Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a strong performance profile in Rust, with measured FPS data indicating that this combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at most resolutions. The benchmark results, derived from actual testing, show a clear scaling pattern across settings and resolutions, with the system maintaining playable frame rates in the vast majority of configurations tested. The data reveals that this combo ranks 502nd out of 3,723 tested combinations in Rust, placing it in the upper tier of systems for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance, with the lowest settings yielding an average of 200.4 FPS. Moving up the quality ladder, Medium settings produce an average of 172.6 FPS, while High settings deliver 150.2 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still maintains a robust 114.6 FPS average. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the CPU-GPU pairing has significant headroom, with even the heaviest settings producing frame rates well above what most displays can show.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains impressive, though the increased pixel count begins to exert measurable pressure on the GPU. Low settings produce an average of 178.1 FPS, which drops to 123 FPS at Medium and 101.9 FPS at High. Ultra settings at this resolution yield 78.4 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction in frame rates across all settings, with the largest absolute drop occurring at Low settings, falling from 200.4 to 178.1 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system faces its greatest challenge. Low settings produce an average of 109 FPS, which is still a highly playable result. Medium settings yield 72.8 FPS, while High settings average 63.6 FPS. However, Ultra settings at 4K drop to 47.8 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold. This marks the only configuration in the entire test matrix where the system fails to maintain playable performance.

The scaling between settings is noteworthy. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 85.8 FPS, representing a 43% reduction from the lowest settings. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 99.7 FPS between Low and Ultra, a 56% reduction. At 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra is 61.2 FPS, a 56% reduction as well. This pattern suggests that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution increases, with the CPU's influence diminishing at higher pixel counts.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 114.6 FPS. This represents the highest quality settings available in the test, and the system clears the playability threshold with substantial margin. The data indicates that no setting at this resolution produces frame rates below the 60 FPS mark, making all four presets viable options for competitive or immersive play.

At 2560x1440, the best settings that stay at or above 60 FPS are also Ultra, with an average of 78.4 FPS. This is a particularly strong result, as it demonstrates that the system can handle maximum quality at a common high-resolution gaming standard. The 78.4 FPS figure is 18.4 FPS above the threshold, providing a comfortable buffer for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains playable is High, which averages 63.6 FPS. This is the tightest margin in the entire dataset, with only 3.6 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. While technically playable, this configuration leaves little room for performance dips in complex scenes, suggesting that players at 4K should consider Medium settings (72.8 FPS) for a more stable experience. Low settings at 4K, with 109 FPS, offer the safest choice for consistent performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a complex interplay between the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti across different resolutions. At 1080p, the system's ability to produce 200.4 FPS at Low settings suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates, while the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly at lower quality settings. However, the substantial drop to 114.6 FPS at Ultra indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher quality presets, as the increased shading and texture work consumes more of the graphics card's resources.

At 1440p, the scaling pattern shifts. The frame rate at Low settings (178.1 FPS) is only 11% lower than at 1080p, indicating that the CPU remains capable at this resolution. But the gap between Low and Ultra widens to 99.7 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is increasingly constrained by the higher pixel count. The RTX 4070 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, handles the load well, but the data shows that resolution scaling disproportionately impacts the graphics card.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The 109 FPS result at Low settings represents a 39% reduction from the 1080p Low figure, highlighting how pixel count stresses the rendering pipeline. The inability to maintain 60 FPS at Ultra (47.8 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, regardless of the CPU's capability. The i5-12400, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to provide sufficient processing power even at 4K, as the frame rate differences between resolutions are primarily driven by GPU workload.

The data suggests that for this game, the CPU's influence is most pronounced at lower resolutions and settings, where high frame rates demand rapid draw call processing and physics calculations. At higher resolutions, the GPU's raw throughput becomes the deciding factor, with the RTX 4070 Ti's 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 626.4 GTexel/s texture rate proving adequate for 1440p Ultra but insufficient for 4K Ultra in Rust.

The Verdict

This PC can run Rust successfully at multiple resolutions and settings, based on the measured data. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at all four settings, with Ultra achieving 114.6 FPS. This makes it fully capable of delivering smooth gameplay at maximum quality on standard monitors. At 2560x1440, the system also achieves playable performance at every preset, with Ultra producing 78.4 FPS, which is well above the threshold. This resolution is ideal for this hardware combination, as it balances visual quality with frame rate headroom.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is more nuanced. The system can run the game at High settings with an average of 63.6 FPS, which technically meets the playability requirement. However, the margin is thin, and players seeking consistent performance should consider Medium settings (72.8 FPS) or Low settings (109 FPS) for a more comfortable experience. Ultra settings at 4K are not playable, with 47.8 FPS falling short of the 60 FPS target.

Overall, the i5-12400 and RTX 4070 Ti combination is a capable pairing for Rust, with the sweet spot being 1440p Ultra for the best balance of quality and performance. For 1080p gaming, the system offers significant headroom, potentially allowing for higher refresh rates or future settings increases. At 4K, the system is playable but requires settings compromises to maintain stable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this system achieves in Rust?

A: The highest measured average is 200.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run Rust at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 47.8 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 achieve an average of 78.4 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that stays above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 150.2 at 1080p to 101.9 at 1440p, a reduction of 48.3 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti the bottleneck at 4K resolutions?

A: The data indicates yes, as the frame rate at 4K Low (109 FPS) is significantly lower than at 1080p Low (200.4 FPS), while the CPU's capabilities appear sufficient at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the system's rank among tested combos in Rust?

A: This combination ranks 502nd out of 3,723 tested combinations, placing it in the top 13.5% of systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 502nd out of 3,723 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 86.5th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking is impressive given that the CPU sits in the 72nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all graphics cards. The combination outperforms what the individual component percentiles might suggest, indicating that this pairing is well-balanced for Rust's specific workload.

The rank of 502 means that the vast majority of tested systems, approximately 3,221 of them, deliver lower performance in this game. The top 501 systems likely feature more powerful CPUs or GPUs, but the data shows that this mid-range CPU with a high-end GPU achieves a level of performance that is competitive with many higher-tier configurations. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals by average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7643 (-0.1% delta), Intel Core i7-1355U (-0.3% delta), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (-0.7% delta), while the GPU's rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (-0.8% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (-1.3% delta).

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals by average benchmark score are the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18,697 points compared to the i5-12400's 18,683, a difference of only -0.1%. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18,730 points (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18,811 points (-0.7%). The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18,519 points, which is 0.9% lower than the i5-12400. These processors would deliver near-identical CPU performance in Rust, with the differences being negligible in real-world gaming scenarios.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, which scores 45,152 points versus the RTX 4070 Ti's 44,795, a -0.8% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45,384 points (-1.3%), and the Intel Arc A730M scores 45,592 points (-1.7%). The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 44,075 points, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX 4070 Ti. These graphics cards would produce very similar frame rates in Rust, with the performance deltas being within a few percentage points.

In practical terms, swapping the i5-12400 for any of the listed rival CPUs would result in nearly identical FPS in Rust, as the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at most settings. Similarly, replacing the RTX 4070 Ti with the RTX 5090 Mobile or RTX A6000 would produce comparable results, with differences of less than 2% in synthetic benchmarks translating to minor variations in actual gameplay frame rates. The data suggests that this system's performance is representative of a broad range of hardware combinations that cluster around the same performance level.