Rust

The Intel Core i5-6-thread Coffee Lake processor paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, a Blackwell architecture GPU with a 250 W TDP, shows a very different performance balance than the raw benchmark percentiles suggest. The RTX 5070 sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among CPUs. That gap predicts a CPU-limited pairing in many titles, and the recorded Rust data confirms it: at 1080p, the combo delivers 144.2 FPS on Low settings, which is nearly identical to the 123.7 FPS at 1440p Low and the 96.5 FPS at 4K Low. The frame rate drops are modest as resolution climbs, meaning the CPU is doing most of the heavy lifting in this game's Low preset. The database shows this combination ranks 1199th out of 3723 tested combos for Rust, putting it in the upper third of all systems but far from the top tier.

Best Settings per Resolution

For a 60 FPS target, the most demanding preset that stays at or above that threshold varies sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS on every preset recorded. The best playable setting is Ultra, which averages 101.6 FPS. That leaves plenty of headroom for drops during busy moments, and even the most intensive preset does not approach the playability threshold. High settings at 1080p run at 112.3 FPS, Medium at 124.2 FPS, and Low at 144.2 FPS. All of these are comfortably above 60 FPS, so the recommendation is simple: run Ultra for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the situation remains favorable. The best playable setting is Ultra, averaging 71.4 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold but with less margin than at 1080p. High settings run at 92.7 FPS, Medium at 107.6 FPS, and Low at 123.7 FPS. If you prefer a locked 60 FPS with no risk of dipping below, High would be the safer choice, but the data shows Ultra stays above the threshold on average. The 71.4 FPS average suggests that most scenes will hold 60 FPS, though the margin is thin enough that heavy firefights or large bases could cause temporary drops.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which averages 66.9 FPS. Low settings run faster at 96.5 FPS, but Medium provides a substantial visual upgrade while still clearing the threshold. High settings drop to 54.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra falls to 45.6 FPS. The verdict from the database lists Low and Medium as playable at 4K, with Medium as the best choice. If you want to push visuals higher at 4K, you will need to accept frame rates below 60 FPS, which may be tolerable for a slower-paced survival game but is not ideal for responsive combat.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in Rust. The i5-9400, with 6 cores and 6 threads running at a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost, appears to be the limiting factor at lower resolutions. Look at the scaling between 1080p and 1440p on Low settings: 144.2 FPS at 1080p drops to 123.7 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 14%. Moving from 1440p to 4K on Low drops further to 96.5 FPS, another 22% reduction. These are relatively small frame rate losses compared to what a GPU-bound system would show, where doubling the pixel count typically halves the frame rate.

The GPU becomes more relevant as settings increase. At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 101.6 FPS at 1080p, 71.4 FPS at 1440p, and 45.6 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop on Ultra is about 30%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is about 36%. This suggests that the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at higher presets, while the CPU's single-thread performance handles the game's simulation and entity updates. Rust is known for its CPU-heavy server-side and client-side logic, and the data supports that characterization: the CPU locks the ceiling at Low settings, while the GPU determines how much visual overhead you can add before hitting that ceiling.

At 4K High and Ultra, the combo falls below 60 FPS, which indicates the GPU is no longer able to keep up with the CPU's output. The RTX 5070's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 80 ROPs are substantial, but Rust's draw calls and terrain rendering at 4K push past the GPU's limits. In practical terms, this pairing is CPU-bound at 1080p and 1440p on most presets, and GPU-bound at 4K on High and Ultra. If you are upgrading from a weaker CPU, you will see larger gains at 1080p; if you are upgrading from a weaker GPU, you will see larger gains at 4K with higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this specific CPU+GPU combination at rank 1199 out of 3723 tested combos for Rust. That is roughly the 68th percentile, meaning about one third of tested systems perform better and two thirds perform worse. The i5-9400's 47th percentile among all CPUs and the RTX 5070's 82nd percentile among all GPUs create an unbalanced pairing. In a CPU-light game, this combo would rank much higher; in a CPU-heavy game like Rust, the processor drags the overall score down.

The rank of 1199 reflects the measured FPS data, which shows strong performance at 1080p but a sharp decline at 4K. Compared to other combos with the same GPU but faster CPUs, the gap would widen at lower resolutions where the CPU matters most. Conversely, compared to combos with the same CPU but slower GPUs, the gap would widen at higher resolutions and presets. The data indicates that this is a mid-to-upper tier setup for Rust, capable of smooth 1080p and 1440p play but not a top-tier 4K machine.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database, the i5-9400 sits between several processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254 average. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, so swapping the i5-9400 for any of these would produce almost identical frame rates in Rust. None of them would solve the CPU bottleneck at 1080p; they would all behave within a fraction of a percent of each other.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5070's nearest rivals are similarly close. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 40318, 0.1% higher than the RTX 5070's 40377 average. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 scores 40063, 0.8% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870, 1.2% higher. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568, 2% lower. These are all workstation-class GPUs with different driver optimizations, but the raw scores suggest they would deliver comparable average FPS in Rust. The RTX 5070 has a 12 GB GDDR7 memory buffer and a 192-bit bus, which may give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes, but the benchmark deltas are small enough that the experience would feel similar.

For a builder considering alternatives, the practical takeaway is that the CPU is the component to upgrade first. Moving to a processor with higher single-thread performance would yield meaningful gains at 1080p and 1440p, while swapping the GPU to one of these rivals would change little. Conversely, if you already own a faster CPU, the RTX 5070 is a strong match for Rust at 1440p and even playable at 4K with Medium settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records average FPS for each resolution and preset combination, with no min or max values provided. The full breakdown is as follows.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 101.6 FPS, High averages 112.3 FPS, Medium averages 124.2 FPS, and Low averages 144.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is about 30%, which is modest and indicates that the CPU is holding the frame rate ceiling even at the highest preset. Every preset at 1080p exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold by a wide margin.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 71.4 FPS, High averages 92.7 FPS, Medium averages 107.6 FPS, and Low averages 123.7 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets: about 30% for Ultra, 18% for High, 13% for Medium, and 14% for Low. The Ultra preset is the only one that comes close to the 60 FPS threshold, and even it stays above on average.

At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 45.6 FPS, High averages 54.8 FPS, Medium averages 66.9 FPS, and Low averages 96.5 FPS. This is where the RTX 5070's limits become apparent. High and Ultra both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium and Low remain playable. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 29.6 FPS, which is larger than the 20.5 FPS gap at 1440p and the 20 FPS gap at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and rasterization throughput are the limiting factors at 4K with higher presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for 1080p on this combo?

A: Ultra, which averages 101.6 FPS. All presets at 1080p exceed 60 FPS, so you can run the highest visual quality without worrying about playability.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only on Medium or Low settings. Medium averages 66.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 54.8 FPS and Ultra averages 45.6 FPS, both below the threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Rust?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, especially on Low and Medium presets where frame rates scale modestly with resolution. At 4K with High and Ultra presets, the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1199th out of 3723 combos for Rust, placing it in the upper third of tested systems. The CPU's 47th percentile score holds back the GPU's 82nd percentile score.

Q: What other CPUs would perform similarly?

A: The Intel Core i7-1068NG7, Intel Core i7-10710U, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, and Intel Core i3-10305 all have average benchmark scores within 0.4% of the i5-9400. Swapping to any of these would produce nearly identical frame rates in Rust.

Q: What other GPUs would perform similarly?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 580, AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, AMD Radeon Pro 5300, and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile have average scores within 2% of the RTX 5070. They would deliver comparable average FPS, though driver differences may affect consistency.