Rust

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake desktop processor with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It belongs to the Core 11th Gen series, built on Intel's 14 nm process node with a die size of 276 mm². The CPU carries 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. Its memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, while PCIe connectivity is Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In Rust, the CPU's multithreaded capacity plays a decisive role, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary constraint. The i5-11400F posts a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, while Geekbench results show 7579 multicore and 1979 single-core. These numbers place the chip in the 75th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U averages 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P averages 17212 (-0.2%), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U averages 17215 (-0.2%). The i5-11400F effectively trades blows with these parts, which means its compute headroom is neither a standout advantage nor a bottleneck in Rust's demanding simulation loops.

The data indicates that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination hits 177.6 FPS, which is 60% higher than the 4K Low result of 110.3 FPS. This wide spread suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is feeding the GPU enough frames to expose the graphics card's limits, but the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration still holds the system back from pushing even higher. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is modest by today's standards, and the 12 MB L3 cache is not large, yet the processor manages to keep Rust's server-side entity updates and physics calculations running without catastrophic frame drops.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Rust?

A: The best measured average is 177.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 151.4 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, showing that lowering resolution yields diminishing returns once the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U has an average benchmark score of 17189, which is a 0% delta from the i5-11400F's 17181. The Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U are each 0.2% behind the i5-11400F, with scores of 17212 and 17215 respectively.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER bottleneck at 1080p in Rust?

A: Benchmark results indicate yes. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (177.6 FPS) and Ultra (117.4 FPS) is 60.2 FPS, which is a 34% drop. This relatively small gap between presets suggests the CPU, not the GPU, is limiting performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the worst measured FPS for this combination?

A: The lowest average is 44.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is 62% lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 117.4 FPS, indicating that 4K Ultra is too heavy for this setup to maintain smooth gameplay.

Q: How many total combos are ranked, and where does this one stand?

A: The combo ranks 306th out of 1717 tested combinations in Rust, placing it in the top 18% of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the strength of the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER paired with a mid-range CPU.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the CPU support?

A: The i5-11400F supports dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This is a standard figure for its generation and is not a distinguishing feature for Rust's performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 139.3 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 103.2 FPS, a 26% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 62.2 FPS, which is 55% below the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin by 4K rendering.

For Low settings, the scaling is less severe: 177.6 FPS at 1080p drops to 151.4 FPS at 1440p (a 15% loss) and then to 110.3 FPS at 4K (a 27% loss from 1440p). The smaller relative drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is more involved in frame production, and the i5-11400F's 6 cores are working near their limit. At 4K Low, the GPU becomes the clear limiter, as the absolute FPS of 110.3 is still high but the resolution scaling is steeper.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 117.4 FPS, which is only 20% lower than Low at the same resolution. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 77.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 44.4 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K Ultra is 73 FPS, a 62% reduction. This pattern shows that Ultra settings in Rust impose a heavy GPU load, particularly at 4K where the card cannot sustain even 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 306th out of 1717 tested combinations in Rust, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all systems. This is a strong result, reflecting the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's high-end placement (86th percentile among all GPUs) partially compensating for the i5-11400F's modest 75th percentile CPU standing. The GPU's average benchmark score of 48704 places it above the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (47915, +1.6%) and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (47743, +2%), while trailing the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49071, -0.7%) and the Intel Arc A550M (49737, -2.1%).

The rank of 306 out of 1717 means the system outperforms roughly 82% of all tested combos. This is notable because the CPU is not a top-tier part; its 6-core configuration is a generation behind current offerings. The ranking suggests that Rust's performance is heavily GPU-dependent, and the 4070 Ti SUPER's 8448 shading units and 96 ROPs are able to carry the system to a high percentile despite the CPU's limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of performance and visual quality is the Medium preset at 2560x1440. This setting delivers 125.9 FPS, which is 22% higher than High at the same resolution (103.2 FPS) and only 17% lower than Low (151.4 FPS). The 1440p Medium result offers a smooth experience with enough graphical fidelity for a survival game where visibility is key.

At 1920x1080, Medium provides 148.1 FPS, which is 33% higher than High (139.3 FPS) and 16% lower than Low (177.6 FPS). For users with 1080p monitors, Medium is the recommended preset because it keeps frame rates well above 144 Hz while still rendering Rust's environment with acceptable detail.

At 4K, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience. High settings produce 62.2 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive scenarios. Medium yields 74.4 FPS, but the drop from 1440p Medium is 41%. The Ultra preset at 4K (44.4 FPS) should be avoided, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot, offering 125.9 FPS with a moderate visual load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across presets: Low 177.6, Medium 148.1, High 139.3, and Ultra 117.4. The spread from Low to Ultra is 60.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the extra load at this resolution without a catastrophic drop.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 151.4, Medium 125.9, High 103.2, and Ultra 77.2. The drop from Low to Ultra is 74.2 FPS, a 49% reduction. This is a steeper decline than at 1080p, showing that the higher pixel count begins to stress the GPU's memory subsystem.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 110.3, Medium 74.4, High 62.2, and Ultra 44.4. The difference between Low and Ultra is 65.9 FPS, but the absolute values are much lower. The 4K Ultra result of 44.4 FPS is below the playable threshold, while 4K Low at 110.3 FPS remains smooth.

The data shows a clear pattern: at every resolution, Low settings provide the highest FPS, and Ultra provides the lowest. However, the relative penalty for Ultra grows with resolution: 34% at 1080p (177.6 to 117.4), 49% at 1440p (151.4 to 77.2), and 60% at 4K (110.3 to 44.4). This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for all presets, but its 2340 MHz base clock and 2610 MHz boost clock are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 2340 MHz and boosts to 2610 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory runs on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s.

In Rust, the GPU's role is most apparent at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 44.4 FPS, which is 62% lower than 1080p Ultra. This massive drop highlights the GPU's limits when rendering Rust's large open-world environment at 4K with maximum detail. The card's 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 250.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, but they are insufficient for 4K Ultra in this game.

The GPU's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 31811 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5569. These place the card in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, scores 49071 (-0.7%), while the RTX A2000 is 1.6% behind. This indicates that the 4070 Ti SUPER is a high-end part, but its performance in Rust is tempered by the CPU's 6-core limitation.

The 66 RT cores and 264 tensor cores suggest the card is well-equipped for ray tracing and DLSS, but Rust's measured FPS data does not include those features. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for all tested presets, as even 4K Ultra does not exceed the memory capacity. The GPU's 285 W TDP and triple-slot design are consistent with its high-end positioning, and the 1x 16-pin power connector indicates a modern power delivery system. Overall, the data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary driver of this combo's rank, and its performance at 1080p and 1440p is excellent, while 4K Ultra remains out of reach.