Rust

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a robust performance profile for Rust, with benchmark data showing this combination is capable of high-refresh-rate play at 1080p and solid 60+ FPS performance at 1440p, while 4K remains a challenge at higher presets. The measured results show a clear pattern: resolution scaling impacts average frame rates significantly, but the combo maintains playable performance across most settings tiers.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 225 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the dataset. Medium settings average 151 FPS, with a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 174 FPS. High settings average 127 FPS, and Ultra settings average 97 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 128 FPS, indicating that the CPU-GPU pairing has substantial headroom at this resolution — even the most demanding preset keeps well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling cost. Low settings average 155 FPS, Medium averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 88 FPS, and Ultra settings average 67 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 88 FPS, a slightly larger percentage drop than at 1080p, which indicates the GPU is beginning to become more of a limiting factor. Still, every preset at this resolution clears the 60 FPS bar, with Ultra sitting 7 FPS above the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes notably. Low settings average 91 FPS, Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. High settings average 52 FPS, and Ultra settings average 39 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one at 4K that maintains an average above 60 FPS, and its minimum of 52 FPS shows that frame time consistency suffers even when the average is acceptable. High and Ultra fall below the playability threshold entirely, with Ultra delivering less than two-thirds of the performance of Low.

The minimum and maximum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 128 to 174 FPS, a 46 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 88 to 120 FPS, a 32 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 52 to 71 FPS, a 19 FPS spread. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, reducing the variance that the CPU can introduce.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 810th out of 3,723 tested combinations in Rust, placing it in the top 21.8% of all tested systems. This percentile position reflects strong overall capability, but it is not an elite-tier ranking — there are 809 combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The rank is a composite measure that accounts for performance across all resolutions and settings, so the 4K High and Ultra results likely drag the overall position down relative to combos that can sustain higher 4K frame rates.

The rank of 810 out of 3,723 means this system is better than approximately 78.2% of tested combos. For a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU, this is a reasonable result. The CPU holds an 86th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 81st percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank being lower than either component's individual percentile suggests that Rust's performance characteristics do not perfectly align with the strengths of this pairing — the game's engine appears to scale in a way that leaves some performance on the table compared to synthetic benchmarks.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within a 0.4% delta. The Intel Core i9-14901E scores 37,911 (0.1% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 37,904 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core 5 211E scores 37,829 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 scores 37,804 (0.4% lower). In practical gaming terms, these differences are negligible — a system using any of these CPUs with the RTX 4070 would produce nearly identical frame rates in Rust. The Ryzen 7 9700X's multi-threaded strength does not translate into a measurable advantage in this title.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar tight grouping. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37,628 (0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135 (1.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37,157 (1.3% lower). The RTX 4080 Mobile being 1.3% faster means a laptop with that GPU could expect marginally higher frame rates, but the difference is within the noise margin of game-to-game variance. The RX Vega 56, despite being an older architecture, benchmarks close enough that swapping it for the RTX 4070 would not change the playability verdict at any resolution.

The Verdict

This system can run Rust, and it does so comfortably at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the lowest average (Ultra at 97 FPS) still 37 FPS above the playable bar. At 2560x1440, the same is true: every preset averages above 60 FPS, with Ultra at 67 FPS being the closest to the threshold but still safely playable.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is mixed. The data shows only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium averaging 61 FPS — just 1 FPS above the threshold. High averages 52 FPS and Ultra averages 39 FPS, both below the 60 FPS playability line. For 4K gaming, users should stick to Medium or Low settings. The Medium preset's minimum of 52 FPS also indicates that players will experience dips below 60 FPS during heavy scenes, even though the average is technically playable.

The overall verdict: this combo is a strong 1080p and 1440p machine for Rust, capable of max settings at both resolutions. At 4K, it is a medium-settings machine at best.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in component responsibility as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (225 FPS) and Ultra (97 FPS) is 128 FPS — a 56.9% drop. This large spread suggests the GPU is handling most of the rendering load, but the CPU's 8-core, 16-thread configuration is sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 without bottlenecking. The fact that Low settings nearly double the Ultra frame rate indicates that pixel throughput is the limiting factor, not CPU physics or draw-call processing.

At 2560x1440, the Low-to-Ultra spread is 88 FPS (155 to 67), a 56.8% drop that mirrors the 1080p scaling. The consistency of this percentage drop across the two lower resolutions points to the GPU being the primary constraint. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth are adequate to keep the GPU fed, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings.

At 3840x2160, the picture inverts. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 52 FPS (91 to 39), a 57.1% drop — nearly identical to the lower resolutions. This uniformity across all three resolutions indicates that Rust's settings scaling is consistent regardless of resolution, but the absolute frame rates at 4K reveal the GPU's limits. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed hard at 4K, and the CPU cannot compensate for the GPU's inability to fill the larger frame buffer at higher presets.

The scaling between resolutions at the same settings tells the same story. At Medium settings, 1080p averages 151 FPS, 1440p averages 104 FPS, and 4K averages 61 FPS. The 31.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the 41.3% drop from 1440p to 4K are both substantial, confirming that the GPU is the dominant factor at higher pixel counts. The CPU's performance ceiling is not reached until frame rates exceed roughly 150 FPS, which only happens at 1080p Low and Medium.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 97 FPS. This is the clear choice for 1080p users — there is no reason to drop below Ultra when the system has 37 FPS of headroom above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra also remains the best choice, averaging 67 FPS. This is 7 FPS above the playability threshold, which is a comfortable margin for most gameplay. The next step down, High at 88 FPS, offers more headroom for players who prefer higher minimum frame rates, but Ultra is technically playable per the data.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the most demanding playable preset, averaging 61 FPS. This is a razor-thin margin — just 1 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold — and the minimum of 52 FPS shows that some scenes will dip below playable levels. Players who prioritize consistent frame rates at 4K should consider Low (91 FPS average) for a more stable experience, but Medium is the highest setting that maintains a playable average.

The recommended settings per resolution are: Ultra at 1080p (97 FPS), Ultra at 1440p (67 FPS), and Medium at 4K (61 FPS). For 4K users who want to avoid frame dips, Low at 91 FPS is the safer option, but the data confirms Medium meets the basic playability criterion.