Rust

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 lands in the 2190th position out of 3723 tested combinations for Rust. This places the combo in the 58th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly two out of five tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates. The pairing is not a top-tier performer for this title, but the data indicates it occupies a solidly mid-pack position, with headroom to run the game comfortably at lower resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2190 out of 3723 combinations places the i7-13700K and RX 9060 slightly better than the median tested system for Rust. The CPU itself sits at the 89th percentile against all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 46881. The GPU, however, is more modest, sitting at the 59th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 16014. This discrepancy suggests the processor is capable of feeding the graphics card adequately, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor in more demanding scenarios. The measured FPS data confirms this interpretation: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 151 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 27 FPS average, indicating the GPU struggles when pixel count and settings both increase.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals which component dominates performance in Rust. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low to Ultra settings produces a drop from 151 FPS to 65 FPS average, a reduction of 86 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same settings change yields a drop from 104 FPS to 45 FPS average, a reduction of 59 FPS. At 3840x2160, the drop is from 62 FPS to 27 FPS average, a reduction of 35 FPS. The absolute FPS values shrink as resolution rises, but the relative penalty from Ultra settings becomes less severe in percentage terms. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push high frame rates, and the GPU workload from settings changes is the primary constraint. At 4K, both components are saturated, and the GPU’s raw throughput limits performance more than settings do. The CPU’s strong multi-threaded scores — Cinebench R23 multi-core at 30745 and Passmark multithread at 45887 — suggest it is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested, leaving the RX 9060 as the determining factor for playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 151 FPS average on Low settings, 102 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 117, 86 FPS on High, and 65 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum of 86 FPS is still far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, so even transient dips do not threaten smoothness. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS average is also playable, but the margin above 60 FPS is thin, and any heavy scene complexity could push it lower.

At 2560x1440, the results are 104 FPS on Low, 70 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 80, 59 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, meaning occasional stutters are possible even though the average is 70 FPS. High settings average 59 FPS, which is effectively at the playability cutoff; the average is one frame short of 60. Ultra at 45 FPS is clearly not smooth for a survival game where quick reactions matter.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 62 FPS on Low, 41 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47, 35 FPS on High, and 27 FPS on Ultra. Only Low settings clear the 60 FPS bar, and the Medium preset’s average of 41 FPS with a 35 FPS minimum confirms that 4K gaming is only viable at the lowest quality preset. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is a 21 FPS drop, which is a larger absolute penalty than the 14 FPS drop seen at 1440p between Low and Medium, highlighting the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput limits at high resolution.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Rust depends entirely on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the answer is unequivocally yes: all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS average threshold, with Ultra at 65 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the combo is playable on Low and Medium, with Medium averaging 70 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below the threshold at 59 FPS and 45 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve playable performance with a 62 FPS average; Medium, High, and Ultra all fail to reach 60 FPS, with the Ultra preset averaging just 27 FPS. Therefore, the system is a capable 1080p ultra-settings machine, a solid 1440p medium-settings machine, and a marginal 4K low-settings machine.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1920x1080 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: Ultra settings at 1920x1080 average 65 FPS, which is the most demanding preset that stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Can this combo run Rust at 2560x1440 on High settings?

A: No. High settings at 2560x1440 average 59 FPS, which is one frame below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings are the highest playable preset at this resolution, averaging 70 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest playable settings at 3840x2160?

A: Only Low settings at 3840x2160 clear 60 FPS, with an average of 62 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra at this resolution all fall below the threshold.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, while the RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the RTX 3060 Ti is marginally faster in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to the Ryzen 9 5900?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, while the Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the two CPUs are effectively tied in average performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor for Rust at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and the GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3322 suggest the processor has ample headroom, while the GPU’s frame rate drops sharply from Low to Ultra at 3840x2160.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 62 FPS. Medium at this resolution drops to 41 FPS, so Low is the sole choice for maintaining smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, Medium settings provide the highest visual quality that stays at or above 60 FPS, averaging 70 FPS with a minimum of 59. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings are the most demanding preset that still clears the threshold, averaging 65 FPS. In all cases, the playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS average, and the chosen presets represent the best visual quality that meets this criterion.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all within a fraction of a percent in average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-13700K’s 46881. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654, 0.5% higher than the i7-13700K, and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 also scores 46653, 0.5% higher. Any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Rust, as the performance delta is under one percent in every case.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the closest rival with a score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 9060’s 16014. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, 1% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, also 1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, 2.1% lower. A system with an RTX 3060 Ti would produce essentially the same FPS numbers across all resolutions and settings, while a system with an RX 7700 would be a hair slower, potentially dropping the 4K Low average from 62 FPS down closer to the 60 FPS threshold. The benchmark results confirm that this CPU-GPU pairing behaves predictably within its performance class, with no unexpected bottlenecks or anomalies.