Rust

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

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This is a desktop part without integrated graphics, supporting DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400F demonstrates a balanced profile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 16518, while the single-core score is 2332. The Geekbench multicore result is 9138, with a single-core score of 2221. The 3DMark threaded tests show scaling from 909 in single-thread to 5912 at max threads, indicating that the processor gains about 6.5x performance when all threads are utilized. The Passmark multithread score is 19433, with a single-thread score of 3481.

Against its nearest rivals, the i5-12400F sits within a very tight band. It trails the Intel Core i7-8700K by a negligible 0.1% in average benchmark score (19221 vs 19210), and is 0.3% behind the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). Conversely, it leads the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19364) and the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18979). The processor's percentile rank versus all CPUs is 77, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the database entries.

For Rust, the CPU's role is critical because the game's simulation logic, entity management, and server-side computations are heavily single-threaded. The 4.40 GHz boost clock is the key asset here; the single-core Passmark score of 3481 places it in the upper tier for handling the game's main thread. The 6-core/12-thread configuration provides enough parallel headroom for background tasks, asset streaming, and the game's physics and building mechanics, which do scale across threads. The L3 cache of 18 MB shared is sufficient for the game's working set, though not exceptional.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 206 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution when the GPU has less work. However, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average drops to 54 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's performance headroom is visible in the fact that moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p only reduces the average from 206 to 133.5 FPS, a 35% drop, whereas at 4K the same settings change halves the frame rate from 126.1 to 54 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a chip designated GB203 containing 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. It features 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. Memory is 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective 30 Gbps. The card's compute capabilities include 56.28 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), with a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. The TDP is 360 W with a suggested 750 W power supply, and it uses a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5080 posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 264461, and a Vulkan score of 257942. The Passmark G3D score is 36565, with a GPU compute score of 21789. The average benchmark score is 59188, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A570M (58239, 1.6% behind), Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 1.9% ahead), Intel Arc A580 (57756, 2.5% behind), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (57661, 2.6% behind).

For Rust, the GPU's large 16 GB VRAM buffer is more than sufficient for the game's textures and draw distances at any resolution tested. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming from the 256-bit bus does not become a bottleneck, even at 4K with High settings. The 16 GB capacity means that the game's procedurally generated maps, which can accumulate many unique assets over a play session, will not exceed the VRAM budget at the tested settings.

The measured FPS data reveals the GPU's scaling behavior. At 1920x1080, the RTX 5080 delivers 206 FPS on Low, 179.2 on Medium, 167.8 on High, and 133.5 on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the same settings yield 181.7, 139.9, 119.3, and 90.7 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, the averages are 126.1 on Low, 85.3 on Medium, 69.9 on High, and 54 on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 39% reduction (206 to 126.1), while from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra the reduction is 60% (133.5 to 54). This indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, while the CPU's role becomes more significant at lower resolutions where the frame rates are higher.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Rust at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 206 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Ultra preset at the same resolution yields 133.5 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score is 59188, which is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M (58239), 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580 (57756), and 2.6% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (57661). However, it is 1.9% lower than the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F is in the 77th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, a difference of just 0.1%.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 181.7 FPS, while Ultra produces 90.7 FPS. This represents a 50% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for the highest tested settings in Rust?

A: The RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory. The highest tested setting is Ultra at 3840x2160, which achieves 54 FPS average, and the data shows no indication of VRAM-related performance cliffs across any resolution or setting combination.

Q: How does the CPU perform in single-threaded workloads relevant to Rust?

A: The i5-12400F scores 3481 in Passmark single-thread, 2332 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and 2221 in Geekbench single-core. The 3DMark single-thread score is 909, which is notably lower than the 2-thread score of 1699, indicating that the boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides strong single-core throughput.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). All rows have average FPS values, with no minimum or maximum FPS recorded.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance. The Low preset achieves 206 FPS average. Medium settings produce 179.2 FPS, High settings yield 167.8 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 133.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 72.5 FPS, or a 35% reduction. The step from Medium to High is relatively small (11.4 FPS), while the step from High to Ultra is larger (34.3 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset introduces significant additional visual workload.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 181.7 FPS on Low, 139.9 FPS on Medium, 119.3 FPS on High, and 90.7 FPS on Ultra. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: 11.8% for Low, 21.9% for Medium, 28.9% for High, and 32.1% for Ultra. This shows that the higher-resolution penalty grows as settings increase, which is consistent with GPU-bound rendering at higher quality levels.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 126.1 FPS on Low, 85.3 FPS on Medium, 69.9 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. The reduction from 1440p to 4K is substantial: 30.6% for Low, 39.0% for Medium, 41.4% for High, and 40.5% for Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, while 4K Low at 126.1 FPS remains playable. The setting-to-setting deltas at 4K are 40.8 FPS from Low to Medium, 15.4 FPS from Medium to High, and 15.9 FPS from High to Ultra. The largest single jump in the dataset is from 4K Low to 4K Medium, which suggests that Medium settings at 4K add significant GPU load.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently provides the highest frame rates, and the Ultra preset the lowest. The data shows a clear trend: at 1080p, even Ultra stays above 130 FPS, which indicates that the CPU and GPU combination has headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, Ultra dips below 100 FPS, and at 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 120 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 81st out of 1717 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the top 4.7% of all configurations in the database. This ranking reflects the overall performance across all measured settings and resolutions, weighted by the game's typical usage patterns.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is modest relative to the GPU. The i5-12400F's percentile of 77 among all CPUs places it in the upper quartile, but its nearest rivals are within a 2% band. The RTX 5080, however, is in the 89th percentile among GPUs, with a more pronounced lead over its nearest rivals (1.6% to 2.6% deltas). This suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of the combo's high rank in Rust.

The rank of 81 out of 1717 indicates that there are 80 combos that perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs paired with the same or similar GPUs. The data shows that the i5-12400F's single-thread performance is adequate for Rust, but it is not the limiting factor at the settings where the RTX 5080 can push very high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 206 FPS average suggests the CPU is near its limit, as the GPU is capable of far more in synthetic benchmarks. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the 54 FPS average is clearly GPU-limited.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals show that the i5-12400F is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% difference), which is a much older part. This indicates that the i5-12400F's modern architecture and higher boost clock compensate for the i7-8700K's higher core count in average benchmark scores. For Rust, the 4.40 GHz boost clock is likely more valuable than additional cores, given the game's single-threaded simulation tendencies.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Rust experience with this combo. The primary consideration is the target resolution and the desired frame rate.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 133.5 FPS average is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, as it stays comfortably above the 120 FPS threshold. The High preset at 167.8 FPS offers a 34.3 FPS improvement over Ultra, which may be preferable for competitive play, but the visual fidelity trade-off is significant given the large delta. The Medium preset at 179.2 FPS splits the difference, but the jump from High to Medium is only 11.4 FPS, making High the better value for visual quality.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 119.3 FPS is the recommended balance. It approaches the 120 FPS target, while the Ultra preset at 90.7 FPS falls below it. The Medium preset at 139.9 FPS provides a 20.6 FPS improvement over High, but the visual difference between Medium and High in Rust is typically more noticeable than the frame rate gain suggests. The Low preset at 181.7 FPS is unnecessary for most users at this resolution, as the High preset already delivers a smooth experience.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 126.1 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 120 FPS, making it the choice for maximum smoothness. The Medium preset at 85.3 FPS is the best option for users who prioritize visual quality while maintaining playability, as it stays above 60 FPS. The High preset at 69.9 FPS is also viable for cinematic play, but the Ultra preset at 54 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, which may cause perceptible stutter in a game like Rust where quick reactions matter.

Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Medium and High presets offer the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where the performance penalty is acceptable. The Low preset is recommended only for 4K users prioritizing competitive frame rates, as the visual downgrade at lower resolutions is unnecessary given the combo's headroom.