Rust

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a highly variable experience in Rust, heavily dependent on the resolution and quality preset selected. The measured data indicates this combination is firmly positioned in the lower tiers of the database, ranking 3397th out of 3723 tested combos for this title. The performance envelope spans from a playable 74 FPS at 1080p Low to an unplayable 13 FPS at 4K Ultra, revealing a system that is consistently constrained by the graphics card, particularly at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a precipitous drop as resolution increases, a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers an average of 74 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 51 FPS, a 31% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 30 FPS, which is a further 41% drop from the 1440p figure and a 59% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep scaling curve is the signature of a GPU that is being overwhelmed by the pixel fill-rate demands of higher resolutions.

The pattern persists across all quality settings. For High settings, the transition from 1080p (42 FPS) to 1440p (29 FPS) represents a 31% loss, and the move to 4K (17 FPS) is a further 41% reduction. Similarly, on Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p, and then to 20 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across different presets strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU's rendering capacity rather than the CPU's processing power or memory bandwidth.

The data implies that the RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to feed the shader cores at higher resolutions. The GPU's compute throughput of 6.175 TFLOPS is simply not enough to maintain fluid frame rates when the number of pixels quadruples from 1080p to 4K. The CPU, with its 12 threads and 4.40 GHz boost clock, appears to have ample headroom, as the frame rate scaling is nearly perfectly linear with the pixel count, a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

Benchmark results place this specific CPU-GPU combination at rank 3397 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust, putting it in the bottom 9% of all systems. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU's performance percentile, which sits at 53rd among all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range part. The CPU, however, is more capable, with a percentile of 71 among all CPUs, suggesting it is a stronger component that is being held back by the graphics card.

The performance delta between the CPU and GPU is stark. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in the same league as the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, a 0.3% difference) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, a -0.4% difference). In contrast, the GPU's average score of 12928 is closely matched by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, a -0.4% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, a -0.1% difference). This suggests that while the CPU is competitive with high-end server and mobile parts, the GPU is aligned with older mainstream desktop cards. The bottleneck is clear: the RX 580 is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The combination's overall rank of 3397 is a direct consequence of this imbalance. In a game like Rust, which is known for its demanding rendering, the GPU's performance is paramount. The data shows that even though the i5-11400F is a capable processor, it cannot compensate for the RX 580's inability to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions and quality settings. The system is effectively a mid-range GPU strapped to a higher-tier CPU, resulting in a net performance that is firmly in the lower quartile of all tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Rust with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 74 on Low settings to 32 on Ultra. At 1440p, the averages fall to between 22 and 51 FPS, and at 4K, they drop to a maximum of 30 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. This is 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7H12's score of 17120 and 0.6% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U's score of 17074. It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-12450H's score of 17239 and 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G's score of 17278.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The frame rate drops nearly proportionally with the increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's performance percentile (71) is significantly higher than the GPU's (53), further supporting this conclusion.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate on Low settings is 74 FPS. Switching to Ultra settings reduces the average to 32 FPS. This represents a 57% decrease in performance, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding than Low.

Q: What kind of frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 34 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. The minimum FPS recorded in this configuration is 29 FPS, and the maximum is 39 FPS. This indicates that while playable, the experience will have noticeable dips.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928. This is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which has an average score of 12986. The two cards are statistically very close in overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates for this combo in Rust is as follows:

• 3840x2160 (4K): The Ultra preset yields an average of 13 FPS. High settings produce an average of 17 FPS. Medium settings achieve an average of 20 FPS, with a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 23 FPS. Low settings provide the highest average at this resolution, reaching 30 FPS.
• 2560x1440 (1440p): At this resolution, the Ultra preset averages 22 FPS. High settings improve this to 29 FPS. Medium settings offer an average of 34 FPS, with a range between 29 FPS and 39 FPS. Low settings deliver a significantly higher average of 51 FPS.
• 1920x1080 (1080p): The Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. High settings raise the average to 42 FPS. Medium settings provide an average of 49 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. The Low preset produces the best result, with an average of 74 FPS.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy where performance scales inversely with both resolution and quality settings. The most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, is essentially unplayable at 13 FPS, while the least demanding, 1080p Low, is quite fluid at 74 FPS. The Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p provide a balanced middle ground, with average frame rates of 49 and 34 FPS respectively.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware is at 1920x1080. The Low preset offers the highest average frame rate at 74 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or for users who prioritize smoothness above all else. However, the Medium preset is likely the best overall choice, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low while maintaining an average of 49 FPS, which is still within the range of smooth gameplay. The minimum FPS of 42 on Medium is acceptable, though it may be noticeable in intense moments.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 51 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p dips to an average of 34 FPS, which is borderline playable but may feel stuttery. For users with 1440p monitors, the Low preset is recommended to maintain a higher frame rate. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p should be avoided, as their averages of 29 and 22 FPS respectively fall below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combination. All presets at 3840x2160 produce average frame rates of 30 FPS or lower, with Ultra dropping to a slideshow-like 13 FPS. This pairing lacks the GPU power to drive modern titles at 4K. The data clearly suggests that the best experience is found at 1080p with Medium settings, which balances visual fidelity and performance, or at Low settings for maximum frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core, with a shared 12 MB L3 cache. Its theoretical memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s, supported by a dual-channel DDR4 interface.

The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks shows it is a strong mid-range part. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 14340, and its single-core score is 2024. In Geekbench, it scores 7737 multicore and 1777 single-core. These scores place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is more powerful than the average processor. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the AMD EPYC 7H12 and the Intel Core i5-12450H, showing it competes with a wide range of server and mobile chips.

In Rust, the CPU appears to have sufficient headroom. The frame rate scaling with resolution is consistent with a GPU bottleneck, meaning the i5-11400F is likely not the limiting factor. The CPU's high boost clock and 12 threads are well-suited for the game's simulation and physics workloads, which rarely require more than a few high-performance cores. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with draw calls and game state updates without becoming a constraint at the tested settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a graphics card based on the Polaris 20 chip, utilizing the GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process. It features 2304 shading units, 144 texture units, and 32 ROPs. The card has a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz. It is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU's compute power is rated at 6.175 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark performance is modest, with a Passmark G3D score of 8813 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1005. Its average benchmark score of 12928 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. It is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER and the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, indicating it performs at a level similar to those older or lower-tier cards.

The GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system for Rust. The measured FPS data shows that performance drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a direct result of the RX 580's limited pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 1440p and 4K resolutions, where the demand for texture data and framebuffer access increases significantly. The card's 8 GB of VRAM is adequate for the game's textures at 1080p, but the overall compute throughput is too low to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. The GPU's performance percentile of 53, compared to the CPU's 71, confirms that the RX 580 is the weaker link in this pairing.