Rust

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile combination in Rust demonstrates a configuration that scales predictably with resolution, but with a clear inflection point where the GPU becomes the primary constraint. At 1080p, the system delivers triple-digit frame rates on lower presets, while at 4K, performance collapses to sub-60 FPS territory even on Low settings. The benchmark data shows that this pairing is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain competitive frame rates across most quality settings, rather than chasing 4K performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 145 at 1920x1080 to 100 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 45 FPS (31%). Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 59 FPS, which represents a 59% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4060 Mobile's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain throughput at 4K, even with minimal graphical demands.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly different numbers. At 1080p, the average FPS is 98, which falls to 67 at 1440p and then to 40 at 4K. The 4K result is 59% lower than the 1080p figure, mirroring the Low preset's scaling pattern. This consistency suggests that resolution, rather than settings complexity, is the dominant factor limiting performance at 4K.

High settings show the most dramatic scaling collapse. The average FPS at 1080p is 82, dropping to 57 at 1440p and then to 33 at 4K. The 4K score is only 40% of the 1080p score, indicating that the combination of high-quality textures and 4K resolution overwhelms the GPU's capabilities. The data indicates that at 4K High, the system is firmly in slideshow territory, with an average FPS that falls below the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

Ultra settings exhibit the worst absolute performance, with an average of 63 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, representing a 60% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure. This pattern confirms that the RTX 4060 Mobile is not designed for 4K gaming, particularly at maximum quality presets.

The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The Ryzen 9 8945HX, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, provides ample processing power that remains underutilized at higher resolutions. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030 indicate robust performance that would not bottleneck at any resolution tested. The GPU, however, with its FP32 throughput of 11.61 TFLOPS and 90.72 GPixel/s pixel rate, simply cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 Mobile's VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a critical factor in Rust's performance. The game's open-world survival mechanics require substantial texture memory, and at 4K resolution, the 8 GB frame buffer becomes a limiting resource. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (25 FPS) versus 4K Low (59 FPS) shows a 58% performance gap, which is attributable to both increased memory pressure and higher shader complexity at Ultra settings.

Clock speeds play a secondary role in the performance profile. The GPU's base clock of 1545 MHz and boost clock of 1890 MHz, combined with a memory clock of 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), provide the foundation for the observed results. The 128-bit memory bus width, while narrow for a modern GPU, delivers 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth that proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but insufficient for 4K.

The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm TSMC process, includes 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. These specifications translate to a texture rate of 181.4 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s. In Rust, which relies heavily on draw calls and texture streaming, these figures determine the ceiling for frame rates at each resolution and settings combination.

The RTX 4060 Mobile's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores provide ray tracing and DLSS capabilities, but the measured data does not include any ray-traced benchmarks. The PassMark G3D score of 17469 places this GPU in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, indicating solid mid-range performance. The nearest rival comparison shows a 0.7% delta from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, a 0.8% advantage over the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, and a 1.3% deficit against the Intel Arc B580.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 145 FPS average on Low settings. The CPU's performance, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 51405 and a PassMark single-thread score of 3907, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution. The data shows that the system is well-balanced at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor only at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the optimal choice. The measured average FPS of 67 at this setting provides a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, with a minimum FPS of 57 and maximum of 77. This configuration allows the 8 GB VRAM to handle Rust's textures without excessive stuttering, while maintaining playable frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is recommended, delivering an average of 82 FPS. This provides a solid frame rate with enhanced visual fidelity over the Medium preset, which averages 98 FPS. The 16 FPS difference between High and Medium at 1080p is a worthwhile trade-off for the improved graphics quality, and the High preset still maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

For users prioritizing competitive performance over visual quality, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear winner, with an average of 145 FPS. This setting ensures maximum responsiveness and is suitable for fast-paced survival scenarios where frame rate matters more than graphical detail. The 1440p Low preset, at 100 FPS average, is a viable alternative for those with higher-resolution displays who still want high frame rates.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p, it averages 63 FPS, which is below the High preset's 82 FPS and only 20 FPS above the Medium preset. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 43 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and at 4K, it plummets to 25 FPS. The visual gains from Ultra are not justified by the significant performance penalties.

The 4K resolution is only playable at Low settings, where the average FPS is 59. This is right at the edge of playability, and any action-heavy scenes may cause frame rate dips. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 40 FPS, is too slow for smooth gameplay, and the High and Ultra presets at 33 and 25 FPS respectively are unplayable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows a clear performance hierarchy. Low settings produce an average of 145 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 98 FPS with a range of 83 to 112 FPS. High settings average 82 FPS, and Ultra settings average 63 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 57% reduction in frame rate, from 145 to 63 FPS.

The 2560x1440 resolution shows a similar pattern but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 100 FPS, Medium settings average 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77 FPS, High settings average 57 FPS, and Ultra settings average 43 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is also 57%, consistent with the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the performance numbers are significantly lower. Low settings average 59 FPS, Medium settings average 40 FPS with a range of 34 to 46 FPS, High settings average 33 FPS, and Ultra settings average 25 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction at 4K is 58%, matching the percentage drops at lower resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are too low for comfortable gaming at anything above Low settings.

The Medium preset is the only setting with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 83 to 112 FPS, at 1440p the range is 57 to 77 FPS, and at 4K the range is 34 to 46 FPS. These ranges indicate that the Medium preset provides a consistent frame rate experience, with a spread of approximately 29 FPS at 1080p, 20 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile combination ranks 2282nd out of 3723 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 61st percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU is a high-end mobile processor that would rank much higher on its own. The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 95, while the GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 67, indicating that the GPU is the weaker component in this pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is 0.1% faster, the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P is 0.4% slower, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX is 0.4% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.6% faster. These negligible deltas show that the Ryzen 9 8945HX is well-matched against the current top-tier CPUs.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which is 0.7% faster, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which is 0.8% slower, the Intel Arc B580, which is 1.3% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, which is 1.3% slower. The RTX 4060 Mobile sits in a competitive cluster of GPUs with similar performance levels, making the combo ranking more dependent on CPU-GPU pairing efficiency than raw GPU power.

The rank of 2282 out of 3723 indicates that this combo is in the lower-middle tier of tested configurations in Rust. This is primarily due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU's strong benchmark scores suggest it could support a more powerful GPU. The data indicates that users with this combo should focus on 1080p or 1440p gaming to maximize the system's potential.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates, with a maximum average of 145 FPS on Low settings. At 2560x1440, the maximum average drops to 100 FPS, while at 3840x2160, the maximum average is 59 FPS. The 1080p resolution provides the most headroom for high settings.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Rust?

A: At 4K, only the Low preset is playable, with an average FPS of 59. The Medium preset falls to 40 FPS, High drops to 33 FPS, and Ultra is at 25 FPS. These results indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at the lowest quality settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17469 places it 0.7% behind the RTX 2080, 0.8% ahead of the RX 7700 XT, 1.3% behind the Arc B580, and 1.3% ahead of the RTX 5060 Mobile. These are all within a tight performance band, making the GPU selection less critical than the resolution choice.

Q: What is the recommended settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the optimal choice, with an average FPS of 67 and a minimum of 57. This provides a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, unlike the High preset which averages 57 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030, combined with its 95th percentile ranking, indicate it is not a bottleneck. The GPU's 67th percentile ranking and the steep FPS drops at 4K confirm it as the primary constraint.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 145 to 59, a 59% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 98 to 40, also a 59% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 82 to 33, a 60% reduction. This consistent scaling shows that the GPU's performance is nearly linear with the number of pixels rendered.