Rust

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 presents a mid-range combination that delivers surprisingly consistent results in Rust, though the data reveals significant variation across resolutions and presets. The measured FPS shows this system is clearly capable of handling the game at mainstream resolutions, but 4K Ultra remains out of reach. The benchmark data places this combo at rank 2008 out of 3723 tested combinations, placing it in the 54th percentile of all systems tested for this title. The following analysis breaks down exactly how this hardware behaves at each resolution and setting level, using only the measured results from the FACT PACK.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a narrow band of playable performance that drops sharply as settings increase. The Low preset delivers an average of 66 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium drops to 44 FPS average, with minimum and maximum readings of 38 and 51 FPS respectively, indicating noticeable frame pacing issues. High falls further to 38 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is a substantial 37 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are heavily taxed at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture improves considerably. Low settings produce an average of 112 FPS, which is a 46 FPS jump over the 4K Low result. Medium averages 75 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 64 and 87 FPS, respectively. High settings deliver 64 FPS average, which just meets the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra drops to 48 FPS average, making it the only 1440p preset that fails to reach playable performance. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a 64 FPS difference, indicating that the GPU still has headroom at lower presets but becomes the limiting factor when visual fidelity increases.

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 163 FPS, which is exceptionally high for a survival game with large open-world environments. Medium averages 110 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 93 and 126 FPS, respectively. High settings deliver 92 FPS average, and even Ultra manages 70 FPS average. Every 1080p preset clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a comfortable margin. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 93 FPS, showing that the CPU-GPU combination has significant headroom even at the most demanding preset.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each step down in resolution yields roughly a 50% improvement in frame rates at equivalent settings. For instance, 4K Low at 66 FPS becomes 112 FPS at 1440p Low and 163 FPS at 1080p Low. This scaling suggests that the RTX 4060's memory bandwidth and the i5-13400F's 16 threads are well-balanced for this title, with neither component creating a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU benchmarks place the Intel Core i5-13400F at an average score of 25292, which puts it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals show remarkably close performance: the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25284, representing a 0% delta, while the Intel Core 5 120 scores 25362 with a -0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D also scores 25365, again a -0.3% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25201 with a 0.4% delta. This clustering within a 0.7% range indicates that systems built with any of these processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Rust, assuming the GPU remains the same.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves an average benchmark score of 17639, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are unexpectedly varied: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 with a -0.2% delta, the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 with a 0.3% delta, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 with a 0.5% delta, and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 with a 0.7% delta. These deltas are all within 0.9%, suggesting that a system with the i5-13400F paired with any of these GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in Rust, though the older architectures may lack modern feature support.

When considering alternative full-system configurations, the data implies that swapping the i5-13400F for the Ryzen 9 6900HS or Ryzen 7 6800H would result in nearly identical CPU performance, as all four rivals fall within a 164-point spread on the aggregate benchmark. Similarly, replacing the RTX 4060 with any of its nearest GPU rivals would shift overall FPS by less than one percent, based on the delta values. This means the measured FPS results for this combo are highly representative of what a wide range of mid-range systems would achieve in Rust.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data across resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates Rust's performance demands. At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop dramatically from Low (66 FPS) to Ultra (29 FPS), a 56% reduction, which strongly indicates GPU-bound behavior. The RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become saturated at 4K, particularly with higher texture and shadow settings that increase memory pressure. The CPU's role at this resolution is secondary, as even the medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS suggests the GPU cannot sustain consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low settings produce 112 FPS, which is a 46 FPS improvement over 4K Low, showing that the GPU has more headroom when pixel count drops. However, the gap between Medium (75 FPS) and High (64 FPS) narrows to 11 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra (48 FPS) is 16 FPS. This non-linear scaling indicates that at 1440p, the GPU remains the primary constraint, but the CPU begins to matter more at lower settings where frame rates exceed 100 FPS. The i5-13400F's 16 threads and 20 MB of L3 cache are sufficient to feed the GPU at these rates.

At 1920x1080, the roles become more balanced. Low settings hit 163 FPS, which is a 51 FPS increase over 1440p Low, and even Ultra manages 70 FPS. The fact that Ultra at 1080p (70 FPS) is only 6 FPS faster than High at 1440p (64 FPS) suggests that the CPU starts to become a limiting factor at very high frame rates. The i5-13400F's single-thread score of 3191 in Cinebench R23 and 3634 in Passmark indicate strong per-core performance, but Rust's physics and entity update loops can still tax the CPU when frame rates exceed 150 FPS. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system is likely CPU-bound, while at 1080p Ultra, the GPU resumes its role as the primary constraint.

The Verdict

Based on the verdict by resolution data, this PC can run Rust at 60 FPS or higher in all tested configurations except 4K Medium, High, and Ultra, and 1440p Ultra. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low (163 FPS) to Ultra (70 FPS) clears the playable threshold, making this resolution fully playable with no compromises. The best 1080p preset is Ultra at 70 FPS average, which provides the maximum visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable at Low (112 FPS), Medium (75 FPS), and High (64 FPS) presets. The High preset at 64 FPS is the most demanding setting that stays above 60 FPS, but the margin is thin at just 4 FPS. Players who prioritize frame stability may prefer Medium at 75 FPS, which offers a 15 FPS buffer and minimum readings of 64 FPS. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, as it falls 12 FPS short of the threshold.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 66 FPS is playable. This is a viable option for players with 4K displays who are willing to accept significantly reduced visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 44 FPS, High at 38 FPS, and Ultra at 29 FPS all fail to meet the 60 FPS requirement. The RTX 4060's 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit interface are the primary limitations at this resolution, as Rust's large textures and draw distances require more memory bandwidth than this GPU can provide.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2008 out of 3723 tested combos for Rust, placing it in the 54th percentile of all systems benchmarked. This rank reflects the system's balanced performance: it is capable of running the game at high settings at 1080p and 1440p, but falls behind more powerful configurations at 4K. The rank of 2008 means that roughly 1715 tested combos perform better, while about 1715 perform worse, indicating that this system sits near the middle of the performance distribution.

The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all processors is notably higher than the GPU's 61st percentile. This disparity suggests that the i5-13400F has more headroom than the RTX 4060, and that upgrading the GPU would yield larger performance gains than upgrading the CPU. The combo's overall rank in Rust is likely constrained by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions, as the CPU benchmarks show it can handle even the most demanding multi-threaded workloads with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Rust at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves playable performance with an average of 66 FPS. Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 38 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS, all falling below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 64 FPS average, which is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS. Medium offers 75 FPS average with minimums of 64 FPS for extra stability.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (0.2% slower), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% faster), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (0.7% faster).

Q: Is the i5-13400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in Rust?

A: Benchmark data shows the CPU's average score of 25292 places it in the 77th percentile, while the GPU's 17639 score is in the 61st percentile. At 1080p Low with 163 FPS, the CPU likely limits performance, but at 4K Ultra with 29 FPS, the GPU is clearly the constraint.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system delivers an average of 70 FPS, which is 10 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the highest preset tested at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 2008 out of 3723 tested combos for Rust, placing it in the 54th percentile. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only playable option, delivering an average of 66 FPS. This setting sacrifices visual quality but provides a 6 FPS buffer above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 44 FPS is not recommended, as it falls 16 FPS short of playable performance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 64 FPS average is the best playable setting, offering the highest visual quality while staying 4 FPS above the threshold. For players who prioritize frame consistency, the Medium preset at 75 FPS average with minimums of 64 FPS provides a more stable experience with only a minor reduction in visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 70 FPS average is the best playable setting, providing maximum visual quality with a 10 FPS buffer above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 92 FPS and Medium at 110 FPS are also excellent choices for players who prefer higher frame rates or have high refresh rate displays. The Low preset at 163 FPS is available for competitive play, though the visual trade-offs are significant.