Rust

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination ranks near the bottom of the database for Rust, sitting at position 1662 out of 1717 tested combos. This is a pairing where the GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck, and the benchmark data shows that the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. The CPU is a strong performer in its own right, but the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and modest compute capabilities cap the experience firmly at 1080p with lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1662 out of 1717 places it in the bottom 3% of all tested configurations for Rust. This is a poor result that reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities. The i5-13400F sits in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, indicating a solid mid-range processor, but the GTX 1650 only reaches the 43rd percentile among GPUs. The disparity between these two components is stark: the CPU is capable of feeding a much faster graphics card, but the GTX 1650 simply cannot translate that processing power into high frame rates in Rust.

The data suggests that this combination is fundamentally unbalanced for Rust. The CPU's performance headroom is wasted because the GPU becomes the limiting factor at nearly every resolution and setting tested. In practical terms, users of this combo will see frame rates that are more typical of entry-level gaming laptops from several years ago, not a modern desktop with a 13th-gen Core i5 processor. The ranking reflects this reality: only 55 combos in the entire database perform worse in Rust.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance ceiling. It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and its 896 shading units produce a peak FP32 throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS. These are entry-level figures by modern standards, and Rust's demanding rendering workload exposes them quickly.

The 4 GB VRAM is particularly problematic for Rust at higher settings. At 4K resolution, the GPU is clearly running out of memory and compute resources, as evidenced by the dramatic frame rate collapse. The benchmark data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 15 FPS, while 4K High yields 13 FPS. Even dropping to 4K Low only recovers 28 FPS, which is still below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's 128.1 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for the large texture sets and draw distances that Rust requires at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, it averages 64.6 FPS, and at 1080p High it averages 38.8 FPS. Both 1440p and 4K results fall below 43 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, placing it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8671) and roughly 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon 550X (8749) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746). It is effectively tied with these cards in raw compute.

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance in Rust?

A: No. The i5-13400F scores 21279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3004 in single-core, putting it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 64.6 FPS, but the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 2.984 TFLOPS compute limit higher settings, not the CPU.

Q: What happens to frame rates when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The average FPS drops significantly. At Low settings, it falls from 64.6 FPS at 1080p to 42.9 FPS at 1440p, a 34% reduction. At High settings, it drops from 38.8 FPS to 28.5 FPS, a 27% reduction. This indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings in Rust?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 29.2, which is below the generally accepted 30 FPS minimum for playability. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 18.5 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 15 FPS. The GTX 1650 lacks the VRAM and compute power for Ultra presets.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236. It is 0.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201) and 0.5% faster than the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103) and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25099). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) by 0.5%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern: the combo is only viable at 1080p with reduced settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 64.6 FPS on Low, 42.2 FPS on Medium, 38.8 FPS on High, and 29.2 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 22.4 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 3.4 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the GPU's limited resources.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates degrade substantially. Low settings produce 42.9 FPS, Medium drops to 32 FPS, High falls to 28.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18.5 FPS. The 1440p results are all below the 60 FPS target, and only the Low preset approaches playability. At 3840x2160, the situation is dire: Low yields 28 FPS, Medium 16 FPS, Ultra 15 FPS, and High just 13 FPS. These 4K numbers are effectively unplayable for any fast-paced gameplay.

The data indicates that the GTX 1650's performance degrades non-linearly with resolution. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the FPS drops by 33.6%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, it drops by 34.7%. This consistent ~34% reduction per resolution step confirms that the GPU is memory-bandwidth and compute limited, not CPU limited.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are strong: 21279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 8937 in R20 multi-core, and 10971 in Geekbench multi-core. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all processors confirms it is well above average.

In Rust, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, entity updates, and physics calculations. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 64.6 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame delivery limit for Rust's single-threaded workload, but this is not a bottleneck because the GPU is already saturated at higher settings. The CPU's 4.60 GHz boost clock and strong single-core performance (3004 in Cinebench R23 single-core) are sufficient for Rust's requirements.

The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield significantly better results. The i5-13400F's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, has a similar average score (25365 vs 25236), and both are capable of driving much higher frame rates than the GTX 1650 can deliver. The CPU's performance headroom is evident from the fact that frame rates scale almost entirely with GPU settings and resolution, not CPU clock speeds.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to a clear recommendation: use the Low preset at 1920x1080 for the best playable experience. This is the only configuration that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 64.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 42.2 FPS, which is playable but not smooth, while High drops to 38.8 FPS and Ultra falls below 30 FPS.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, 1080p Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above 40 FPS. The step from Medium to High only yields a 3.4 FPS improvement at 1080p, which does not justify the visual quality loss from the lower preset. At 1440p, only the Low preset approaches playability at 42.9 FPS, but the 34% frame rate drop from 1080p makes it a poor trade-off. The 4K presets are all below 28 FPS and should be avoided entirely.

The data suggests that the combo's optimal operating point is 1080p Low, where the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Rust's minimum requirements. Users who attempt higher presets will encounter stutter and frame pacing issues, as the GPU is pushed beyond its memory capacity. There is no setting combination that achieves 60 FPS at 1440p or above with this hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior confirms that the GTX 1650 is the limiting component at every step. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the average FPS drops from 64.6 to 42.9, a 33.6% reduction. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, it drops from 42.9 to 28, a 34.7% reduction. This near-constant percentage loss per resolution doubling is characteristic of a GPU that is bandwidth-limited, as the pixel throughput demands scale directly with resolution.

At higher settings, the scaling is even more severe. From 1080p High to 1440p High, FPS drops from 38.8 to 28.5, a 26.5% reduction. From 1440p High to 4K High, it drops from 28.5 to 13, a 54.4% reduction. The disproportionate drop at 4K High indicates the GPU is hitting a hard VRAM wall, as the 4 GB frame buffer cannot hold the textures and render targets required at that resolution and quality level.

The pattern is consistent across all settings: the combo is viable at 1080p, marginal at 1440p, and unplayable at 4K. The CPU's performance does not scale with resolution, as it is resolution-independent, so the FPS drops are entirely attributable to the GPU. This analysis shows that users should treat this combo as a 1080p solution, with no expectation of higher resolution support in Rust.