Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, an adventure title that blends deep-sea exploration with restaurant management, presents a unique workload where the CPU and GPU interplay in unexpected ways. The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 5 5600 with NVIDIA's flagship RTX 4090 is a study in imbalance, and the benchmark data shows this combination ranks 75th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.6% of all systems. This high percentile is almost entirely due to the GPU's dominance, as the six-core Ryzen 5 5600, while competent, becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 75 out of 1626 tested systems is a strong showing that reflects the sheer power of the RTX 4090. In a game like Dave The Diver, which is not visually demanding, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, meaning the Ryzen 5 5600's performance is what defines the overall experience. The data indicates that this pairing delivers exceptional frame rates, but it does so while leaving significant performance on the table; the CPU is holding back the GPU from reaching its true potential, particularly at 1080p. This is a classic case of a high-end GPU being paired with a mid-range processor, resulting in a system that is incredibly fast but not perfectly balanced. The ranking confirms the RTX 4090's brute force, as it manages to secure a top-75 position despite the CPU's relative weakness in this context.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed star of this configuration. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for any texture or asset that Dave The Diver can throw at it. The GPU's clocks are also a key factor; with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, the AD102 chip operates with incredible efficiency. The memory clock of 1313 MHz, or 21 Gbps effective, ensures that data flows into the processor cores without delay. This memory capacity and bandwidth are overkill for this title, but they guarantee that the GPU will never be the source of a frame rate dip. The benchmark results confirm this, as the GPU's average benchmark score of 66473 places it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. This score is not just high; it is a statement of intent, showing that the RTX 4090 is engineered for 4K and high-refresh-rate gaming, though in this game, its capabilities are largely untapped.

Resolution Scaling

The most revealing data comes from how the frame rates scale across resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings is extremely high, but the gains from dropping to lower settings are minimal. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Ultra and Low settings is a modest 47.9 FPS (295 to 342.9). This suggests that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. As the resolution increases to 1440p, the frame rates drop, but the relative performance gap between settings widens, indicating the GPU is starting to take on more work. At 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced; the difference between Ultra and Low settings is 75.9 FPS (154 to 229.9), showing that the GPU is now the limiting factor. The data shows a clear transition: at 1080p and 1440p, the Ryzen 5 5600 is holding back the RTX 4090, but at 4K, the GPU's workload finally becomes significant enough to show its true value. The 4K results are still staggeringly high, but the scaling pattern confirms that the CPU is the constraining component in this pairing at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from a low of 295 FPS on Ultra settings to a high of 342.9 FPS on Low settings. The Medium and High settings land in between at 323.9 and 310.1 FPS, respectively. These numbers are remarkably close, reinforcing the idea that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but show more variance. The Ultra preset delivers 223.5 FPS, while Low settings reach 311.3 FPS. Medium and High produce 284.5 and 256.3 FPS, respectively. The 1440p results show a 87.8 FPS spread between the lowest and highest settings, which is a sign that the GPU is beginning to have an impact. At 3840x2160, the true 4K performance is unveiled. The Ultra preset yields 154 FPS, Medium hits 191.1 FPS, High reaches 173.1 FPS, and Low settings achieve 229.9 FPS. These 4K numbers are outstanding for any game, but they still show the GPU's immense headroom, as even the most demanding settings produce a frame rate that far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The data shows a system that is capable of delivering a flawless experience at any resolution, with the only caveat being the CPU's influence at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. With a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, it is a solid mid-range CPU that performs well in most games. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for gaming workloads, and its 65W TDP makes it an efficient choice. However, in this pairing, it is the clear bottleneck. The benchmark data shows that the CPU has an average benchmark score of 21765, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon D-1746TER, which is 0.6% faster, and the AMD EPYC 9554P, which is 0.6% slower. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 5600 is a competent processor, but it is not in the same league as the RTX 4090. In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is to handle the game's logic and physics, and while a six-core processor is generally sufficient, the data suggests it cannot feed the RTX 4090 fast enough. The evidence is in the 1080p frame rates, where the performance is nearly identical across all settings, a clear sign that the CPU is maxed out. The Ryzen 5 5600's single-threaded score of 882 in 3DMark and 2584 in Cinebench R23 show it has decent single-core performance, but it is not enough to unlock the full potential of the RTX 4090 in this title. This is a system where the GPU is waiting on the CPU, and the result is a high-performing but ultimately imbalanced combination.