Rust

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a highly playable Rust experience at 1080p and 1440p, with the data showing clear diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 4K, the combination falls below the 60 FPS threshold for most presets, making it a viable option only for those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity. The recorded measurements, drawn from the database, indicate that this combo ranks in the 58th percentile (2160 out of 3723 tested combinations) for Rust, placing it slightly above the median but far from top-tier performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows robust performance across all settings. The Low preset delivers an average of 152 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth for a survival title with heavy server-side simulation. Stepping up to Medium, the average drops to 102 FPS, with recorded minimums of 87 FPS and maximums of 117 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing without severe dips. High settings yield an average of 86 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, produce an average of 65 FPS, which remains playable but leaves little headroom for complex scenes with many player-built structures.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scaling is predictable. Low settings average 104 FPS, a 31.6% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 70 FPS, with minimums of 60 FPS and maximums of 81 FPS, placing it right at the edge of the playable threshold. High settings drop to 59 FPS average, just below the 60 FPS target, which means players will notice occasional stutter in busy areas. Ultra settings average 45 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid and not recommended for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Low settings average 62 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with minimums of 35 FPS and maximums of 48 FPS, showing significant variance that would be distracting. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 27 FPS, both of which are far from a smooth experience. The data shows a steep drop-off between Low and Medium at this resolution, suggesting the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are saturated quickly as texture quality increases.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the CPU, the Intel Core i5-13400F, provides ample headroom for this game, especially at lower resolutions. The 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake processor with a 4.60 GHz boost clock scores 22,604 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,191 in single-core, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. These strong synthetic scores translate to Rust, which is known for its physics and entity update loops that benefit from high single-thread performance.

At 1080p, the scaling between Low (152 FPS) and Medium (102 FPS) is a 32.9% drop, while the drop from Medium to High (86 FPS) is 15.7%, and from High to Ultra (65 FPS) is 24.4%. This progressive decline suggests that the GPU is becoming more influential as settings increase, but the CPU still manages to feed it adequately. The difference between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 31.6% (152 to 104 FPS), which is close to the pixel count increase of 77.8%, indicating that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

At 1440p, the gap between Medium (70 FPS) and High (59 FPS) is 15.7%, and between High and Ultra (45 FPS) is 23.7%. The pattern shows that each settings tier costs roughly 15-25% performance, regardless of resolution. At 4K, the drop from Low (62 FPS) to Medium (41 FPS) is 33.9%, a much larger jump than at lower resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the RTX 2070 SUPER's raw compute throughput (9.062 TFLOPS FP32) and memory bandwidth are insufficient to handle the increased shader and texture work, making the GPU the dominant factor. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution rises, with the 4K Low to 4K Medium drop being primarily a GPU limitation rather than a CPU constraint.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the database, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25,284 in the average benchmark, essentially identical to the i5-13400F's 25,292, with a delta of 0%. This means a system with the Ryzen 9 6900HS would produce nearly identical frame rates in Rust, assuming the same GPU. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D both score 25,362 and 25,365 respectively, with deltas of -0.3%, indicating they are marginally slower but within noise margin. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25,201, a 0.4% delta, also effectively equivalent. For Rust, which benefits from strong single-core performance, the i5-13400F's 3,191 Cinebench R23 single-core score is well-supported by these rivals, though the Ryzen 5 5600X3D's 3D V-Cache might offer minor advantages in cache-sensitive scenes, but the delta is too small to matter.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score of 20,282. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20,480, a -1% delta, making it a workstation equivalent that would perform similarly in Rust. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20,534, a -1.2% delta, meaning a laptop with this GPU would match the desktop RTX 2070 SUPER within a few frames. The Intel Arc B570 scores 20,556 (-1.3% delta) and the Intel Arc A750 scores 20,582 (-1.5% delta), both indicating that Intel's discrete GPUs are competitive with this NVIDIA card in synthetic benchmarks, though driver optimization for Rust may vary. None of these alternatives would push the combo meaningfully above or below the measured FPS values, so players with any of these GPUs can expect similar performance at each resolution and preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2160th out of 3723 tested combinations in Rust, placing it in the 58th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings in the database. This means it outperforms roughly 58% of tested systems, but it is not in the top tier for this game. The ranking reflects that while the i5-13400F is a strong modern CPU (77th percentile), the RTX 2070 SUPER is older and sits at the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a limiting factor at 4K, where the Ultra preset averages only 27 FPS.

Relative to the nearest rivals, the combo's rank aligns with the GPU's performance tier. A system with an RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 1.2% faster in synthetic benchmarks, would likely rank slightly higher, but the difference is marginal. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (22,604 in Cinebench R23) ensures that it does not bottleneck the GPU at any resolution, so the ranking is primarily determined by the GPU's capabilities. For players with this combo, the data suggests that it is a solid mid-range option for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it will struggle with 4K beyond Low settings.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which average 62 FPS. Medium settings drop to 41 FPS, and High and Ultra average 35 FPS and 27 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: Medium is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 70 FPS and minimums of 60 FPS. High settings average 59 FPS, just below the threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals for this game?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25,284 (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 scores 25,362 (-0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25,365 (-0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25,201 (0.4% delta). All are within 0.4% of the i5-13400F's 25,292, meaning they would produce nearly identical Rust performance.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM sufficient for Rust at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data shows playable averages across all presets, from 152 FPS on Low to 65 FPS on Ultra. The GPU's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB GDDR6 memory handle 1080p without issue.

Q: What GPU alternatives would behave similarly?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (-1% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (-1.2% delta), Intel Arc B570 (-1.3% delta), and Intel Arc A750 (-1.5% delta) all have average scores within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER, so they would produce nearly identical frame rates in Rust.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in the database?

A: It ranks 2160th out of 3723 tested combinations, placing it in the 58th percentile. This indicates it performs better than the majority of systems but is not among the top performers for Rust.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 62 FPS. This is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but players should expect occasional dips in heavy scenes. No higher preset is viable, as Medium averages 41 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium, with an average of 70 FPS and minimums of 60 FPS. This provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. High settings average 59 FPS, which is technically below the threshold, so Medium is the recommended maximum.

At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the most demanding one that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, averaging 65 FPS. This allows players to max out the game's visuals while maintaining a fluid experience. High settings average 86 FPS for those who prefer extra headroom, and Medium averages 102 FPS for even smoother gameplay. Low settings average 152 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors.