Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT delivers a playable, but not exceptional, experience in Rust, with performance heavily dependent on the graphics preset. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings, while the CPU provides a solid foundation for lower-resolution gameplay. This combo ranks in the 46th percentile for this game, indicating that while it is not at the top of the charts, it offers a balanced mid-range experience for most players.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a significant performance drop as resolution increases, which is typical for a game like Rust that is demanding on both CPU and GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves a very high average of 170.6 FPS, but this falls to 119.1 FPS at 1440p and further to 70.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 59% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is scaling as expected with pixel count.

The scaling pattern changes with higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 99.9 at 1080p to 70.8 at 1440p (a 29% decrease) and then to 38.6 at 4K (a 61% decrease from 1440p). The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, suggesting that the RX 6750 XT's 12 GB of VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 75.2 FPS at 1080p dropping to 54.0 at 1440p and a demanding 30.6 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately, but at 4K, the GPU's compute resources become the limiting factor. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 95.4 FPS, while at 4K it is only 40.1 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is becoming saturated and cannot leverage the lower CPU overhead of lower settings as effectively at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Core i5-12400F and RX 6750 XT holds a rank of 795 out of 1717 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the upper-middle tier of tested systems, ahead of more than half of the combinations but behind a significant number of higher-end setups. The ranking suggests that this combo is a reasonable match for the game, providing a consistent experience without being a top-tier performer.

The GPU's individual standing helps contextualize this rank. The RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 35327, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs and just a hair behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 by 1.3%. This indicates that the graphics card is a strong component, and the combo's mid-pack ranking is likely due to the CPU's position. The Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, showing a very close match with the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% difference). This pairing of two components that are both in the upper 70th percentile of their respective categories results in a balanced system that performs as expected for its class.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary driver of frame rate at higher resolutions and settings. Its specifications include 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, which provides a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of memory for Rust, which is known for its large maps and asset streaming, and it helps maintain stable frame rates at 1440p.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant. With a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz, the card is running at a high frequency that contributes to its 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The data shows that the GPU's performance headroom is not fully utilized at 1080p Low, where the 170.6 FPS average is likely limited by the CPU's capabilities rather than the GPU itself. However, as resolution and settings increase, the GPU's workload grows, and the frame rate drops proportionally.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is telling. It is a mere 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600M and 0.3% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. This indicates that the RX 6750 XT is a solid performer in its class, and the measured FPS in Rust is consistent with its overall benchmark standing. The transition from High to Ultra settings at 4K, which sees a drop from 38.6 FPS to 30.6 FPS, highlights how the GPU's shading units and ROPs are taxed by the game's highest fidelity options.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 118.9 FPS, which is a significant improvement over the 75.2 FPS on Ultra and still a solid step up from the 99.9 FPS on High. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p is a 19 FPS loss, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 24.7 FPS loss, making Medium the most efficient setting in terms of frame rate retention.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides 78.1 FPS, which is comfortably playable for most users. The High preset at this resolution yields 70.8 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the Ultra preset at 54 FPS begins to feel less smooth for fast-paced gameplay. For 4K, the data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra, as the 30.6 FPS average is below the threshold for a responsive experience. The Low preset at 4K (70.7 FPS) is much more viable than Medium (48 FPS) or High (38.6 FPS), but it comes with a significant visual compromise.

For players prioritizing high refresh rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the only way to get close to 170 FPS. However, for a more balanced experience, Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering a high enough frame rate and better visual clarity than Low. The data indicates that the combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, with settings kept at Medium or High to avoid the steep performance penalty of Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 170.6 FPS for Low, 118.9 FPS for Medium, 99.9 FPS for High, and 75.2 FPS for Ultra. This shows a clear linear progression, with each step up in settings costing roughly 20-25 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 119.1 FPS for Low, 78.1 FPS for Medium, 70.8 FPS for High, and 54.0 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium here is 41 FPS, which is a larger gap than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 16.8 FPS, which is a smaller penalty than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls off significantly. The averages are 70.7 FPS for Low, 48.0 FPS for Medium, 38.6 FPS for High, and 30.6 FPS for Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a playable frame rate above 60 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the gap between settings narrows at 4K, with only a 40.1 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, compared to a 95.4 FPS difference at 1080p. This confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, regardless of the settings chosen.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides a solid foundation for this gaming combo. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake architecture CPU has 18 MB of shared L3 cache, which is beneficial for games that require frequent access to large data sets, like Rust. Its benchmark scores are respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332.

The CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing the 1080p Low and 1440p Low results. The 170.6 FPS at 1080p drops to 119.1 FPS at 1440p, a 51.5 FPS decrease. This indicates that the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU's workload at 1440p begins to limit performance. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 vs all CPUs shows it is a capable processor, but it is not top-tier for the most demanding scenarios.

The data from the measured FPS suggests that the i5-12400F is not the primary bottleneck in this system, except possibly at very high frame rates at 1080p. The 170.6 FPS on Low settings is likely near the CPU's limit for this game, as the GPU is not being fully stressed at that point. At higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor, and the CPU has enough headroom to ensure it does not cause stuttering or frame drops. The combo's rank of 795 out of 1717 reflects that while the CPU is not a weak link, it also does not boost the system into the top tier of performers in Rust.