Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a highly capable Rust experience, but the data shows a clear stratification by resolution. At 1920x1080, this combo is exceptionally strong, clearing 99 FPS at Ultra settings and exceeding 200 FPS on Low. Stepping up to 2560x1440, the system remains fully playable across all presets, with Ultra settling at 66.1 FPS. The 3840x2160 (4K) tier is where the hardware begins to show its limits: only Low and Medium presets stay above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with High dropping to 51 FPS and Ultra falling to 40.4 FPS. Overall, this is a versatile pairing that favors high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Rust provides a comprehensive picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers outstanding headroom. The Low preset produces an average of 203.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 149.7 FPS, High at 128.1 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a robust 99 FPS average. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the CPU-GPU pair is never the bottleneck, and the system can comfortably drive high-refresh-rate monitors even with maximum visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the scaling is evident. Low settings yield 157 FPS, a substantial drop from the 1080p Low result but still far above any playability concern. Medium produces 103.9 FPS, while High delivers 89 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding setting tested, still achieves 66.1 FPS on average. This means that at 1440p, the system can handle every preset without falling below the 60 FPS playable threshold, though the margin narrows significantly at Ultra.

The 3840x2160 results reveal the most significant performance degradation. At 4K, the Low preset manages 93.6 FPS, showing the GPU's raw throughput is still substantial. Medium drops to 64 FPS, which barely clears the playable threshold. High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 40.4 FPS. The pattern is clear: the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB memory and 256-bit bus provide enough bandwidth for 4K, but the rendering load at High and Ultra exceeds what the architecture can sustain for smooth gameplay. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 53.2 FPS, whereas at 1080p that same gap is 104.3 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling amplifies the cost of higher-quality presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it delivers 99 FPS on average. This is well above the playable threshold and leaves ample room for dips in complex scenes. Since all four presets clear 60 FPS at 1080p, the recommendation is simply to use the highest quality setting available. The 99 FPS average at Ultra indicates that the system has significant headroom, and even with the most demanding graphical features enabled, the frame rate is nearly double the playability minimum.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also remains the best setting, achieving 66.1 FPS on average. This is a tighter margin than at 1080p, but it still comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that all four presets at 1440p are playable, with High at 89 FPS and Medium at 103.9 FPS providing even more headroom. However, for users prioritizing visual quality, Ultra is the correct choice, as the 66.1 FPS average is sufficient for smooth gameplay on most displays. The 6.1 FPS margin above the threshold suggests that occasional drops below 60 FPS could occur in the most demanding scenes, but the average performance is solid.

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Medium, which produces an average of 64 FPS. This is the only preset above 60 FPS besides Low, which achieves 93.6 FPS. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 40.4 FPS are both below the playable threshold, making them unsuitable for consistent gameplay. The Medium preset's 64 FPS average is just 4 FPS above the threshold, indicating that this is a borderline configuration. Users who prefer smoother frame rates at 4K should consider the Low preset for its 93.6 FPS average, but for maximum visual fidelity while maintaining playability, Medium is the recommended setting.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-12400 provide context for its CPU performance. The AMD EPYC 7643 has an average benchmark score of 18697, which is 0.1% higher than the i5-12400's 18683 average score. This indicates that the two processors deliver nearly identical overall performance, despite the EPYC being a server-class chip. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, just 0.3% above the i5-12400, showing that this mobile processor is also closely matched. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is 0.7% faster with a score of 18811, while the Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% slower with 18519. These deltas are all within a narrow band, meaning that any of these CPUs would produce very similar frame rates in Rust when paired with the RX 9070 XT.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are less conventional. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M has an average score of 13536, which is 0.1% higher than the RX 9070 XT's 13543 average. However, this comparison is based on aggregate benchmark scores, not gaming-specific measurements. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13515, 0.2% lower, and the NVIDIA P106-090 scores 13470, 0.5% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 is the furthest at 1% lower with 13407. These delta percentages are small, but it is important to note that the RX 9070 XT's measured FPS in Rust is what matters for gameplay, and those figures show far stronger performance than these rival scores might suggest. The benchmark averages for the GPU are influenced by a wider range of tests, whereas the Rust data is specific to this title.

The Verdict

Based on the measured FPS data and the verdictByResolution field, this PC can run Rust effectively at most settings, with clear limitations only at 4K. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, with the Ultra setting delivering 99 FPS on average. This makes 1080p gaming entirely unrestricted, and users can enable the highest quality settings without concern. At 2560x1440, all four presets also stay above 60 FPS, with Ultra at 66.1 FPS being the most demanding option that remains playable. The 1440p experience is therefore also fully viable, though the Ultra preset leaves less headroom than at 1080p.

The 3840x2160 resolution is the only area where the combo struggles. The verdict data specifies that only Low and Medium settings are playable at 4K, with Medium being the best setting at 64 FPS on average. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 40.4 FPS fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay. Players who want to run Rust at 4K will need to accept Medium settings or lower to maintain playable frame rates. The data is unequivocal: this is a strong 1080p and 1440p machine, but a compromised 4K machine.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1920x1080?

A: The Ultra preset is the highest playable setting at 1080p, achieving an average of 99 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) exceed the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: Can this system run Rust at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 1440p produces an average of 66.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding setting tested at this resolution, and it remains playable.

Q: What is the best 4K setting for this combo?

A: The Medium preset is the best playable setting at 3840x2160, delivering 64 FPS on average. The Low preset is also playable at 93.6 FPS, but High (51 FPS) and Ultra (40.4 FPS) are both below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, scores 18697, which is 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i7-1355U is 0.3% higher, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% lower.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has a percentileVsAllGpus value of 55, meaning it outperforms 55% of all GPUs in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score is 13543.

Q: How many total combinations were tested for Rust?

A: The combo rank for this CPU-GPU pair is 899 out of 3723 total tested combinations. This indicates that the i5-12400 and RX 9070 XT combination ranks in the top quartile of all tested systems for Rust.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 899th out of 3723 tested combos for Rust. This places the pairing in the top 24.2% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given the breadth of hardware configurations in the database. The rank reflects the overall capability of the combo across all tested settings and resolutions. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 72 indicates that the i5-12400 outperforms 72% of all CPUs in general benchmark tests, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 55 is more modest, suggesting that the RX 9070 XT sits near the middle of the GPU performance distribution.

The rank of 899 is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows excellent 1080p performance, solid 1440p performance, and acceptable 4K performance at lower presets. The combination of a strong 6-core, 12-thread CPU with a high-end GPU creates a balanced system that does not have a clear bottleneck at most settings. The CPU's 3DMark max threads score of 5890 and Passmark multithread score of 18747 indicate ample processing power for Rust's simulation and physics workloads, while the GPU's 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 644.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide the raw graphics throughput needed for high-resolution rendering. The rank of 899 out of 3723 confirms that while there are many faster combos, this pairing is well above average and capable of delivering playable frame rates at the majority of tested configurations.