Rust

Rust, a long-running survival title with a demanding simulation layer, shows highly variable performance depending on the graphics preset and output resolution. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 reveals a system that can deliver smooth frame rates at mainstream resolutions when settings are tuned appropriately, but which struggles to maintain playability at 4K with high visual fidelity. The combination ranks 1756th out of 2953 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, a position that reflects the significant CPU load Rust places on processors during gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Rust at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 82 FPS, which is the highest average among High preset measurements. At 2560x1440 High, the average drops to 57 FPS, and at 3840x2160 High, it falls to 33 FPS. The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where High settings maintain an average above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is gained by switching from Ultra to Low settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 100 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. This represents a difference of 57 FPS, meaning the Low preset produces roughly 2.3 times the average frame rate of Ultra at this resolution.

Q: Does the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM become a limiting factor in Rust based on the measured data?

A: The measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern with settings, but the data does not include VRAM usage metrics. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 25, while at 1920x1080 Ultra it is 63. This suggests that resolution and settings heavily influence performance, but the specific role of the 8 GB memory capacity cannot be directly quantified from the provided FPS figures alone.

Q: What is the relationship between the CPU's multi-threaded performance and Rust's frame rates?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H scores 11875.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7834 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Rust's performance at 1920x1080 Low, which is often more CPU-bound, reaches 145 FPS average. This indicates that the 14-core, 18-thread processor provides sufficient throughput for high frame rates when the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Rust?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080, all settings presets except Ultra achieve averages above 80 FPS, with Low hitting 145 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset exceeds 100 FPS (100 FPS), while Medium averages 67 FPS and High averages 57 FPS. The measurements suggest 1920x1080 offers a wider margin of playable settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639 and a percentile rank of 61 among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, scores 17666, which is a 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, a 0.3% difference, placing these GPUs in a very similar performance tier.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Rust with this hardware combination reveals a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. This represents a balanced experience, as the High preset averages 82 FPS, which is still playable but offers less headroom above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 145 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play but sacrifices visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 63 FPS average, which is technically above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves minimal margin for demanding scenes.

For users prioritizing a smooth experience at 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that averages 100 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS, which may dip below 60 FPS during intense moments. The High preset at 1440p averages 57 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. At this resolution, the data suggests that Medium is the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, though its minimum FPS of 57 indicates occasional stutters.

The 3840x2160 resolution measurements show that only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS, hitting 59 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 40 FPS, and High averages 33 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages just 25 FPS, which is not suitable for smooth gameplay. Based on these numbers, the recommended configuration for the best balance of visual quality and performance is the Medium preset at 1920x1080, as it provides a high average frame rate (98 FPS) with a minimum above 80 FPS, ensuring consistent performance. For users who accept lower visual settings, the Low preset at 2560x1440 offers a significant resolution upgrade while maintaining 100 FPS average.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. Its boost clock is rated at 2460 MHz, with a base clock of 1830 MHz. The card includes 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The memory clock is specified at 2125 MHz, which translates to 17 Gbps effective. These specifications contribute to a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 15.11 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 9213. Its percentile rank among all GPUs is 61, with an average benchmark score of 17639. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, has an average score of 17666, a difference of -0.2%, indicating the RTX 4060 performs nearly identically to that older card in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, a 0.3% difference, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551, a 0.5% difference. These close scores suggest the RTX 4060 sits in a performance band where minor architectural differences do not translate into significant benchmark gaps.

In Rust specifically, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 25, while at 1920x1080 Ultra, it is 63. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rate nearly halves when resolution doubles. At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS of 145 suggests the GPU has ample headroom, and the CPU or other system components may become the limiting factor. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not directly measured in the FPS data, but the dramatic performance drops at high settings and 4K resolution are consistent with a GPU that is heavily loaded by the game's rendering demands.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1756th out of 2953 tested combos for Rust, placing it in the 59th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the system's overall capability in this specific game, which is known for its CPU-intensive simulation and large world persistence. The rank of 1756 means that approximately 1197 tested combos perform better in Rust, while 1755 perform worse. This positioning suggests the combo is capable of running Rust at playable frame rates but does not excel compared to higher-end desktop configurations or more powerful mobile parts.

The CPU's benchmark performance provides context for this ranking. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H achieves an average benchmark score of 29093, with a percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with an average score of 29123 (a -0.1% difference), the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 at 29245 (-0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28940 (0.5%). These scores indicate the CPU is competitive with several desktop processors from previous generations. The GPU's rank of 61 among all GPUs is lower, suggesting the graphics card is a more significant limiting factor in overall system performance.

The gap between the CPU's strong percentile (81) and the combo's overall rank (59th percentile in Rust) highlights that Rust's performance is not solely dependent on CPU power. The game's rendering and environmental effects place substantial demands on the GPU, and the RTX 4060's mid-range position in the GPU hierarchy limits the combo's ability to achieve higher frame rates at demanding settings. The measured FPS data supports this, showing that at 4K Ultra, the system averages only 25 FPS, which is below acceptable playability thresholds.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor with 14 cores and 18 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture and manufactured on Intel's 7 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 28 W and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, with a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor's integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 96 execution units, but the discrete RTX 4060 handles the rendering in this configuration.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 11875.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1700 in single-core. In Cinebench R20, it scores 7834 multi-core and 1105 single-core. The Passmark multi-thread score is 22422, with a single-thread score of 3521. These numbers place the CPU in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29093. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, has a nearly identical average score of 29123, indicating the 135H provides comparable multi-threaded performance to that desktop processor despite being a mobile part.

In Rust, the CPU's impact on frame rates is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 145 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate across all configurations. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and simulation updates to sustain high frame rates. At 2560x1440 Low, the average FPS drops to 100, and at 3840x2160 Low, it drops to 59. The reduction in FPS as resolution increases indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more limiting, while the CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads provide sufficient parallel processing for Rust's world simulation, entity updates, and physics calculations. The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz aids in single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic, while the 18 MB of L3 cache helps with data locality for frequently accessed game state.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Rust with the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS, which is the lowest average across all measurements. The High preset at 4K averages 33 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. The Low preset at 4K averages 59 FPS, approaching the 60 FPS threshold but not quite reaching it. None of the 4K configurations provide a consistently smooth experience, as even the Low preset's average of 59 FPS leaves no margin for frame drops.

At 2560x1440, the performance improves significantly. The Low preset averages 100 FPS, which is the only 1440p setting exceeding 100 FPS. The Medium preset averages 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, indicating that while the average is above 60 FPS, there are moments where the frame rate dips below that threshold. The High preset averages 57 FPS, just below 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. The data shows a clear progression where each step up in settings costs approximately 10-15 FPS at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset averages 145 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. The Medium preset averages 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS, providing a smooth experience with no dips below 80 FPS. The High preset averages 82 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 63 FPS, which is the lowest average at 1080p but remains technically playable. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a reduction of 82 FPS, from 145 down to 63, demonstrating the significant impact of graphics settings on this hardware combination.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 34 FPS, which is 6 FPS below the average of 40. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 57 FPS, 10 FPS below the average of 67. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 83 FPS, 15 FPS below the average of 98. These minimum values indicate that the game's frame rate can vary notably during intense scenes, and the variance is larger at lower resolutions where the average FPS is higher. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown shows that this combo is best utilized at 1920x1080 with Medium or High settings, where it maintains averages above 80 FPS, while 2560x1440 requires Low settings for a 100 FPS average, and 3840x2160 is only viable with Low settings at 59 FPS.