Rust

The Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination delivers a highly playable Rust experience across most settings, with the data revealing a system that can push well beyond 144 FPS at 1080p on Low settings, yet struggles to maintain a smooth 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra presets. The measured results show a classic balance between a high-core-count CPU and a high-bandwidth GPU, where the limiting factor shifts depending on the resolution and quality level selected.

Resolution Scaling

Rust's performance scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable but steep curve. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 209 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 144 FPS, a 31% decrease, while 4K Low yields 85 FPS, a 59% decrease from 1080p. This pattern shifts with higher settings. On the High preset, the 1080p result is 119 FPS, 1440p yields 82 FPS, and 4K produces 48 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 31%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 41%. This accelerating falloff indicates that the GPU becomes significantly more stressed as pixel count increases.

The Medium settings across the three resolutions show the same trend: 140 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p here is 31%, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 41%. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 90 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and just 37 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 40%.

The data indicates that resolution scaling is almost entirely GPU-bound. The CPU's performance does not limit the framerate in a meaningful way, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low, the system produces 209 FPS, which is far beyond a typical 144Hz monitor's refresh rate. At 4K, even the Low preset drops to 85 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's pixel throughput is the primary constraint. The RX 6800 XT's 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 288.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are likely the key factors here.

The pattern of diminishing returns is clear. At 1080p, the CPU is powerful enough to feed a high framerate, but at 4K the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth become the limiting factor. The data shows that the frame rate scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is a sign of a well-balanced system for this game. No single component creates a severe bottleneck; rather, the load shifts from CPU-limited at low resolutions to GPU-limited at high resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a 7nm chip with 26,800 million transistors, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture. It boosts to 2250 MHz with a game clock of 2015 MHz, and its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory runs across a 256-bit bus. The 512.0 GB/s bandwidth is a substantial amount, and this is directly relevant to Rust, a game that often loads large textures and assets. The GPU also has 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, which contribute to its 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 648.0 GTexel/s texture rate.

The GPU's role in the measured results is most evident in the 4K and Ultra preset data. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 37 FPS, which is the lowest result in the entire dataset. The 4K Medium result of 57 FPS is significantly better, and the 4K Low result of 85 FPS is more than double the Ultra figure. This shows a strong dependency on the game's graphical settings, which directly affect the GPU's workload.

The GPU's 16 GB memory capacity is a factor for a game like Rust, which can have large base-building textures and open-world environments. The 256-bit bus provides 512 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a high figure. In practical terms, the data shows that the GPU can handle 1440p High at 82 FPS and 1440p Low at 144 FPS, indicating that it is not severely bandwidth-limited at these resolutions. The only setting where the GPU seems to be consistently heavy is the Ultra preset, which drops the average FPS to 62 at 1440p and 37 at 4K, a clear sign of the GPU's limits.

The GPU vs the nearest rivals shows a mixed picture. The RX 6800 XT's average benchmark score is 48477, with a percentile of 85. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile, has a score of 47743, which is 1.5% lower. The Intel Arc A550M scores 49737, which is 2.5% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti scores 49957 and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 scores 50001, both about 3% higher. This puts the RX 6800 XT right in the middle of this group, which is a decent position for a card that is now end-of-life. The delta to the fastest rival is small, meaning the card. The measured FPS in Rust are the real-world validation of this GPU's capabilities.

The GPU's VRAM is not explicitly tested in the measured FPS data, but the fact that the 16 GB is likely not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings. The game is not likely to exceed 16 GB at 1080p or 1440p, and even at 4K Ultra, the 37 FPS result is likely due to the GPU's compute rather than memory capacity. The GPU clocks are also relevant: the boost clock of 2250 MHz is typical for the card, and the game clock of 2015 MHz indicates a stable operating point.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Rust?

A: The highest average FPS is 209, achieved at 1080p with the Low settings preset.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, at 4K Medium the average FPS is 62, and at 4K High it is 48. The only preset that drops below 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 37 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6800 XT compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 48477. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile scores 47743, which is 1.5% lower, while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49737, which is 2.5% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 score 49957 and 50001 respectively, both about 3% higher.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system produces 209 FPS, which is well above what a typical 144Hz display can use. This indicates that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at this resolution; the GPU is capable of high frame output.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1440p and 4K on the Medium preset?

A: At 1440p Medium the average FPS is 97, while at 4K Medium it is 62. The difference is 35 FPS, a 36% decrease.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos in Rust?

A: The combo ranks 1118 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the top 30% of all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this combo in Rust. The Low preset is the only one that consistently exceeds 144 FPS, hitting 209 FPS at 1080p, 144 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. For a 144Hz monitor, the Low preset is the only one that can fully saturate the refresh rate at 1080p. The Low preset also provides a 4K experience at 85 FPS, which is just above the 1440p High result (82 FPS) and far above the 4K High result (48 FPS).

The Medium preset offers a balanced approach. At 1080p it delivers 140 FPS, which is still above 120 FPS, and at 1440p it delivers 97 FPS, which is a good target for a 100Hz monitor. The 4K Medium result is 62 FPS, which is very close to a 60 FPS target. This preset provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining playable framerates.

The High preset is a better choice for 1440p, where it delivers 82 FPS, which is a good average for a 1440p monitor. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 119 FPS, which is slightly below the 144 Hz maximum but still very smooth. The 4K High result of 48 FPS is below 60 FPS, which is a compromise for those with a 4K display.

The Ultra preset is best suited for 1440p where it delivers 62 FPS, which is a solid 60 FPS experience. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 90 FPS, which is still a high frame rate, but the 4K Ultra result of 37 FPS is too low for a good experience. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and it shows the GPU's limits.

The recommendation per resolution is: at 1080p, the Medium or High preset is the sweet spot, as the 140 FPS or 119 FPS averages are both above 100 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset is the best choice, delivering 82 FPS, which is a good balance between visual quality and performance. For 4K, only the Low (85 FPS) or Medium (62 FPS) presets are recommended, as the High and Ultra presets drop below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 1118 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the 70th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms about 70% of the tested configurations. This is a strong rank, given the GPU is a previous-generation card.

The rank is largely due to the CPU's performance. The i7-14700F has a high average benchmark score of 53620, and a percentile of 91. Its nearest rivals in the CPU ranking are the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, -0.2%), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, +0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288, +0.6%). The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, are strong for gaming, and this is reflected in the Rust results.

The GPU's rank is lower, at the 85th percentile, but its average score of 48477 puts it in a competitive position. The nearest rivals are all within a 3% margin, which indicates that the RX 6800 XT is not a significant outlier. The GPU's 16 GB of memory and 512 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for Rust, and the data shows that the combo's overall rank is higher than the GPU's percentile alone would suggest, indicating that the CPU is helping to boost the overall performance.

The combo's rank of 1118 out of 3723 is an indicator that the system is well-balanced. The CPU's high single-core performance (4958 Cinebench R23 single-core) and the GPU's 20.74 TFLOPS of compute both contribute to a strong result. The rank is not as high as the top 10% of combos, but it is a solid result for a 2020 GPU and a 2024 CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Rust is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 209 FPS average
• Medium: 140 FPS average, 119 FPS minimum, 162 FPS maximum
• High: 119 FPS average
• Ultra: 90 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 144 FPS average
• Medium: 97 FPS average, 82 FPS minimum, 111 FPS maximum
• High: 82 FPS average
• Ultra: 62 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 85 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average, 49 FPS minimum, 66 FPS maximum
• High: 48 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the 119 FPS minimum is a solid floor, while the 162 FPS maximum shows some variability. At 1440p, the minimum drops to 82 FPS and the maximum to 111 FPS, indicating a stable range. At 4K, the minimum is 49 FPS and the maximum is 66 FPS, which is a wider variance that could lead to occasional stutter during heavy scenes.

The Low preset consistently delivers the highest FPS at every resolution, but the Medium preset offers a better visual quality with a smaller performance hit. The High preset is a middle ground, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a Raptor Lake Refresh chip, built on a 10 nm process, with 20 cores and 28 threads. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, along with 33 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958. This high single-core capability is important for Rust, which is a game that often relies on a few fast cores.

The CPU's role in Rust is more pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 209 FPS, which is a frame rate that can only be achieved if the CPU can feed the GPU quickly. The high boost clock of 5.40 GHz and the 20 cores help the CPU maintain a high frame rate, even at low settings where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 is a strong result, but its single-core score of 4952 is the more relevant figure for Rust. The game's engine does not scale perfectly with the 20 cores and 28 threads, but the 5.40 GHz boost clock is a key advantage. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, has a similar average score, but the i7-14700F's higher boost clock may give it an edge in lightly threaded tasks.

The CPU's 33 MB of L3 cache is also a factor. Rust's large world and many entities can benefit from a large cache, and the 33 MB is a generous amount. The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 is a reflection of its socket 1700, but the measured FPS data does not directly speak to this.

The CPU's role is further evidenced by the fact that the 1080p Low result is 209 FPS, which is a high frame rate that is not typically seen in a game like Rust with a 2020 GPU. The CPU is clearly a strong performer, and the combination of a high boost clock and a multi-threaded result of 3540 in Cinebench R15 multicore suggests that the CPU can handle Rust's background simulation tasks while still maintaining a high frame rate.