Rust

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Rust with the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and AMD Radeon 890M shows a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 68 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 47 FPS, a 31% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 28 FPS, which is a 59% drop from the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern is consistent with a system where the integrated GPU is the primary bottleneck; the pixel throughput demand at 4K simply overwhelms the Radeon 890M's capabilities.

The gap between settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 39 FPS (68 to 29). At 1440p, that spread compresses to 27 FPS (47 to 20). At 4K, the spread narrows further to 16 FPS (28 to 12). This compression indicates that at higher resolutions, even the Low preset is pushing the GPU to its limit, leaving less headroom for additional visual features to make a difference. The data suggests that the limiting component shifts entirely to the GPU as resolution increases.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, the frame time consistency degrades with resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 39 to 52 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it narrows to 27 to 36 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 16 to 21 FPS. The absolute numbers drop, but the relative variance remains similar, indicating that the GPU is consistently saturated rather than hitting intermittent spikes or stutters. For a competitive survival game, the 4K results across all presets are below playable thresholds, while 1440p offers marginal playability only on Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 11875.5 points, while single-core sits at 1700 points. PassMark multi-thread score is 22422, with single-thread at 3521. These numbers place the CPU in the 81st percentile of all tested CPUs, indicating it is a capable part for gaming workloads.

In Rust, the CPU's role is evident when examining the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 68 FPS, which is the highest measured average across any resolution or preset. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is able to feed frames at a rate that exceeds what the GPU can render at higher settings. However, the CPU is not the limiting factor here; the GPU's performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU's potential is exhausted. The Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1718 and single-core of 244 further confirm that the processor has ample headroom for the game's logic and draw calls.

The boost clock of 4.60 GHz is relevant for Rust's single-threaded tasks, which often involve physics and entity updates. The PassMark physics score of 1482 and integer math score of 73509 indicate solid computational throughput. Yet, the benchmark results show that even with a strong CPU, the integrated GPU holds back overall FPS. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core help with game data locality, but the measured FPS data does not show the CPU becoming a bottleneck at any resolution. The 4K results, which drop to 12 FPS on Ultra, are purely GPU-limited.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and AMD Radeon 890M ranks 2783 out of 2953 tested combos for Rust. This places it in the bottom 6% of all combinations, which is a poor showing for a game that demands consistent frame rates. The rank reflects that this pairing is not optimized for Rust's workload; the CPU is relatively strong, but the GPU drags the overall score down.

To contextualize the CPU's performance, the Core Ultra 5 135H's average benchmark score is 29093, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X scores 29123, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the Intel part is statistically tied with it. The Intel Xeon Phi 7210 scores 29245 (-0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-13500HX scores 29270 (-0.6%). The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT scores 28940, which is +0.5% relative to the Core Ultra 5. This shows the CPU is competitive with desktop parts from a few generations ago, but that strength does not translate to Rust performance due to the GPU.

For the GPU, the Radeon 890M's average benchmark score is 9210, placing it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, -0.1%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, -0.7%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9294, -0.9%), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (9302, -1%). The 890M is essentially on par with these older discrete GPUs, which explains why Rust's FPS numbers are modest. The combo rank of 2783 out of 2953 is a direct consequence of this GPU-tier performance; the CPU's high percentile cannot compensate for the GPU's mid-range standing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Rust with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average is 68 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it is 46 FPS. At 1440p, even Low drops to 47 FPS, and at 4K, the best average is 28 FPS on Low.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093. This is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245), and Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270). It is also within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940). The CPU is effectively tied with these parts.

Q: Is the Radeon 890M better than older discrete GPUs?

A: The Radeon 890M's average benchmark score is 9210, which is slightly lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273) and GTX 465 (9294). It is also slightly lower than the GTX 850M (9302). The 890M is comparable to the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221), trailing by 0.1%.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with the Medium preset?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 19, with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 21. This is below the threshold for smooth gameplay and indicates the GPU is heavily overloaded at this resolution.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in Rust?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 68 FPS, which is the highest measured result. The CPU's single-core score of 1700 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient for the game's logic; the GPU's performance ceiling is the limiting factor across all resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 2783 out of 2953 tested combos for Rust. This is in the bottom 6% of results, reflecting the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is an integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It features 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The GPU's FP32 performance is 5.939 TFLOPS, and it has 16 ray tracing cores. Its memory is system shared, meaning bandwidth is system dependent, which is a critical limitation for a game like Rust that relies heavily on texture streaming and large world data.

In Rust, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (68 FPS) is the only result above 60 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 29 FPS, showing that the GPU cannot handle high-detail settings even at the lowest resolution. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 590 and PassMark G3D score of 8076 place the GPU in the 45th percentile, confirming its mid-range standing. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 73 and DirectX 12 score of 37 are particularly low, indicating that the GPU struggles with modern API workloads.

The GPU's texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s are theoretical maxima that the system shared memory cannot sustain in practice. The boost clock of 2900 MHz is high for an iGPU, but the lack of dedicated VRAM means the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. This is evident in the 4K results, where the average FPS on High is 16, and on Ultra it is 12. The GPU's 15 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for efficiency, not raw performance, which aligns with the modest FPS numbers observed.

Settings Recommendations

For the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and AMD Radeon 890M combo, the measured data provides clear guidance on settings. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 68 FPS, which is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 46 FPS, which is playable but with noticeable frame pacing issues (min 39, max 52). The High preset drops to 38 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS, both of which are suboptimal for a game where quick reactions matter.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 47 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 31 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may cause stutter in busy scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p (26 and 20 FPS respectively) are not recommended for active play. At 4K, all presets are below 30 FPS, with the best being Low at 28 FPS. The 4K Medium preset has a min FPS of 16, which indicates severe frame drops.

The data suggests that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with the Low preset. This provides the highest average FPS (68) and leaves headroom for the game's dynamic events. If visual fidelity is prioritized, the 1080p Medium preset (46 FPS) is a reasonable compromise, but the 1080p High preset (38 FPS) offers diminishing returns. For users willing to accept lower frame rates, the 1440p Low preset (47 FPS) is the only playable option above 1080p. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware, as even the lowest settings produce an average below 30 FPS.