Rust

The Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a playable, though not exceptional, experience in Rust. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's simulation and physics. This pairing sits in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while it can handle the game, users will need to make deliberate settings choices to achieve their desired frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 151 FPS, which drops to 104 FPS at 1440p and further to 62 FPS at 4K. This represents a significant 58.9% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, highlighting the GPU's struggle to maintain frame rates as pixel count increases.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. With High settings, the average FPS falls from 86 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, and then plummets to 35 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is a steep 40.7% reduction, indicating that the RX 9060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are being heavily taxed by the higher resolution. The most extreme example is at Ultra settings, where the system manages 65 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and only 27 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the limiting component at 4K, particularly on Medium settings and above. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's role becomes more significant, but the GPU still carries the majority of the workload. The 4K results show that this combo is not suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming at that resolution, as even Low settings only produce 62 FPS. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, acceptable for 1440p with some compromises, and only marginal for 4K with significant settings reductions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers an average of 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this resolution, as it provides a significant boost over the 65 FPS of Ultra while maintaining a smooth, playable frame rate that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p yields 86 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 15.7% performance loss for what is likely a modest visual gain.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to Low settings, which achieves 104 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution produces 70 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at 1440p drop to 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target and may feel inconsistent. The data suggests that for a stable 1440p experience, Low settings are the safest choice, with Medium being viable for users who prioritize visual quality over guaranteed smoothness.

For 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low settings produce 62 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that consistently stays above the 60 FPS line. Medium settings at 4K yield 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is playable but will be noticeably less smooth. High and Ultra settings at 4K produce 35 FPS and 27 FPS respectively, which are below the threshold for a good gaming experience. The recommendation is clear: use Low settings at 4K, Medium at 1440p, and Medium at 1080p for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The data shows that pushing beyond these settings results in diminishing returns that are not justified by the frame rate costs.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. These specifications place the card in the 59th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 16014.

The GPU's performance is closely matched by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has an average score of 16129, a difference of just -0.7%. It also sits near the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 15852 (a 1% difference), and the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862 (also a 1% difference). This placement in the nearest rivals list indicates that the RX 9060 is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not a high-end card by any means. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a potential concern for Rust, as the game's large maps and many entities can consume significant memory, though the measured frame rates suggest it is sufficient at the tested settings.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. It achieves a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 21.43 TFLOPS. These raw numbers explain why the card can deliver over 150 FPS at 1080p Low settings, but they also show its limits when pushed to 4K Ultra, where the pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck. The 128-bit memory bus is a notable constraint, as it limits memory bandwidth to 288.0 GB/s, which is a key factor in the significant FPS drops seen at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1665th out of 2953 tested combinations in Rust. This places it in the 56.4th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that roughly 44% of other combinations perform better and 56% perform worse. This ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components. The CPU is in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile, so the overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU's relative performance compared to the CPU.

This rank indicates that the combo is capable but not competitive with high-end systems. For reference, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% difference), the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% difference), and the Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% difference). These are all processors with similar average benchmark scores, suggesting that the i5-14400F is a well-rounded performer. The GPU's rivals, on the other hand, are the RTX 3060 Ti and the RX 7700, which are both older or similarly positioned cards.

The ranking of 1665 out of 2953 suggests that this system is best suited for 1080p gaming and can handle 1440p with settings adjustments. It is not a system that will excel at 4K, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS results at that resolution for most settings. The data shows a balanced mid-range build that offers a good experience for the majority of gamers who are still using 1080p or 1440p monitors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake-R refresh. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. This processor is in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279.

In Rust, the CPU's role is significant due to the game's heavy reliance on single-threaded performance for physics and entity management. The i5-14400F's boost clock of 4.70 GHz provides strong single-core performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055. This is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in scenarios with many players or complex structures, where the CPU can become the bottleneck.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645. This helps with the game's background tasks, such as world generation and asset loading. The 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Rust, and the data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 151 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate capability for this game. The fact that the FPS drops significantly at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% faster), the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% slower). These comparisons show that the i5-14400F is a competitive mid-range processor that performs on par with other popular CPUs. Its 65 W TDP and LGA 1700 socket make it an efficient and accessible choice for a gaming build, though its performance is sufficient to keep up with the RX 9060 without creating a significant bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its strongest performance. With Low settings, it achieves an average of 151 FPS. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 102 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. High settings produce an average of 86 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 65 FPS. This progression shows a 57% performance loss from Low to Ultra, which is a substantial cost for the highest visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are lower but still playable. Low settings yield 104 FPS, which is a 31.1% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings produce 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. High settings drop to 59 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 45 FPS. The transition from Low to Ultra at 1440p represents a 56.7% performance loss, similar to the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce 62 FPS, which is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS. Medium settings yield 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings drop to 35 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 27 FPS. The gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low is 58.9%, and the gap between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra is 58.5%, showing that the resolution scaling is consistent across settings. These numbers demonstrate that the combo is best used at 1080p or 1440p, with 4K reserved for Low settings or less demanding scenes.