Rust

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1756th out of 2953 tested combos in Rust, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database’s performance hierarchy. This position reflects a combination that can handle the game at mainstream settings, though it struggles to deliver high-refresh-rate experiences at maximum quality presets. The data shows a system that is more comfortable at 1080p and 1440p with medium or high settings, while 4K gaming remains a challenge unless visual fidelity is dialed back to low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1756 out of 2953 tested configurations means it sits in the 41st percentile of all tested pairings for Rust. This is a middling result, indicating that roughly 59% of tested combos outperform it in this particular survival title. The ranking suggests that while this hardware is far from the bottom of the barrel, it is also not positioned to deliver top-tier frame rates in Rust’s demanding open-world environments. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 93, which is excellent, but the GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is only 61, highlighting the imbalance in this pairing. The processor is clearly the stronger component, yet the graphics card holds the combo back from climbing higher in the rankings. When compared to other tested combos, this system lands in a zone where players will need to make deliberate settings choices to achieve smooth gameplay, particularly at higher resolutions. The rank itself is a composite measure, and the measured FPS data across resolutions confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. For a game like Rust, which is known for heavy CPU utilization during world generation and entity updates, the strong processor helps maintain stability, but the frame rate ceiling is still dictated by the graphics solution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 272.0 GB/s, and the memory clock runs at 2125 MHz, which translates to 17 Gbps effective. The GPU has a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It also includes 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, though Rust does not heavily leverage these features in its standard rendering path. The FP32 performance is 15.11 TFLOPS, which is a modest figure for modern titles. In Rust specifically, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K with higher settings, the memory and bandwidth limitations become apparent. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s average benchmark score is 17639, with a PassMark G3D score of 19545 and a DirectX 12 score of 76. These numbers place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790, AMD Radeon 780M, AMD Radeon Pro 560, and AMD Radeon Pro 460, with delta percentages ranging from -0.2% to 0.7%. The RTX 4060’s performance is nearly identical to these older or integrated solutions in synthetic benchmarks, which is a telling sign of its mid-range positioning. In Rust, the GPU’s role is to handle the rasterization of the game’s expansive landscapes, building textures, and dynamic lighting. The measured FPS data indicates that the GPU begins to buckle under the load of 4K Ultra settings, where the average frame rate drops to 25 FPS. This is a clear indication that the 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are not adequate for maximum settings at that resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 145 FPS, which is a very playable frame rate for competitive or fast-paced gameplay. Moving to 1440p at Low settings, the average FPS falls to 100, a 31% reduction. At 4K Low, the average drops to 59 FPS, which is another 41% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread performance is not the constraint at these lower settings. However, when settings are increased to Ultra, the scaling becomes even more dramatic. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 63, which is already a significant drop from the Low preset. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 43 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 25 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Ultra is a staggering 120 FPS, representing an 83% reduction in performance. This demonstrates that the RTX 4060’s memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are insufficient for high-resolution, high-fidelity gaming in Rust. The data also shows that the Medium preset provides a balanced option, with 98 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a min FPS of 34 and a max FPS of 46, indicating notable frame time variance. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring Low settings to achieve playable frame rates. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not fully utilized at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Rust compared to other tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX with the RTX 4060 ranks 1756th out of 2953 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: How does the GPU’s synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7790, 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 780M, 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 560, and 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 460.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Rust?

A: The highest average FPS is 145, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded?

A: The lowest average FPS is 25, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU act as the primary bottleneck in this pairing for Rust?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU maintains a high 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the GPU and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, which limits 4K performance, particularly at higher settings where the average FPS falls to 25 at Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 145 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this pairing. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with some variance. High settings at 1080p produce an average of 82 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 63 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in visual fidelity costs roughly 15-20 FPS at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 100 FPS, which is still a very smooth experience. Medium at 1440p averages 67 FPS, with a min of 57 and a max of 77, suggesting occasional dips below the average that could be noticeable in fast-moving scenes. High at 1440p averages 57 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is borderline for playability, as it hovers near the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59 FPS, which is remarkably close to the 60 FPS target, but this is the only 4K setting that approaches smoothness. Medium at 4K averages 40 FPS, with a min of 34 and a max of 46, showing that the frame rate can dip into the low 30s during demanding scenes. High at 4K averages 33 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS, which is a slideshow-like experience for most players. The data reveals that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo at 1080p and 1440p, offering a balance between visual quality and frame rate. At 4K, only the Low preset is viable for consistent gameplay, and even then, the 59 FPS average is not guaranteed to hold in all areas of the game. The min and max FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution, which limits the analysis of frame time consistency for other settings. However, the available data is sufficient to conclude that this combo is not designed for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming in Rust.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a maximum bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and a single-core score of 5737. In PassMark tests, it scores 47985 in multithread, 4500 in single-thread, and 511817 in data compression. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 93, which places it in the top 7% of all processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 63173, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13790F, AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G, AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185, and Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, with delta percentages ranging from -0.2% to 0.7%. In Rust, the CPU’s role is critical for handling the game’s complex simulation logic, including entity interactions, resource gathering, and world persistence. The 20 cores and 20 threads provide substantial multi-threaded performance, which helps maintain consistent frame times when the game world is populated with many structures and players. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is beneficial for the main game loop and physics calculations. The PassMark physics score of 2978 and floating point math score of 161605 indicate robust computational capabilities. However, despite this CPU strength, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios. This is particularly evident at 4K, where the CPU has ample headroom but the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering load. At 1080p Low, the CPU’s performance allows the GPU to reach 145 FPS, but this is still constrained by the graphics card’s capabilities. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 61st percentile underscores the disparity, indicating that this processor could easily support a more powerful graphics card for higher frame rates in Rust. The memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is sufficient for dual-channel DDR5, and the 30 MB of L3 cache helps reduce latency for frequently accessed data. Overall, the CPU is a high-end mobile processor that performs admirably, but its potential is not fully realized in this pairing due to the RTX 4060’s mid-range positioning.