Rust

Rust presents a demanding environment that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a fascinating dataset. The measured frame rates reveal a system with immense raw power, but also show clear points where the balance between components shifts depending on the resolution and quality preset. This analysis will break down the measured performance, contextualize it against other tested hardware combinations, and explore the specific roles the processor and graphics card play in generating these results.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Rust?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 217.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This is the peak performance point in the entire dataset.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 192.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 97.7 FPS. This represents a significant performance gap, with the Low preset providing roughly double the frame rate of Ultra.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's massive 24 GB VRAM capacity appear to be a limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data does not show VRAM as a limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 75.5 FPS on High and 56.8 FPS on Ultra, which are substantial but not indicative of a hard performance wall. The frame rates scale logically with the increasing graphical load of higher presets, suggesting the GPU's processing power, not its memory capacity, is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 217.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 138.6 FPS. The difference is 78.9 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is about 36% slower than Low at this resolution.

Q: How does this specific CPU and GPU combination rank among all tested combos in Rust?

A: This combo is ranked 46th out of 1717 tested combinations in the database. This places it in the top 3% of all tested systems for Rust performance.

Q: At which resolution is the frame rate high enough to potentially be limited by the CPU rather than the GPU?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are exceptionally high, ranging from 138.6 FPS on Ultra to 217.5 FPS on Low. These high frame rates suggest the system is pushing into a territory where the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls could become a more significant factor, especially on the Low preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how the quality presets affect performance. For players seeking the absolute highest frame rates, the Low preset is the only choice, delivering over 200 FPS at 1080p and nearly 193 FPS at 1440p. This preset is ideal for competitive play where responsiveness is paramount.

However, the data suggests a strong case for the High preset as the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 1440p, High averages 127.8 FPS, which is a substantial 30.1 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset's 97.7 FPS. This frame rate is high enough for a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump from High to Ultra incurs a significant performance cost for what is likely a marginal visual improvement.

The Medium preset at 1440p offers a middle ground at 147.9 FPS, but the step up to High provides a better balance, as the 19.9 FPS difference between Medium and High is smaller than the 50.2 FPS difference between High and Ultra. For 4K gaming, the situation is more nuanced. The High preset provides 75.5 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset at 85 FPS offers a 9.5 FPS advantage. Given that Rust is a demanding title, the Medium preset at 4K appears to be the most sensible starting point, offering a noticeable frame rate buffer over High while still providing a better visual experience than Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination holds the 46th rank out of 1717 tested combos for Rust. This is a top-tier result, placing the system in the top 2.7% of all configurations in the database. This ranking confirms the sheer power of the RTX 4090, which is the primary driver of high frame rates in this title. The CPU, while not the absolute fastest, is more than capable of supporting the GPU's output, as evidenced by the high scores in the 1080p tests. The data shows this is a high-end pairing that will deliver an exceptional experience in Rust, with only a tiny fraction of other tested systems providing more performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, starting at 217.5 FPS on Low and decreasing through 185.1 FPS on Medium, 174.7 FPS on High, and finally 138.6 FPS on Ultra. The system is clearly capable of driving high refresh-rate monitors at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops but remains very strong. The Low preset averages 192.8 FPS, while Medium and High deliver 147.9 FPS and 127.8 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset falls to 97.7 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a performance cost of roughly 11-29 FPS depending on the preset, which is a relatively modest penalty for the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the load on the GPU becomes significant. The Low preset still manages an average of 128.5 FPS, but the higher presets see a more substantial drop. Medium averages 85 FPS, High averages 75.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 56.8 FPS. This resolution is demanding, but the RTX 4090 still provides playable frame rates at all presets, with High and Medium offering a good experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this system, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This is a crucial asset for a game like Rust, which features large, detailed environments. The data shows the GPU is the primary scaling factor; as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops significantly at every settings preset, indicating that the GPU is working harder to render more pixels.

The GPU's raw compute power, with 16,384 shading units and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, is evident in the ability to push high frame rates even at 4K. The benchmark results for the GPU, such as a Passmark G3D score of 38194, place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the database include professional workstation cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, which highlights the 4090's position as a top-tier consumer part. The data indicates that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as the frame rate drops to 56.8 FPS, a direct result of the immense rendering load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F serves as the supporting engine for the RTX 4090. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it is a capable processor, and its Raptor Lake architecture provides solid single-threaded performance. The CPU's boost clock of 4.70 GHz is important for gaming, as many game engines, including Rust, rely heavily on a few primary threads. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. However, the CPU's role becomes more critical at 1080p with lower settings. The fact that the 1080p Low preset achieves 217.5 FPS indicates that the i5-14400F is capable of feeding the GPU with data at a very high rate. The CPU is ranked in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 32508 puts it in close competition with mobile processors like the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 7 250, which have similar average scores. This indicates a strong desktop part, but it is clear that the RTX 4090 is the star of this show, with the CPU providing enough performance to avoid holding the system back in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling with resolution. At 1080p, the system is extremely fast, with even the Ultra preset hitting 138.6 FPS. As we move to 1440p, we see a noticeable drop: the average FPS across all presets falls by roughly 22%. For instance, the High preset drops from 174.7 FPS to 127.8 FPS, a reduction of 26.8%. This indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on a more significant workload.

The transition to 4K shows the most dramatic impact. The average frame rate at 4K is significantly lower than at 1440p. The High preset, for example, drops from 127.8 FPS to 75.5 FPS, a 40.9% reduction. This steep decline is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The rendering workload at 3840x2160 is over twice that of 1920x1080, and the data shows the GPU struggling to maintain the same frame rates.

This scaling behavior tells a clear story about the limiting component. At 1080p, the CPU and GPU are well-balanced, allowing for very high frame rates. As the resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The frame rate drops are proportional to the increase in pixel count, confirming that the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities are the ceiling for performance at 1440p and 4K. The CPU, while important, has enough headroom to not be a significant constraint until the system is pushed to its absolute limits.