Rust

Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT represent a pairing of a 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake processor with a high-end RDNA 2 graphics card. In Rust, this combination produces a wide performance spread across resolutions and settings, with the data showing a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at 1080p to GPU-bound behavior at 4K. The measured results place this combo at rank 595 out of 1717 tested configurations, indicating a solidly above-average pairing for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This 6-core, 12-thread processor is built on the 14 nm Rocket Lake architecture and features a 12 MB shared L3 cache. Its 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are typical for its desktop market segment. The processor’s benchmark data suggests a capable mid-range performer, with a passmark single-thread score of 2981 and a multithread score of 16908.

In Rust, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 177.2 FPS, but this drops to 118.2 FPS at High settings—a reduction of 59 FPS that indicates the processor is managing a heavy workload. The 3dmark scores show scaling from 1691 in 2-thread tests to 5652 in max-thread tests, suggesting that Rust benefits from the 12 threads available. The cinebench r23 multicore score of 14372 places this chip at the 75th percentile against all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U at a 0% deltaPct, meaning performance parity in synthetic benchmarks. This headroom is sufficient to drive high frame rates in Rust, but the data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 177.2 FPS is likely approaching the CPU’s practical limit for this game’s simulation thread.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a substantial graphics card with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its RDNA 2.0 architecture includes 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2250 MHz and a game clock of 2015 MHz. The GPU’s raw compute capability is rated at 20.74 TFLOPS FP32, and it holds an 87th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A550M, scores within 0.5% in average benchmark score, while the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER trails by 2.6%.

The GPU’s influence on Rust performance becomes dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers only 35 FPS, which is a stark contrast to the 4K Low result of 83.6 FPS. This 48.6 FPS swing across settings at 4K demonstrates that the RX 6800 XT’s rendering load is the primary constraint at this resolution. The card’s 16 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor in Rust, as the game’s textures at Ultra settings do not appear to exceed this capacity based on the measured frame rates. The passmark G3D score of 24980 reflects strong DirectX 11 performance, which aligns with Rust’s engine requirements, though the DirectX 12 score of 100 suggests the card’s newer API path may not be fully utilized by this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the shifting bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 177.2 at 1080p to 142.2 at 1440p and then to 83.6 at 4K. This represents a 52.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed as pixel count rises. At Ultra settings, the same resolution scaling shows a drop from 88.8 FPS at 1080p to 59.7 FPS at 1440p and finally to 35 FPS at 4K—a 60.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting component, particularly at Low settings where the GPU has less work per frame. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the large FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at this resolution. The 1440p results sit in a transitional zone: at Low settings, 142.2 FPS still shows CPU influence, but at Ultra settings, 59.7 FPS indicates the GPU is doing heavy lifting. This scaling pattern is typical for a balanced mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, where the CPU provides enough throughput for 1080p gaming but cannot fully feed the GPU’s capabilities at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 177.2 FPS on Low, 138.4 FPS on Medium, 118.2 FPS on High, and 88.8 FPS on Ultra. The step from Low to Medium reduces performance by 38.8 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra reduces it by 29.4 FPS. These numbers indicate that the CPU maintains high frame rates across all settings at 1080p, with even Ultra settings staying above 88 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are 142.2 FPS on Low, 97.4 FPS on Medium, 80.3 FPS on High, and 59.7 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 44.8 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p, signaling that the GPU is starting to influence the Medium setting results. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate dips below 60 FPS, which is a notable threshold for many players.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 83.6 FPS on Low, 56.8 FPS on Medium, 48.5 FPS on High, and 35 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 48.6 FPS, and every setting step introduces a significant reduction: 26.8 FPS from Low to Medium, 8.3 FPS from Medium to High, and 13.5 FPS from High to Ultra. These figures confirm that at 4K, the RX 6800 XT is the primary determinant of performance, with the CPU providing adequate support but not being the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in game is 595 out of 1717 total test combinations, placing it in the upper third of all tested hardware pairings for Rust. This ranking reflects the balance between the i5-11400F and the RX 6800 XT, where the CPU’s 75th percentile standing and the GPU’s 87th percentile standing combine to produce strong overall results. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, has a 0% deltaPct in average benchmark score, meaning the i5-11400F is statistically equivalent to that processor in synthetic tests, yet the desktop i5 with its higher boost clock likely offers better sustained performance in gaming workloads.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show a tighter competition: the Intel Arc A550M is 0.5% ahead, the NVIDIA RTX A1000 is 1.7% behind, and the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is 1.9% ahead. Despite these close synthetic scores, the RX 6800 XT’s 16 GB VRAM and higher bandwidth give it an edge in memory-heavy scenarios, which Rust’s large maps and texture streaming can exploit. The rank of 595 suggests that while this combo is not among the top-tier configurations, it outperforms the majority of tested systems, with the measured FPS data showing playable frame rates at 1440p High and 4K Low settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Rust?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 177.2, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: At what resolution and settings does this combo drop below 60 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 59.7, which is just below 60. At 3840x2160, all settings except Low (83.6 FPS) fall below 60 FPS, with Medium at 56.8, High at 48.5, and Ultra at 35.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is 0% different from the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U’s score of 17189, indicating identical synthetic performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 88.8 FPS, and since this is lower than the 177.2 FPS at Low settings, the GPU is likely the limiting factor at this high setting, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49982.

Q: How many total combinations are ranked for this game, and where does this combo sit?

A: This combo is ranked 595 out of 1717 total tested combinations for Rust, placing it in the upper third of all configurations.