Rust

Rust is a demanding survival title that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT produces a wide performance envelope depending on resolution and quality settings. The benchmark data reveals a system that is well-balanced at 1080p but becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. With a combo rank of 930 out of 1717 tested configurations, this pairing sits near the middle of the database, indicating solid mainstream performance without reaching the top tier. The measured frames per second (FPS) show how the i5-12400’s six-core, twelve-thread design and the RX 6700 XT’s 12 GB of VRAM interact to deliver playable results across most settings, though the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the hardware to its limits.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the strongest option, with an average of 166.9 FPS at Low settings and 92.8 FPS at High. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 112.5 FPS on Low and 65.5 FPS on High. The 3840x2160 results are much lower, with only the Low preset achieving above 60 FPS at 70.1.

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

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771). It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% (19894) and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4% (19928).

Q: What is the GPU’s position relative to similar cards in the database?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721, placing it 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (33493) and 1.3% above the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (33294). It is 1% behind both the AMD Radeon HD 7950 (34050) and the AMD Radeon RX 480 (34059).

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a smoother experience than High at any resolution?

A: No. The data indicates Ultra consistently delivers lower average FPS than High at every resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 69.8 FPS versus 92.8 on High; at 2560x1440, it is 47.3 versus 65.5; and at 3840x2160, it is 30.4 versus 37.7.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and why does it matter for Rust?

A: The RX 6700 XT features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for Rust’s textures and world data at 1080p and 1440p, but the lower FPS at 4K suggests memory bandwidth or capacity may be a limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested systems?

A: The i5-12400 and RX 6700 XT combination ranks 930th out of 1717 tested combos for Rust. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, reflecting its ability to handle the game at mainstream settings but not at the highest enthusiast levels.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 22 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2321 MHz, a game clock of 2424 MHz, and a boost clock of 2581 MHz. The memory subsystem is critical for Rust, which loads large map data and player structures; the 12 GB GDDR6 pool at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This proves adequate for the game’s demands at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU can maintain high frame rates. At 3840x2160, however, the pixel throughput requirements grow substantially, and the measured averages fall to 37.7 FPS on High and 30.4 FPS on Ultra. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the rasterization workload, while the 40 ray accelerators are not directly relevant to Rust’s typical rendering paths. The card’s percentile rank of 77 among all GPUs indicates it sits comfortably above the median, but its 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not enough to brute-force 4K Ultra in this title. The data shows that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, especially when quality settings increase shading and texture complexity.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 166.9 FPS, which drops to 112.5 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 32.6% reduction) and further to 70.1 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 58% reduction from the 1080p baseline). For the High preset, the scaling is steeper: 92.8 FPS at 1080p falls to 65.5 FPS at 1440p (a 29.4% drop) and then to 37.7 FPS at 4K (a 59.4% drop). This pattern suggests that at 1080p, the i5-12400 is capable of feeding the GPU enough data, but the RX 6700 XT is not fully saturated at Low settings. As resolution increases, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors, evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of just 30.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra presets also widens with resolution: at 1080p, Ultra is 58.2% slower than Low, while at 4K, Ultra is 56.6% slower. This indicates that the quality settings primarily affect GPU load, while the CPU’s role remains relatively constant across resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are as follows: Low delivers 166.9 FPS, Medium reaches 110.0 FPS, High achieves 92.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial (a 34.1% reduction), while the step from High to Ultra is smaller (a 24.8% reduction), suggesting diminishing returns from the highest settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down: Low averages 112.5 FPS, Medium 76.1 FPS, High 65.5 FPS, and Ultra 47.3 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent, with Medium providing a 32.4% improvement over High but still trailing Low by 32.4%. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal for smooth play: Low averages 70.1 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 42.6 FPS, High to 37.7 FPS, and Ultra to 30.4 FPS. The 4K data shows a clear cliff between Low and Medium, where the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes insufficient to maintain high frame rates. Across all resolutions, the Low preset provides the most headroom, while Ultra consistently cuts performance by roughly half compared to Low, making it the least viable option for competitive or fast-paced gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor from the Alder Lake family, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L1/L2 allocations (80 KB and 1.25 MB, respectively) are well-suited for Rust’s server-side simulation and player interactions. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 15935 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2249 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 18747. These results place it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. The nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the i7-9700 is 0.1% behind, the i7-8700 is 0.2% ahead, and the i5-11600K is 0.4% behind. For Rust, the CPU’s role is evident in the 1080p Low result of 166.9 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU can handle the game’s entity updates without being the primary constraint. However, the 3DMark scores—5873 in 16-thread and 910 in single-thread—indicate that the CPU’s multi-threaded performance is adequate but not exceptional. The data implies that at lower resolutions and settings, the i5-12400 keeps pace with the GPU, but at 4K Ultra, the bottleneck shifts entirely to the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 (110.0 FPS) offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for this combo. It provides a 18.5% improvement over High (92.8 FPS) while still delivering a smooth experience on most displays. For players with 1440p monitors, the Low preset at 112.5 FPS is the only option that exceeds 100 FPS, but Medium at 76.1 FPS remains playable and visually superior. At 4K, the Low preset (70.1 FPS) is the sole choice for a consistent 60+ FPS experience, while Medium (42.6 FPS) and High (37.7 FPS) are better suited for less demanding scenarios. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it drops below 70 FPS even at 1080p (69.8 FPS) and falls to 30.4 FPS at 4K, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that Medium at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering a 58.2% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a 18.5% margin over High.

How This Combo Ranks

The i5-12400 and RX 6700 XT combination holds a rank of 930 out of 1717 tested combos for Rust, placing it in the 54th percentile of the database. This is a middle-of-the-pack result, reflecting the system’s ability to handle the game at mainstream settings but not at the highest tiers. The CPU’s percentile rank of 77 and the GPU’s percentile rank of 77 both indicate solid individual performance, yet the combined score falls below what those individual ranks might suggest. This discrepancy arises because Rust’s engine is sensitive to both component types, and the pairing does not yield a multiplicative benefit. Compared to other combos, this system outperforms lower-end hardware but lags behind those with higher-tier CPUs like the Ryzen 7 or GPUs like the RX 6800, which scores 0.7% higher in GPU benchmarks. The rank of 930 implies that while this combo can deliver 166.9 FPS at 1080p Low, it cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K, placing it in the same performance class as many mid-range configurations. The data indicates that for users seeking higher ranks, upgrading either the CPU or GPU would shift the balance, but as configured, this is a competent, balanced system for Rust at 1080p and 1440p.