Rust

Rust is a notoriously CPU-heavy survival game, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile reflects that dynamic. This combination lands at rank 2282 out of 3723 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. At 1080p, the system shows strong performance with Low settings hitting 145 FPS, but the Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS, indicating that the game's demanding draw distances and entity counts put significant strain on the processor. The data suggests this is a capable laptop setup for Rust, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain competitive frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience for this specific hardware pairing. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 98 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. This is the sweet spot for smooth gameplay, as it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. The Low preset at 145 FPS is excellent for competitive play, but the jump from Low to Medium costs 47 FPS, which is a significant trade-off for the visual improvements.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves to be the most balanced choice, delivering 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline playable, but the 10 FPS drop from Medium to High is noticeable in fast-paced combat scenarios. At 4K, no preset achieves a comfortable frame rate; the High preset manages 33 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users, while Low hits 59 FPS, hovering right at the edge of acceptability.

The Ultra preset performs poorly across all resolutions, with 63 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that Ultra settings impose a severe penalty on this combo, likely due to the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads being saturated by Rust's complex simulation logic. The recommendation is to stick with Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity. For players prioritizing maximum responsiveness, Low at 1080p offers the highest headroom, but the Medium preset provides the most consistent experience without sacrificing too much detail.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 Mobile features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock runs at 1890 MHz, with a base clock of 1545 MHz. The GPU's 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 181.4 GTexel/s. These specifications place the GPU at the 67th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22729.

The GPU's role in Rust is secondary to the CPU, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 145 FPS, which is well within the GPU's capability, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Rust's texture requirements at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset at 25 FPS indicates that the GPU becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The RTX 4060 Mobile's nearest rivals include the desktop RTX 2080, which scores 0.7% higher, and the RX 7700 XT, which scores 0.8% lower, showing that this mobile GPU performs similarly to a previous-generation desktop card.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 11.61 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, but Rust's rendering is not heavily reliant on raw compute throughput. The GPU's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are largely unused in Rust, which does not employ ray tracing or DLSS in its default rendering path. The data shows that the GPU's primary contribution is handling the resolution scaling and texture filtering, while the CPU manages the game's simulation and entity updates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal the balance between CPU and GPU load. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 145 FPS at 1080p to 100 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction, then to 59 FPS at 4K, a 59% reduction from 1080p. This scaling pattern suggests that the GPU becomes progressively more involved as resolution increases, but the CPU still maintains a significant influence at 4K Low, where 59 FPS is still achievable.

At Medium settings, the progression is 98 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 31.6%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 40.3%, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The High preset shows a steeper decline: 82 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K, with a 59.8% total reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The Ultra preset suffers the most from resolution scaling, falling from 63 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p and 25 FPS at 4K. This 60.3% drop from 1080p to 4K is the largest among all presets, indicating that Ultra settings push both the CPU and GPU to their limits. The data shows that the CPU is the limiting component at 1080p, where the frame rate is constrained by the processor's ability to handle Rust's simulation, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where the 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are insufficient for high-detail rendering.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a clear hierarchy across settings. The Low preset delivers 145 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate in the entire dataset. The Medium preset achieves 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS, providing a smooth experience with some headroom for dips. The High preset drops to 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 63 FPS, representing a 56.6% reduction from Low to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset manages 100 FPS, which is still highly playable. The Medium preset delivers 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, making it the recommended choice for this resolution. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for competitive play. The 1440p data shows that the system can handle the resolution increase with only a 31% penalty at Low settings, but the penalty grows to 31.7% at Medium and 30.5% at High.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 59 FPS, which is just above the playable threshold. The Medium preset falls to 40 FPS, the High preset to 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset to 25 FPS. None of these 4K results are ideal for a fast-paced survival game, and the data suggests that 4K is impractical for this combo unless using Low settings. The minimum FPS values are only available for the Medium preset at each resolution, showing 83 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K, indicating that the Medium preset maintains the most consistent frame pacing.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and RTX 4060 Mobile combination ranks 2282 out of 3723 tested combos for Rust, placing it in the 61st percentile of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the CPU's position in the overall benchmark hierarchy, where it sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 52073. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 8124P, which scores 0.1% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 0.2% higher, showing that the Ultra 5 235HX is competitive with previous-generation desktop flagship processors.

The GPU's ranking is less impressive, sitting at the 67th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 22729. The RTX 4060 Mobile's nearest rivals show it performing between the RTX 2080 (0.7% higher) and the RX 7700 XT (0.8% lower), indicating that this mobile GPU delivers desktop-class performance from a previous generation. The Intel Arc B580 scores 1.3% higher, and the RTX 5060 Mobile scores 1.3% lower, placing the RTX 4060 Mobile in a tight cluster of mid-range GPUs.

The combo's rank of 2282 out of 3723 suggests that many systems outperform it in Rust, likely due to the game's heavy CPU reliance. Systems with faster single-core performance or higher thread counts will achieve better frame rates, as Rust's simulation is primarily single-threaded. The data shows that this combo is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but falls short at 4K, which aligns with its mid-tier ranking.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 98 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS, providing the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Low preset achieves 145 FPS for maximum responsiveness, but the 47 FPS difference between Low and Medium is substantial.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Rust?

A: The data shows 4K is not practical for this combo. The Low preset achieves 59 FPS, which is barely playable, while Medium drops to 40 FPS and Ultra falls to 25 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-detail 4K rendering.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Rust?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rates at Low (145 FPS) and Medium (98 FPS) are constrained by the Ultra 5 235HX's 14 cores and 14 threads. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with the RTX 4060 Mobile unable to maintain playable frame rates above Low settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 2080 and RX 7700 XT in Rust?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile's nearest rivals show it performing 0.7% lower than the RTX 2080 and 0.8% higher than the RX 7700 XT in average benchmark scores. In Rust specifically, this translates to similar frame rates at equivalent settings, though the CPU pairing will influence results.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: For competitive play, 1920x1080 with Low settings at 145 FPS is the best option. Alternatively, 2560x1440 with Low settings at 100 FPS provides a higher resolution with still-competitive frame rates, while Medium at 1080p (98 FPS) offers a better visual experience with only a 3 FPS penalty.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so poorly?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers only 63 FPS, which is 56.6% lower than Low settings. This performance drop is attributed to the CPU's inability to handle the increased draw distances and entity counts, as well as the GPU's limited VRAM and bandwidth being saturated by higher-resolution textures.