Rust

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT delivers a wide performance envelope in Rust, ranging from a barely playable 25.6 FPS at 4K Ultra to a fluid 141.6 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, but one that requires careful configuration to hit the 60 FPS target at higher resolutions. This combination ranks in the 65th percentile of all tested combos for this game, placing it in a solid mid-tier position for a demanding survival title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this hardware handles Rust across three resolutions and four graphical presets. At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are heavily constrained. The Low preset is the only playable option, yielding an average of 60.9 FPS. Moving to Medium drops the average to 39 FPS, which is a significant 36% reduction in performance. The High preset manages only 30.5 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 25.6 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on most displays. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is particularly steep, suggesting a major increase in shader and texture complexity that this GPU cannot sustain at that pixel count.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves considerably. The Low preset delivers a strong 100.7 FPS average, while Medium stays above the playability threshold at 67.7 FPS. The High preset drops to 54.1 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line, and Ultra falls to 43.1 FPS. This resolution shows the typical mid-range GPU behavior: the RX 7600 XT can handle lower presets with headroom, but struggles to maintain high fidelity without crossing the playability threshold. The scaling from Low to Medium at 1440p is a 33% drop, while Medium to High is a 20% drop, indicating that the cost of each settings tier is not linear.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination shows its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves a very high 141.6 FPS average, easily clearing any high-refresh-rate monitor. The Medium preset delivers 98.4 FPS, and the High preset provides 80.4 FPS, all well above the 60 FPS target. Only the Ultra preset at 59.8 FPS falls just short of the playability threshold, missing the 60 FPS mark by a mere 0.2 FPS. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU combo is well-balanced for all but the most demanding settings, with the Ultra preset representing the only scenario where the system tips below the line.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Rust at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 25.6 FPS, which is far below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The only playable setting at 4K is Low, which achieves 60.9 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The Medium preset is the highest-quality option that clears the threshold at 2560x1440, with an average of 67.7 FPS. The High preset falls short at 54.1 FPS.

Q: Is the RX 7600 XT or the Core i5-14400F the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at 1080p. The frame rate drops consistently as settings increase (from 141.6 FPS at Low to 59.8 FPS at Ultra), which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's strong single-thread score of 3055 in Cinebench R23 indicates it has ample headroom for this title.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The average FPS drops from 141.6 at Low to 59.8 at Ultra, a reduction of 81.8 FPS or roughly 58% of the Low preset performance. This is a significant cost for visual fidelity.

Q: Does this system exceed the 60 FPS target at any resolution with High settings?

A: Yes, only at 1920x1080. The High preset at 1080p yields 80.4 FPS. At 1440p High, the system produces 54.1 FPS, and at 4K High, it drops to 30.5 FPS, both below the threshold.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS in the measured data is 25.6 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is the most demanding configuration tested.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Core i5-14400F and the Radeon RX 7600 XT depending on resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the frame rates scale dramatically with settings changes, going from 141.6 FPS at Low to 59.8 FPS at Ultra. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor, as the rendering load increases with each preset tier. The CPU's performance, evidenced by its 21645 Cinebench R23 multi-core score and 3701 Passmark single-thread score, is sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the GPU load increases, and the scaling between presets becomes more pronounced. The drop from 100.7 FPS at Low to 67.7 FPS at Medium is a 33% reduction, while the further drop to 54.1 FPS at High is another 20%. This suggests that the GPU is working harder to fill the additional pixels, but the CPU still has enough headroom to keep up. The fact that the Low preset at 1440p (100.7 FPS) is lower than the Low preset at 1080p (141.6 FPS) confirms that the resolution increase is taxing the GPU more than the CPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The frame rates are severely limited, with even the Low preset (60.9 FPS) barely reaching the playability threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K (25.6 FPS) represents a 77% drop from the 1080p Low result, which is a much larger reduction than the simple pixel count increase (4x) would suggest. This points to the RX 7600 XT's memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s and its 128-bit bus width being insufficient for the massive texture and shader workloads at 4K, regardless of the CPU's capabilities. The CPU's role becomes less relevant at this resolution, as the GPU is unable to render frames fast enough to utilize the processor's full potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT holds a comboRankInGame of 2429 out of 3723 tested combinations. This places the system in the upper third of all configurations benchmarked for Rust, roughly at the 65th percentile. The CPU itself is rated in the 83rd percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 60th percentile against all GPUs. This discrepancy is telling: the processor is a high-end part relative to the broader market, but the graphics card is more mid-range, dragging the overall combo ranking down.

The data indicates that this pairing is somewhat unbalanced. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Core i9-11900 (deltaPct 0.2), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (deltaPct -0.2), all of which perform within a half-percent of the i5-14400F. This confirms the CPU is a solid performer. The GPU's nearest rivals, however, include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (deltaPct 0.3) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (deltaPct 0.4), which are much older architectures. The presence of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (deltaPct -0.7) as a close rival suggests the RX 7600 XT is competitive with a previous-generation high-end card, but its overall percentile shows it is not a top-tier part. For Rust specifically, the combo ranking of 2429/3723 suggests that while the system is playable, there are many combinations that achieve higher frame rates, likely those with more powerful GPUs.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Rust? The answer is a qualified yes, depending on the resolution and settings. The verdictByResolution data shows that at 1920x1080, the system is highly capable, with High settings being the best playable preset at 80.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 98.4 FPS and Low at 141.6 FPS also exceed the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 59.8 FPS is the only 1080p configuration that fails to clear the bar, though it is marginal.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable but with more restrictions. The Medium preset is the highest-quality option that stays above 60 FPS, averaging 67.7 FPS. The Low preset reaches 100.7 FPS, while High (54.1 FPS) and Ultra (43.1 FPS) both fall below the line. This resolution is viable for gamers willing to compromise on visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the system is barely playable. Only the Low preset clears the threshold at 60.9 FPS. The Medium preset (39 FPS), High (30.5 FPS), and Ultra (25.6 FPS) are all unplayable by the 60 FPS standard. The data clearly shows that 4K is not a practical target for this combination in Rust, unless the user is willing to accept the lowest settings and even then, the margin is razor-thin.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data identifies the most demanding preset that achieves an average of at least 60 FPS at each resolution.

• 3840x2160: The only playable setting is Low, with an average FPS of 60.9. This is the best possible setting at 4K, as the next tier up (Medium) drops to 39 FPS, which is below the threshold.

• 2560x1440: The best playable setting is Medium, with an average FPS of 67.7. This provides a 10.3 FPS buffer above the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for some minor in-game variance. The Low preset offers significantly higher performance at 100.7 FPS for users prioritizing frame rate over visuals.

• 1920x1080: The best playable setting is High, with an average FPS of 80.4. This is a comfortable margin above the threshold. The Ultra preset at 59.8 FPS is the only option that fails to clear the bar, missing by just 0.2 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For users considering this build or looking for comparable hardware, the nearestRivals data provides guidance on parts that would perform similarly in benchmarks.

On the CPU side, the Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279. Its closest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (score 32233, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Core i9-11900 (score 32226, deltaPct 0.2), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (score 32354, deltaPct -0.2). These processors would offer essentially identical compute performance, with deltas of less than half a percent. The Intel Core i7-12800H (score 32121, deltaPct 0.5) is also within one percent. Any of these CPUs could be swapped for the i5-14400F without meaningfully changing the game's performance profile in CPU-bound scenarios.

On the GPU side, the Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 17083. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (score 17037, deltaPct 0.3) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (score 17019, deltaPct 0.4), both of which are older, dual-GPU or mobile parts. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (score 17208, deltaPct -0.7) is the most relevant modern alternative, performing within 1% of the RX 7600 XT. The NVIDIA Tesla M4 (score 16932, deltaPct 0.9) is a compute-oriented card that would behave similarly in raw benchmarks but is not intended for gaming. For gaming in Rust, the RTX 3070 would be the closest drop-in equivalent in terms of raw benchmark performance, although the RX 7600 XT's larger 16 GB memory buffer may provide advantages in texture-heavy scenes at higher resolutions.