Rust

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a mid-pack result in Rust, ranking 1046th out of 1717 tested CPU-GPU combinations. This places the combo in the 39th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it sits comfortably above the median performer. The i5-9400 itself holds a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the RTX 2070 SUPER achieves a 65th percentile among all GPUs, suggesting the graphics card is the stronger half of this pairing. Benchmark results show the CPU’s average score of 2305 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2300 with a delta of just 0.2%. Similarly, the GPU’s average benchmark score of 22206 sits within 0.5% of the NVIDIA RTX A400’s 22307, making this a tightly contested field where small margins separate competitors.

## How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1046 out of 1717 tested combinations reflects a system that handles Rust adequately but lacks the headroom seen in higher-tier builds. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 144.1 FPS, which is more than double the 67.5 FPS seen at Ultra settings—a clear indication that the CPU can drive high frame rates when graphical load is reduced. The data shows that the i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, provides sufficient single-thread performance for Rust’s demands, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125. However, the CPU’s 50th percentile standing means it is exactly average among all processors, and in a game like Rust that relies heavily on physics and entity updates, this average compute power becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Comparing to the nearest CPU rivals, the i5-9400’s 2305 average score is only 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295). It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%, which scores 2319. These sub-1% differences mean the i5-9400 is functionally equivalent to its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks, but the real-world Rust results show the GPU picking up the slack. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, trails by 0.9% with a score of 22006, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 2.5% behind at 21670. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 65th percentile GPU ranking is notably stronger than the CPU’s 50th percentile, and this imbalance becomes more apparent as resolution increases.

## FAQ

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, +0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, +0.2%). It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295) and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319).

Q: What is the GPU’s performance standing relative to similar graphics cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER averages 22206 across all benchmarks, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. It trails the NVIDIA RTX A400 by 0.5% (22307) and leads the GeForce GTX TITAN Z by 0.9% (22006) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5% (21670).

Q: What frame rate can the combo achieve at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 144.1 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate across all tested resolutions and settings.

Q: How much does performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS falls from 85.6 at 1920x1080 to 56.9 at 2560x1440, and further to 34.4 at 3840x2160. This represents a 59.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary limiter at 4K. At 3840x2160, even Low settings yield only 59.4 FPS, while the CPU’s 50th percentile ranking indicates it has sufficient headroom. The GPU’s 65th percentile ranking and 8 GB of VRAM are more taxed at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among all tested systems in Rust?

A: The combo ranks 1046th out of 1717 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. This is below the median but not near the bottom tier of performers.

## Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the rate of decline accelerating at 4K. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 85.6 to 56.9, a 33.5% reduction. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at the same settings brings the FPS down from 56.9 to 34.4, a 39.5% reduction. This steeper decline at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are increasingly stressed by the pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling is less severe but still notable. The combo achieves 144.1 FPS at 1080p, 102.2 FPS at 1440p, and 59.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K result at Low settings is actually higher than the 1080p result at Ultra (67.5 FPS), which shows that graphical settings have a more pronounced effect than resolution alone. The CPU’s 6 cores and 6 threads with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz appear sufficient to maintain frame delivery at 1080p, but at 4K the GPU’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are pushed to their limits. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s boost clock of 1770 MHz and FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS are respectable for the 20-series, but the data shows that 4K Ultra (24.6 FPS) is unplayable by most standards.

## Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 144.1 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play. Medium settings yield 102.4 FPS, High settings drop to 85.6 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 67.5 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 41.7 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 18.1 FPS. This suggests that the most efficient settings for high refresh rates are Low or Medium, as the GPU can maintain frame rates above 100 FPS in those configurations.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become more moderate. Low settings average 102.2 FPS, Medium 70.6 FPS, High 56.9 FPS, and Ultra 45.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 31.6 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 11.5 FPS. At this resolution, the combo is still viable for 60 FPS gaming at Medium settings, but High and Ultra require compromises. The 1440p results are 29.1% lower than 1080p at Low settings, 31.0% lower at Medium, 33.5% lower at High, and 32.7% lower at Ultra, showing a consistent scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 59.4 FPS, Medium 42.6 FPS, High 34.4 FPS, and Ultra 24.6 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is 42.8 FPS, and at Ultra it is 20.8 FPS. Only the Low setting at 4K achieves a frame rate above 60 FPS, and barely so. The measured data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER, with its 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory bus, is not designed for 4K gaming in Rust, as even medium settings fall below 45 FPS.

## GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER plays a dominant role in determining this combo’s Rust performance, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the GPU has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a bottleneck at 4K. The GPU’s 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs are configured to deliver a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s. These specifications, combined with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, allow the GPU to achieve 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The GPU’s 65th percentile ranking among all graphics cards places it above average, and its benchmark scores reflect this. The Passmark G3D score of 18169 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 indicate solid DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for Rust’s modern rendering pipeline. However, the GPU’s nearest rival, the RTX A400, edges it out by 0.5% in average score, showing that the 2070 SUPER is in a competitive but not dominant position. The GPU’s 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are not directly utilized by Rust, which does not feature ray tracing or DLSS, but they do contribute to the GPU’s overall compute capacity.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combo achieves 59.4 FPS, which is higher than the 4K Ultra result of 24.6 FPS but still below the 1080p Low result of 144.1 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated at 4K, while the CPU’s 6-core configuration has enough headroom to feed the GPU. The GPU’s TDP of 215 W and suggested PSU of 550 W are consistent with its performance class, but the data shows that for Rust specifically, the RTX 2070 SUPER is best paired with a CPU that can keep up at lower resolutions while the GPU handles the graphical load.