Rust

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT presents a compelling mid-range combination for Rust, but the data reveals a system that is highly sensitive to resolution and preset choices. At 1920x1080, this combo delivers smooth, playable frame rates across most settings, while 2560x1440 requires a more conservative approach. The 3840x2160 resolution, however, proves too demanding for consistent 60 FPS gameplay at any preset. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: the combo excels at lower resolutions, but the gap between presets widens dramatically as pixel count increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 139.8 FPS, providing a massive headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 91.4 FPS, still comfortably above the target. High settings produce an average of 79.9 FPS, which remains smooth for most gameplay scenarios. The most demanding Ultra preset yields an average of 58.7 FPS, falling just short of the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating that this preset is borderline at 1080p.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance impact becomes more pronounced. Low settings deliver an average of 96.7 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings maintain a solid 65.9 FPS average, clearing the 60 FPS bar with some room to spare. High settings drop to 56.8 FPS average, which dips below the playable threshold and may introduce noticeable stuttering in intense scenes. Ultra settings at this resolution produce only 44.1 FPS average, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles significantly. Low settings yield an average of 58.4 FPS, which is tantalizingly close to 60 FPS but still technically below the playable threshold. Medium settings drop to 37.1 FPS average, while High settings manage only 31.7 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K produce a mere 21.7 FPS average, making the game essentially unplayable at this preset. The data shows a steep performance cliff between 1440p and 4K, with the GPU clearly becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested hardware combinations for Rust, this pairing holds a rank of 2521 out of 3723 total combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all systems tested. This ranking reflects that while the combo can handle the game at 1080p and medium 1440p settings, it falls behind many other configurations in the database. The GPU sits at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, indicating it outperforms a majority of graphics cards, while the CPU ranks at the 77th percentile among all processors. This suggests the CPU is relatively stronger on paper, but the game's performance at higher resolutions is likely constrained by the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth.

The combo's ranking of 2521 out of 3723 means that roughly 32% of tested combinations deliver better performance in Rust. This is not a poor result for a mid-range system, but it does indicate that users seeking higher framerates at 1440p or 4K would need more powerful hardware. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with a deltaPct of 0, the Intel Core 5 120 at -0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at -0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 0.4%. These small deltas indicate that CPU performance is essentially interchangeable among these chips for Rust. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 at 0.7%, the Intel Arc A350M at -0.8%, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 0.8%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 1.1%, showing that GPU-bound performance would be nearly identical with these alternatives.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Rust at 60 FPS on 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 79.9 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by nearly 20 frames.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440 that maintains 60 FPS?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 65.9 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No preset at 3840x2160 reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The closest is Low settings with an average of 58.4 FPS, which falls just below the playable mark.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of overall benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, scores 25284 with a deltaPct of 0, while the Intel Core 5 120 scores 25362 at -0.3%, indicating virtually identical performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: Low settings average 139.8 FPS, while Ultra settings average 58.7 FPS. This represents a drop of 81.1 FPS, or roughly 58% lower performance when maxing out the preset.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rivals in the PassMark G3D benchmark?

A: The RX 6600 XT scores 16461 in PassMark G3D. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, has an average score of 24170 with a deltaPct of 1.1, meaning the RTX 2080 SUPER actually scores higher despite the small delta percentage.

The Verdict

The data clearly answers whether this PC can run Rust: yes, but with important caveats based on resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo is fully playable across three presets — Low at 139.8 FPS, Medium at 91.4 FPS, and High at 79.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 58.7 FPS falls just below the 60 FPS threshold, so it is not recommended for consistent smoothness. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable with Low settings at 96.7 FPS and Medium settings at 65.9 FPS, but High and Ultra presets drop to 56.8 FPS and 44.1 FPS respectively, failing the 60 FPS requirement. At 3840x2160, no preset clears the threshold, with the best option being Low at 58.4 FPS, which is technically unplayable by the 60 FPS standard. For users targeting 1080p gaming, this combo is a strong performer. For 1440p, it requires settling for Medium settings. For 4K, this hardware is insufficient for smooth gameplay.

CPU and GPU Roles

Analyzing the performance scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates Rust's workload. At 1920x1080, the CPU's strong single-thread performance likely plays a significant role, as the game is known for its physics and entity simulation. The 13400F's boost clock of 4.60 GHz and 3DMark single-thread score of 960 suggest it can feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions. The jump from 91.4 FPS at Medium to 79.9 FPS at High at 1080p represents a 12.6% drop, while the jump from High to Ultra drops another 26.5% to 58.7 FPS, indicating the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth become increasingly taxed at higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more prominent. The RX 6600 XT with its 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth shows clear strain as resolution increases. The drop from 96.7 FPS at Low to 65.9 FPS at Medium is a 31.8% reduction, while the further drop to 56.8 FPS at High is another 13.8% decrease. This pattern suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's performance headroom from 1080p is no longer sufficient to compensate for the increased pixel workload. At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. The 58.4 FPS at Low settings versus 21.7 FPS at Ultra represents a 62.8% performance collapse, showing that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are severely taxed by 4K rendering. The CPU's role diminishes at this resolution, as the GPU cannot keep up with the sheer number of pixels regardless of the processor's capabilities.

Best Settings per Resolution

For users prioritizing a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data prescribes specific settings for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the best preset is High, which delivers an average of 79.9 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that maintains a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, offering better visual quality than Medium's 91.4 FPS while still providing smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, the best preset is Medium, averaging 65.9 FPS. This setting just clears the 60 FPS bar, making it the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance at this resolution. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so there is no recommended setting. The closest option is Low at 58.4 FPS, but it falls short of the playable threshold, meaning users at 4K would need to accept frame rates below 60 FPS or reduce resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The benchmark data indicates that several other CPUs and GPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in Rust when paired with similar hardware. For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS is the closest match with a deltaPct of 0, meaning it performs equivalently in average benchmark scores. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D both show a deltaPct of -0.3%, indicating they are slightly slower but within negligible margins. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 0.4% deltaPct is marginally faster. Any of these processors paired with the RX 6600 XT would produce essentially the same FPS results in Rust, as the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 shows a deltaPct of 0.7%, suggesting it is slightly faster than the RX 6600 XT in average benchmark scores. The Intel Arc A350M at -0.8% deltaPct is slightly slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 0.8% deltaPct is marginally faster. Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 1.1% deltaPct appears in the nearest rivals list, indicating that despite its higher tier, its benchmark scores are within 1.1% of the RX 6600 XT for the tests run. A system with an RTX 2080 SUPER would therefore behave very similarly to the RX 6600 XT in Rust, matching the FPS figures within a small margin. This suggests that users with any of these GPU alternatives can expect nearly identical gameplay experiences at each resolution and preset combination.