Rust

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Rust with the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT shows a steep and consistent drop as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 207.4 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 144.2 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls further to 87.1 FPS. That is a 58% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial hit and indicates the GPU is being pushed harder at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across every preset. With High settings, the average FPS goes from 121.1 at 1080p, to 80.7 at 1440p, and down to 45.8 at 4K. Medium settings show 141.6 FPS at 1080p, 96.1 at 1440p, and 54.5 at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, starting at 90.3 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 62.6 at 1440p, and bottoming out at 36.9 at 4K.

The scaling between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the frame rate drops by 34.9 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 40.4 FPS. This suggests that at 4K, the RX 6800 XT is clearly the limiting component. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has enough headroom at 1440p and below, but at 4K the GPU's rendering load becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that 1080p is where this combo shines, with all presets except Ultra staying above 120 FPS. For 1440p gaming, the Low preset is the only one that breaks 144 FPS, while High and Medium remain playable at 80.7 and 96.1 FPS respectively.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process from TSMC. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective, while the GPU base clock is 1825 MHz and boost reaches 2250 MHz. The game clock is rated at 2015 MHz. These specifications matter for Rust because the game is known for heavy asset streaming and large world persistence, which benefits from both VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth.

The 16 GB VRAM is a meaningful advantage in Rust. The game's maps are large and populated with many entities, and the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 36.9 FPS. That is low, but the fact that it runs at all suggests the GPU is not running out of memory. A card with less VRAM would likely stutter or fail to load textures at that resolution. The pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s are high figures that help with the game's draw calls and texture streaming.

The GPU's compute performance is also relevant. With 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, the card delivers 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This shows up in the benchmark results: the GPU scores 24980 in Passmark G3D, which places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A550M with a deltaPct of 0.5, meaning the RX 6800 XT is about 0.5% ahead of that card in average benchmark score. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 is 1.7% ahead, while the NVIDIA CMP 50HX is 1.9% behind. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is 2.6% behind in this comparison.

The 300 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design are worth noting, but the data shows the card's real strength is its balance of memory and compute. In Rust, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at 4K, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to reach 207.4 FPS on Low, but at 4K the GPU's rendering limits cap the output at 87.1 FPS on the same preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 141.6 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset drops to 121.1 FPS, still very playable, while Ultra falls to 90.3 FPS. For competitive play or high-refresh monitors, Low at 207.4 FPS is the obvious choice, but for general gaming, Medium offers the best compromise.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Medium gives 96.1 FPS, which is smooth for most players, while High drops to 80.7 FPS. Ultra at 62.6 FPS is borderline for fast-paced gameplay. Low at 144.2 FPS is excellent for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, providing near-100 FPS without sacrificing too much detail.

At 4K, the options are more limited. Low is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS, at 87.1 FPS. Medium falls to 54.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive scenarios. High at 45.8 FPS and Ultra at 36.9 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K, the data recommends sticking with Low or Medium, depending on whether you prefer frame rate or visual fidelity. The jump from Ultra to Low at 4K is substantial, gaining 50.2 FPS, which shows how much headroom the lower presets provide.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Rust at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 87.1, which is smooth. Medium drops to 54.5 FPS, and High falls to 45.8 FPS. Ultra is the weakest at 36.9 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium offers the best balance at 96.1 FPS. High is also viable at 80.7 FPS, while Low gives 144.2 FPS for maximum frame rate. Ultra at 62.6 FPS is acceptable but not ideal.

Q: How does the RX 6800 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 24980 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 87th percentile. It is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M, 1.7% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000, 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, and 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.

Q: Is 16 GB of VRAM enough for Rust?

A: The data indicates yes. The card runs 4K Ultra at 36.9 FPS without crashing, which suggests memory is not a bottleneck. The 512.0 GB/s bandwidth and 16 GB GDDR6 capacity handle the game's asset streaming.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 1080p High is 121.1. This is a solid result for a survival game with dense environments. Low at 207.4 FPS is the highest measured in this dataset.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo hits 207.4 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as shown by the steep FPS drops across all presets when moving from 1440p to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 536th out of 1717 tested combos in Rust. This places it in roughly the 69th percentile of all configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the combo's strong 1080p performance and competent 1440p results, but its 4K scores are below average due to the GPU's limitations at that resolution.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H at 32513 (0% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 is 0.2% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H are both 0.2% ahead. This indicates the CPU is well-matched with the GPU, providing enough processing power to avoid major bottlenecks at lower resolutions.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar picture. The RX 6800 XT's average benchmark score of 49982 places it close to the Intel Arc A550M (49737, 0.5% behind) and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50826, 1.7% ahead). The combo's 536th rank in Rust is respectable given that the GPU is in the 87th percentile of all GPUs and the CPU is in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. The data suggests this is a well-balanced pairing for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the 4K results being the only weak point.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for Rust's game logic and physics calculations.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14400F scores 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3093 in single-core. The Geekbench scores are 11209 multi-core and 2333 single-core. The Passmark multi-thread score is 25783, while single-thread is 3723. These numbers place the CPU in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores 32513, a delta of 0%. This means the i5-14400F is effectively tied with that mobile chip in overall performance.

The CPU's role in Rust is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the combo achieves 207.4 FPS on Low settings, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU at high rates. The 10 cores and 16 threads handle the game's entity updates and server-side calculations efficiently. The 4.70 GHz boost clock is particularly useful for Rust's single-threaded tasks, such as physics and AI pathfinding.

However, the data also shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 4K, the FPS drops are consistent across all presets, which points to the GPU becoming the bottleneck. The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support are adequate for this pairing. The processor supports ECC memory and has a PCIe Gen 5 interface with 16 lanes, which provides ample bandwidth for the RX 6800 XT's PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. Overall, the i5-14400F is a capable partner for this GPU, providing enough headroom for 1080p and 1440p gaming without holding back the frame rates.