Rust

Rust’s performance with the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions, with the CPU taking over as the primary limiter only at 1080p. The measured data spans four settings presets across three resolutions, providing a full picture of how this combination scales.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all presets, indicating that the RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant constraint as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 128.7 at 1920x1080 to 89.4 at 2560x1440, then to 50 at 3840x2160. That represents a 30.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 61.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 1440p to 4K drop being proportionally larger, which is typical for a game where shading and memory bandwidth demands grow faster than the pixel count.

At Low settings, the same trend appears but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS at 1080p is 219.7, dropping to 158 at 1440p and 93 at 4K. The percentage drops are 28.1% and 57.7% respectively, slightly smaller than at High settings. This suggests that even at Low, the GPU remains the bottleneck at 4K, though the headroom at 1080p is substantial enough to push well past 200 FPS.

The Medium preset shows 152.2 FPS at 1080p, 104 at 1440p, and 62 at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 96.1 at 1080p, 68.9 at 1440p, and 38.9 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only one below 40 FPS, indicating that this combo cannot maintain smooth gameplay at maximum quality at that resolution. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 43.5%, which is the largest relative drop across all presets, reinforcing that the GPU’s 12 GB of memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated at 4K Ultra.

The data suggests that 1080p is heavily CPU-limited at lower presets, given the small FPS delta between Low and Medium (219.7 vs 152.2), but the GPU still has enough headroom to scale with resolution. At 1440p, the combo balances both components, while 4K is firmly GPU-bound across all settings.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience at 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 89.4 FPS on average, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most players. The Medium preset at 104 FPS offers a 16.3% improvement over High, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for a survival game where spotting distant objects matters. Ultra at 1440p drops to 68.9 FPS, still playable, but the 22.9% reduction from High suggests that the extra settings cost more than they return in this title.

At 1920x1080, the High preset at 128.7 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides a 33.9% increase over Ultra (96.1 FPS) while retaining better visuals than Medium (152.2 FPS). The Low preset at 219.7 FPS is only useful for competitive play where maximum frame rate matters, but the gap between Medium and High (24.5 FPS) is smaller than between High and Ultra (32.6 FPS), indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (93 FPS) and Medium preset (62 FPS) are viable for standard 60 Hz displays. High at 50 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 38.9 FPS is not recommended. The 43.5% drop from Medium to High at 4K shows a steep penalty for the middle-to-high transition, so players on 4K monitors should stick to Medium unless they accept sub-60 FPS performance.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1440p High, which balances the 89.4 FPS average with the visual fidelity of the High preset. For 1080p users, High is the sweet spot, and for 4K, Medium is the highest playable preset.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 Ti features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory subsystem is critical in Rust, which is known for large texture streaming and frequent asset loading. The measured FPS at 4K High (50) versus 4K Low (93) shows a 46.2% performance gap, which is larger than the gap at 1080p (128.7 vs 219.7, a 41.5% difference). This indicates that memory bandwidth and capacity become more influential at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s boost clock is 1665 MHz, with a base of 1365 MHz, and it houses 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s are high enough to drive the frame rates seen at 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the memory interface is the bottleneck. The 38.9 FPS at 4K Ultra corresponds to a 61.1% drop from 1080p Ultra (96.1 FPS), which is a larger drop than the 55.6% drop at High settings, implying that Ultra settings increase memory pressure disproportionately.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. The PassMark G3D score is 26896, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5077. These place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the RTX 3090 (deltaPct -0.5) and RTX 5070 (deltaPct -1.1). The RTX 3080 Ti trails the RTX 3090 by just 0.5% in average benchmark score, which is negligible, yet the RTX 3090 has 24 GB of memory, suggesting that the 12 GB capacity is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

The 350 W TDP and 750 W suggested PSU indicate this is a power-hungry card, but the data shows it delivers performance within 1.6% of the Tesla M40 in average score, while offering far more modern feature support. The GPU's role in Rust is clear: it provides solid 1440p performance and acceptable 4K at Medium, but cannot sustain Ultra at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 366th out of 1717 tested combos for Rust. That places it in the 78.7th percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly 78% of tested systems. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for performance across resolutions and settings, and the data shows this combo is above average but not elite.

The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus is 88, and the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is 83, both above average. However, the combo rank of 366 suggests that Rust is not fully utilizing the CPU’s strengths, as the game’s single-threaded nature may limit the 10-core, 16-thread processor. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 32508, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, deltaPct 0.2). This means the i5-14400F is a mid-pack performer among its rivals, not a standout.

The GPU’s average score of 41224 is close to the RTX 3090 (41441, deltaPct -0.5) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610, deltaPct -0.9), but the RTX 3080 Ti is 1.6% behind the Tesla M40 (41897, deltaPct -1.6). This places the GPU in a cluster of similarly performing cards, with no clear advantage over its nearest peers.

The combo rank of 366 out of 1717 indicates that while each component is individually above average, the pairing does not synergize exceptionally well in Rust. The 1080p Low result of 219.7 FPS is high, but the 4K Ultra result of 38.9 FPS drags the overall ranking down. Systems with stronger GPUs or more cache-friendly CPUs likely rank higher.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its L3 cache is 20 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In Rust, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the average FPS of 219.7 is 45.6% higher than at 1080p High (128.7). This large gap suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly.

The CPU’s single-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093, is strong, but Rust’s engine typically uses fewer threads. The multi-core score of 21914 is respectable, but the game’s scaling is limited. The PassMark single-thread score of 3723 and multi-thread score of 25783 show that the CPU is balanced, yet the measured FPS at 1080p Medium (152.2) versus 1080p High (128.7) shows only a 15.4% improvement, indicating that the CPU is not the bottleneck at Medium and above.

The 65 W TDP is low for a desktop CPU, and the boost clock of 4.70 GHz on the performance cores is sufficient for most tasks. However, the nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13705H (deltaPct -0.2) and AMD Ryzen 7 250 (deltaPct -0.2), which have similar average scores. This means the i5-14400F does not stand out in CPU-bound scenarios.

At 1440p, the CPU’s influence diminishes. The High preset at 89.4 FPS is 30.5% lower than the 1080p High, showing that the GPU is now the limiting factor. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3080 Ti at 1440p, but not at 1080p Low where the frame rate exceeds 200.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth is not listed, but its dual-channel support for DDR4 and DDR5 suggests it can feed the GPU adequately. The L3 cache of 20 MB is modest compared to some competitors, which may explain why the CPU does not rank higher than the 88th percentile. In Rust, the CPU’s role is to provide a stable baseline, which it does, but it does not boost the combo beyond its GPU’s capabilities.

FAQ

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

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 89.4 FPS on average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium offers 104 FPS, a 16.3% improvement, but High provides a better visual experience for a 22.9% cost versus Ultra (68.9 FPS).

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset runs at 93 FPS and Medium at 62 FPS, both playable. High drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard. The GPU’s 12 GB memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 41224, which is 0.5% below the RTX 3090 (41441) and 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610). It trails the Tesla M40 by 1.6% (41897). The performance is within a narrow 1.6% band of these rivals.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 219.7, which is 45.6% higher than at 1080p High (128.7). This large gap indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at Low settings, as the GPU has ample headroom. At High and above, the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in Rust?

A: This combo ranks 366th out of 1717 tested combinations, placing it in the 78.7th percentile. The CPU and GPU are individually in the 88th and 83rd percentiles respectively, but the pairing does not exceed expectations in Rust due to the game’s engine limitations.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance affect Rust?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score is 3093, and its PassMark single-thread score is 3723. These scores are adequate, but Rust’s reliance on single-threaded performance means the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are not fully utilized, limiting its impact on frame rates at higher resolutions.