.4% lower). The only rival that scores higher is the AMD EPYC 9474F at 25,103, which represents a mere 0.4% advantage. This grouping indicates that in CPU-bound scenarios, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates, with differences well below the threshold of perceptible variance.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090 achieves an average benchmark score of 60,347, ranking in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals present an interesting comparison set. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches at 60,326 (0% difference), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3% at 60,140. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M actually leads by 2.5% with a score of 61,896, though this falls within typical run-to-run variance. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 sits 2.9% behind at 58,657. These rivals are primarily professional or workstation-oriented cards, suggesting that in gaming workloads, the RTX 4090's architectural advantages may manifest differently than raw benchmark scores indicate.

For Rust specifically, the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.20 GHz base clock and 4.70 GHz boost clock provides adequate single-thread performance for the game's physics and simulation systems. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and draw call handling at high resolutions remain unimpeded. Systems using any of the listed rival CPUs would show nearly identical CPU-bound performance, while the GPU comparisons suggest that the RTX 4090's closest benchmark equivalents are not typical gaming cards, making it uniquely positioned in this test scenario.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals which component dominates Rust's rendering pipeline. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 217.9 FPS. This frame rate is exceptionally high, suggesting that neither component is severely limiting, though the CPU's single-thread score of 951 in 3DMark and 3,685 in PassMark become relevant. Moving to Medium settings at the same resolution yields 185.9 FPS, a 14.7% reduction that indicates increased GPU workload. High settings drop to 175.5 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 138.1 FPS.

The transition to 2560x1440 shows more pronounced GPU involvement. Low settings produce 189.6 FPS, which is only 13% lower than the 1080p Low result, indicating that the GPU still has headroom. Medium settings deliver 144.4 FPS, High settings reach 123.4 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain 97.9 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra represents a 29% performance drop, which aligns with the increased pixel count but also suggests the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Ultra settings produce 58.3 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings recover to 71.3 FPS, Medium reaches 89.3 FPS, and Low achieves 131.2 FPS. The drop from 1440p Ultra (97.9 FPS) to 4K Ultra (58.3 FPS) is a 40.5% reduction, closely matching the pixel count increase from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels. This pattern confirms that at 4K, the RTX 4090's raw rendering capabilities determine performance, while at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 8400F's single-thread throughput becomes the limiting factor, particularly at lower settings where the GPU is underutilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers 217.9 FPS on Low settings, 185.9 FPS on Medium, 175.5 FPS on High, and 138.1 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra represents a 36.6% performance reduction, demonstrating that Rust's Ultra preset introduces substantial GPU workload even at this resolution. The progression from Medium to High is relatively small at 5.6%, while the High to Ultra step costs 21.3%, suggesting that Ultra settings include computationally expensive effects that scale non-linearly.

At 2560x1440, the results show 189.6 FPS on Low, 144.4 FPS on Medium, 123.4 FPS on High, and 97.9 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium transition represents a 23.8% drop, which is steeper than the 14.7% drop seen at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution increase. Medium to High costs 14.5%, while High to Ultra costs 20.7%. The overall range from 189.6 to 97.9 FPS shows that even at 1440p, the RTX 4090 maintains comfortable margins above the 60 FPS threshold across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are 131.2 FPS on Low, 89.3 FPS on Medium, 71.3 FPS on High, and 58.3 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop of 31.9% is the steepest single transition in the entire dataset, highlighting how 4K resolution amplifies the cost of moderate quality increases. Medium to High costs 20.2%, and High to Ultra costs 18.2%. Notably, the Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS, falling 2.8% short. The data shows that this combination can handle 4K gaming well on High settings, but the Ultra preset represents a significant step beyond what the hardware can sustain at a consistent 60 FPS.

The Verdict

This PC configuration can run Rust successfully, with playable performance across most tested configurations. The verdict by resolution shows that at 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High achieving 71.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution produces 58.3 FPS, which misses the 60 FPS threshold by a narrow margin. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 97.9 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets are also playable, with Ultra reaching 138.1 FPS.

The data indicates that the RTX 4090 provides sufficient headroom for 4K gaming at High settings, while the Ryzen 5 8400F does not bottleneck the GPU at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 58.3 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, suggesting that players seeking maximum visual quality at 4K would need to accept slightly reduced frame rates or make minor setting adjustments. At 1440p and 1080p, the system delivers well above the playable threshold in every scenario, with the lowest result being 97.9 FPS at 1440p Ultra.

The combination ranks 143rd out of 3,723 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the top 3.8% of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the strong GPU performance and adequate CPU support, though the relatively modest CPU scores compared to top-tier processors prevent a higher placement. For players targeting 1440p or 1080p gaming with maximum settings, this system delivers excellent performance. For 4K gaming, it is capable but requires a compromise on the Ultra preset.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is High, which achieves 71.3 FPS. This provides a comfortable 18.8% margin above the threshold, allowing for minor performance fluctuations without dropping below playable levels. The Medium preset delivers 89.3 FPS and Low reaches 131.2 FPS, but High represents the optimal balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 58.3 FPS should be avoided at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 97.9 FPS, making it the best choice for maximum visual quality while maintaining a 63.2% margin above the 60 FPS threshold. This represents the ideal resolution for this combination, as it allows full graphical settings without any performance concerns. The High preset at 123.4 FPS and Medium at 144.4 FPS are available for players seeking higher frame rates, but Ultra provides the complete visual experience.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset reaches 138.1 FPS, which is more than double the playable threshold. This makes 1080p Ultra the most demanding playable configuration, though the high frame rates suggest that players with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors could benefit from the lower presets. The Low preset at 217.9 FPS approaches the limits of typical high-refresh-rate displays, while Medium at 185.9 FPS and High at 175.5 FPS offer substantial frame rate headroom. For maximum visual fidelity at 1080p, Ultra is the recommended choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 143rd out of 3,723 tested combinations for Rust, placing it in the 96.2nd percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's dominant contribution to gaming performance, as the RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU's 77th percentile ranking is comparatively lower. The system outperforms roughly 96% of tested combinations, indicating that it is well-suited for Rust's requirements.

The ranking is particularly notable given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The Ryzen 5 8400F's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with Zen 4 architecture delivers solid performance, but it does not match the capabilities of higher-end CPUs in the same test pool. The fact that this combination still ranks in the top 4% of all tested systems demonstrates the RTX 4090's ability to compensate for CPU limitations in Rust, particularly at higher resolutions where GPU-bound scenarios dominate.

The measured data shows that the combination's weakest point is at 4K Ultra settings, where the 58.3 FPS result falls below the playable threshold. However, this is a minor issue given that the system excels at every other tested configuration. The rank of 143 out of 3,723 combinations also suggests that there are 142 tested systems that perform better in Rust, likely featuring top-tier CPUs paired with the RTX 4090 or similar high-end GPUs. For players using this combination, the practical takeaway is that the system delivers exceptional performance at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings, and remains highly capable at 4K with slightly reduced quality settings.