Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a mid-range desktop combination benchmarked against Rust, the 2018 survival title that remains notoriously demanding on both CPU and GPU. The data shows this pairing handles the game comfortably at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 across every tested preset, while 3840x2160 requires dropping to Low or Medium to stay above the 60 FPS threshold. With the RTX 4070 SUPER sitting in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs and the i5-12400 in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, this is a configuration skewed toward GPU strength — and the per-resolution scaling below confirms the GPU is the component doing the heavy lifting at higher settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3723 tested CPU+GPU combinations in Rust, this pairing ranks 637th. That places it inside the top 20% of all tested combos — a strong result for a build whose CPU carries a launch MSRP of $199. The rank is best understood as the product of an upper-tier GPU (83rd percentile versus all GPUs, average benchmark score of 43223) married to a solidly mid-pack processor (72nd percentile, average score of 18683).

The asymmetry matters for Rust specifically. Because the RTX 4070 SUPER is the stronger half of the pair, the combo performs closest to its potential at resolutions and presets where GPU load dominates — 1440p Ultra and 4K — while the i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads set a ceiling on how far the pairing can climb in CPU-limited scenarios. Rank 637 of 3723 reflects exactly that: excellent but not flagship-tier performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at each component's nearest rivals by aggregate score gives a picture of what hardware would behave similarly in Rust.

On the CPU side, the i5-12400's average score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, a delta of just -0.1%), the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, -0.7%). The Intel Core i3-14100F scores slightly lower at 18519, a 0.9% deficit. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver effectively indistinguishable aggregate throughput, though users should note the i5-12400's strong single-thread showing (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257, Geekbench single-core of 1848, PassMark single-thread of 3456) — single-thread performance is often what limits frame pacing in open-world survival games like Rust, and the 4.40 GHz boost clock underpins that.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER's average of 43223 is statistically tied with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, -0.1%), and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43301, -0.2%). The GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile sits 1% ahead at 43667. Substituting any of these GPUs would produce near-identical average frame rates in Rust; the 4070 SUPER's PassMark G3D score of 29995 and DirectX 12 score of 110 are the underlying figures that place it in this cluster.

Anyone building toward the same Rust experience could therefore swap either component for a statistically equivalent rival with negligible change in measured performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data makes the division of labor clear. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra costs 95.8 FPS (203 down to 107.2) — a 47% drop driven almost entirely by GPU load. At 2560x1440, the same preset jump costs 101.1 FPS (173.2 to 72.1), a 58% drop. At 3840x2160, the drop is 56.3 FPS (102.1 to 45.8), or 55%. The fact that frame rates fall steeply as resolution rises even at fixed presets — Ultra goes from 107.2 at 1080p to 72.1 at 1440p to 45.8 at 4K — is textbook GPU-bound behavior. The RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, determines the ceiling at every tested resolution.

Where does the i5-12400 matter? The floor. At 1080p Low, the combination manages 203 FPS average — but not linearly more as settings drop further, because at that point the six-core/twelve-thread CPU becomes the limiter. The 1080p Low figure of 203 FPS represents the CPU-bound plateau of this pairing. For a game like Rust, whose large maps and many simultaneous players stress simulation and draw-call throughput, that plateau is respectable: it sits comfortably above any refresh rate a typical monitor would demand. The verdict for buyers: the GPU is the component worth upgrading first if higher-resolution Rust performance is the goal, since the i5-12400's CPU-bound ceiling is already far above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can the i5-12400 + RTX 4070 SUPER run Rust at 4K?

A: Yes, but not at every preset. At 3840x2160, only Low (102.1 FPS) and Medium (70.4 FPS) average above the 60 FPS playable threshold. High averages 56.6 FPS and Ultra averages 45.8 FPS, both below the line.

Q: What is the best-looking setting this combo can run above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra. At 2560x1440 Ultra the pairing averages 72.1 FPS, so every preset from Low through Ultra is playable at that resolution.

Q: Is this pairing good for high-refresh 1080p gameplay in Rust?

A: The data supports it. At 1920x1080, Low averages 203 FPS, Medium 165.6, High 140.6, and Ultra 107.2 — all well above 60 FPS and, in the case of the lower presets, above common high-refresh targets.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to rival GPUs in general benchmarks?

A: Its average benchmark score of 43223 places it within 1% of the Quadro M6000 24 GB, GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, Quadro M6000, and GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, and in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for Rust on this build?

A: Only at very high frame rates. The i5-12400 (72nd percentile, average score 18683, six cores and twelve threads) caps out around the 203 FPS mark seen at 1080p Low. Since all measured results at or below 1440p Ultra remain GPU-limited, the CPU is not a limiting factor for 60-plus-FPS gameplay at any tested setting.

Q: What architecture and feature support does this hardware bring?

A: The i5-12400 is an Alder Lake-S chip on Intel's 10 nm node with support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, while the RTX 4070 SUPER is an Ada Lovelace GPU on TSMC's 5 nm process supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

Measured FPS Breakdown

All figures below are measured average frame rates (minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded in this dataset).

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 203 FPS average
• Medium: 165.6 FPS average
• High: 140.6 FPS average
• Ultra: 107.2 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 173.2 FPS average
• Medium: 117.7 FPS average
• High: 99.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 72.1 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 102.1 FPS average
• Medium: 70.4 FPS average
• High: 56.6 FPS average
• Ultra: 45.8 FPS average

The pattern is consistent: each step up in resolution shaves roughly 15-35% off average frame rates at matched presets, and each step up in preset quality at 4K costs 15-27 FPS. The steepest single transition is 1440p Low to 1440p Medium, which drops 55.5 FPS (173.2 to 117.7). The gentlest is 4K Medium to 4K High at 13.8 FPS. Notably, 4K Low (102.1 FPS) still exceeds 1080p Ultra (107.2 FPS) by only a small margin — a useful reference point showing that resolution and preset quality trade off nearly evenly at the extremes of this pairing's range.

Best Settings per Resolution

Using the 60 FPS playable threshold:

• 1920x1080 — Ultra, averaging 107.2 FPS. Even the most demanding preset clears the threshold with a wide margin; there is no reason to reduce settings at this resolution.
• 2560x1440 — Ultra, averaging 72.1 FPS. All four presets are playable; Ultra remains the correct choice, holding a 12 FPS cushion above the threshold.
• 3840x2160 — Medium, averaging 70.4 FPS. High (56.6 FPS) and Ultra (45.8 FPS) fall short, making Medium the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Low (102.1 FPS) is available for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals.

The practical takeaway: 1440p is this pairing's sweet spot for Rust, delivering maximum image quality with a stable margin above the threshold, while 4K demands a one-step compromise to Medium.

The Verdict

Yes — this PC runs Rust, and runs it well. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low through Ultra is playable, with Ultra averaging 107.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, the verdict is identical: all presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 72.1 FPS. At 3840x2160, the combination is playable at Low (102.1 FPS) and Medium (70.4 FPS), but High (56.6 FPS) and Ultra (45.8 FPS) fall below the threshold and should be avoided.

For a survival game where sustained frame rates matter during large-scale player encounters, the data shows this pairing ranking 637th of 3723 tested combos — comfortably within the top 20% — with a GPU in the 83rd percentile doing the heavy lifting and a 72nd-percentile CPU that only becomes relevant at frame rates well beyond the playable threshold. Players targeting 1080p or 1440p can max out Rust's visuals; 4K players should set Medium and enjoy a 70-plus FPS average.