Rust

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Rust with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 264 FPS at 1080p to 182 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 31%, and then further to 107 FPS at 4K, which is about 59% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that at lower settings, the graphics card becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count rises, while the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but slightly less dramatic in absolute terms: 177 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 31%, and from 1080p to 4K is about 59%, mirroring the Low preset's relative pattern. High settings show 150 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure representing a 59% reduction from 1080p. Ultra settings follow the same trend: 114 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 46 FPS at 4K, with a 60% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is notable. It suggests that the limiting component at higher resolutions is the GPU, as the frame rate scales nearly proportionally with the pixel count increase from 1080p (2.07 million pixels) to 1440p (3.69 million) and 4K (8.29 million). If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between resolutions at lower settings, where the GPU has less work to do per frame. Instead, even at Low settings, the 4K average of 107 FPS is less than half of the 1080p average of 264 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary constraint at 4K.

Conversely, at 1080p, the high frame rates across all settings—264 FPS at Low, 177 FPS at Medium, 150 FPS at High, and 114 FPS at Ultra—suggest that the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to its limits, but the GPU is still the dominant factor even at this resolution. The fact that 1080p Ultra produces 114 FPS, while 4K Low produces 107 FPS, shows that the GPU's workload at 4K Low is roughly equivalent to that at 1080p Ultra in terms of frame rate impact. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario across the entire resolution range, with the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads providing sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in Rust's simulation-heavy gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 103 FPS at 2560x1440 resolution with High settings, with no minimum or maximum values recorded for this specific configuration.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 46, while at 1080p Low, it is 264. This represents a difference of 218 FPS, meaning the 1080p Low preset delivers approximately 5.7 times the frame rate of 4K Ultra, highlighting the massive GPU workload increase at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: Is there a measurable minimum FPS for any settings preset?

A: Yes, the data includes minimum FPS values for the Medium preset at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 151 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 104 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 61 FPS. These values indicate the lowest frame rate observed during testing, which can be useful for understanding potential stutter or drops in demanding scenes.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Rust?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 251st out of 2,953 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the top 8.5% of all configurations.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU play a larger role in Rust's performance at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, frame rates range from 264 FPS at Low to 114 FPS at Ultra. Given that the CPU has 12 cores and 24 threads with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and the GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 7,680 shading units, the high FPS at 1080p indicates that the GPU is still the limiting factor, as frame rates drop significantly when resolution increases, even at Low settings.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1440p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 78, while at 4K Ultra, it is 46. This is a difference of 32 FPS, representing a 41% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K, which aligns with the roughly 2.25 times increase in pixel count.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti achieves a combo rank of 251 out of 2,953 tested combinations in Rust. This places the configuration in the top 8.5% of all systems tested for this game, indicating strong overall performance. However, the rank is not near the very top, suggesting that there are 250 other combinations that deliver higher frame rates in Rust, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs.

The CPU itself ranks in the 91st percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54,762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55,093, which is 0.6% higher, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54,053, 1.3% lower. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53,701 (2% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53,620 (2.1% lower). These small deltas suggest that the 9900X3D is competitively positioned among high-end CPUs, though it is not the absolute fastest in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 84th percentile against all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 44,795. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, scores 45,152 (0.8% higher), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45,384 (1.3% higher). The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 44,075 (1.6% lower), and the Intel Arc A730M scores 45,592 (1.7% higher). This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is a solid mid-to-high-tier GPU, but it is not at the very top of the performance hierarchy.

Given that the CPU is in the 91st percentile and the GPU is in the 84th percentile, the combo rank of 251 out of 2,953 suggests that Rust is somewhat more demanding on the GPU than the CPU, as the combination does not achieve a rank proportional to the CPU's higher percentile. The measured FPS data supports this, showing that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong multi-core performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47,737) ensures it can keep up with the game's simulation demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for Rust with this hardware configuration are as follows, organized by resolution and settings preset:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 264 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset averages 177 FPS, with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. High settings average 150 FPS, and Ultra settings average 114 FPS. This shows a clear progression: dropping from Low to Ultra reduces the average frame rate by 150 FPS, or 57%.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 182 FPS, Medium averages 122 FPS (minimum 104, maximum 140), High averages 103 FPS, and Ultra averages 78 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 104 FPS, a 57% reduction, which is nearly identical to the percentage drop at 1080p. This consistency reinforces the idea that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the relative impact of settings is uniform across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (minimum 61, maximum 83), High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 46 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 61 FPS, or 57%, again matching the pattern seen at lower resolutions. Notably, the 4K Medium minimum of 61 FPS is exactly equal to the 4K High average, indicating that even at Medium settings, the frame rate can dip to levels comparable to High settings' average, which may be relevant for maintaining smooth gameplay in intense scenes.

For users targeting 60 FPS as a playable threshold, the 4K High preset (61 FPS average) and 4K Medium preset (72 FPS average) both exceed this, while 4K Ultra falls below at 46 FPS. At 1440p, all presets exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest being Ultra at 78 FPS. At 1080p, even Ultra at 114 FPS is well above 60 FPS, making this resolution suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a total of 128 MB of L3 cache (80 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core). Its memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it supports ECC memory. The CPU has a TDP of 120 W and uses the AMD Socket AM5.

In Rust, which is a multiplayer survival game with significant simulation and physics processing, the CPU's multi-threaded performance is crucial. Benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47,737 and a single-core score of 6,739, indicating strong performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12,490 and max-thread score of 13,795 further confirm its capability in multi-threaded scenarios.

The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Rust, even at 1080p where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 264 is likely near the GPU's maximum output, and the CPU's single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core score of 3,041) is sufficient to handle the game's main thread. The high L3 cache of 128 MB may also help with the game's asset streaming and world update loops, contributing to stable frame times.

The CPU's percentile rank of 91 and average benchmark score of 54,762 place it above most CPUs, and its nearest rivals show only small deltas (0.6% to 2.1%). This indicates that while the 9900X3D is not the absolute fastest CPU, it provides ample processing power for Rust, allowing the GPU to be the limiting factor across all tested resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's target resolution and frame rate preference. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 61 FPS average is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 72 FPS offers a 11 FPS improvement over High, but with slightly reduced visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stutter on standard 60 Hz displays, so it is not recommended for 4K unless the user prioritizes visuals over smoothness.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 78 FPS average is the best choice for users with 144 Hz monitors, as it exceeds the refresh rate's minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 103 FPS is ideal for 100 Hz or 144 Hz displays, offering a balance of visual quality and high frame rates. The Medium preset at 122 FPS is suitable for 120 Hz monitors, while the Low preset at 182 FPS is overkill for most displays but could benefit competitive players using 240 Hz panels.

At 1080p, all settings presets deliver high frame rates, with the Low preset at 264 FPS being the fastest for competitive play, and the Ultra preset at 114 FPS still providing excellent smoothness. For users with 144 Hz monitors, the High preset at 150 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a frame rate above the refresh rate while offering better visual quality than Medium. The Ultra preset at 114 FPS is also viable for 120 Hz displays, though it may occasionally dip below the refresh rate in demanding scenes.

The data shows that the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame times, with recorded minimums of 151 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all reasonably close to their respective averages (within 15%), suggesting that Medium settings offer stable performance without major frame drops. In contrast, the High and Ultra presets do not have recorded minimums in the data, so their frame time consistency cannot be fully assessed, but the averages alone suggest they are viable for their respective target refresh rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD104 chip), manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has 7,680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, 80 raster operation units, 60 ray tracing cores, and 240 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2310 MHz and boost clock is 2610 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The GPU has a TDP of 285 W and uses a dual-slot design with a 16-pin power connector.

In Rust, the GPU's role is primarily to render the game's environments, which include large open-world maps with dynamic lighting, shadows, and weather effects. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti is the limiting component across all resolutions, as frame rates scale inversely with pixel count. At 4K, the GPU's workload is substantial, with the Low preset averaging 107 FPS and Ultra averaging 46 FPS, indicating that the GPU's 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures, but the rendering pipeline becomes the bottleneck.

The GPU's benchmark performance is reflected in its percentile rank of 84, with an average score of 44,795. Its nearest rivals, such as the RTX 5090 Mobile, score only 0.8% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 1.3% higher, suggesting that the RTX 4070 Ti is a strong performer for its class. The GPU's 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 626.4 GTexel/s texture rate provide ample compute power for Rust's rendering demands, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS, emphasizing the need for lower settings at this resolution.

The GPU's VRAM capacity of 12 GB is likely sufficient for Rust at all tested settings, as the game's textures at 4K may approach but not exceed this limit, given that the GPU does not appear to be memory-constrained in the data. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is also adequate for the frame rates observed, as the GPU's compute and pixel rate (208.8 GPixel/s) are more likely to be the limiting factors at higher resolutions. Overall, the RTX 4070 Ti provides solid performance in Rust, but users seeking 4K Ultra at 60 FPS would need a more powerful GPU, as this combination falls short by 14 FPS at that preset.