Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Rust. The measured data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the three tested resolutions, with the most significant frame rate drops occurring when moving from 1440p to 4K. At 1080p, the combo demonstrates strong headroom, while at 4K, the system becomes heavily constrained, making the choice of settings critical for maintaining fluid gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is progressively bottlenecked by the GPU as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 161.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 50.9 FPS. Pushing to 3840x2160 further reduces the average to 68 FPS, which is a 58% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4060’s compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher resolutions, while the i5-12400 has ample headroom to feed frames at 1080p.

The gap between resolutions widens at higher settings. With High settings, the 1080p average of 92.6 FPS falls to 63 FPS at 1440p and then to 36.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is less than half of the 1080p figure, showcasing how the combination of increased pixel workload and more demanding shading effects saturates the GPU. In contrast, the delta between 1080p and 1440p at High is 29.6 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 26.6 FPS, showing a relatively consistent scaling penalty per resolution step.

Ultra settings present the most extreme scaling scenario. The average at 1080p is 70.9 FPS, which drops to 45.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 30.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable action, indicating that this combination cannot sustain a smooth experience at the highest fidelity and resolution simultaneously. The data points to the RTX 4060’s 128-bit memory interface and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth as the primary constraint, as the i5-12400’s six-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock is sufficient for the game’s CPU demands at these resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, is the dominant factor in Rust’s performance at high resolutions. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results suggest that the frame buffer and bandwidth are strained when rendering at 3840x2160, particularly at Ultra settings where the average dips to 30.8 FPS.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 1830 MHz and a boost of 2460 MHz, drive its 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This raw throughput translates into strong performance at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 161.9 FPS average at 1080p Low. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a penalty of 91 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s shading units and texture units are heavily loaded by the game’s visual effects. The RTX 4060 has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, which are moderate counts for a 40-series card, explaining the significant frame rate drop when increasing settings.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a notable factor when comparing against the GPU’s nearest rivals. The measured data shows that the RTX 4060’s average benchmark score of 23181 places it close to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 23321 with a deltaPct of -0.6. This suggests comparable raw performance, but the RTX 4060’s 8 GB frame buffer may be better optimized for Rust’s texture-heavy environments. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 66 versus all GPUs indicates it sits in the upper-midrange, and the benchmark results corroborate that it is capable at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 92.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is a solid result that provides smooth gameplay for most users, though it is significantly lower than the 161.9 FPS achieved at Low settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Rust?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 68 FPS at Low settings to 30.8 FPS at Ultra settings. The Ultra result is below the 30 FPS playability threshold, so 4K gaming is only viable at Low or Medium settings, with Medium yielding 45.3 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rival, the RX 6600M?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23321, a deltaPct of -0.6. This indicates that the RX 6600M is slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks, though the difference is marginal and may not translate to significant real-world FPS differences in Rust.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve over 100 FPS?

A: The only configuration that exceeds 100 FPS is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average is 161.9 FPS. At Medium settings, the 1080p average drops to 110.9 FPS, which also clears the 100 FPS mark, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Why does performance drop so much at 4K compared to 1440p?

A: The data shows that at High settings, the average drops from 63 FPS at 2560x1440 to 36.4 FPS at 3840x2160. This is due to the RTX 4060’s memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM being insufficient to handle the increased pixel workload efficiently, which becomes the limiting factor.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4060?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i5-12400 has a percentile ranking of 77 versus all CPUs and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which is sufficient to feed the GPU at the tested resolutions. The frame rate drops are primarily attributed to the GPU’s limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering an average of 110.9 FPS. This is significantly higher than the 92.6 FPS at High and nearly matches the 161.9 FPS at Low, but with improved visual quality. The 1080p Medium result is 39.9 FPS higher than High, making it the sweet spot for competitive play on 144Hz monitors.

At 1440p, Low settings are recommended for the highest frame rates, achieving 111 FPS. However, Medium settings at 76.9 FPS offer a better visual experience while still maintaining smoothness above 60 FPS. High settings at 63 FPS are also acceptable for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate, but the jump to Ultra at 45.8 FPS introduces noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenarios, making it less ideal.

For 4K gaming, Low settings are the only option that provides a consistently playable experience, with an average of 68 FPS. Medium settings at 45.3 FPS are playable but may feel less responsive, while High at 36.4 FPS and Ultra at 30.8 FPS are not recommended due to the risk of frame drops below the 30 FPS threshold. The data clearly suggests that players should avoid Ultra settings at any resolution, as the average frame rates are significantly lower than the next preset down.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 958 out of 1717 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 56th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the system’s balanced but not exceptional performance. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19850 puts it slightly above the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores 19831 with a deltaPct of 0.1, and just below the Intel Core i7-8700 at 19894 with a deltaPct of -0.2. This indicates that the i5-12400 is a competitive mid-range processor, though the differences are within 0.4% of its rivals.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060’s average benchmark score of 23181 positions it close to the Intel Arc B580, which scores 23021 with a deltaPct of 0.7, and the AMD Radeon 760M at 22999 with a deltaPct of 0.8. The RTX 4060 outperforms these rivals by less than 1%, highlighting that it is on par with other mid-range options from the same generation. The combo’s ranking is consistent with its component-level performance, suggesting that neither the CPU nor the GPU is a standout performer, but together they form a coherent system.

In practical terms, this ranking means that the combo sits in the middle of the database’s tested configurations, with 759 combos performing better and 759 performing worse. The measured FPS data supports this positioning, as the system delivers strong 1080p performance but falls behind higher-tier combos at 4K. For users with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this is a capable setup, but those targeting 4K will find the performance lacking compared to higher-ranked configurations.