Rust

Rust on the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a clear performance hierarchy across the three tested resolutions. This combination sits in the 16th spot out of 2,953 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.5% of all configurations. The measured frame rates show a system that delivers esports-level responsiveness at 1080p, remains highly capable at 1440p, and only begins to show meaningful strain at 4K with the most demanding presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts as pixel count increases. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 261 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 141 FPS — a reduction of 120 FPS or roughly 46%. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being tasked progressively harder as resolution rises, but the CPU remains strong enough to keep feeding frames even at the highest pixel densities.

Looking at the Medium preset specifically, which is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, the pattern is more pronounced. At 1080p Medium, the average sits at 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 161 FPS (a 28% reduction), and 4K Medium further reduces it to 95 FPS (a 41% drop from 1440p). The minimum frame rates tell a similar story: 191 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K.

The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor — the i7-14700K with its 20 cores and 28 threads can push high frame rates, but the GPU has headroom that isn't fully utilized. At 4K, the RTX 5090 D becomes the bottleneck, as the sheer pixel count demands more from the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 21,760 shading units. The 4K Ultra preset's 61 FPS average versus the 1080p Ultra's 150 FPS shows a 59% performance loss, which is substantial but expected for a survival game with complex rendering.

The High preset tells a similar story: 197 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K in High settings (56 FPS difference) is nearly identical to the Medium preset's gap (66 FPS), suggesting that the resolution transition is the dominant factor rather than the specific quality preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 16 out of 2,953 tested configurations places it in the 99.5th percentile of all combinations. This is an exceptional standing, putting it ahead of the overwhelming majority of systems tested. The data shows that only 15 other CPU-GPU pairings outperform this setup in Rust, which speaks to the strength of both components working together.

When examining the individual component benchmarks, the i7-14700K achieves a percentile of 94 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69,355. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, which scores 69,515 (a 0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69,875 (a 0.7% delta). The Intel chip trails these by narrow margins but leads the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.1%. This tight grouping means the CPU is well within striking distance of the top-tier alternatives.

The RTX 5090 D holds a percentile of 92 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904 (1.1% behind), while the Radeon RX 6850M XT leads by 1.6% at 78,940. The NVIDIA card sits in a competitive middle ground, though its raw specifications — 32 GB of VRAM, a 512-bit bus, and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth — are far beyond what the benchmark scores alone suggest.

The combination's rank of 16 is particularly notable because neither component holds the top spot in its respective category. This suggests that Rust's specific workload benefits from the balance between the i7-14700K's high single-thread performance and the RTX 5090 D's massive memory bandwidth. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache on the CPU likely helps with the game's procedural world generation and entity tracking, while the GPU's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth handles texture streaming efficiently.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Rust?

A: The highest measured average is 261 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 61 FPS, while 1080p Ultra averages 150 FPS — a difference of 89 FPS, representing a 59% performance drop at the higher resolution.

Q: Which settings preset shows the smallest performance gap between 1080p and 1440p?

A: The Low preset shows the smallest relative gap, going from 261 FPS at 1080p to 231 FPS at 1440p — a 30 FPS reduction (11.5%).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates recorded at 4K Medium?

A: The 4K Medium preset records a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS, with an average of 95 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 16th out of 2,953 tested combinations, placing it in the top 0.5% of all configurations.

Q: Does the 1440p High preset maintain playable frame rates?

A: Yes, the 1440p High preset averages 136 FPS, which is well above typical playability thresholds and provides a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its peak performance across all presets. The Low preset delivers 261 FPS average, which is the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS. High drops to 197 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 150 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 111 FPS, indicating that the quality settings have a substantial impact even at 1080p.

The 2560x1440 resolution shows a step down across the board. Low averages 231 FPS, a 30 FPS reduction from 1080p. Medium averages 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS. High sits at 136 FPS, and Ultra averages 103 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced in the Medium preset (64 FPS difference), while the Low preset sees the smallest decline (30 FPS).

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low averages 141 FPS, which is still highly playable. Medium averages 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. High drops to 80 FPS, and Ultra averages 61 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration in the dataset that falls below 60 FPS territory, though it still maintains an average above that threshold.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all three resolutions, providing the most detailed view of frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range between minimum and maximum is 67 FPS (191 to 258). At 1440p, the range narrows to 49 FPS (136 to 185). At 4K, the range tightens further to 28 FPS (81 to 109). This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time spikes that can occur when the CPU has transient bursts of work.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 D's specifications align well with the measured performance in Rust. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus. This memory configuration delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Rust's open-world environments that stream terrain and building structures continuously.

The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 21,760 shading units provide ample compute for the game's rendering demands. The 680 texture mapping units and 176 render output units contribute to a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s. These figures explain why the combo can maintain 141 FPS at 4K Low — the raw throughput is sufficient to handle the pixel count without significant compromise.

The 32 GB VRAM capacity is notably larger than what most games require, but Rust's persistent world with player-built structures and resource-intensive draw distances can benefit from the headroom. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture data moves quickly from memory to the rendering pipeline, which is evident in the 4K Medium results where the average stays at 95 FPS despite the higher quality settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 indicate strong DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance, both of which are relevant to Rust's rendering API. The Passmark G3D score of 44,065 places it in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, confirming its high-end standing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K brings 20 cores and 28 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache is particularly relevant for Rust, which features complex server-side simulations and entity tracking that benefit from fast access to frequently used data.

The CPU's benchmark performance shows strong multi-threaded capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33,440.5 and the PassMark multi-thread score of 52,392 indicate that the processor can handle the parallel workloads associated with Rust's server tick processing and physics calculations. The single-thread performance is equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,160 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4,472.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 69,355, places it in the top tier of desktop CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, scores 69,515 — a mere 0.2% difference. This close margin means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i7-14700K performs essentially on par with the best AMD offerings.

The 125W TDP and boost clock of 5.60 GHz allow the CPU to maintain high clock speeds during gaming workloads. Rust's engine tends to be particularly sensitive to single-thread performance, especially in the early game when fewer entities are present. The high boost clock ensures that the game's main thread can execute quickly, which is reflected in the 261 FPS average at 1080p Low where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience across different resolutions. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the Medium preset stands out with a 225 FPS average and a minimum of 191 FPS. This preset balances visual quality with performance headroom, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes maintain high frame rates.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 136 FPS offers a strong balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. The Medium preset at 161 FPS provides additional headroom for competitive play, while Ultra at 103 FPS remains viable for those prioritizing image quality. The Low preset at 231 FPS is overkill for most displays but useful for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 95 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS, providing a stable experience. The High preset at 80 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, while Ultra at 61 FPS is only suitable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate consistency.

The Low preset at any resolution delivers the highest frame rates, but the data shows diminishing returns — the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs only 36 FPS (261 to 225) while providing substantial visual improvements. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering the best combination of average frame rate and minimum frame rate stability, as evidenced by the complete min/max data available for that preset.