Rust

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a highly constrained gaming experience in Rust, with performance that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The measured data shows a system that is firmly at the entry-level for this title, requiring significant compromises to achieve playable frame rates. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component roles, and ranking to provide a clear picture of what this combination offers.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and playability across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 69 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to surpass the 60 FPS threshold. This makes it the sole option for a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at this resolution drops to 46 FPS, a 33% reduction from Low, while High (39 FPS) and Ultra (30 FPS) fall further behind. Given that the Ultra preset at 1080p produces less than half the frame rate of Low, the performance cost of higher settings is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more demanding. The Low preset averages 48 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenarios. Medium drops to 32 FPS, High to 27 FPS, and Ultra to 20 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium here is 16 FPS, indicating that the GPU is already struggling with the increased pixel count. For 4K (3840x2160), all presets produce sub-30 FPS results, with Low at 28 FPS being the only remotely viable option, though it is still below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Based on these measurements, the optimal experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only setting combination that yields an average above 60 FPS. If visual quality is prioritized over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p (46 FPS) offers a balanced compromise, but the data suggests that the hardware is not capable of maintaining high frame rates at higher resolutions. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it produces a maximum of 30 FPS even at 1080p, which severely hampers gameplay responsiveness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F 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 4.70 GHz. It features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11268 and a single-core score of 2058. Its Passmark multithread score is 25470, and its single-thread score is 3701.

In the context of Rust, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, physics, and world simulation. The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, as the frame rates drop significantly with increased resolution, which is typically a GPU-bound behavior. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 69 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 48 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 28 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases.

However, the CPU's single-thread performance is still relevant. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and Passmark single-thread score of 3701 place it in a capable position for handling Rust's simulation threads. The CPU's percentile ranking of 83rd among all CPUs suggests it is a solid performer, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% faster). This indicates that the i5-14400F is not holding back the system in a meaningful way at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves its highest FPS, which likely allows the CPU to feed frames more efficiently. At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU's workload increases, and the CPU has more idle time, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample parallelism for Rust's multi-threaded operations, but the fact that FPS scales inversely with resolution confirms that the GPU is the dominant constraint in this pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Rust?

A: The best combination is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which achieves an average of 69 FPS. This is the only configuration in the measured data that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the most playable option.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, performance is severely limited. The Low preset averages 28 FPS, Medium averages 19 FPS, High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. None of these are suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases (from 69 FPS at 1080p Low to 28 FPS at 4K Low), which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's synthetic benchmarks are relatively strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, which is 0.7% higher, while the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra preset on frame rates?

A: The Ultra preset is the most demanding. At 1080p, it averages 30 FPS, at 1440p it averages 20 FPS, and at 4K it averages 12 FPS. This represents a significant drop from the Low preset at each resolution, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle high-end graphics settings.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 2710 out of 2953 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, indicating that it is one of the lower-performing setups for Rust.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2710 out of 2953 tested combos in Rust. This places the system in the bottom percentile of configurations, indicating that it is one of the least capable setups for this game. The rank of 2710 means that 242 other combos perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems deliver better results.

This ranking is consistent with the GPU's overall performance percentile of 5th among all GPUs, which is extremely low. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 is only slightly below its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 1186. This places the Arc B370 in the same performance tier as decade-old entry-level mobile graphics solutions.

The CPU, in contrast, ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, which is a solid result. Its average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226). This indicates that the CPU is not the reason for the low combo ranking. Instead, the GPU's weak performance drags the entire system down.

The data shows that a more capable GPU would likely improve the combo's rank significantly, as the CPU has headroom to push higher frame rates. However, with the current GPU, the system is limited to very low frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. The rank of 2710 out of 2953 is a clear indicator that this combo is not intended for demanding gaming scenarios like Rust, which often involves large player bases and complex environmental interactions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend of performance degradation as resolution increases. At the Low preset, the system achieves 69 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 48 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 30% decrease) and further to 28 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 42% decrease from 1440p and a 59% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound system, where the rendering workload increases quadratically with pixel count.

At the Medium preset, the FPS drops from 46 at 1080p to 32 at 1440p (a 30% decrease) and then to 19 at 4K (a 41% decrease from 1440p). The High preset shows a similar trend: 39 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (a 31% decrease), and 16 FPS at 4K (a 41% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra preset follows the same pattern, with 30 FPS at 1080p, 20 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease), and 12 FPS at 4K (a 40% decrease from 1440p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload is largely independent of pixel count. Instead, the linear scaling of FPS with resolution indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being exhausted.

The resolution scaling data also shows that the system cannot maintain a playable frame rate at 4K, even at the lowest settings. The 28 FPS average at 4K Low is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered minimally playable, and the 12 FPS at 4K Ultra is a slideshow. For any reasonable gaming experience, users must stick to 1080p, and even then, only the Low preset provides a comfortable frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data provides a detailed view of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 69 FPS, the highest recorded value. The Medium preset averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 39 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of settings on performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 48 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably lower than 1080p. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. The High preset averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 20 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 28 FPS, indicating that the GPU's limitations are more pronounced at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 28 FPS, which is the only preset to reach near-30 FPS territory. The Medium preset averages 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. The High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 12 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 16 FPS, showing that the GPU is so constrained that even the lowest settings cannot provide a smooth experience.

The min and max FPS values for the Medium preset across all resolutions show a consistent spread. At 1080p, the range is 39 to 53 FPS (a 14 FPS variance). At 1440p, the range is 27 to 37 FPS (a 10 FPS variance). At 4K, the range is 16 to 22 FPS (a 6 FPS variance). This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving less room for frame time variation. Overall, the data shows a system that is only capable of delivering a comfortable gaming experience at 1080p Low, with all other configurations falling short of ideal performance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is a low-power integrated-class GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The GPU includes 10 ray tracing cores and delivers a peak FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. Its memory is system-shared, with bandwidth that is system dependent, and its TDP is just 25 W.

In Rust, the GPU's role is to render the game world, including terrain, structures, and player models. The measured FPS data shows that the Arc B370 is severely underpowered for this task. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, which is exceptionally low. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), both of which are over a decade old.

The GPU's system-shared memory is a key limitation. Unlike dedicated VRAM, system-shared memory relies on the CPU's memory bandwidth, which can cause performance issues in memory-intensive scenes. The data shows that the GPU struggles significantly at higher resolutions, with FPS dropping from 69 at 1080p Low to 28 at 4K Low. This indicates that the GPU's rendering capabilities, including its fill rate (48.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (96.00 GTexel/s), are insufficient for the demands of Rust at high pixel counts.

The GPU's low TDP of 25 W and IGP form factor suggest it is designed for power efficiency rather than gaming performance. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is relatively high, but the limited number of shading units (1280) and ROPs (20) restricts its throughput. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system, as the CPU's performance metrics are comparatively strong. For any meaningful improvement in Rust, a more powerful discrete GPU would be required.