Rust

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination delivers a playable, though constrained, Rust experience. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary performance limiter, especially as resolution climbs, while the CPU provides ample headroom. This pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates at lower presets, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, clearly identifying the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 105.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p with the same settings, the average drops to 70.7 FPS, a 32.7% reduction. At 4K, the average plummets to 40.6 FPS, which is a 61.4% drop from the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER's rendering capabilities, not the CPU, are being saturated by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling is even more pronounced at higher presets. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 45.8 FPS at 1080p to 32.4 FPS at 1440p and then to just 20.4 FPS at 4K. This severe decline suggests that the GPU's 6 GB of VRAM and its memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s are insufficient for the demands of 4K Ultra textures and effects. The system's performance at 4K, with all presets failing to reach 60 FPS, confirms that this resolution is beyond the comfortable operating range for this hardware combination.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured results, the optimal experience for this combo is found at 1080p with Medium settings. This preset yields an average of 73.6 FPS, which provides a good balance between visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, a significant improvement over the 58.4 FPS seen at High settings. While the Low preset at 1080p achieves a much higher 105.1 FPS, the visual compromise is substantial for a game like Rust where visibility is key.

For players with higher refresh rate monitors, the Low preset is the only option that consistently pushes beyond the 100 FPS mark. At 1440p, the Medium preset is the highest quality that remains semi-playable, averaging 51.7 FPS, though this is still below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely; it produces the lowest frame rates at every resolution, and the data suggests this is due to the GPU's hardware limits rather than a software issue. The High preset at 1440p, at 39.5 FPS, is a noticeable step down and not recommended for competitive play.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing ranks 1510th out of 1717 combos for Rust. This places it in the lower percentile of systems, indicating that while it is functional, it is not a high-performing configuration for this specific title. The rank reflects the GTX 1660 SUPER's age and its position as a lower-mid-range card in the current landscape.

Despite the low overall rank, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Intel Core i5-14400F sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508, putting it in line with processors like the Intel Core i7-12800H. In contrast, the GPU is in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 14286, closely matching the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT. This performance disparity within the combo explains why the CPU has more headroom than the GPU in this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Rust at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but the experience is poor. The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 40.6 FPS on Low settings, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. At High and Ultra settings, the averages drop to 26.6 FPS and 20.4 FPS, respectively, making the game feel sluggish.

Q: What is the best settings preset for the smoothest gameplay?

A: For the highest frame rates, the Low preset is the best. At 1920x1080, this yields an average of 105.1 FPS, and at 2560x1440, it produces 70.7 FPS. The Medium preset is a good compromise, providing 73.6 FPS at 1080p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck for performance?

A: The data clearly shows the GPU is the bottleneck. Performance drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The CPU's strong benchmark scores and percentile rank suggest it has ample power left in reserve.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1510th out of 1717 tested combinations for Rust. This puts it in the lower-performing segment, mostly due to the GPU's modest capabilities.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER's VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. The severe performance drops at 4K, especially on higher presets, suggest that the memory capacity and bandwidth are a limiting factor at that resolution.

Q: What is the expected performance at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 58.4 FPS. This is slightly below the 60 FPS target, so players may need to lower settings to Medium to achieve a consistently smooth experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the deciding factor in this combo's gaming performance. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock of 1785 MHz helps deliver a baseline of performance, but the raw compute power is limited. The data shows that its FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the average across all presets is below 41 FPS.

The GPU's 55th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 14286, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, contextualize its position. In Rust, this translates to a card that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming but is quickly overwhelmed by higher resolutions and more demanding presets. The performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution highlights the GPU's sensitivity to shader and texture complexity, which is a direct result of its hardware architecture.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a capable partner that does not constrain the GTX 1660 SUPER. With 10 cores and 16 threads based on a 10 nm process, its multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914. The CPU's high single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2333, is also critical for Rust, which is known to be sensitive to single-core speed. This means the CPU can feed the GPU with data without becoming a bottleneck.

The data supports this, as frame rates scale almost exclusively with resolution and settings, not with CPU load. The CPU's 88th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 32508, which is comparable to the Intel Core i7-13705H, show that it is a much more powerful component than the GPU in this pairing. Consequently, the CPU has significant headroom for future GPU upgrades, as it would likely not be the limiting factor in a system with a more powerful graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo performs best. The Low preset delivers a high average of 105.1 FPS. Medium settings yield 73.6 FPS, and High settings drop to 58.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing an average of 45.8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance declines significantly. The Low preset is the only one to maintain a playable average, at 70.7 FPS. Medium settings average 51.7 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 39.5 FPS and 32.4 FPS, respectively.

At 3840x2160, the system is heavily strained. The Low preset averages just 40.6 FPS. Medium settings produce 30.6 FPS, High settings 26.6 FPS, and Ultra settings a lowly 20.4 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable resolution for this hardware combination in Rust.