Rust

Measured FPS Breakdown

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT produces playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but only at the lowest setting at 4K. At 1920x1080, the average FPS starts at 142 on Low and remains above 60 through all tested presets, including 107 average on High, 122 on Medium, and 82 on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 104 and a maximum of 140, which indicates strong frame pacing at that setting. The Ultra setting, while playable, sees the largest drop from Medium, falling by 40 FPS on average.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower headroom. Low settings deliver an average of 125 FPS, Medium drops to 88 average with a 74 minimum and 101 maximum, and High sits at 74 average. Ultra falls below the playable threshold at 56 average, meaning the database flags it as unplayable for consistent 60 FPS gameplay. The gap between Low and Ultra is 69 FPS, which shows that the preset scaling is significant at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset remains playable, with an average of 77 FPS. Medium averages 52 FPS with a 44 minimum and 59 maximum, which puts it below the 60 FPS threshold on average but close enough that some moments may feel smooth. High averages 44 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 average. The data shows a steep decline from Low to Medium at 4K, a 25 FPS drop, and another 19 FPS drop from Medium to High. This resolution is clearly GPU-limited for this combo, as even the lowest preset only barely clears the playable mark.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU first, the Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals in the database are all within a fraction of a percent. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a delta of -0.2 percent, meaning it is essentially identical. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, a 0.3 percent difference, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4 percent difference. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, a -0.4 percent delta. For Rust, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly the same CPU-bound performance, so the choice between them comes down to platform features rather than frame rates.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks at the 67th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22549. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, which scores 22435, a delta of 0.5 percent, so it is effectively a match. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile scores 22729, a -0.8 percent delta, meaning it is slightly faster on average. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, a -1.5 percent delta, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 22170, a 1.7 percent delta. In practice, a system with any of these GPUs paired with a similar-class CPU would produce frame rates within a few percent of the measured numbers above, so the playable settings at each resolution would stay the same.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows that Rust scales heavily with resolution, which points to the GPU being the dominant factor at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low to Ultra only reduces the average FPS from 142 to 82, a 42 percent drop. At 2560x1440, the same preset change drops the average from 125 to 56, a 55 percent reduction. At 3840x2160, the drop is even steeper: from 77 on Low to 33 on Ultra, a 57 percent reduction. This progressive worsening at higher resolutions indicates that pixel throughput, not CPU logic, is the limiting factor once the resolution climbs.

The CPU still matters at lower resolutions, where the frame rates are high enough that the i5-9400's six threads can become a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 142 average, which is well above what a GPU alone would sustain in many scenes, but the CPU's 47th percentile ranking suggests it is near the middle of the pack. The gap between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is only 17 FPS (142 vs 125), while the gap between 1440p Low and 4K Low is 48 FPS (125 vs 77). This pattern shows that moving from 1080p to 1440p is partially CPU-limited, while moving from 1440p to 4K is almost entirely GPU-limited.

At 4K, the CPU is largely irrelevant for this combo. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 25 FPS, and between Medium and High it is 8 FPS, which means the GPU is saturated. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 20 FPS, and between Medium and High it is 15 FPS, which shows a more balanced load. For players targeting high refresh rates at 1080p, the CPU would need an upgrade to push beyond the 142 average, but for 1440p and 4K, the RX 7700 XT is the component to watch.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combo playable for Rust at 1080p?

A: Yes, all four presets are playable at 1920x1080. The Ultra preset averages 82 FPS, High averages 107, Medium averages 122, and Low averages 142, all above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system run Rust at 1440p with max settings?

A: No. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS, which is below the playable threshold of 60. The best playable setting is High, which averages 74 FPS.

Q: What is the only playable setting at 4K for this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, with an average of 77 FPS. Medium averages 52, High averages 44, and Ultra averages 33, all below 60.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to the RTX 4060 Mobile in this context?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, while the RTX 4060 Mobile scores 22729, a delta of -0.8 percent. In Rust, the frame rates would be within a few percent of each other, so the playable settings would be identical.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, the CPU appears to be a limiting factor at Low settings, where the average is 142 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limit, as shown by the steep FPS drops when increasing resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p if I want to stay above 60 FPS?

A: High is the most demanding preset that stays playable at 2560x1440, with an average of 74 FPS. Ultra falls below the threshold at 56 average.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 82 FPS. This is the recommended setting for full visual quality at this resolution, and the headroom above 60 FPS means occasional dips are unlikely to drop below playability.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best choice, averaging 74 FPS. This provides a solid margin above the 60 FPS threshold while delivering noticeably better visuals than Medium, which averages 88 FPS but lacks the higher texture and shadow quality of High.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that remains playable, averaging 77 FPS. While Medium offers better visuals, its 52 average and 44 minimum make it risky for consistent gameplay, so Low is the safe choice for 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 1636 out of 3723 tested combos for Rust. This places it in the upper half of the database, though not near the top tier. The rank reflects the fact that the GPU is strong enough for 1440p High and 1080p Ultra, but the CPU's mid-pack performance (47th percentile) prevents the combo from reaching the highest frame rates at lower resolutions.

Compared to the nearest rival CPUs, the i5-9400 is essentially tied with the i7-1068NG7 and i7-10710U, so swapping in any of those would not change the rank meaningfully. The GPU is more clearly above average, sitting at the 67th percentile, which means the combo's overall rank is mostly held back by the processor. In Rust, where large player bases and building physics can stress the CPU, the i5-9400's six threads without hyperthreading may cause occasional hitches in dense areas, though the measured averages remain playable.

For a player using this combo, the data suggests that 1080p Ultra and 1440p High are the sweet spots. Pushing to 4K requires dropping to Low, which defeats the purpose of the resolution upgrade. The 1636 rank also indicates that many other combos in the database achieve higher frame rates, but this pairing still delivers a smooth experience at mainstream resolutions and settings.