Rust

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Rust with the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 shows a clear pattern: performance degrades steadily as resolution increases, while preset selection has a massive impact on frame rates. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers playable performance across most settings. The Low preset produces an average of 126 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 84 FPS average, with minimum and maximum readings of 72 and 97 FPS respectively. High drops to 71 FPS average, still comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Ultra is the only 1080p setting that falls short, with an average of 54 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decline noticeably. Low preset yields 86 FPS average, which remains solid. Medium produces 58 FPS average, with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 67 FPS, meaning it dips below the 60 FPS line during demanding scenes. High falls to 49 FPS average, and Ultra drops further to 37 FPS. The 1440p data indicates that only the Low preset maintains a consistent average above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combination struggles significantly. Low preset averages 51 FPS, just under the playable threshold. Medium averages 34 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 29 and 39 FPS. High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. None of the 4K settings reach 60 FPS, and the data suggests this resolution is largely out of reach for this hardware pairing.

The 1080p Medium preset shows the tightest min-max spread relative to its average, while the 1440p Medium and 4K Medium presets show similar proportional drops. The absence of min/max data for several presets (Low, High, Ultra at most resolutions) limits the depth of analysis for frame-time consistency, but the available min/max values indicate that frame pacing is relatively stable at Medium settings, with the 1080p Medium range (72 to 97) suggesting a narrow band of variance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals which component becomes the bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the CPU likely plays a more significant role, as the frame rates across presets vary widely (54 to 126 FPS), indicating that the GPU has headroom to render more frames when settings are lowered. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p cuts the average from 126 to 54 FPS, a reduction of 57%, which points to the GPU being the limiting factor as graphical load increases.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates compress downward. The Low preset still reaches 86 FPS, but Medium drops to 58 FPS and Ultra to 37 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 49 FPS, smaller than the 72 FPS gap at 1080p. This compression indicates that the GPU is becoming more saturated at higher resolution, reducing the impact of preset changes relative to the total frame count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily saturated. The range from Low (51 FPS) to Ultra (22 FPS) spans only 29 FPS, and even the lowest preset cannot reach 60 FPS. This suggests that the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to feed the pixel throughput required at 4K, regardless of the CPU's capabilities. The CPU, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, has an average benchmark score of 13494 and ranks in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is adequate for most gaming workloads. However, Rust's simulation and entity update logic can be CPU-intensive, and at 1080p Low (126 FPS), the frame rate is high enough that CPU limits may emerge in crowded scenes, though the recorded data does not isolate this scenario.

The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low shows a 32% drop (126 to 86 FPS), while the drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low is 41% (86 to 51 FPS). This steeper decline at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint as pixel count increases. Conversely, the CPU's role is more visible at lower resolutions and lower presets, where the GPU has spare capacity. For players targeting high refresh rates at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674) may become relevant, but the data does not provide a direct measurement of CPU-bound scenarios.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS average for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset qualifies with an average of 71 FPS. This is the best visual quality that maintains playability, as the Ultra preset falls to 54 FPS. The Medium preset also clears the threshold (84 FPS), but High offers superior graphical fidelity while still providing headroom above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only setting that meets the 60 FPS requirement, averaging 86 FPS. Medium falls short at 58 FPS, so players seeking 1440p must accept the lowest visual preset to maintain smooth gameplay. The 86 FPS average provides a buffer for demanding moments, but the lack of min/max data for Low means frame dips cannot be fully assessed.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so the verdict marks this resolution as not playable. The closest is Low at 51 FPS, which is below the threshold. The best settings list is empty for 4K, indicating that this hardware combination is not suitable for that resolution in Rust. Players would need to reduce resolution or upgrade components to achieve playable frame rates at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i3-12100F provide context for CPU performance. The Intel Core 3 N355 has an average score of 13492, which is essentially identical (0% delta) to the i3-12100F's average of 13494. This suggests the two CPUs would perform nearly interchangeably in Rust. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, a 0.3% deficit, meaning it is marginally slower but within the noise of benchmark variance. The Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, which is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, 1.1% lower. All four rivals fall within a 1.1% range, indicating that any of these CPUs would produce very similar frame rates in this game, assuming the GPU remains the same.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average score of 15283, essentially tied with the RTX 2060's 15290 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1% difference, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8% lower. These close scores suggest that swapping the RTX 2060 for any of these alternatives would yield nearly identical performance in Rust, though architectural differences could influence specific rendering workloads. The GTX 580 is notably older and lacks modern features, but its raw benchmark score aligns closely. The RTX 3050 OEM and RX 7600 are more modern alternatives that would behave similarly in terms of average FPS, though the data does not include Rust-specific measurements for these cards.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Rust at 1920x1080 with high settings?

A: Yes, the recorded data shows an average of 71 FPS at 1080p High, which exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 1440p, averaging 86 FPS. Medium falls below 60 FPS at 58 FPS average.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 support ray tracing in Rust?

A: The GPU has 30 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, but the measured data does not include ray tracing performance or settings for Rust, so no conclusion can be drawn from the database.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to the i5-9500 in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The i3-12100F averages 13494, while the i5-9500 averages 13452, a 0.3% difference. They are effectively equal in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with the lowest settings?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. No 4K preset is playable according to the data.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 more similar to the GTX 580 or the RTX 3050 OEM?

A: The RTX 2060 averages 15290, the GTX 580 averages 15283 (0% delta), and the RTX 3050 OEM averages 15199 (0.6% lower). The GTX 580 is technically closer in score, but both are within 1% of the RTX 2060.

The Verdict

The data indicates that this PC can run Rust at 1920x1080 with High settings, achieving 71 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset also works at 84 FPS, and Low reaches 126 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, with 86 FPS average. The Medium preset at 1440p falls to 58 FPS, which is below the playable line. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS, and the best recorded average is 51 FPS on Low. The verdict by resolution confirms this: 1080p supports High, Low, and Medium as playable settings; 1440p supports only Low; and 4K supports none. For players who prioritize visual quality, 1080p High is the recommended target. For those who prefer higher resolution, 1440p Low is the only viable option, and 4K should be avoided without hardware changes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Rust, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2936 out of 3723 combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which aligns with the measured performance: it handles 1080p well but struggles at higher resolutions. The rank reflects that while the CPU and GPU are individually capable (68th and 58th percentiles respectively), their combination is not optimized for demanding titles like Rust at high resolutions. Many other combinations in the database likely feature stronger GPUs or CPUs that push frame rates higher at 1440p and 4K. The 787 combos ranked below this system would include weaker hardware that may not even reach 60 FPS at 1080p, but the relative position suggests that this combo is adequate for mainstream 1080p gaming and modest 1440p play, while trailing more powerful setups in the upper tiers.