Rust

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a highly capable Rust experience, but the data reveals a clear ceiling at 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, this combination easily clears the 60 FPS playable threshold across all tested settings, including Ultra. At 4K, however, the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS on High and Ultra presets, making Medium the optimal choice for a smooth experience. The benchmark results show a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming resolutions, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck only at the highest resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. All figures represent average FPS, as minimum and maximum values were not captured.

At 1920x1080, the system performs exceptionally well. The Low preset delivers an average of 144.9 FPS, which is near the top of what a standard 60 Hz or 144 Hz display can use. Moving to Medium yields 124.7 FPS, while High produces 117.1 FPS. Even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a strong 97.1 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a performance drop of roughly 33%, from 144.9 down to 97.1 FPS, but every setting remains far above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a predictable decline. The Low preset averages 125.4 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium follows with 105.8 FPS, and High delivers 85.7 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still averages 63.5 FPS, just barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is about 49%, from 125.4 down to 63.5 FPS, indicating that the graphical load scales significantly with settings.

At 3840x2160, the system faces its toughest challenge. The Low preset averages 88.6 FPS, which remains playable. Medium drops to 60.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS mark. However, High falls to 54.4 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 37.3 FPS. Neither High nor Ultra can sustain smooth gameplay at 4K, as both fail to reach the 60 FPS threshold. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is a substantial 58%, from 88.6 down to 37.3 FPS, showing that Ultra settings at this resolution are too demanding for this combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant factor in Rust performance, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent: as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, average FPS drops significantly at every preset. For example, at High settings, performance falls from 117.1 FPS at 1080p to 85.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 54.4 FPS at 4K. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load grows faster than the CPU's ability to feed the graphics card.

At 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role. The difference between Low and Ultra is 47.8 FPS (from 144.9 to 97.1), which is notable but still indicates that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower settings. The Intel Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, provides enough throughput for the RX 9070 XT to reach high frame rates at this resolution. However, the CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629, place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, suggesting it is a mid-range part that could limit the GPU in less demanding titles.

At 1440p, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The frame rate gap between Low (125.4 FPS) and Ultra (63.5 FPS) widens to 61.9 FPS, showing that the graphics card is working harder to fill the additional pixels. The CPU is less likely to be the limiting factor here, as the GPU's rendering time dominates the frame time budget.

At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The RX 9070 XT, despite its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, struggles to maintain high frame rates at this resolution. The CPU's role diminishes further, as the GPU's raw compute power, measured at 48.66 TFLOPS, is insufficient for Ultra settings at 4K. The data shows that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands at 4K Low and Medium, but the GPU simply cannot render enough frames at High and Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 97.1, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best settings preset for this resolution, according to the verdict data.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the playable settings are Low and Medium. Medium offers the best experience with an average FPS of 60.6, just barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra are not playable, with averages of 54.4 and 37.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RX 9070 XT perform relative to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 13543. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, scores 13536, which is 0.1% slower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13515 (0.2% slower), and the NVIDIA P106-090 scores 13470 (0.5% slower). The AMD Radeon Pro 555 scores 13407, which is 1% slower.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary factor at 1440p. The frame rate drops from 125.4 FPS at Low to 63.5 FPS at Ultra, a 49% reduction, which aligns with GPU-bound scaling. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 places it in the 47th percentile, indicating it is adequate but not exceptional for this workload.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: This specific combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 1280 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the upper third of all systems, indicating above-average performance.

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

A: Yes, but marginally. The average FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 63.5, which is just 3.5 FPS above the playable threshold. While it clears the bar, the margin is slim, and frame rate dips could potentially cause noticeable stutter.

The Verdict

The benchmark data clearly answers the question of whether this PC can run Rust. At 1920x1080, the answer is a definitive yes. Every preset, from Low to Ultra, delivers an average FPS above 60, with Ultra achieving 97.1 FPS. This makes the system highly suitable for 1080p gaming, even with maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the system also passes the playability test across all settings. The Ultra preset averages 63.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, though not by a large margin. For gamers who prefer higher refresh rates, the Low preset at 125.4 FPS or Medium at 105.8 FPS would be better choices. The verdict data confirms that all four settings are playable at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is only partially playable. The Low preset at 88.6 FPS and Medium at 60.6 FPS are both viable options. However, High at 54.4 FPS and Ultra at 37.3 FPS fall short of the 60 FPS target. The best playable setting at 4K is Medium, with an average FPS of 60.6, which just meets the threshold. Gamers with 4K displays should stick to Medium or Low for a smooth experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 has several rivals with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. These CPUs would behave similarly in Rust, meaning they are unlikely to change the overall performance profile of the system.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has a more unusual set of rivals. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M scores 13536, just 0.1% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13515, 0.2% lower. The NVIDIA P106-090 scores 13470, 0.5% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 scores 13407, 1% lower. While these are older or lower-tier cards, the benchmark data indicates their average scores are very close to the RX 9070 XT, suggesting they would offer comparable frame rates in Rust, though likely with different feature support or power characteristics.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 1280 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the 65th percentile of all systems in the database, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested configurations. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where the CPU's mid-range performance (47th percentile) is compensated by the GPU's strong showing (55th percentile). The result is a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming, with acceptable 4K performance only at reduced settings. The data indicates that this is a solid combination for Rust, particularly for gamers targeting 1440p or 1080p with high refresh rates.