Rust

The Core i5-9400, and the RX 6,6600, as the analyzed combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data across all resolutions and presets indicates that the GPU is the dominant component for Rust at every tested resolution, though the CPU's contribution becomes more apparent at lower settings. At 4K, the gap between the Low preset and the High preset is 20.3 FPS (from 50.7 FPS down to 30.4 FPS), while at 1080p the same preset change results in a 54.7 FPS difference (from 124.5 FPS down to 69.8 FPS). This scaling pattern shows that as resolution drops, the frame rate ceiling rises significantly, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads where the Radeon RX 6600's rendering throughput is the primary constraint.

The CPU's role is best observed in the scaling from 1440p to 1080p at the Low preset. At 1440p Low, the system produces 87.8 FPS, and at 1080p Low it reaches 124.5 FPS, a gain of 36.7 FPS. This is a larger absolute jump than the 38.0 FPS gain seen when moving from 4K Low (50.7 FPS) to 1440p Low (87.8 FPS), suggesting that the i5-9400's six cores and six threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but are not the limiting factor. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Ultra, the system drops to 56.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, and this is where both components are working near their limits for this title.

The data also shows that the preset scaling is not linear. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium adds 37.1 FPS of headroom (from 124.5 to 87.4 FPS is a drop of 37.1 FPS, meaning Medium is 37.1 FPS slower), and from Medium to High the drop is 17.6 FPS (from 87.4 to 69.8 FPS). The largest single drop is from High to Ultra at 1080p, where the frame rate falls from 69.8 FPS to 56.3 FPS, a 13.5 FPS reduction. This pattern indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that disproportionately tax the RX 6600, while the CPU maintains consistent performance across these settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Rust at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 69.8 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 9.8 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: The only setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at 2560x1440 is Low, which produces an average of 87.8 FPS. Medium drops to 57.3 FPS, and High falls to 49.7 FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The best result at 3840x2160 is 50.7 FPS on the Low preset, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages only 24.1 FPS.

Q: How much faster is Low compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 124.5 FPS, while Ultra delivers 56.3 FPS. Low is 68.2 FPS faster, or more than double the frame rate.

Q: Does the system meet the 60 FPS target at 1440p Medium?

A: No. The measured average at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 57.3 FPS, which is 2.7 FPS below the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K High?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 30.4 FPS, which is roughly half the 60 FPS threshold and indicates a demanding scenario for the RX 6600.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset produces an average of 124.5 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate across all tests. Medium follows at 87.4 FPS, High at 69.8 FPS, and Ultra at 56.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 68.2 FPS, showing that the graphics settings have a substantial impact at this resolution. The 1080p High result is notable because it is the only High preset across all resolutions that clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop considerably. Low averages 87.8 FPS, which remains well above 60 FPS. Medium averages 57.3 FPS, just below the threshold, while High averages 49.7 FPS and Ultra averages 34.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 53.0 FPS, and the step from Medium to High costs 7.6 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 14.9 FPS, indicating that Ultra is particularly demanding at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below the playable threshold. Low averages 50.7 FPS, Medium averages 33.2 FPS, High averages 30.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 24.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 17.5 FPS, and between Medium and High is 2.8 FPS, which is a smaller relative drop than seen at lower resolutions. The data shows that 4K requires more GPU headroom than the RX 6600 can provide for this game, regardless of the quality preset selected.

The Verdict

According to the verdict data, this PC can run Rust at 1920x1080 with playable settings on High, Low, and Medium presets. The best playable setting at 1080p is High, which achieves an average of 69.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, the only playable setting is Low, with an average of 87.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings, as even the Low preset falls to 50.7 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold.

For users targeting 1080p, the system offers a comfortable margin on High settings, with nearly 10 FPS of headroom above the playable threshold. At 1440p, the system is limited to Low settings for a smooth experience, and users who prefer Medium or higher would need to accept frame rates below 60 FPS. For 4K, the system is not suitable for this game, as the highest achievable frame rate is 50.7 FPS on Low, which still falls short of the target.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with a score of 2259 and a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i7-1068NG7 is essentially equivalent in performance. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 with a delta of 0.3%, indicating it is about 0.3% slower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 with a delta of 0.4%, also marginally slower, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 with a delta of -0.4%, making it slightly faster. These four processors would behave nearly identically to the i5-9400 in Rust, as the differences are all within a fraction of a percent.

For the AMD Radeon RX 6600, the average benchmark score is 19036. The closest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030 and a delta of 0%, meaning identical performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 with a delta of -0.1%, making it marginally faster. The NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 19089 with a delta of -0.3%, slightly faster, and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 18954 with a delta of 0.4%, slightly slower. In practice, any of these GPUs would produce frame rates within a few tenths of a percent of the RX 6600 in Rust, so the measured FPS values would be nearly indistinguishable.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 69.8 FPS. This is the recommended setting for this resolution, as it provides the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The Medium preset also clears 60 FPS at 87.4 FPS, but High offers more visual fidelity for a modest 17.6 FPS reduction.

At 2560x1440, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 87.8 FPS. This is the recommended setting for users who want to play at 1440p, as Medium falls to 57.3 FPS, which is below the threshold. The Low preset at 1440p actually provides a higher frame rate than High at 1080p, so users who prioritize smoothness over visual fidelity may prefer this configuration.

At 3840x2160, there is no preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. The best option is Low, which averages 50.7 FPS, but this still falls short of the playable threshold. Users with 4K displays would need to lower the resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2883 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This places the system in the lower portion of the database, around the 22.5th percentile, meaning roughly 840 tested combos perform worse. The rank reflects the system's limitations at higher resolutions, particularly 4K, where it fails to reach 60 FPS on any preset.

Despite the relatively low overall rank, the system is well suited for 1080p gaming in Rust, where it can handle High settings with ease. The rank is dragged down by the 4K results, which are all below 60 FPS, and the 1440p results, which only support Low settings. For a mainstream desktop setup from the Coffee Lake and RDNA 2 era, the data shows that this combo is adequate for standard 1080p monitors but not for high-refresh-rate 1440p displays or 4K panels.