Rust

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Rust with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveals a clear progression as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 152 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 104 FPS, a reduction of 48 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls to 62 FPS, which is 90 FPS below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary limiting component as resolution climbs, because the CPU's raw throughput becomes less relevant when pixel count grows.

The gap between resolutions is consistent across settings. At High settings, 1080p yields 86 FPS, 1440p yields 59 FPS, and 4K yields 35 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 27 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is another 24 FPS. At Ultra settings, the pattern holds: 1080p averages 65 FPS, 1440p averages 45 FPS, and 4K averages 27 FPS. The consistent reduction of roughly 20-30 FPS per resolution step suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions, not the CPU's computational limits.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 41, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48. At 1440p Medium, the average is 70, with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 81. At 1080p Medium, the average is 102, with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 117. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution increases, indicating that frame time variance becomes less pronounced at higher pixel counts. This is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the render pipeline is consistently busy.

Notably, the 4K Medium result (41 FPS) is only 6 FPS higher than the 1440p Ultra result (45 FPS). This suggests that the GPU is nearing its effective ceiling around the 40-50 FPS range when rendering at 4K, regardless of whether settings are Medium or Ultra. The data shows that resolution has a stronger impact on performance than preset levels in this configuration, which is a hallmark of a system where the graphics card is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 152, which is the highest value recorded across all resolution and settings combinations in the data.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for Rust?

A: The combo ranks 2160 out of 3723 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this game.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 27, recorded at 4K resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Is there a significant difference between 1440p Medium and 1080p Ultra?

A: Yes. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 70 with a range of 60 to 81. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 65. The 1440p Medium result is 5 FPS higher on average, despite the higher resolution, which indicates that the Medium preset is less demanding than Ultra.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded at 4K resolution?

A: The maximum FPS at 4K is 48, which occurs with Medium settings. The average FPS for that combination is 41.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER's percentile ranking compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, has an average benchmark score 1% higher, while the Intel Arc B570 scores 1.3% higher. The RTX 2070 SUPER is 1.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A750.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2160 out of 3723 tested combinations for Rust. This places it in the 58th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 42% of tested configurations perform worse. The rank reflects the balance between a very high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU from a previous generation. The i9-14900K is in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The disparity between these two percentile positions explains why the combined rank is not higher.

Benchmark results indicate that the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance does not translate into a top-tier gaming rank for Rust when paired with this GPU. The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79097, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core i9-14900KF at 79371 (0.3% higher). The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, which is 1.7% lower. On the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER averages 20282, with the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (1% higher) and the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% higher). The GPU's benchmark performance is closely matched with several rivals, but none of those rivals appear in the measured FPS data for this combo.

The rank of 2160 suggests that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU is the limiting factor in Rust's performance. In games with lower graphical demands, the CPU could push higher FPS, but Rust's rendering load at higher resolutions keeps the GPU busy. The data shows that the combo is not in the top half of tested configurations, which aligns with the GPU's 65th percentile standing. Users looking for higher ranks would need a more powerful GPU to balance the CPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values span from 65 to 152 depending on the preset. Low settings produce an average of 152 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 117. High settings average 86 FPS, and Ultra settings average 65 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 87 FPS, which is the largest spread across any resolution. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to allow settings to significantly impact performance.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 45 to 104. Low settings average 104 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 81, High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 45 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 59 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p. The Medium preset at 1440p (70 FPS) is only 5 FPS higher than the Ultra preset at 1080p (65 FPS), showing that resolution has a greater impact on performance than moving from Medium to Ultra at a lower resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 27 to 62. Low settings average 62 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35 FPS, which is the smallest spread across all resolutions. This narrowing spread indicates that at 4K, the GPU is operating near its limits, and even lowering settings from Ultra to Low cannot fully compensate for the pixel count.

The Medium settings data provides the only minimum and maximum values in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the range is 87 to 117 FPS, a spread of 30 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 60 to 81 FPS, a spread of 21 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 35 to 48 FPS, a spread of 13 FPS. This decreasing variance with resolution confirms that the GPU becomes more consistently utilized at higher pixel counts, reducing frame time spikes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: 39399.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2262.5 in single-core, and 21697 in Geekbench multi-core. These figures place the CPU in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097.

In Rust, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and entity updates, which can be demanding in a survival game with many players and structures. The 24-core configuration provides substantial multi-threading capacity, as evidenced by the PassMark multi-thread score of 58674. However, the measured FPS data shows that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 152 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed frames quickly, but at 4K Ultra, the 27 FPS average indicates the GPU cannot keep pace.

The CPU's single-thread performance is also relevant. The Geekbench single-core score of 2655 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5 indicate strong per-core performance, which is important for games that rely on a few threads. Rust is known to be CPU-intensive in certain scenarios, but the data shows that with this GPU, the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The gap between 1080p and 4K performance (152 vs 62 FPS at Low) is primarily due to the GPU's rendering load.

The CPU's nearest rivals show minimal performance differences. The i9-14900KF scores 0.3% higher, while the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 0.6% higher. These small deltas suggest that the i9-14900K's performance is not a differentiator in this combo. The CPU's capability is more than sufficient for Rust, and any performance limitations in the measured data come from the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset provides an average of 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. High settings reduce the average to 86 FPS, while Ultra drops to 65 FPS. For players with a 144Hz monitor, the Low preset at 152 FPS is the only option that approaches that refresh rate, but the Medium preset offers a better visual experience at 102 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is playable for most users. High settings average 59 FPS, which may result in noticeable stutter on some displays. Low settings at 104 FPS provide the smoothest experience, but the visual quality trade-off is significant. Ultra at 45 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, as the frame rate is below 60 FPS.

At 4K, the Medium preset averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is borderline playable. Low settings improve the average to 62 FPS, making it the only preset at 4K that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. High and Ultra presets at 35 FPS and 27 FPS respectively are not recommended for anything other than static scenes. The data shows that for a balanced experience, Medium settings at 1440p offer the best combination of visual quality and frame rate, with a 70 FPS average.

For players prioritizing high frame rates, 1080p Low at 152 FPS is the best choice. For those seeking visual fidelity, 1440p Medium at 70 FPS provides a good middle ground. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p (65 FPS), and even then, the frame rate is below 70 FPS. The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not capable of maintaining 60+ FPS at 4K with Medium or higher settings, so users should target 1080p or 1440p for smoother gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It contains 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 40 RT cores, and 320 tensor cores. The GPU's compute capabilities include 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 18.12 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. The PassMark G3D score is 18169, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1651.

In Rust, the GPU's role is to render the game world, including terrain, structures, and lighting. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, memory capacity can become a constraint. The bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s supports the pixel rates needed at 4K, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at that resolution. The 4K Ultra average of 27 FPS is the lowest in the dataset, indicating that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are overwhelmed.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 65 places it in the mid-range of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show close benchmark scores: the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 1% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% higher, and the Intel Arc B570 is 1.3% higher. The Intel Arc A750 is 1.5% lower. These small deltas mean that the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with its peers, but none of them are likely to produce dramatically better results in Rust given the similar hardware capabilities.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU can deliver 152 FPS on Low settings, but at 4K, even Low settings only reach 62 FPS. This 90 FPS drop is attributable to the GPU's rendering workload increasing with pixel count. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the higher memory pressure contributes to the reduced performance. The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is best suited for 1080p gaming at high frame rates or 1440p at medium settings, rather than 4K gaming.