Rust

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 represents a classic mid-range combination, but in Rust, the data reveals a system heavily constrained by its graphics processor. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings show a clear pattern: the GTX 1650 is the limiting factor, with the i5-12400F having ample headroom to handle the game’s CPU-intensive simulation logic. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, offering guidance on optimal settings and contextualizing the combo’s performance within the broader database.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, underscoring the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 64.0 at 1920x1080 to 44.4 at 2560x1440, a 30.6% reduction, and then plummets to 29.6 at 3840x2160, a 53.8% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling indicates that the GTX 1650’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit memory bus are being saturated as pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the pattern persists: 41.7 FPS at 1080p drops to 32.2 FPS at 1440p (a 22.8% decrease) and then to 20.1 FPS at 4K (a 51.8% drop from 1080p). The High preset shows a similar trajectory, starting at 35.8 FPS at 1080p, falling to 27.1 FPS at 1440p (24.3% lower), and reaching just 17.6 FPS at 4K (a 50.8% reduction). The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with 26.7 FPS at 1080p, 21.7 FPS at 1440p (18.7% lower), and a mere 9.6 FPS at 4K (a 64.0% collapse).

The difference between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. For every preset, the jump from 1440p to 4K causes a larger absolute FPS loss than the jump from 1080p to 1440p. For example, at Low settings, the loss from 1440p to 4K is 14.8 FPS, versus 19.6 FPS from 1080p to 1440p. However, the percentage drop at 4K is more severe relative to the already low 1440p numbers. This behavior points to the GPU’s raw pixel throughput—its 53.28 GPixel/s pixel rate and 2.984 TFLOPS FP32 performance—being the decisive constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are not the bottleneck here; the data shows the i5-12400F can push well over 60 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating it can feed the GPU faster than the GTX 1650 can render.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for playability. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers a playable 64.0 FPS average, making it the only setting that approaches smooth, competitive gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 41.7 FPS, which is borderline acceptable for a survival title where reaction times matter, but it is a 34.8% drop from Low. High at 1080p falls to 35.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 26.7 FPS, which falls below the threshold for comfortable play.

For 2560x1440, the situation is more constrained. Low settings produce 44.4 FPS, which is the only 1440p configuration that stays above 30 FPS. Medium drops to 32.2 FPS, High to 27.1 FPS, and Ultra to 21.7 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a playable frame rate; even Low struggles at 29.6 FPS, and Medium falls to 20.1 FPS.

The optimal experience per the data is 1080p with the Low preset. This configuration maximizes headroom, avoiding the dips that would occur in busy scenes with multiple players and structure destruction. The step from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 22.3 FPS (a 34.8% reduction), which is a significant sacrifice for modest visual gains. For users with a 1440p monitor, Low is the only viable choice, but the 44.4 FPS average suggests a less stable experience. The Ultra preset is effectively unusable at any resolution, as it brings even the 1080p frame rate down to 26.7 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for a fast-paced survival game. The data strongly suggests prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity with this GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset combination for this system?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with the Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at 64.0 FPS. This is the only measured configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the most responsive option.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 perform at 4K in Rust?

A: The GTX 1650 is not viable at 3840x2160. The highest average FPS at 4K is 29.6 on Low settings, and the Ultra preset drops to 9.6 FPS, rendering the game unplayable at that resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate scales heavily with resolution, dropping from 64.0 FPS at 1080p Low to 29.6 FPS at 4K Low. The CPU, with a 4.40 GHz boost clock, can deliver higher frame rates than the GPU can render, as evidenced by the 64.0 FPS result.

Q: What is the jump in performance from High to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 27.1 FPS, while Ultra averages 21.7 FPS. This is a 5.4 FPS difference, or a 19.9% reduction in frame rate for the higher preset.

Q: How does the Low preset at 1080p compare to Medium at 1080p?

A: Low settings at 1920x1080 produce 64.0 FPS, while Medium produces 41.7 FPS. The Low preset offers a 22.3 FPS advantage, which is a 53.5% improvement over Medium.

Q: What are the frame rates for the Medium preset across all resolutions?

A: At 1080p, Medium averages 41.7 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 32.2 FPS. At 4K, it falls to 20.1 FPS. This shows a steady decline as pixel count increases.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this setup ranks 1649 out of 1717 combos for Rust. This places it in the bottom 4% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a low-performance pairing for this specific title. The rank reflects the severe limitations of the GTX 1650, which sits at the 43rd percentile of all GPUs in the database’s benchmarks. The i5-12400F, by contrast, is at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, highlighting the imbalance in this pairing.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (0.4% higher average score), the AMD Radeon 550X (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (0.5% higher). The GTX 1650’s average benchmark score of 8713 places it just below these competitors. This marginal difference in synthetic benchmarks does not translate into playable Rust performance, as the measured FPS data shows. The combo’s rank of 1649 out of 1717 suggests that most other CPU-GPU pairings tested deliver better frame rates in Rust, reinforcing the conclusion that this configuration is suited for 1080p Low gaming at best. The CPU’s position relative to its rivals—the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% higher score) and AMD EPYC 7773X (1.3% lower)—shows it is a competent processor, but it is wasted in this pairing due to the GPU’s inability to keep up.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads, built on the Alder Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts up to 4.40 GHz, and it features 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In Rust, which is known for its heavy server-side simulation and physics calculations, this CPU has the multi-threaded capacity to handle complex scenes. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 demonstrate strong computational throughput.

However, the benchmark data in this game shows the CPU is not the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 64.0 FPS, which is likely near the practical limit for the GTX 1650. The GPU’s 4 GB memory and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are the constraints, as evidenced by the sharp FPS drops at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 3DMark scores—5895 for 16 threads and 5912 for max threads—show it can handle substantial parallel workloads, but Rust’s frame rate at 1440p and 4K is dictated by the GPU’s pixel fill rate and shading units.

The i5-12400F’s 12 threads and 65 W TDP position it as a capable mid-range processor, but in this pairing, its potential is untapped. The data shows that lowering the resolution from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings yields a 44.1% FPS increase (from 44.4 to 64.0), which is a CPU-driven improvement in that the GPU has less work to do, but it also demonstrates that the CPU can push the GPU to its maximum output. The CPU is not the bottleneck; rather, the GTX 1650’s 896 shading units and 32 ROPs are insufficient for higher resolutions. This combo would benefit from a more powerful GPU to leverage the i5-12400F’s computational headroom, but as measured, it is a strictly 1080p Low configuration.