Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + Intel Arc B580

This pairing of AMD's 6-core Zen 4 processor with Intel's Battlemage graphics card produces a surprisingly consistent experience in Dave The Diver, a game that clearly favors high frame rates over raw graphical complexity. The measured data shows this combo landing at rank 2132 out of 2867 tested combinations, placing it in the 74th percentile of all possible CPU-GPU pairings for this title. The Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and the Ryzen 7 500X3D's 96 MB of L3 cache combine to deliver playable performance across all tested resolutions, though the scaling patterns reveal where the bottlenecks truly reside.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component governs performance in Dave The Diver. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 124 at 1920x1080 to 94 at 2560x1440, then further to 63 at 3840x2160. That represents a 24% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 33% additional drop moving to 4K. The total decline from 1080p to 4K is roughly 49% — a substantial reduction that points heavily toward GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions.

Looking at Low settings, the pattern intensifies. The 1080p Low result of 189 FPS drops to 142 FPS at 1440p (a 25% decline) and then to 95 FPS at 4K (a 33% further drop). The fact that even at Low presets the scaling remains steep suggests the Arc B580 is the limiting factor once pixel count rises, rather than the CPU holding things back. If the Ryzen 5 7500X3D were the constraint, we would expect to see smaller percentage differences between resolutions at Low settings, since the CPU workload stays relatively constant regardless of output resolution.

Medium settings provide the most complete data set, with min and max FPS recorded at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 158 FPS with a range of 134 to 182. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 119 FPS with a range of 101 to 137. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 80 FPS with a range of 68 to 92. The consistent ~25% decline per resolution step indicates a well-behaved scaling curve, with no sudden cliffs that would suggest driver issues or thermal throttling.

The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 141 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. Interesting to note that High and Medium are relatively close at each resolution — the gap between them is only about 10-12% at every resolution step. This suggests that the visual uplift from Medium to High comes at a modest performance cost, while the jump from High to Ultra costs more — roughly 12% at 1080p, 11% at 1440p, and 11% at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 brings several specifications that directly influence these results. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than adequate for a game like Dave The Diver that doesn't demand massive texture streaming. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). This fixed boost behavior suggests consistent performance without clock fluctuation issues.

The B580's shading units number 2560, paired with 160 texture mapping units and 80 render output units. Its pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings that the measured FPS numbers respect. At 4K Ultra, the 63 FPS average requires the GPU to process roughly 497 million pixels per second — well within the pixel rate capability, yet the actual frame rate suggests other bottlenecks in the graphics pipeline.

The GPU's 20 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (feature level 12_2) mean the hardware is capable of advanced effects, though Dave The Diver doesn't appear to leverage these heavily based on the relatively small performance differences between Medium and Ultra presets. The 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 27.34 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio) represent solid mid-range throughput, and the benchmark results confirm this positioning — the B580's PassMark G3D score of 15748 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3068 place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs.

Comparisons to nearest rivals show the B580 sitting in a tight cluster. Its average benchmark score of 23021 is within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and 0.7% below the RTX 3080 (23172). This grouping suggests that for Dave The Diver specifically, the B580's performance aligns closely with GPUs from several generations and price tiers, though the game's measured FPS indicate it handles this title particularly well given its overall benchmark standing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2132 out of 2867 tested combinations places this pairing in the 74th percentile (calculated by position). This is a strong showing, but not exceptional — it suggests that while this CPU-GPU combination runs Dave The Diver well, there are many other combos that achieve higher frame rates. The ranking reflects the balance between the Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Arc B580 working together in this specific title.

Given the CPU's 89th percentile standing across all processors and the GPU's 68th percentile across all GPUs, the combined rank of 74th percentile indicates the GPU is the more limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU has more headroom relative to its peers than the GPU does, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis pointing to GPU-bound behavior at higher settings.

The data shows that this combo delivers 124 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider smooth. At 1440p, the 94 FPS Ultra result remains highly playable, and even 4K Ultra at 63 FPS barely clears the 60 FPS barrier. This consistency across resolutions is notable — many combos at this rank would show more dramatic FPS collapses at 4K, but the B580's 12 GB memory buffer and efficient architecture keep performance respectable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data supports specific preset choices depending on the target resolution. At 1080p, every preset delivers comfortably smooth performance — even Ultra at 124 FPS average leaves substantial headroom above 60 FPS. The difference between Medium (158 FPS) and Ultra (124 FPS) is 34 FPS, which may be imperceptible on a standard 60 Hz display but noticeable on high refresh rate monitors. For players with 144 Hz displays, Medium at 158 FPS is the better choice, while those with 60 Hz monitors can safely select Ultra for maximum visual quality.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more nuanced. Ultra averages 94 FPS, which is still above 60 but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. Medium at 119 FPS offers a better balance, and High at 106 FPS sits between the two. The min FPS data at Medium (101 FPS) suggests that this preset maintains consistency even in worst-case scenarios, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming on this combo. Ultra's lack of recorded min FPS means we cannot verify its frame time consistency, but the average suggests it would dip below 60 in heavy moments.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts decisively. Ultra at 63 FPS average is technically above 60, but with no min FPS recorded, the risk of dips below the playability threshold is real. Medium at 80 FPS with a min of 68 provides a safer experience, while High at 71 FPS sits in between. Low at 95 FPS is the only preset that offers substantial headroom at 4K, but the visual compromise may not be worth it for a game like Dave The Diver. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for 4K — it maintains a minimum of 68 FPS while providing better visuals than Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full preset range was measured. Low settings produce an average of 189 FPS. Medium raises the average to 158 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 134 and maximum of 182. High settings yield 141 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 124 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 34.4% performance cost for the highest visual quality, which is modest for a game of this type.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 142 FPS. Medium averages 119 FPS, with a min of 101 and max of 137. High averages 106 FPS. Ultra averages 94 FPS. The cost of Ultra over Low at this resolution is 33.8%, nearly identical to the 1080p percentage, indicating consistent scaling behavior.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 95 FPS. Medium averages 80 FPS, with a min of 68 and max of 92. High averages 71 FPS. Ultra averages 63 FPS. The Ultra-to-Low gap at 4K is 33.7%, maintaining the pattern seen at lower resolutions. This consistency suggests the game's settings have uniform impact regardless of resolution, which simplifies optimization decisions.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all resolutions, providing the most reliable frame time information. The 1080p Medium range of 134-182 represents a 26.5% spread, while 1440p Medium's 101-137 range is a 26.3% spread, and 4K Medium's 68-92 range is a 26.1% spread. This consistency in frame time variance across resolutions indicates stable performance without resolution-specific stuttering issues.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra in Dave The Diver?

A: The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 63, which technically exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. However, with no minimum FPS recorded for this preset, the data does not confirm frame time consistency. Medium settings at 4K provide a measured minimum of 68 FPS, offering more reliable performance.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in overall benchmarks?

A: The B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and 0.7% below the RTX 3080 (23172). This places it in a tight performance cluster spanning multiple GPU generations.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500X3D holding back the Arc B580 in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. From 1080p to 4K at Ultra, FPS drops 49%, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 68th percentile also indicates the CPU has more relative headroom.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: Medium settings provide the best balance, with an average of 119 FPS and a measured minimum of 101 FPS. This ensures consistent frame delivery without the risk of dips below 60 FPS. High at 106 FPS average is also viable, but lacks min FPS data for verification.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This pairing ranks 2132 out of 2867 tested combos, placing it in the 74th percentile. This is a solid result, reflecting the balance between the CPU's strong performance and the GPU's mid-range capabilities in this specific title.

Q: Does the GPU's memory bandwidth matter for this game?

A: The Arc B580's 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth on a 192-bit bus with 12 GB of GDDR6 appears sufficient for Dave The Diver. The consistent scaling patterns across resolutions and settings suggest memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor, as frame rates scale predictably rather than hitting sudden walls.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D contributes to this combo's performance through its 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 4.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the standout feature — a massive pool that benefits games with large working sets. The CPU's 5 nm process node and 65 W TDP indicate efficient operation, and its PassMark scores reflect strong all-around performance: 25047 in multithread, 3494 in single-thread, 70774 in integer math, and 43594 in floating point math.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 89 places it well above the GPU's 68th percentile, confirming that the processor is not the primary bottleneck in this pairing. Its nearest rivals in overall benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% ahead), Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5% ahead), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (0.6% ahead), while the Intel Core i5-14600 trails by 0.7%. This tight grouping indicates the 7500X3D is competitively positioned among current processors.

In Dave The Diver specifically, the CPU's role appears to be secondary given the GPU-bound scaling patterns. The fact that FPS drops consistently across all presets when resolution increases — even at Low settings where the GPU workload is minimal — suggests the Arc B580 is the determining factor. However, the CPU's strong single-thread score of 3494 and its 12 threads ensure that any CPU-side tasks in the game are handled without introducing frame pacing issues. The 89th percentile ranking indicates this processor has substantial headroom for more demanding titles, making it a future-proof choice even if the current GPU limits this combo's performance.