Rust

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers a highly capable Rust experience, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combination is overwhelmingly CPU-limited, with frame rates soaring to 210.4 FPS on Low settings and 148.6 FPS on High. However, the jump to 4K paints a different picture: the same High preset drops to 60.8 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 44.5 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that while the processor has ample headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises, particularly at 4K where even Medium settings only muster 72 FPS. The benchmark data suggests that for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1440p is the sweet spot, while 4K requires careful settings tuning to maintain a playable frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is expected but the magnitude of the drop is telling. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (210.4 FPS) to 2560x1440 (180.7 FPS) represents a 14% reduction, but the move from 1440p to 3840x2160 (107.7 FPS) is a much steeper 40% loss. This non-linear scaling strongly suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's rendering pipeline is being saturated at 4K, even at the lowest graphical preset. The gap widens further at higher settings: High settings drop from 148.6 FPS at 1080p to 106.6 FPS at 1440p (a 28% loss), then to 60.8 FPS at 4K (a 43% loss from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities—backed by 8448 shading units and a 672.3 GB/s memory bandwidth—are the limiting factors at 4K, whereas the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The 4K Ultra result of 44.5 FPS is particularly revealing. It is only 73% of the 4K High result, showing that the Ultra preset's additional graphical demands (likely shadow quality, draw distance, and texture filtering) disproportionately tax the GPU. At 1080p, the gap between Low (210.4 FPS) and Ultra (114.1 FPS) is 96.3 FPS, but at 4K, the same settings gap shrinks to 63.2 FPS (107.7 vs 44.5). This compression of performance differences at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU-bound operation; the card's 44.10 TFLOPS FP32 compute is simply not enough to maintain the same relative performance delta when pixel output quadruples. For players targeting 60 FPS at 4K, the data shows that only High settings (60.8 FPS) barely clears the bar, while Medium (72 FPS) provides a buffer but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 180.2 FPS, which is within 14% of the Low preset's 210.4 FPS but offers substantially better visual quality. The High preset at 148.6 FPS is still excellent for 144Hz displays, and even Ultra at 114.1 FPS remains playable for 60Hz panels. For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset (126 FPS) is the best balance of performance and fidelity, as it comfortably exceeds 120 FPS while the High preset (106.6 FPS) is better suited for 100Hz displays. The Low preset at 1440p (180.7 FPS) is overkill for most monitors and sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is clear: Medium settings (72 FPS) provide the best playable experience, as High (60.8 FPS) is borderline for 60Hz displays and Ultra (44.5 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 4K (107.7 FPS) is interesting for competitive players, but it negates the purpose of 4K resolution by reducing graphical fidelity to its minimum. The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is not the constraint at 4K—the card's compute throughput is. Therefore, players should prioritize Medium settings at 4K to maintain a stable frame rate, while at 1440p, Medium or High are both viable depending on whether the user prefers higher FPS or better visuals. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where the 114.1 FPS result still provides a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 144 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves 180.2 FPS, and High achieves 148.6 FPS, both exceeding 144 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (180.7 FPS) and Medium preset (126 FPS) come close, but Medium falls short of 144 FPS. Therefore, 1080p is the only resolution where 144 FPS is consistently achievable on High or Medium settings.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 60.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset (72 FPS) provides a more comfortable margin, while Ultra (44.5 FPS) is not recommended for smooth play. The Low preset (107.7 FPS) is viable for high-refresh 4K monitors but sacrifices visual quality.

Q: How does the CPU's 10-core configuration affect Rust performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates reach 210.4 FPS on Low settings. However, the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 indicate strong multi-threaded capability, which helps maintain high minimum frame rates in Rust's complex world simulation.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and does it matter for Rust?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS data does not show any VRAM-related stutters or drops, even at 4K Ultra settings, indicating that 16 GB is sufficient for Rust's texture-heavy environments at all tested settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 188th out of 1717 tested combinations, placing it in the top 11% of all systems. This rank reflects the strong balance between the CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever worth using?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra achieves 114.1 FPS, which is playable. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 81.4 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS. However, at 3840x2160, Ultra falls to 44.5 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. Therefore, Ultra is only recommended at 1080p or 1440p, not 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear hierarchy. The Low preset delivers the highest average at 210.4 FPS, followed by Medium at 180.2 FPS, High at 148.6 FPS, and Ultra at 114.1 FPS. This 96.3 FPS spread between Low and Ultra demonstrates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at this resolution, as even the most demanding preset stays well above 100 FPS. The data indicates that the GPU's 2610 MHz boost clock and 44.10 TFLOPS compute are sufficient to handle Rust's rendering load at 1080p without becoming a limiting factor.

At 2560x1440, the same settings pattern holds but with reduced headroom. Low delivers 180.7 FPS, Medium 126 FPS, High 106.6 FPS, and Ultra 81.4 FPS. The 99.3 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of additional pixels. The Medium preset still provides a comfortable 126 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming. The High preset's 106.6 FPS is adequate for 100Hz displays, while Ultra's 81.4 FPS is suitable for 60-75Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 107.7 FPS, Medium 72 FPS, High 60.8 FPS, and Ultra 44.5 FPS. The 63.2 FPS difference between Low and Ultra is much smaller than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck. The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 96 ROPs and 250.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are being taxed heavily at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings where the 44.5 FPS result is below the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only option that provides a comfortable frame rate above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination ranks 188th out of 1717 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 89th percentile of system performance. This high ranking is driven by both components' strong individual standings: the CPU sits in the 82nd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 86th percentile of all graphics cards. The combination's synergy is evident in the measured FPS data, where the system maintains high frame rates across all resolutions and settings, with the only notable weakness being 4K Ultra performance.

When compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25236 is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) and 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201). This indicates that the CPU is not a weak link in the system. Similarly, the GPU's average benchmark score of 48704 is within 2% of the NVIDIA RTX A2000 (47915) and 0.7% of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49071). The rank of 188 out of 1717 suggests that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, likely due to the balanced nature of the CPU and GPU pairing. The data confirms that this is a top-tier configuration for Rust, with only 187 other combos achieving higher overall performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile gaming CPU. In Rust, the CPU's role is critical for handling the game's world simulation, entity tracking, and physics calculations. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 210.4 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004 indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for Rust's often single-threaded game logic. The multi-threaded scores are equally impressive: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 21279, and Passmark multithread scores 25032. These results place the CPU in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 82% of tested processors. In the context of Rust, this translates to high minimum frame rates and consistent performance, especially at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor. The data suggests that the i5-13400F's 10 cores (likely 6 performance and 4 efficiency cores) provide ample headroom for Rust's multi-threaded rendering and simulation tasks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for high-resolution textures. The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and 44.10 TFLOPS FP32 compute make it a powerful rendering engine. In Rust, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution rises, and the measured data confirms this.

At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the small performance gap between Low (210.4 FPS) and Medium (180.2 FPS) settings. However, at 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent: the Ultra preset drops to 44.5 FPS, while Medium achieves 72 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput (250.6 GPixel/s) and texture rate (689.0 GTexel/s) are the limiting factors at high resolutions. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs and average benchmark score of 48704 place it in the upper tier of graphics cards, but the 4K Ultra result shows that even this powerful card struggles with the most demanding settings in Rust. The data suggests that players should prioritize Medium or High settings at 4K to avoid the performance cliff that Ultra presents.