Rust

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235HX has an average benchmark score of 52073, which places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. It sits nearly level with the AMD EPYC 8124P, which scores 52121 (a 0.1% difference), and trails the Intel Core i7-14700 by just 0.4% (that chip scores 52301). It edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X by 0.2% (that chip scores 51947) and the Intel Core i9-13900F by 0.7% (that chip scores 51730).

Q: What is the RTX 4080 Mobile's standing among all GPUs, and who are its nearest competitors?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 38135. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX570, which scores 38299 (0.4% higher), followed by the RTX 5080 Mobile at 38349 (0.6% higher). The RTX 4070 scores 37648 (1.3% lower), and the Tesla P4 scores 37628 (also 1.3% lower).

Q: What frame rates does this combo achieve at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers an average of 207 FPS. That is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested resolutions and settings, showing strong headroom for high-refresh-rate displays at lower graphical loads.

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

A: The combo ranks 1167 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This places it in the upper third of all configurations tested for this game, indicating solid performance relative to the broader field.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration, and how does it relate to Rust's demands?

A: The RTX 4080 Mobile comes with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Rust, a large open-world survival game, this capacity and bandwidth support high-resolution textures and asset streaming without obvious memory bottlenecks, as evidenced by playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration, and what does it mean for gaming?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235HX has 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The equal core/thread count indicates no Hyper-Threading, but the high boost clock and 24 MB of shared L3 cache provide strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for Rust's simulation and physics workload.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 Mobile is built on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The chip, designated AD104, packs 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. With 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, the GPU delivers a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s. Raw compute is rated at 24.72 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1), which is substantial for a mobile part.

The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit interface, running at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. This produces a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. For Rust, which involves streaming large map data and many on-screen entities, this bandwidth proves sufficient across all tested settings. The GPU also includes 58 ray-tracing cores and 232 tensor cores, though Rust does not heavily rely on ray tracing.

Clocks are set at a base of 1290 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz. The TDP is 110 W, which is typical for a high-end mobile GPU in this class. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern rendering APIs. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16, and the slot width is listed as IGP (integrated graphics package), meaning it is soldered to the motherboard rather than being a discrete card.

In Rust, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 36 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily loaded. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the average jumps to 207 FPS, showing the GPU can handle lighter loads with ease. The 12 GB VRAM is a key asset here; Rust's large maps and many object textures can consume significant memory, and the measured results show no evidence of stutter or frame drops that would indicate VRAM exhaustion.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K across all settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 207 FPS at 1920x1080 to 142 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 84 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 59%, which is substantial but expected for a demanding survival title.

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 117 FPS at 1080p drops to 81 FPS at 1440p (a 31% reduction), then to 48 FPS at 4K (a 41% reduction from 1440p). The total drop is 59%, matching the Low setting pattern. Medium settings show the same trend: 139 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p (32% lower), and 56 FPS at 4K (41% lower from 1440p). Ultra settings follow suit: 89 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p (31% lower), and 36 FPS at 4K (41% lower from 1440p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the scaling is largely resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The frame rate halving from 1080p to 4K is a classic sign of GPU-bound behavior at higher pixel counts, especially given the RTX 4080 Mobile's 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and 12 GB VRAM.

At 1080p with Low settings, the 207 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames, but at 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS average shows the GPU struggling with the pixel workload. The data indicates that for competitive play at high refresh rates, 1080p Low is the sweet spot, while 4K is only viable at Medium or Low settings for playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile ranks 1167 out of 3723 tested combinations in Rust. This places it in the 68.7th percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms over two-thirds of configurations while trailing the top third. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is severely mismatched.

The CPU's 91st percentile standing among all CPUs suggests strong processing power, while the GPU's 81st percentile is slightly lower. In Rust, which is known for CPU-heavy simulation, the CPU's relative strength likely helps maintain the combo's position. The GPU's rank is still solid, but the gap between the two percentiles (91 vs 81) indicates that the CPU is the stronger component relative to its peers.

Within the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 Mobile's performance is closely matched with the RTX 5080 Mobile (0.6% lower score) and the MX570 (0.4% higher score). This clustering suggests that in the broader benchmark landscape, the 4080 Mobile sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier. For Rust specifically, the combo's 1167 rank out of 3723 shows that many other configurations achieve better results, likely due to newer GPUs or higher-end CPUs, but the 4080 Mobile plus 235HX combination is far from entry-level.

The rank also implies that the combo can handle Rust at respectable settings, but not at the absolute highest levels. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (36 FPS) is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal, while 1440p High (81 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (89 FPS) are more comfortable. This positions the combo as suitable for 1440p gaming at high settings, with 1080p reserved for very high refresh rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is part of the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Arrow Lake architecture (codenamed Arrow Lake-HX) at a 3 nm process node from TSMC. It integrates 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The CPU features 14 cores and 14 threads, indicating no simultaneous multithreading. Base clock is 2.90 GHz, boosting up to 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The socket is Intel BGA 2114, and the PCIe support is Gen 5 with 20 lanes (CPU only).

Cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 48 execution units, though for gaming, the discrete RTX 4080 Mobile handles rendering. The CPU's multiplier is unlocked, and it supports ECC memory (false), which is typical for consumer mobile parts.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 235HX scores 34731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4903 in single-core. These numbers indicate strong multi-threaded performance for a mobile chip, especially given the 14-core count. The PassMark multi-thread score is 40849, with a single-thread score of 4683. The average benchmark score of 52073 places it in the 91st percentile, just 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 8124P and 0.2% ahead of the Ryzen 9 5950X.

For Rust, the CPU's role is critical. The game's simulation of entities, physics, and server-side logic is CPU-intensive, and the 235HX's high boost clock of 5.10 GHz helps ensure that single-threaded tasks are executed quickly. The 14 cores provide ample parallelism for background tasks like asset loading and world generation. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (207 FPS) suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates, indicating no severe bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's load decreases relative to the GPU, but the data shows consistent frame rates that do not exhibit sudden drops, implying the CPU maintains stable performance. The 24 MB L3 cache is beneficial for Rust's data-heavy workloads, reducing memory latency. The 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the dual-channel DDR5 configuration, though it is lower than the GPU's 432.0 GB/s, which is expected.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). All scores are averages; for Medium settings, minimum and maximum values are also provided.

1920x1080:

• Low: 207 FPS average
• Medium: 139 FPS average, with a minimum of 118 FPS and maximum of 159 FPS
• High: 117 FPS average
• Ultra: 89 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates at all settings. Low settings push past 200 FPS, ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. Medium maintains 139 FPS with a tight range (118-159), indicating stable performance. High and Ultra remain above 60 FPS, with 89 FPS at Ultra providing smooth visuals.

2560x1440:

• Low: 142 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average, with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS
• High: 81 FPS average
• Ultra: 61 FPS average

At 1440p, the frame rates drop by roughly 31% from 1080p. Low settings still achieve 142 FPS, which is excellent for 144Hz monitors. Medium hits 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS, staying above 60. High at 81 FPS is comfortable, while Ultra at 61 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it viable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

3840x2160:

• Low: 84 FPS average
• Medium: 56 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS
• High: 48 FPS average
• Ultra: 36 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings still achieve 84 FPS, which is respectable for 4K. Medium dips to 56 FPS average, with the minimum at 48 FPS, indicating occasional drops below 60. High at 48 FPS and Ultra at 36 FPS are not ideal for smooth gameplay, but they are playable for less demanding scenarios. The Medium setting's min-max range (48-65) shows some variability, likely due to scene complexity in Rust.

Across all resolutions, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is consistent: at 1080p, it is 118 FPS; at 1440p, it is 81 FPS; at 4K, it is 48 FPS. This suggests that the performance gap between settings shrinks as resolution increases, further confirming the GPU-bound nature at higher pixel counts.