Rust

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Rust. The data reveals a system where the GPU is clearly the dominant force at higher resolutions, yet the six-core processor begins to assert its influence as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across presets and resolutions, interpreting what the numbers mean for the overall experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimal settings, with the Medium preset emerging as the most balanced choice across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 122 FPS, which is only 20 FPS below the Low preset’s 142 FPS but a substantial 25 FPS above High’s 115 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 7 FPS, while High to Ultra costs another 18 FPS, making Ultra the least efficient tier at 97 FPS. The data suggests that the visual fidelity gains from High to Ultra do not justify the performance hit, especially when Medium already provides a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats: Medium’s 104 FPS sits comfortably between Low’s 125 FPS and High’s 88 FPS, with Ultra trailing at 67 FPS. The Medium row also includes measured minimum and maximum FPS values—88 and 120 respectively—indicating a playable frame-time consistency that the other presets lack. This consistency is crucial for Rust’s survival gameplay, where sudden frame drops can be disorienting.

At 3840x2160, the choice narrows. Medium’s 61 FPS average (with a 52 minimum) is the only preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, while High drops to 52 and Low rises to 91. The Low preset at 4K outperforms Medium by 30 FPS, suggesting that at this resolution, the GPU is so heavily loaded that reducing graphical complexity yields outsized returns. For a competitive edge, Low at 4K is viable, but Medium offers the best compromise between visual quality and playability, particularly since the minimum FPS of 52 is only slightly below the 60 FPS target.

Across all resolutions, Medium is the recommended starting point. It avoids the harsh visual downgrades of Low while maintaining higher average FPS than High or Ultra. The data implies that this preset aligns well with the i5-9400’s six threads and the RTX 4070’s 12 GB of VRAM, balancing the workload between the two components.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070’s specifications are central to understanding its 4K performance. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the GPU delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Rust, where large texture pools and draw distances are common, this memory capacity is adequate but not excessive; the 4K Ultra preset’s 39 FPS suggests that the GPU is reaching its limits with maximum settings. The boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, provides the raw compute power for high pixel rates, yet the data shows a steep drop from Low to Ultra at 4K—91 FPS to 39 FPS—indicating a 57% performance penalty for maxed-out visuals.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 81 versus all GPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 37648 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (deltaPct of 0.1%). This proximity to a datacenter card is curious, but the RTX 4070’s gaming-focused architecture—with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores—likely handles Rust’s lighting and shadow effects efficiently. The measured data supports this: at 1080p High, the GPU sustains 115 FPS, which is 73% of the Low preset’s 142 FPS, showing that the card can handle moderate graphical loads without severe frame loss.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a drop from 115 FPS to 52 FPS, a 55% reduction. This aligns with the GPU’s 200 W TDP and 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 throughput; the card is working hard to fill 8.3 million pixels but cannot maintain high frame rates under Ultra settings. The VRAM’s 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for Low and Medium at 4K, but the Ultra preset’s 39 FPS hints at memory pressure or shader complexity exceeding the card’s capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and its benchmark scores reflect this: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935 place it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs. This mid-range standing is critical for Rust, which is known for its server-side simulation and physics calculations that can tax the CPU.

At 1080p, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent. The Low preset’s 142 FPS is the highest measured, but the gap between Low and Medium (20 FPS) is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra (18 FPS), suggesting that the CPU is not the sole limiter. However, when comparing 1080p Low to 4K Low—142 FPS versus 91 FPS—the 36% drop indicates that the GPU is still the primary constraint even at the lowest settings. The CPU’s six threads may struggle to feed the RTX 4070 at 1080p, as the 142 FPS is below what the GPU could theoretically output if the CPU were faster.

The nearest rivals provide context: the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2254 is within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and 0.3% of the Intel Core i7-10710U. This tight grouping means the CPU’s performance is typical for its class, but it lacks the multi-threading of higher-end chips. In Rust, this could manifest as frame hitches during base building or when many entities are on screen, though the measured FPS does not show extreme lows at 1080p—the Medium preset’s minimum is 104 FPS, which is still playable.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.10 GHz is a bright spot, as Rust benefits from high single-thread performance. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 935 is reasonable, but the 47th percentile ranking suggests that more modern CPUs would offer better minimum frame rates. The data implies that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is a moderate bottleneck, but at 4K, the GPU dominates the workload, and the CPU’s limitations are masked.

FAQ

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so much worse than Low at every resolution?

A: The measured data shows Ultra at 39 FPS (4K), 67 FPS (1440p), and 97 FPS (1080p), compared to Low’s 91, 125, and 142 FPS respectively. The consistent drop of roughly 45-50% indicates that Ultra’s graphical features—likely including high-resolution shadows and textures—place a disproportionate load on the RTX 4070’s 12 GB VRAM and 5888 shading units.

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

A: The FPS gap between Low (142) and Medium (122) at 1080p is 20 FPS, while the gap between High (115) and Ultra (97) is 18 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is not saturating the GPU, as the RTX 4070’s benchmark scores (e.g., 3DMark Steel Nomad 3854) indicate high headroom. However, the i5-9400’s 47th percentile ranking implies it limits maximum FPS, as the GPU could likely exceed 142 FPS if unconstrained.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming on this combo?

A: Medium is the only preset that averages above 60 FPS at 4K, with 61 FPS and a minimum of 52 FPS. Low achieves 91 FPS but sacrifices visual quality, while High drops to 52 FPS and Ultra to 39 FPS. For a balance of smoothness and visuals, Medium is the data-backed choice.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its closest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 37648 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, deltaPct 0.4%) and NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, deltaPct 0.1%). This suggests that in Rust, the RTX 4070’s performance is on par with these cards, despite architectural differences, meaning the game may not fully leverage the Ada Lovelace features.

Q: Does the i5-9400’s lack of hyper-threading hurt Rust performance?

A: With six threads and a 47th percentile ranking, the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 is modest. The measured FPS at 1080p Medium (122) and Low (142) are respectable, but the minimum FPS of 104 at Medium suggests occasional CPU-bound dips. A hyper-threaded CPU might smooth these lows, but the data does not show catastrophic drops.

Q: Why is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K larger for Low settings than for Ultra?

A: At Low, the FPS drops from 142 (1080p) to 91 (4K), a 36% reduction. At Ultra, it drops from 97 to 39, a 60% reduction. This indicates that at Low settings, the GPU is less stressed, allowing the CPU to play a larger role, while at Ultra, the GPU is saturated, making the resolution scaling more severe.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all presets drops by approximately 25-30%: High goes from 115 to 88, Medium from 122 to 104, and Low from 142 to 125. This moderate decline suggests that at 1080p, the system is not fully GPU-bound, and the move to 1440p increases pixel count without overwhelming the RTX 4070.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is more punishing. High drops from 88 to 52 (41% decrease), Medium from 104 to 61 (41% decrease), and Low from 125 to 91 (27% decrease). The smaller drop for Low (27%) versus High (41%) is telling: at Low settings, the GPU’s workload is more manageable, so the resolution increase has a relatively smaller impact. This indicates that the RTX 4070’s 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 12 GB VRAM are sufficient for Low at 4K but struggle with higher presets.

The 1080p to 4K scaling factor varies by preset. For Low, the ratio is 142/91 = 1.56, meaning 4K delivers 64% of 1080p performance. For Ultra, the ratio is 97/39 = 2.49, meaning 4K delivers only 40% of 1080p performance. This widening gap highlights that the GPU’s fill-rate limits are reached faster at Ultra, where shader complexity and texture filtering (455.4 GTexel/s) are taxed more heavily. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 is most efficient at 1440p, where it balances resolution and frame rate, but at 4K, users must accept either Low settings for high FPS or Medium for playable visuals.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of presets shows a clear FPS hierarchy. Low leads with 142 FPS, followed by Medium at 122 FPS (minimum 104, maximum 140), High at 115 FPS, and Ultra at 97 FPS. The spread of 45 FPS from Low to Ultra indicates that the GPU and CPU combination can handle 1080p with ease, though the Ultra preset’s 97 FPS is still above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset’s minimum of 104 FPS is notably higher than the Ultra average, suggesting that Medium offers the most consistent experience.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low delivers 125 FPS, Medium 104 FPS (minimum 88, maximum 120), High 88 FPS, and Ultra 67 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 88 FPS is close to the High average, meaning that even at its worst, Medium is comparable to High’s typical performance. This makes Medium the most reliable choice at 1440p, as it maintains a healthy margin above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the data becomes more complex. Low achieves 91 FPS, Medium 61 FPS (minimum 52, maximum 71), High 52 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. The Low preset’s 91 FPS is remarkable, showing that the RTX 4070 can handle 4K with minimal settings. Medium’s 61 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but its minimum of 52 FPS suggests occasional dips below playability. High and Ultra are best avoided at 4K, as their averages fall below 60 FPS, and Ultra’s 39 FPS would be a frustrating experience in a survival game.

The measured values show that the RTX 4070 has a wide operating range, from 39 FPS (4K Ultra) to 142 FPS (1080p Low). The i5-9400’s influence is most visible at 1080p, where the CPU’s six threads may limit the minimum FPS, but the overall data indicates a capable pairing for most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 1286 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 65th percentile of all systems. This is a strong showing, given that the CPU is in the 47th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 81st percentile. The rank suggests that the GPU’s high performance compensates for the CPU’s mid-range position, but the combo does not reach the top tier.

The rank of 1286 implies that 2437 tested combos perform worse, while 1285 perform better. This places the system in the upper third, which is respectable for a CPU released in 2018 and a GPU from 2023. The delta between the CPU and GPU percentiles (47 vs 81) is a 34-point gap, indicating a potential bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, the measured FPS at 4K Medium (61 FPS) shows that the combo can still deliver playable performance in demanding scenarios.

The nearest rival CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i3-10305 with a deltaPct of -0.4%) have virtually identical average scores, meaning that swapping the i5-9400 for a similar chip would not change the rank significantly. Similarly, the GPU’s rivals (e.g., AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 with a deltaPct of 0.4%) are within 1.3% of its benchmark score, so the combo’s rank is stable against minor hardware variations. The data suggests that this system is well-balanced for Rust at 1440p, where the GPU and CPU work in harmony, but at 1080p, users may see CPU limitations that prevent the RTX 4070 from reaching its full potential.