Rust

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data for Rust with the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT shows a clear and predictable FPS degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop reveals critical information about which component is the limiting factor in this pairing.

At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 134.8 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings, that figure drops to 92.3 FPS, a reduction of approximately 31.5%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 57 FPS, which is 57.7% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern—where the FPS penalty roughly tracks the pixel count increase—indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck when settings are lowered.

However, the story shifts when examining higher quality presets. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 58.1 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 40.1 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 22.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result represents a 61.8% reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure. This steeper percentage drop at higher settings shows that the RX 5700 XT's compute resources are being saturated more severely as both resolution and visual complexity increase.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution is telling. At 1080p, the difference between Low (134.8 FPS) and Ultra (58.1 FPS) is 76.7 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 52.2 FPS (92.3 vs 40.1). At 4K, the gap shrinks further to 34.8 FPS (57 vs 22.2). As resolution climbs, the GPU's raw pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint, compressing the performance range between settings.

What does this say about the limiting component? At 1080p Low, the i5-14600K's strong single-thread performance likely keeps the CPU from holding back the RX 5700 XT. The 134.8 FPS figure suggests headroom remains. But the 4K Low result of 57 FPS, despite the relatively light graphical load, indicates the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed hard by Rust's rendering demands at high pixel counts.

The resolution scaling profile points to a system where the GPU is the consistent bottleneck across most settings. The CPU's capabilities—14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz—are more than sufficient for this workload. The data shows that FPS declines steeply with each resolution step, a pattern typical of GPU-limited scenarios rather than CPU-limited ones. For players targeting 4K, even Low settings (57 FPS) barely reach smooth playable levels, while Ultra at 4K (22.2 FPS) is clearly not viable.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 93.1 FPS. At 4K Medium, it drops to 36.6 FPS. This represents a 60.7% reduction, showing that the RX 5700 XT cannot maintain medium preset performance when pixel count quadruples.

Q: Does the i5-14600K bottleneck the RX 5700 XT in Rust?

A: The data indicates no significant CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 134.8 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 92.3 FPS. These results, combined with the CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all processors, suggest the GPU is the limiting factor across most resolution and settings combinations.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 24731. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores 24763, a delta of -0.1%. The Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (0.3% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile scores 24592 (0.6% lower). The GPU sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield 62.9 FPS, while High settings produce 53.3 FPS. Low settings reach 92.3 FPS, but Ultra drops to 40.1 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and frame rate, Medium appears to be the most reasonable target, though players prioritizing smoothness may prefer Low.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, placing it at the 93rd percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, scores 49062, a delta of 0.2%. The Intel Core i5-14600KF scores 49367 (-0.4%), and the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 49595 (-0.9%). The differences are within 1% across all rivals.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 5700 XT sufficient for Rust at 4K?

A: The 4K results suggest VRAM capacity is not the sole constraint, but the GPU's overall throughput is insufficient for high presets. At 4K Low, the combo averages 57 FPS, while at 4K High it drops to 30.4 FPS. The steep decline with higher settings indicates the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) are limiting, rather than just the 8 GB capacity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process node, plays a decisive role in this combo's Rust performance. The GPU's specifications—2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units—dictate how it handles the game's complex rendering workloads. Its base clock of 1605 MHz, game clock of 1755 MHz, and boost clock of 1905 MHz provide the operating frequency envelope that determines raw throughput.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant for Rust. The RX 5700 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a critical factor because Rust's open-world environments with persistent structures and dynamic lighting place substantial demands on memory bandwidth. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 134.8 FPS, but this drops to 57 FPS at 4K Low—a 57.7% reduction that correlates with the GPU needing to push four times the pixels through the same memory pipeline.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s provide context for the measured results. At 1440p Medium, the combo produces 62.9 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it falls to 40.1 FPS. This 36.2% drop from Medium to Ultra suggests that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are saturated by the additional visual effects, shadows, and draw distances that Ultra settings enable in Rust.

It is notably the RX 5700 XT is an end-of-life product, released with a launch MSRP of 399 USD. Its 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, and the benchmark data confirms this positioning. The GPU's average benchmark score of 24731 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals—the RTX A5000 Mobile scores 24763 (-0.1%), and the RTX 5060 Mobile scores 24592 (0.6%)—indicating that the RX 5700 XT remains competitive with newer mobile parts in synthetic tests.

In Rust specifically, the GPU's limitations become apparent at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 22.2 FPS is below playable thresholds, and even 1440p Ultra at 40.1 FPS is marginal. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p in most scenarios, may contribute to the steep performance cliff at 4K with high settings. The data suggests that the RX 5700 XT is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Rust, where it can deliver acceptable frame rates at Medium to High settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo spans three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the results range from a low of 58.1 FPS at Ultra to a high of 134.8 FPS at Low. The Medium preset yields 93.1 FPS, and High produces 74.9 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with each step up in settings costing approximately 20-30 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings deliver 92.3 FPS, which is still comfortably playable. Medium drops to 62.9 FPS, High to 53.3 FPS, and Ultra to 40.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 29.4 FPS, which is larger than the 41.7 FPS gap at 1080p between the same two settings. This suggests that the GPU's resources are being consumed more aggressively at higher resolutions, even with modest settings increases.

The 3840x2160 results are the most constrained. Low settings produce 57 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium drops to 36.6 FPS, High to 30.4 FPS, and Ultra to 22.2 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 4K is 20.4 FPS, and the delta between Medium and High is 6.2 FPS. The diminishing returns between Medium and High at 4K indicate that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling, likely related to memory bandwidth limitations.

Comparing settings across resolutions reveals interesting trends. The 1080p Ultra result (58.1 FPS) is nearly identical to the 4K Low result (57 FPS). This suggests that the GPU's bottleneck shifts from compute-bound at 1080p Ultra to memory-bound at 4K Low, with both scenarios landing in a similar performance range. Similarly, the 1440p Medium result (62.9 FPS) is close to the 1080p High result (74.9 FPS), showing that resolution increases and settings increases have comparable impacts on frame rate.

For players seeking specific targets, the data shows that 60 FPS is achievable at 1080p with Medium settings (93.1 FPS) and at 1440p with Low settings (92.3 FPS). The 4K resolution cannot sustain 60 FPS at any settings preset. The 30 FPS threshold is crossed at 4K High (30.4 FPS), while 4K Ultra falls well below at 22.2 FPS. These figures provide a clear map of what is playable for different quality priorities.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination ranks 1304 out of 1717 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking of 1304 out of 1717 means that approximately 75.9% of tested combos perform better in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning—the RX 5700 XT sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs—combined with Rust's demanding rendering requirements.

The CPU component of this combo is notably strong. The i5-14600K ranks at the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49166. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (0.2% higher score) and the Intel Core i5-14600KF (0.4% lower score). This places the CPU in elite territory, but the GPU holds the combo back from higher rankings.

The GPU's 68th percentile ranking puts it below the majority of discrete graphics cards in the database. Its nearest rivals—the RTX A5000 Mobile (-0.1%), Arc A350M (0.3%), and RTX 5060 Mobile (0.6%)—all sit within 1% of its average score. This clustering indicates that the RX 5700 XT is competitive with these parts in synthetic benchmarks, but in Rust specifically, the combo's rank of 1304 suggests that the game's optimization may favor other architectures or that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a limiting factor.

The rank of 1304 out of 1717 also reflects the age of the GPU. Released on 2019-07-06, the RX 5700 XT predates many of the newer GPUs in the database. The combo's position in Rust is consistent with the GPU's mid-range status—it is not a top performer, but it is also far from the bottom. The 4K Ultra result of 22.2 FPS and 1080p Ultra of 58.1 FPS place this combo in a range where 1080p and 1440p gaming are viable, but 4K is only playable at Low settings.

For context, the combo's ranking in Rust specifically may differ from its rankings in other games due to Rust's unique performance characteristics. The game's large persistent world, complex building mechanics, and dynamic lighting system place unusual demands on both CPU and GPU. The i5-14600K's strong single-thread performance likely helps in CPU-bound scenarios, but the data shows that the RX 5700 XT becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. This combo is best suited for players targeting 1080p or 1440p gaming with Medium to High settings, where it can deliver frame rates in the 53-93 FPS range.