Rust

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-13700K brings 16 cores and 24 threads to this Rust configuration, operating from a 3.40 GHz base clock up to a 5.40 GHz boost. This Raptor Lake-S part, built on Intel's 10 nm process, pairs a substantial 30 MB of shared L3 cache with 2 MB per-core L2 and 80 KB per-core L1. The processor's multi-threaded headroom is considerable — its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and PassMark multithread score of 45887 indicate strong parallel throughput. For a game like Rust, which relies heavily on server-side simulation and world persistence, the CPU's ability to maintain high single-thread performance matters just as much. The single-core Cinebench R23 result of 5505 and PassMark single-thread score of 4333 place this chip firmly in the upper tier of desktop processors.

Rust's simulation logic, particularly in populated servers with active building and resource gathering, can create irregular CPU load spikes. The i7-13700K's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow sustained boost behavior under such conditions, though the data here reflects stock operation. The processor sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, scores 47334 — a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD EPYC 4364P trails by 0.3%, while the Intel Core i9-12900F is 0.4% behind. Notably, the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 leads by 0.5%, a gap of roughly 245 points. These margins are small enough that in-game performance differences are dominated by other factors, but the 13700K's combination of high clock rates and 24 threads ensures it is rarely the bottleneck in Rust — except at very high frame rates where each frame's draw call overhead becomes significant.

The 3DMark results reinforce this: 10717 in the 16-thread test, 12412 at max threads, and 1136 single-thread. These scores suggest the CPU can feed even a fast GPU with draw calls and physics updates. However, in this particular pairing with a mid-range GPU, the CPU's role is more about maintaining consistent frame pacing than pushing absolute maximum FPS. The architecture's dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support and PCIe Gen 5 lanes (20 CPU lanes) provide ample bandwidth for asset streaming, which Rust's large procedural maps demand during world loading and player traversal.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting component in most scenarios here, and its specifications explain why. Built on the Turing architecture at 12 nm, this GPU packs 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that becomes a critical constraint at higher resolutions and settings in Rust. The GPU's base clock of 1500 MHz boosts to 1770 MHz, yielding 5.437 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s. Memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective), which is modest by current standards but adequate for the game's texture streaming demands at 1080p.

The GTX 1660 Ti's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 55th, with an average benchmark score of 13925. Its closest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Radeon RX 570X is 0.4% ahead, the NVIDIA Tesla K10 leads by 0.7%, while the RTX A2000 Mobile and GeForce GTX 680 trail by 0.8%. These sub-1% deltas indicate the 1660 Ti sits at a performance plateau where minor architectural differences determine rankings. In Rust specifically, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM capacity becomes the dominant constraint at 4K Ultra settings — the measured 17.8 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra versus 42 FPS at Low shows how quickly memory pressure and fill rate limits emerge.

The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean it can handle Rust's rendering pipeline efficiently, but the 120 W TDP and dual-slot design reflect its mid-range positioning. The PassMark G3D score of 12871 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1061 quantify its rasterization throughput. Notably, the GPU is end-of-life in production status, which may affect driver optimization for newer game updates. For Rust's dynamic lighting, shadow rendering, and large draw distances, the 1660 Ti delivers playable frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at higher presets, as the measured data will show.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear GPU-bound pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 107.9 FPS, dropping to 75.7 FPS at 1440p Low (a 29.8% reduction) and 42 FPS at 4K Low (a 61.1% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU that exhausts its pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as resolution increases. The CPU has ample headroom — its single-thread performance would support higher frame rates if the GPU could render them.

At High settings, the drop from 62.3 FPS at 1080p to 41.3 FPS at 1440p is a 33.7% decrease, and further to 26 FPS at 4K (a 58.3% drop from 1080p). This steeper relative decline at higher settings indicates that the 1660 Ti's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and 5.437 TFLOPS cannot keep pace with increased shading complexity and texture fetches. The Medium settings show a similar pattern: 70.4 FPS at 1080p, 51.5 FPS at 1440p (26.8% lower), and 31.5 FPS at 4K (55.3% lower). Ultra settings, which likely engage the most demanding shaders and highest-resolution textures, produce 47.1 FPS at 1080p, 30.6 FPS at 1440p (35.0% lower), and 17.8 FPS at 4K (62.2% lower).

The consistent ~55-62% FPS loss from 1080p to 4K across all settings confirms the GPU is the bottleneck. A CPU-limited scenario would show diminishing FPS drops as resolution increases, because the CPU's frame generation rate stays constant while GPU time per frame grows. Here, the near-linear scaling with pixel count (4K has 4x the pixels of 1080p) aligns with GPU-bound rendering. The i7-13700K's 16 cores and high boost clocks are sufficient to keep the GTX 1660 Ti fed even at 1080p Low, where 107.9 FPS represents the GPU's practical ceiling for this workload rather than a CPU constraint. The 1440p to 4K transitions — 75.7 to 42 FPS at Low, 41.3 to 26 FPS at High — show proportionally larger drops than 1080p to 1440p, suggesting VRAM pressure becomes acute at 4K, where the 6 GB frame buffer fills with geometry and texture data.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 1474th out of 1717 tested combos in Rust. That places it in the 14th percentile of all configurations in the database — meaning roughly 86% of tested combos outperform it. Given the GPU's modest standing (55th percentile among GPUs) and the CPU's strong position (93rd percentile), the ranking reflects a significant pairing imbalance. The combo's performance is essentially dictated by the GTX 1660 Ti; a faster GPU would likely move this combo up hundreds of positions, as the CPU's headroom is substantial.

The rank of 1474 out of 1717 indicates this is a lower-midrange configuration for Rust. The game's demanding rendering and simulation requirements mean that the 1660 Ti's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are below what most high-performing combos use. The data shows that combos ranking above this one typically pair stronger GPUs with comparable or weaker CPUs, reinforcing that Rust's performance scales more with GPU capability in this range. The CPU's 0.1-0.5% deltas to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks do not translate into meaningful FPS differences here because the GPU saturates well before CPU limits.

The combo's position suggests it is suitable for 1080p gaming at medium-to-high settings, but it falls short of 1440p high-refresh or 4K expectations. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (17.8 FPS) is below playable thresholds, while 1080p Low (107.9 FPS) approaches competitive frame rates. For Rust's survival gameplay, where large player bases and complex structures can strain both CPU and GPU, this combo's rank implies it handles moderate server loads at 1080p but will struggle in heavily built-up areas or at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance: 107.9 FPS on Low, 70.4 FPS on Medium, 62.3 FPS on High, and 47.1 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 60.8 FPS, a 56.3% reduction. This indicates that even at 1080p, the GTX 1660 Ti's compute and memory resources are heavily taxed by Ultra settings — the 47.1 FPS average falls short of smooth 60 FPS gameplay, though it remains playable. The Medium setting's 70.4 FPS offers a reasonable balance, while Low's 107.9 FPS exceeds typical 60 Hz display refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, performance drops across all settings: 75.7 FPS on Low, 51.5 FPS on Medium, 41.3 FPS on High, and 30.6 FPS on Ultra. The Low setting remains above 60 FPS, but Medium falls below that threshold, and High and Ultra dip into the 30-40 FPS range. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30-35% at each setting, consistent with the additional 77% pixel count. The 1440p Ultra result of 30.6 FPS is marginal for a survival game where combat responsiveness matters, though it could be acceptable for cinematic play.

At 3840x2160, the combo's limitations are stark: 42 FPS on Low, 31.5 FPS on Medium, 26 FPS on High, and 17.8 FPS on Ultra. Only Low approaches playability, and even that is below 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 17.8 FPS is effectively unplayable for action-oriented gameplay. The drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial: Low falls by 33.7 FPS (44.5%), Medium by 20 FPS (38.8%), High by 15.3 FPS (37.0%), and Ultra by 12.8 FPS (41.8%). These reductions are roughly proportional to the pixel increase (2.25x), confirming GPU-bound behavior throughout.

Across all settings, the delta between Low and Ultra grows with resolution: 60.8 FPS at 1080p, 45.1 FPS at 1440p, and 24.2 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU approaches its absolute throughput ceiling, where even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for pixel count. The data supports a practical usage envelope of 1080p Medium-to-High (70.4-62.3 FPS) or 1440p Low (75.7 FPS) for this combo. The i7-13700K's capabilities are never fully utilized in Rust with this GPU — a faster GPU would unlock higher frame rates, especially at 1080p where the CPU could push beyond 107.9 FPS given its strong single-thread and multi-thread benchmarks.