Rust

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Rust, with the data showing a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at 1080p to GPU-bound behavior at 4K. The combo ranks in the 1234th position out of 2953 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frames per second reveal that this system is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it maintains high frame rates across most presets, while 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 107 FPS at 1920x1080 to 73 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS, and then to 43 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a total decline of 64 FPS from 1080p to 4K. This translates to a 60% performance loss when moving from Full HD to Ultra HD, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the graphics card's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB VRAM capacity struggling with the increased pixel count.

The Low preset shows a similar pattern, starting at 142 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 125 FPS at 1440p, and then falling to 76 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 46%, which is less severe than the 60% drop at High, suggesting that the lower graphical load at Low settings allows the CPU to shoulder more of the work. Medium settings follow the expected trajectory: 122 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 51 FPS is notable because it is the only 4K preset that remains above the 50 FPS threshold, with the minimum frame rate recorded at 44 FPS, indicating occasional dips below playable levels.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, with the average frame rate collapsing from 81 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p and finally to 33 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, and it makes this resolution and preset combination unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The scaling pattern reveals that between 1080p and 1440p, the frame rate drop averages around 30% across all presets, while the drop from 1440p to 4K averages closer to 45%, demonstrating that the GPU's rendering capacity diminishes more rapidly as resolution increases. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as it offers a substantial improvement over 4K while still delivering frame rates above 70 FPS on High settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads, operating at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture processor has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, delivering 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor's benchmark scores place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with an average score of 2259 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U at 2248 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2246 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2264 (0.4% higher).

In Rust, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p results, where the frame rates are higher than at 4K but still show limitations. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 142 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. However, the fact that the 1080p High preset only reaches 107 FPS, while 1440p High reaches 73 FPS, indicates that the CPU is not the sole bottleneck at 1080p; the GPU still has significant headroom at this resolution. The processor's six cores and six threads are sufficient for Rust's workload, as the game does not appear to fully saturate the CPU, but the lack of hyper-threading means that background tasks and game logic can compete for resources.

The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 provide context for the CPU's overall capability, showing that it is a mid-range processor by modern standards. The Geekbench multicore score of 5141 and single-core score of 1389 further reinforce this assessment. The fact that the CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its average benchmark score indicates that this i5-9400 sits in a tightly contested performance band, and any differences in Rust performance would be minimal across these processors. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz is adequate for single-threaded tasks, but the six-thread limit could become a constraint in scenarios with heavy background load, though the measured data does not show this becoming a major issue at the tested settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. The average frame rate of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS offers smooth gameplay that stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, with only rare dips below 75 FPS. This is the recommended configuration because it delivers a 14 FPS improvement over High settings at the same resolution, which averages 73 FPS, while the visual difference between Medium and High is typically less impactful than the difference between High and Ultra.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1920x1080 achieves 142 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors. However, the Low preset at 1440p also performs well at 125 FPS, making it a viable alternative for those who want higher resolution without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as even at 1080p it only reaches 81 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for acceptable gameplay. The 4K Medium preset at 51 FPS (minimum 44 FPS) is borderline, but the frequent dips below 50 FPS make it a risky choice for consistent performance.

The data shows that High settings at 1440p (73 FPS) are a reasonable choice for users who want better visuals than Medium, but the 16% performance penalty compared to Medium (87 FPS) may not justify the visual upgrade for all players. At 1080p, the High preset at 107 FPS is a solid option, offering a 14% improvement over Ultra (81 FPS) while still providing good visual quality. The Low preset at 4K, at 76 FPS, is surprisingly playable and demonstrates that this GPU can handle 4K when the graphical load is minimized, though the visual sacrifices are significant. Ultimately, the Medium preset at 1440p emerges as the clear winner, providing a smooth experience without pushing the hardware to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB ranks 1234th out of 2953 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the 58th percentile of all configurations in the database. This ranking indicates that while the combo is not a top-tier performer, it outperforms the majority of tested systems, which is a strong result given the CPU's age and the GPU's mid-range positioning. The rank suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for Rust, as the CPU does not overly constrain the GPU, and vice versa, at the most common gaming resolutions.

The GPU's individual benchmark scores provide context for this ranking. The RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB has a percentile ranking of 29 among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 4901, with its nearest rivals being the AMD FirePro W5130M (4904, 0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (4893, 0.2% lower), the AMD Radeon R7 M265 (4929, 0.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon R7 M360 (4931, 0.6% higher). This places the GPU in a performance tier that is competitive with older or lower-end cards, which explains why the combo rank is not higher. Meanwhile, the CPU's percentile ranking of 47 and average benchmark score of 2254 are more middling, but the i5-9400's six cores provide enough processing power to avoid being a major bottleneck in Rust.

The delta between the GPU's and CPU's percentile rankings (29 for GPU vs. 47 for CPU) suggests that the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card, which is reflected in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the system achieves high frame rates, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but at 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent. The combo rank of 1234 out of 2953 means that there are 1233 combos that perform better, but also 1719 that perform worse, giving this pairing a solid position in the mid-range of the database. For a system with a six-core CPU from 2018 and a 2025 GPU, this ranking indicates that the combination is well-matched for Rust's requirements, though not exceptional.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2407 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card includes 4608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 36 ray tracing cores and 144 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include a pixel rate of 123.5 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 370.4 GTexel/s, and an FP32 performance of 23.70 TFLOPS.

In Rust, the GPU's role is most evident at 4K resolution, where the frame rates drop significantly compared to lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra preset at 33 FPS is the clearest indication that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus struggle to handle the high-resolution textures and effects. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is modest by modern standards, and at 4K, the GPU must process four times the pixels of 1080p, which overwhelms its capabilities. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4019 and PassMark G3D score of 21981 provide additional context, showing that the GPU is a mid-range performer that excels at 1080p but diminishes at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 29th percentile ranking among all GPUs is notably lower than its raw specifications might suggest, indicating that its real-world performance in Rust is more limited than in synthetic benchmarks. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 220 and DirectX 12 score of 82 highlight the GPU's variable performance across different APIs, with the DirectX 12 result being particularly low. The GPU's 180 W TDP and suggested 450 W PSU are reasonable for a mid-range card, and its dual-slot design with a 241 mm length makes it compatible with most cases. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Rust at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the memory capacity and bandwidth become significant bottlenecks, as evidenced by the 43 FPS average at High settings and 51 FPS at Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Rust?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution, with Medium settings achieving 87 FPS average and High settings reaching 73 FPS average. At 1920x1080, frame rates are higher but the GPU is less utilized, while at 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the bottleneck with frame rates dropping to 43 FPS on High and 33 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB perform at 4K in Rust?

A: The GPU struggles at 4K, with the highest average frame rate of 76 FPS achieved only on Low settings. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, High settings fall to 43 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 33 FPS. The data indicates that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU in Rust.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB in Rust?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 142 FPS, which is the highest measured result, showing the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The CPU's percentile ranking of 47 is higher than the GPU's 29, suggesting the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this setup?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 142 FPS on Low settings to 81 FPS on Ultra settings. Medium settings achieve 122 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS, and High settings reach 107 FPS. All 1080p presets deliver playable frame rates.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Rust?

A: This combo ranks 1234th out of 2953 tested combinations, placing it in the 58th percentile. It outperforms 1719 other combos while being beaten by 1233, making it a solid mid-range performer for Rust.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings average 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, while High settings average 73 FPS. The difference of 14 FPS represents a 16% performance penalty for High settings, making Medium the recommended choice for smoother gameplay.