Rust

# Rust with AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combination of AMD's Zen 3-based Ryzen 5 5600GT and NVIDIA's RTX 4080 produces frame rates that place it in the 409th position out of 3,723 tested combinations for Rust, putting it in the top 11% of all tested configs. The pairing of a six-core CPU with a high-end Ada Lovelace GPU yields a system that handles Rust's demanding survival gameplay at 1080p and 1440p with ease, while 4K Ultra remains a challenging target. The data reveals interesting bottlenecks: at lower resolutions, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor, while at 4K the GPU's raw throughput takes over. This analysis examines how the individual components contribute to the measured results across all resolution and settings combinations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 409 out of 3,723 tested combinations places this system firmly in the upper echelon for Rust performance. With 3,723 total configurations tested, this ranking means approximately 89% of all tested combos deliver lower frame rates in Rust. This is particularly notable because the CPU itself only sits at the 74th percentile among all processors, while the GPU reaches the 86th percentile among all graphics cards. The combination of a mid-pack CPU with a high-tier GPU produces results that exceed what either component would suggest individually.

Benchmark data for the CPU shows an average score of 20,733, placing it nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12490F (20,802, deltaPct -0.3%), the Intel Xeon 6325P (20,821, deltaPct -0.4%), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U (20,826, deltaPct -0.4%). The AMD EPYC 7J13 sits at 20,845 with a deltaPct of -0.5%. These near-identical scores indicate that the Ryzen 5 5600GT's compute performance is well-matched to its direct competitors, yet the actual gaming results in Rust benefit from the 4.60 GHz boost clock and Zen 3 architecture.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 54,247 puts it within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X sits 1.1% higher at 54,828. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698 (deltaPct -2.6%) and the AMD Radeon 8060S reaches 55,757 (deltaPct -2.7%). These tight margins suggest that the RTX 4080 is performing as expected for its class, with no unusual deviations in synthetic workloads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT provides six physical cores with twelve threads using the Zen 3 architecture on TSMC's 7 nm process. The base clock of 3.60 GHz can boost up to 4.60 GHz, which is critical for Rust's simulation-heavy gameplay. The 16 MB of L3 cache (with 512 KB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core) helps reduce memory latency in a game that frequently accesses world data. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth represent a modest configuration compared to the GPU's capabilities.

In Rust, the CPU's impact becomes evident when examining the scaling from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 196 FPS average, which drops to 159 FPS at High, 169 FPS at Medium, and 124 FPS at Ultra. The fact that Medium (169 FPS) outperforms High (159 FPS) suggests that specific settings within the Medium preset are less CPU-intensive, while the Ultra preset's additional draw distance and entity processing demands push the CPU harder. The single-thread benchmark score of 913 in 3DMark and 2,438 in Cinebench R23 indicate that this CPU's single-core performance is adequate but not exceptional, which becomes the primary constraint at 1080p where the GPU has headroom to render more frames than the CPU can feed.

The 3DMark multi-thread scores show scaling from 1,794 (2 threads) to 5,554 (max threads), demonstrating that Rust can utilize additional threads but with diminishing returns beyond eight threads (4,968 score). The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17,272 and Geekbench multi-core score of 7,986 confirm that this six-core processor provides solid multi-threaded throughput for background tasks while gaming, but the game's frame rate is more dependent on the boost clock behavior.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p compared to 1080p?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 133 versus 169 at 1080p Medium, a 21% reduction. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 85 FPS versus 124 FPS at 1080p Ultra, a 31% reduction. The 1440p High preset averages 112 FPS, which is 30% lower than 1080p High's 159 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Rust?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium (133 FPS average) and 1440p High (112 FPS average) both provide smooth gameplay above 100 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings (117 FPS) and Medium settings (79 FPS) are playable, while 4K Ultra drops to 50 FPS.

Q: Why does 1080p Medium (169 FPS) outperform 1080p High (159 FPS)?

A: The measured results show this anomaly, with Medium averaging 169 FPS and High averaging 159 FPS at the same resolution. This suggests that certain High preset settings introduce additional CPU or GPU work that does not proportionally improve visual quality, creating an efficiency sweet spot at Medium.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 being fully utilized at 1080p?

A: The frame rate gap between 1080p Low (196 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (124 FPS) indicates the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p. The CPU's single-thread performance limits the maximum frame rate, as evidenced by the 196 FPS ceiling even at Low settings where GPU load is minimal.

Q: How does 4K performance compare across settings?

A: At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 50 at Ultra to 117 at Low, with Medium at 79 and High at 66. The 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K Medium (79 FPS) provides a playable experience.

Q: What does the frame time data show for Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with measured minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 143-194 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 113-153 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 67-90 FPS. These ranges indicate frame time variability that increases with resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 196 FPS, Medium averages 169 FPS with a range of 143-194 FPS, High averages 159 FPS, and Ultra averages 124 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 72 FPS, showing that graphical settings have a substantial impact even at 1080p where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the GPU beginning to exert more influence. Low settings average 173 FPS, Medium averages 133 FPS with a range of 113-153 FPS, High averages 112 FPS, and Ultra averages 85 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 12% at Low settings (196 to 173 FPS) to 31% at Ultra settings (124 to 85 FPS), with Medium and High showing 21% and 30% reductions respectively.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's capabilities become the dominant factor. Low settings average 117 FPS, Medium averages 79 FPS with a range of 67-90 FPS, High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The performance cliff between Medium (79 FPS) and High (66 FPS) is particularly steep, suggesting that certain High preset options impose significant GPU load. The 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 196 FPS at 1080p to 173 FPS at 1440p (12% reduction) and then to 117 FPS at 4K (32% reduction from 1440p). This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU's single-thread performance caps the maximum frame rate around 196 FPS, and even at 4K the GPU still delivers 117 FPS because the Low preset minimizes GPU workload.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 169 FPS at 1080p drops to 133 FPS at 1440p (21% reduction) and further to 79 FPS at 4K (41% reduction from 1440p). This steeper decline suggests that Medium settings introduce enough GPU work that the RTX 4080 becomes increasingly responsible for frame rate as resolution increases. The measured minimum FPS values also scale proportionally: 143 at 1080p, 113 at 1440p, and 67 at 4K.

The High and Ultra settings show the most dramatic resolution scaling. High goes from 159 FPS at 1080p to 112 FPS at 1440p (30% reduction) and then to 66 FPS at 4K (41% reduction from 1440p). Ultra drops from 124 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p (31% reduction) and then to 50 FPS at 4K (41% reduction from 1440p). The consistent ~41% reduction from 1440p to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra settings indicates that these presets are GPU-limited at 4K, while the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60+ FPS at 4K, the data shows that Low settings (117 FPS) and Medium settings (79 FPS) are the only viable options, with Medium providing a substantial visual upgrade while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The 4K High preset (66 FPS) is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, and Ultra (50 FPS) falls below the threshold.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (133 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a 21 FPS advantage over High (112 FPS) and a 48 FPS advantage over Ultra (85 FPS). The 1440p Ultra preset (85 FPS) remains playable and provides the highest visual fidelity for players who prioritize image quality, but the measured data suggests that Medium captures most of the visual benefit at significantly higher frame rates.

At 1080p, all settings exceed 120 FPS, making the choice more about visual preference than playability. The Ultra preset (124 FPS) provides the best image quality while still maintaining high frame rates, although Medium (169 FPS) and High (159 FPS) offer smoother gameplay. The anomaly where Medium outperforms High by 10 FPS suggests that High's specific settings combination imposes additional overhead without proportional visual gains, making Medium the more efficient choice for competitive play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves essential for Rust's large world textures and draw distances at 4K resolution. The GPU's 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units deliver the raw throughput needed for the game's deferred rendering pipeline. The base clock of 2205 MHz boosts to 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective).

The GPU's benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 34,457 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567, confirming its position in the 86th percentile among all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 214,739 and Vulkan score of 263,779 indicate strong compute performance that benefits Rust's physics and world simulation. The RTX 4080's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54,209 (deltaPct 0.1%), showing that this GPU is performing at the expected level with no manufacturing or driver anomalies.

The GPU's role in Rust becomes clear when examining the 4K results: at 4K Ultra (50 FPS) versus 4K Low (117 FPS), the 67 FPS difference demonstrates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K with high settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra with maximum texture streaming, memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores provide headroom for future game updates that might implement ray-traced lighting, though Rust's current implementation does not appear to leverage these features based on the measured results. The GPU's 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler design indicate that thermal throttling is unlikely in typical system configurations, allowing the 2505 MHz boost clock to be sustained during extended gaming sessions.