Rust

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER represents a significant CPU-led configuration in Rust, a survival title known for its demanding simulation and rendering loads. The benchmark data reveals a system where the processor’s substantial multi-threaded capabilities provide a robust foundation, while the GPU’s performance ceiling becomes increasingly apparent at higher resolutions and graphical presets. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across various settings, the roles of each component, and how this combination ranks against other tested systems.

FAQ

Q: What is the average framerate at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 92 frames per second, with a minimum recorded FPS of 79 and a maximum of 106.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 70879. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, has an average score of 70163, placing the Ultra 7 265K 1% ahead. It also trails the Intel Xeon 6511P by 0.2%, which scores 71051.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it outperforms a majority of the database's tested graphics cards.

Q: What is the lowest average framerate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average framerate is 24 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Q: Does the CPU have a higher single-thread or multi-thread score in Cinebench R23?

A: The CPU's multi-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 35850, which is significantly higher than its single-thread score of 2020. This indicates a strong focus on multi-core workloads.

Q: How much VRAM does the graphics card have?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how this hardware combination scales with graphical settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 138 FPS, which is exceptionally high and likely exceeds the refresh rate of many standard monitors. Moving to Medium yields 92 FPS, still an excellent figure for a smooth experience. The High preset at 78 FPS remains very playable, and even Ultra at 59 FPS is sufficient for consistent frame pacing.

For 2560x1440, the trade-offs become more pronounced. The Low preset achieves a strong 95 FPS, while Medium drops to 64 FPS. High settings at 54 FPS are borderline, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS, which may feel less fluid in fast-paced scenarios. At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Low preset is the only playable option at 56 FPS; Medium drops to 38 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 24 FPS.

The data suggests that for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the optimal choice. At 1080p, it provides a high framerate (92 FPS) while offering a significant visual upgrade over Low. At 1440p, Medium (64 FPS) remains the best setting for a consistently smooth experience, as dropping to Low is necessary to maintain a high refresh rate, but the visual cost is substantial. At 4K, users must accept the Low preset for a comfortable framerate, as the step up to Medium incurs a 32% performance penalty, resulting in an average FPS that is far too low for smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, with its TU106 chip and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, plays a critical role in determining the visual ceiling for this configuration. Its 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 2176 shading units are sufficient for 1080p gaming, but the data shows its limitations as resolution and settings increase. The GPU's 62nd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 18093 place it in the mid-range tier, and its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (with a -0.4% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (with a -0.5% delta), show that its performance is closely matched by other mid-range options.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU's workload. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 92 FPS, but at 1440p Medium, this drops to 64 FPS, a 30% reduction. This scaling suggests that while the CPU can feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the GPU's rendering capabilities become the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. The 8 GB VRAM buffer is adequate for the tested settings, but the data indicates that the GPU's compute power, not its memory capacity, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 2060 SUPER maintains a 0.4% performance lead over the RTX 3060 Mobile in synthetic benchmarks, but in Rust, the scaling patterns suggest it is best suited for 1080p and entry-level 1440p gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

At Full HD, the system demonstrates strong performance across the board. The Low preset yields an average of 138 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset and indicates a scenario where the CPU is likely the primary driver. The Medium preset delivers an average of 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, showing a stable frame delivery. The High preset provides 78 FPS, a comfortable figure for most displays. Finally, the Ultra preset produces 59 FPS, which is just at the threshold of what many consider smooth, but it shows a 36% drop from the Medium preset, highlighting the cost of maxing out visual effects.

2560x1440

At Quad HD, the impact of the GPU becomes more evident. The Low preset achieves 95 FPS, a playable framerate. The Medium preset drops to 64 FPS (min 54, max 73), which is still within a playable range but shows a 30% reduction from the 1080p Medium score. The High preset falls to 54 FPS, which is acceptable but may show stutters in busy scenes. The Ultra preset yields 41 FPS, which is a significant drop and indicates that the GPU is struggling to maintain fluid motion at this resolution with maxed-out settings.

3840x2160

At 4K, the RTX 2060 SUPER is clearly overburdened by the game's demands. The Low preset produces 56 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset yields 38 FPS (min 32, max 43), a 32% drop from Low, making it marginal for single-player experiences but poorly suited for competitive play. The High preset drops further to 32 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 24 FPS, both of which are not smooth enough for a responsive gaming experience. The data confirms that 4K is not a viable target for this hardware combination in Rust without significant graphical compromises.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER has a combo rank of 2640 out of 3723 tested combos in Rust. This ranking, which places it in the 71st percentile, indicates that while the system is more capable than most, it is not at the top tier. The high rank is primarily attributable to the CPU's exceptional performance, as its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs is a major contributor. The GPU, however, with its 62nd percentile ranking, drags the overall combo down, preventing it from reaching a higher placement.

The data suggests that this is a CPU-bound configuration at lower resolutions. The massive multi-threaded score of 35850 in Cinebench R23 allows the CPU to process the game's complex simulation and physics without being a bottleneck at 1080p. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's relative weakness becomes the limiting factor. The combo's rank of 2640 reflects this imbalance, showing that it performs admirably in CPU-intensive scenarios but falls short in GPU-heavy ones. The system is not a top-tier contender for high-resolution gaming, but it is a solid performer for 1080p and some 1440p scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a powerhouse with 20 cores and 20 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This architecture, built on a 3 nm process, provides exceptional multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and its 94th percentile ranking. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s ensure that it can feed data to the GPU efficiently.

In Rust, the CPU's role is crucial for handling the game's server-side simulation, entity updates, and physics calculations. The benchmark results show that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 138 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this scenario. Even at 1080p Ultra, the CPU can maintain 59 FPS, suggesting it has ample headroom. However, its performance relative to rivals is tightly contested. It is 1% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700KF, but 0.2% slower than the Intel Xeon 6511P. This places it at the top of the consumer desktop segment, making it a highly capable processor for this title. The CPU's high single-thread score of 2020 in Cinebench R23 also ensures that the game's primary render thread is well-served, even if the main thread is not fully optimized.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p Low, the system hits 138 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 95 FPS, a 31% decrease. At 4K Low, it falls to 56 FPS, which is a 59% decrease from the 1080p score. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases, as the pixel workload grows exponentially.

The trend is even more apparent at higher settings. At Medium, the drop from 1080p (92 FPS) to 1440p (64 FPS) is 30%, and to 4K (38 FPS) is 59%. This consistent pattern across presets confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The CPU's performance remains relatively constant across resolutions because its workload is primarily determined by game logic and draw calls, which do not scale linearly with pixel count. Therefore, while the Ultra 7 265K can easily maintain high frame rates at 1080p, the GPU's inability to keep up at higher resolutions prevents the CPU from being fully utilized. The data shows that the system is CPU-bound at 1080p Low, but becomes progressively GPU-bound as resolution and settings are increased, with the most severe bottleneck occurring at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS of 24 represents a mere 17% of the 1080p Low score.