Rust

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 in Rust shows a clear, resolution-driven performance curve. At 3840x2160, the combination is heavily constrained, with average frame rates ranging from 10.7 FPS on Ultra settings to 24.5 FPS on Low. The intermediate presets land in between: Medium produces 18.2 FPS and High reaches 14.1 FPS. None of these figures approach a playable threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is stark, a 13.8 FPS difference that underscores how quickly the GPU saturates at 4K.

Moving down to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains firmly below the 60 FPS playability mark. The Low preset delivers 47.1 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution, while Medium drops to 31.3 FPS, High falls to 23.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is particularly steep, a 15.8 FPS loss, suggesting that the RX 570's memory bandwidth and shader throughput are the limiting factors once texture quality and post-processing effects increase.

At 1920x1080, the data reveals the only playable configuration in the entire dataset. Low settings yield 68.5 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable 8.5 FPS margin. Medium settings drop to 43.8 FPS, High to 40.1 FPS, and Ultra to 27.8 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 24.7 FPS, which is the single largest preset-to-preset drop recorded across any resolution, indicating that the RX 570's 4 GB GDDR5 frame buffer and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by even moderate texture and shadow workloads in Rust.

It is worth remembering the measured FPS data includes only average frame rates; minimum and maximum values are not recorded in the database. This means the analysis relies solely on average performance, which can mask frame-time spikes, but the consistency of the scaling pattern across resolutions and presets suggests the results are reliable for comparative purposes.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate a pronounced GPU bottleneck at nearly every setting. The Intel Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, is a high-end desktop processor that ranks in the 90th percentile against all CPUs. Its multicore performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 at 24491 points, is far beyond what Rust's simulation and physics systems require at these frame rates. In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 570, a 2017-era Polaris 20 GPU with 2048 shading units and a 256-bit memory bus, ranks in the 74th percentile against all GPUs, a much lower relative standing.

The evidence for this bottleneck is visible in the resolution scaling. From 1920x1080 Low (68.5 FPS) to 2560x1440 Low (47.1 FPS), the frame rate drops by 31.3%, while from 2560x1440 Low to 3840x2160 Low (24.5 FPS), it drops by another 48%. These are massive reductions that track directly with pixel count, a classic sign that the GPU is saturated. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload is largely independent of pixel count.

The preset scaling tells the same story. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Medium costs 24.7 FPS, while moving from Medium to High costs only 3.7 FPS. This nonlinear response suggests that the RX 570's memory subsystem, specifically its 4 GB capacity and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary constraint. Rust's procedural world generation and texture streaming are memory-intensive, and the GPU's modest bandwidth cannot keep up with higher-quality assets.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent only at the very lowest settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the 68.5 FPS result likely approaches the upper bound of what the RX 570 can deliver, but the i5-14600K's strong single-thread score (2064 in Cinebench R23) ensures that the CPU never becomes a limiting factor. At 4K, the CPU is almost entirely idle relative to the GPU load, as evidenced by the fact that even the Low preset (24.5 FPS) is far below the processor's capable range. In short, the data shows a system where the GPU dictates performance at all resolutions, with the CPU providing ample headroom that goes unused.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 3585 out of 3723 tested combos in the database for Rust. This places it in the bottom 4% of all tested systems, a poor standing that reflects the GPU's age and limited memory capacity. The rank is heavily skewed by the RX 570, as the CPU alone is a top-tier part, but the database ranks the entire platform, and the GPU's 74th percentile standing drags the overall result down.

To contextualize, the combo sits just 138 positions from the bottom of the list. This means that the vast majority of tested hardware, including many older and lower-end GPUs, outperforms this pairing in Rust. The only reason the combo does not rank dead last is that some configurations are even more constrained, likely with weaker CPUs paired with similarly outdated GPUs. However, the practical takeaway is clear: this is not a competitive setup for Rust at any resolution above 1080p, and even at 1080p, only the Low preset is playable.

The ranking also highlights the imbalance between the two components. A combo with a CPU that ranks in the 90th percentile and a GPU that ranks in the 74th percentile would typically land in the middle of the pack, but Rust's engine appears to be unusually sensitive to GPU memory bandwidth and capacity. The 4 GB VRAM is likely the single largest factor in this poor rank, as modern survival games like Rust tend to exceed 4 GB of VRAM usage even at Medium settings, forcing the GPU to spill into system memory and causing severe frame rate drops.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database provides nearest rival data for both the CPU and GPU, which can help identify hardware that would behave similarly in this combination. For the Intel Core i5-14600K, the closest rivals are the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (average score 48698, delta -0.2%), the AMD EPYC 4345P (average score 48470, delta +0.3%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (average score 48287, delta +0.7%), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (average score 48995, delta -0.8%). These processors all sit within 1% of the i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618, meaning that swapping the CPU for any of these would produce nearly identical frame rates in Rust, assuming the same GPU.

For the AMD Radeon RX 570, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (average score 28874, delta -0.4%), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (average score 28580, delta +0.7%), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (average score 28996, delta -0.8%), and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (average score 28421, delta +1.2%). These GPUs all have average benchmark scores within 1.2% of the RX 570's 28766, indicating that they would deliver nearly identical performance in Rust. Notably, the RX 470 is essentially the same chip (Polaris 10 vs. Polaris 20), so its inclusion is expected, while the RX 6800M is a laptop GPU that happens to score similarly in synthetic benchmarks.

If a user were to pair the i5-14600K with any of these rival GPUs, the measured FPS would be statistically indistinguishable from the RX 570's results. Conversely, pairing the RX 570 with any of the rival CPUs would also yield the same frame rates, since the GPU is the bottleneck. This data reinforces that the system's performance is entirely GPU-bound, and any CPU within this performance band would produce identical outcomes.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database defines playable as an average FPS at or above 60. Using that threshold, the results are as follows:

At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The highest average FPS recorded is 24.5 on Low, which falls 35.5 FPS short of the threshold. The best possible setting is technically Low, but it is far from playable, and the database lists no playable settings and no best settings for this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the situation is identical: no playable settings. The Low preset averages 47.1 FPS, which is 12.9 FPS below the threshold. Medium (31.3 FPS), High (23.3 FPS), and Ultra (20.5 FPS) are all progressively worse. Again, the database records no playable settings and no best settings.

At 1920x1080, there is exactly one playable setting: Low, with an average FPS of 68.5. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that clears the 60 FPS bar. The database confirms this by listing Low as the best settings with an average FPS of 68.5. Medium (43.8 FPS), High (40.1 FPS), and Ultra (27.8 FPS) are all below the threshold and not recommended for a playable experience.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Rust at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset. The recorded data shows an average of 68.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets at 1080p fall below 60 FPS.

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

A: No preset at 2560x1440 is playable. The highest average FPS is 47.1 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The database lists no playable settings and no best settings for this resolution.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to the RX 470 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 470 has an average benchmark score of 28996, which is 0.8% higher than the RX 570's 28766. In Rust, this would translate to nearly identical frame rates, likely within 1 FPS at any given setting.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rate drops dramatically with increasing resolution (e.g., from 68.5 FPS at 1080p Low to 24.5 FPS at 4K Low), which is a GPU-bound pattern. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile and has ample headroom.

Q: What resolution and settings deliver the highest average FPS?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 68.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is the i5-14600K's performance close to any Xeon or EPYC processors?

A: Yes. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.2% slower, the AMD EPYC 4345P is 0.3% faster, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX is 0.7% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% slower. All are within 1% of the i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618.