Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a compelling performance profile in Rust, a survival title that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on resolution and preset. Measured data at three standard resolutions reveals that this combination is highly capable at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra remains out of reach. The benchmark results below detail exact frame rates, scaling behavior, and the hardware roles that define the experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all presets. The Low preset averages 205 FPS, a figure that indicates substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 150 FPS, with a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 173 FPS. High settings yield an average of 127 FPS, while the most demanding Ultra preset still maintains an average of 96 FPS. Notably, all 1080p presets exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold by a wide margin, with even the minimum recorded frame rate at Medium staying above 120 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows predictable scaling pressure. Low settings deliver an average of 154 FPS, dropping to 103 FPS on Medium (minimum 88 FPS, maximum 119 FPS). High settings average 87 FPS, and Ultra holds at 66 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 88 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s rendering load increases significantly with preset complexity. Every setting at 1440p clears the 60 FPS threshold, though Ultra’s average of 66 FPS leaves only a narrow buffer above the playable line.

3840x2160 is where the combination begins to strain. The Low preset averages 91 FPS, which is still comfortably playable. Medium averages 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS — the only preset in the entire dataset with a recorded minimum below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop to 52 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium meet the playable criterion, and Medium’s minimum of 52 FPS suggests occasional stutter during heavy scenes.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent: each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reduces average frame rates by roughly 40-50% at equivalent settings, though the exact deltas vary. For example, High settings produce 127 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K — a drop of 40 FPS between the first two steps and 35 FPS between the latter two. Low settings show a similar trend: 205 FPS, 154 FPS, and 91 FPS respectively.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions, while the i5-12400F provides sufficient headroom at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the average of 205 FPS suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, as the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads can feed frames faster than the graphics card can render them. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 55 FPS, which points to GPU-bound scaling as preset complexity increases.

At 1440p, the balance shifts. The 88 FPS difference between Low and Ultra indicates the GPU’s fill rate and shader throughput become the dominant constraint. The i5-12400F’s single-thread performance, reflected in a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909 and passmark_single_thread score of 3481, is sufficient to keep up with the RTX 3080 Ti’s output at this resolution. The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities, shown in a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 12380, are not a bottleneck here because Rust’s core utilization does not exceed what the 12 threads can handle.

At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. The drop from 91 FPS on Low to 52 FPS on High — a 39 FPS reduction — demonstrates that the RTX 3080 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 10240 shading units are taxed heavily by the pixel count. The CPU’s role diminishes further, as frame rates are dictated by rasterization and memory bandwidth rather than instruction throughput. The 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth of the GPU becomes the critical resource at 3840x2160, where texture fetch and pixel fill demand exceed what the 384-bit bus can sustain at high presets.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this division of labor. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 150 at 1080p to 103 at 1440p and 61 at 4K — a 47 FPS loss for the first step and 42 FPS for the second. This consistent degradation points to the GPU’s pixel processing rate, rated at 186.5 GPixel/s, as the binding constraint. The CPU’s contribution is more evident in the Low preset differentials: 205 to 154 to 91 FPS, where the smaller drops at higher resolutions indicate the CPU can maintain frame pacing even as GPU load grows.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Rust at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on Low and Medium presets. Low averages 91 FPS, while Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS, averaging 52 FPS and 39 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is playable at 66 FPS average, making it the highest preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at this resolution, with Low reaching 154 FPS and Medium at 103 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU matter more for Rust at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the 205 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, implying the CPU’s single-thread performance (a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909) is sufficient to drive frame rates. As presets increase to Ultra (96 FPS), the GPU becomes more influential, but the CPU still provides adequate headroom.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest recorded minimum is 52 FPS at 4K Medium settings. All other presets with recorded minimums are at or above 88 FPS (1440p Medium). The 1080p Medium minimum is 128 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, placing it 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40870) and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (40377). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (41707) by 1.2% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897) by 1.7%.

Q: Is the i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3080 Ti?

A: The data shows no severe bottleneck. The CPU’s passmark_multithread score of 19433 and geekbench_multicore score of 9472 indicate sufficient multi-core throughput. At 1080p Low, the 205 FPS average is higher than any GPU-bound preset, suggesting the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU renders them.

The Verdict

This combination can run Rust playably across most tested configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 96 FPS — a clear pass. At 2560x1440, every preset also clears the threshold, with Ultra at 66 FPS and Low at 154 FPS. The system is fully capable at these resolutions for standard gaming.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is conditional. Low (91 FPS) and Medium (61 FPS) are playable, but High (52 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) fail to reach 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 52 FPS introduces occasional dips below the threshold, which could be noticeable in fast-paced scenarios. For consistent 4K performance, users should stick to Low or Medium, or reduce resolution to 1440p for higher visual fidelity.

The overall data confirms that the i5-12400F and RTX 3080 Ti form a balanced pairing for Rust at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU becoming the sole limiting factor at 4K. The CPU’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration and the GPU’s 12 GB memory are well matched for this title’s demands.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 96 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the best setting, averaging 66 FPS. This is the highest preset that clears 60 FPS, though the margin is smaller than at 1080p — a difference of 30 FPS in headroom.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the best playable preset, averaging 61 FPS. This is the only 4K preset above Low that meets the threshold, and its minimum of 52 FPS means users should be prepared for occasional frame dips. Low is the safer choice if frame consistency is prioritized, averaging 91 FPS with no recorded minimum below the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 942nd out of 3723 tested combos for Rust. This places it in the top 25% of all configurations in the database, which is consistent with its ability to handle high presets at 1080p and 1440p while struggling only at 4K Ultra. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU’s 73rd percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU’s 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The GPU’s higher percentile contributes more to the overall ranking, as Rust’s performance at higher resolutions is predominantly GPU-bound.

The comboRankInGame of 942 indicates that while this pairing is strong, there are 2781 other combinations that score higher in Rust. These are likely to include newer GPUs or higher-tier CPUs, but the data does not specify which. What is clear is that the i5-12400F and RTX 3080 Ti together exceed the performance of a majority of tested systems, making them a reliable choice for this game.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on CPU benchmark scores, the Intel Core i5-12400F (avgScore 19039) is closely matched by several rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS has an average score of 19047, a 0% delta, meaning it would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Rust. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056 (-0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982 (0.3% delta). The AMD EPYC 7773X scores 18979 (0.3% delta). These CPUs would behave similarly in scenarios where the RTX 3080 Ti is not the bottleneck — primarily at 1080p Low and Medium presets.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (avgScore 41187) has nearest rivals that bracket its performance. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870 (0.8% delta), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40377 (2% delta) — both slightly slower. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707 (-1.2% delta) and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41897 (-1.7% delta), indicating marginally higher raw benchmark performance. In Rust, these GPUs would likely produce frame rates within a few FPS of the RTX 3080 Ti at equivalent settings, though the Tesla cards lack the gaming-oriented features and driver optimizations of GeForce hardware.

Users considering alternative builds should note that the CPU rivals listed above are all within 0.3% of the i5-12400F’s score, so any of them would maintain the same frame rates in CPU-limited scenarios. The GPU alternatives show up to 2% variance, which translates to roughly 1-4 FPS differences at the frame rates measured here — a negligible impact for most players. The closest overall match in the GPU list is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which differs by less than 1%, making it the most likely to reproduce the exact performance profile of the RTX 3080 Ti in this game.