More FPS in Rust on low-end PCs, and every setting tells you why.
The best Rust settings for your graphics card, as documented client.cfg configs for Rust (the Facepunch game).
4 profiles from potato PC to RTX, 16 per-GPU configs, a one-click installer with backup.
No placebo tweaks, no launch-option myths, no copy-pasted folklore.
Install · Find your GPU · Why each setting? · Launch option myths · FAQ
- Download the latest release (the
rust-fps-boost-….zipfile). Right-click the ZIP → Extract All. - Quit Rust completely. Rust saves its settings when it closes and would undo ours.
- Open the extracted folder and double-click
install.bat, then choose 1. It finds Rust, detects your graphics card, suggests a profile, and backs up your current config first. - Start Rust. Changed your mind? Run
install.batagain: 3 undoes the last install, 4 restores your original config.
Your sensitivity, FOV, binds, audio and crosshair are never touched.
If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info → Run anyway. The installer is plain text: read it first if you like. Prefer typing?
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\apply.ps1 -Preset low -Gpu gtx-1650. More in docs/install.md.
These come straight from Facepunch, and no config can do them for you:
- Lower your mouse polling rate to 1000 Hz or less. Since Rust moved to Unity 6, "high polling rate mice (1000Hz+) are now causing significant CPU overhead issues and frame drops" (Facepunch). Players report big drops when turning the camera that disappear at 500–1000 Hz. Change it in your mouse software.
- Try the Rust Render Pipeline. Options → Experimental → Rust Render Pipeline. Facepunch expects "slightly better performance in most areas" (Facepunch). It's still experimental, so switch back if you see issues.
- Check what's limiting you. Task Manager → Performance → GPU while playing. Below ~90% GPU usage means your CPU is the limit: a lower profile helps more than a better graphics card would. Why
Click your card to open its config, or a profile to open that profile. Pick the profile for your screen resolution; the card file adds a few card-specific tweaks on top. Why? explains every value. install.bat picks all of this for you.
| Card | VRAM | 1080p | 1440p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTX 1050 Ti | 4 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| GTX 1060 3GB | 3 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| GTX 1060 6GB | 6 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| GTX 1650 | 4 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| GTX 1660 Super | 6 GB | low |
low |
Why? |
| RTX 2060 | 6 GB | balanced |
low |
Why? |
| RTX 3050 | 8 GB | low |
low |
Why? |
| RTX 3060 | 12 GB | balanced |
balanced |
Why? |
| RTX 4060 | 8 GB | balanced |
balanced |
Why? |
| RTX 5060 | 8 GB | balanced |
balanced |
Why? |
| RTX 5060 Ti | 8 GB | quality |
balanced |
Why? |
| RTX 5070 | 12 GB | quality |
quality |
Why? |
| Card | VRAM | 1080p | 1440p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX 580 4GB | 4 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| RX 580 8GB | 8 GB | low |
ultra-low |
Why? |
| RX 6600 | 8 GB | balanced |
low |
Why? |
| RX 9070 XT | 16 GB | quality |
quality |
Why? |
Recommendations are estimates until benchmarked (how cards are tuned). Card not listed? install.bat falls back to a vendor overlay (nvidia, amd, intel-igpu); see gpu/README.md.
| Profile | Built for | Goal |
|---|---|---|
ultra-low |
Integrated graphics, old laptops, 4-core CPUs, 8 GB RAM | Playable FPS at any cost to visuals |
low |
GTX 1050 Ti–1660, RX 580, 16 GB RAM | High, stable FPS while keeping the game readable |
balanced |
RTX 2060–5060, RX 6600 | Good visuals, minus the expensive effects that add little |
quality |
RTX 5060 Ti and up, RX 9070 XT | Best visuals, skipping effects that hurt visibility |
Design goals of each profile: docs/profiles.md.
- ✅ Only real convars. Every setting exists in a
client.cfgwritten by the current game build. CI checks this on every commit. - 📚 Every value has a reason and a source: Facepunch devblogs, Unity engine docs, NVIDIA, third-party measurements, or an honest
reasoninglabel. See the table → - 🎯 Visibility first. We keep shadows on (they give away enemies), cut effects that wash out your view (bloom, sun shafts, motion blur), and flag every setting that gives a visual edge.
- 🚫 Myths called out.
-maxMem,-malloc=system,-cpuCount,-higharen't in Unity's argument list. Which launch options do nothing → - 📏 Expected vs measured. Nothing is called "measured" without a report in
benchmarks/. On a GTX 1650, 1050 Ti or RX 580? Your benchmark is the most useful contribution.
- The configs contain only console variables (convars) that Rust itself writes to
cfg\client.cfg, the same file the in-game Options menu saves to. - Nothing is injected, no game files or memory are modified, and the installer refuses to run while Rust is open.
- The installer is readable PowerShell (tools/apply.ps1) and backs up your config before every change.
- We're not affiliated with Facepunch Studios or Easy Anti-Cheat and can't make guarantees on their behalf. Changing graphics settings in
client.cfgis what the game's own menu does.
Did it work?
In Rust press F1, type graphics.drawdistance and press Enter. It should show the profile's value (1500 on low).
My settings went back to normal.
Picking a preset in Rust's Graphics menu overwrites these values, and big game updates can too. Quit Rust and run install.bat again.
How do I undo it?
install.bat → 3 (undo the last install) or 4 (your config from before the first install). Backups live next to your config in Rust\cfg\.
Will this give me 2× FPS?
No honest config can promise a number. On high-end PCs Rust is mostly limited by the CPU, so settings change less. The biggest gains are expected on low-end GPUs, which is who this project is built for. Measured results will appear in benchmarks/.
More questions and a glossary: docs/faq.md.
| docs/convars.md | The rationale table: every convar we touch, why, and its source |
| docs/sources.md | Every source we rely on, and how strong each kind of evidence is |
| docs/install.md | Manual install, installer options, restoring backups |
| docs/launch-options.md | Steam launch options, including which popular ones do nothing |
| docs/methodology.md | How we benchmark, and how you can too |
| docs/candidates.md | Experimental convars waiting to be tested |
| docs/faq.md | FAQ and glossary |
Benchmarks, new cards and corrections are welcome, especially corrections backed by a source. See CONTRIBUTING.md.
MIT, see LICENSE. Not affiliated with Facepunch Studios. "Rust" is a trademark of Facepunch Studios.