Rust

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in Rust, with performance heavily dictated by resolution and settings. The data shows that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, while 4K gaming remains a challenge for the GPU. This combo ranks in the 56th percentile of all tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the pack.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable performance curve as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 152 FPS. This drops to 104 FPS at 1440p, and further to 62 FPS at 4K, demonstrating a steep decline of 59% from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is typical of a system that becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, where the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are pushed to their limits.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a more moderate drop. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 86 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, a reduction of 31%. This indicates that while the GPU is still a significant factor, the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads are still able to feed frames effectively at this resolution. The gap between 1440p and 4K is more severe, with the High settings average dropping from 59 FPS to 35 FPS, a 41% decrease. This sharp falloff suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary limiting component when targeting 4K, struggling to maintain playable frame rates even at Medium settings.

Looking at the Ultra settings, the pattern is consistent. At 1080p, the combo manages 65 FPS, which is still smooth. However, at 1440p, this drops to 45 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to 27 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable option for this hardware combination. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 58% drop, mirroring the Low settings trend and confirming that the GPU's rendering capabilities are the bottleneck.

The Medium settings data provides the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. This 30 FPS spread indicates some variability but remains stable enough for competitive play. At 1440p Medium, the average is 70 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS, showing a tighter 21 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the average is 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, a 13 FPS spread that suggests the GPU is working harder, but frame pacing remains relatively consistent.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, and it boosts up to 5.00 GHz. In Rust, a game known for its demanding server-side and simulation logic, the CPU plays a crucial role in maintaining minimum frame rates and handling complex scenes with many entities. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low, but it does have a significant influence on overall performance.

Benchmark results place this CPU in the 89th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 46062. Its closest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which scores 46030 (0.1% higher), and the Intel Core i9-13900HX, which scores 46098 (0.1% lower). The performance deltas are minimal, indicating that the Ultra 5 235 is competitive with high-end mobile and desktop parts. In single-threaded tests, the CPU scores 4516 in Passmark, which is critical for Rust's primary game thread, while its multi-threaded score of 37816 shows solid parallel processing capability.

The 24 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable asset for Rust, as the game frequently accesses large data sets. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 also helps feed the GPU with data, reducing potential stutters. In the measured FPS data, the CPU's contribution is most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough that the GPU is not the sole limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 152 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of pushing well over 150 frames per second, leaving headroom for the GPU to render.

However, the CPU's performance does not degrade significantly with resolution. The same settings at 1440p and 4K show the frame rate dropping, which is a GPU limitation. The CPU's role is to ensure that the game logic and draw calls are processed quickly enough to avoid bottlenecking the GPU. Given its high single-thread score and 14 cores, the Ultra 5 235 is well-equipped to handle Rust's demands. The data indicates that this processor will not hold back the RTX 2070 SUPER in this title, making the GPU the definitive performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the raw pixel pushing power. This GPU sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (1% higher) and the Intel Arc B570 (1.3% higher), showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER is slightly below these modern counterparts.

In Rust, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings are raised. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the memory capacity and bandwidth become a significant constraint. The data shows a consistent pattern where the average FPS at 4K is less than half of the 1080p value across all settings. For instance, at High settings, the 4K average of 35 FPS is just 41% of the 1080p average of 86 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is struggling to fill the 3840x2160 pixel buffer.

The GPU's compute capabilities, measured at 9.062 TFLOPS FP32, are adequate for Rust's graphics, but the game's heavy use of draw calls and physics can tax the GPU's geometry processing. The 160 TMUs and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate help with texture-heavy environments, but the 4K results suggest that the GPU is overworked. The performance at 4K Ultra, at 27 FPS, is clearly unplayable, and even 4K Medium at 41 FPS is marginal. This confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component at 4K, unable to maintain high frame rates due to its older architecture and limited memory bandwidth.

At 1440p, the GPU performs more reasonably. The High settings average of 59 FPS is playable, and the Low settings average of 104 FPS is excellent. The 1440p Medium settings show a 70 FPS average, which is a good balance of visual quality and performance. The GPU's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1440p, and the 8 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this GPU, offering a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining high frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p is the optimal resolution. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 59 FPS, while at 1080p High it achieves 86 FPS. 4K High is only 35 FPS, which is not smooth enough for most players.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX. This places it in a competitive performance tier.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of 4K gaming in Rust?

A: The data indicates it is not ideal. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 41, and at 4K High it drops to 35. Even 4K Low only reaches 62 FPS, which is playable but not optimal. The GPU is the main bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282. This is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.3% lower than the Intel Arc B570. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.2%.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 152 at Low settings to 65 at Ultra settings. This is a 57% reduction in performance, showing the significant impact of the Ultra preset on the GPU.

Q: How much does resolution affect the frame rate at High settings?

A: The average FPS at High settings is 86 at 1080p, 59 at 1440p, and 35 at 4K. This represents a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% drop from 1440p to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1650 out of 2953 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the 56th percentile of all systems, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of tested configurations. This ranking reflects the system's balanced, mid-range performance. The CPU is a high-end modern part, but the GPU is an older, end-of-life product, which pulls the overall ranking down.

The high CPU percentile (89th) and moderate GPU percentile (65th) create a system that is capable of high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios but is limited by the GPU in graphically intensive situations. The ranking suggests that this combo is a solid choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the CPU can fully stretch its legs. However, it is not a top-tier system for 4K gaming, as the GPU's age and memory constraints prevent it from competing with modern cards.

The rank of 1650 indicates that there are 1303 other combos that perform better, likely featuring more powerful GPUs. In Rust, this ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as its benchmark scores are competitive with much newer processors. The GPU, however, is a bottleneck at higher resolutions, which is why the combo does not rank higher. This pairing is best described as a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU, making it a good match for gamers who prioritize frame rates over resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is from the measured FPS table, showing the average frame rates for each resolution and settings combination.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 152 FPS average.
• Medium: 102 FPS average, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS.
• High: 86 FPS average.
• Ultra: 65 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 104 FPS average.
• Medium: 70 FPS average, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS.
• High: 59 FPS average.
• Ultra: 45 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 62 FPS average.
• Medium: 41 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS.
• High: 35 FPS average.
• Ultra: 27 FPS average.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: for every settings preset, the frame rate roughly halves when moving from 1080p to 4K. The Medium settings are the only ones with complete min/max data, which shows that the frame time consistency improves as resolution increases. The gap between the 1080p and 1440p results is significant, but the gap between 1440p and 4K is even more pronounced, highlighting the GPU's struggle at 4K. The Low settings at 1080p produce the highest average FPS at 152, while the Ultra settings at 4K produce the lowest at 27 FPS. This range of 125 FPS between the best and worst case scenarios demonstrates the wide performance envelope of this hardware combination.