Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is a light adventure title, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 show a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still delivers excellent frame rates even at 4K. The data indicates that this setup is more than capable of handling the game’s demands, with the primary performance lever being the graphics preset rather than the resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is significant but not catastrophic, revealing a system that scales predictably with pixel count. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces an average of 172.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces that to 131 FPS, a 24% decrease. Stepping up to 4K High yields 88.1 FPS, which is a 49% reduction from the 1080p figure. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor at 4K, as the raw pixel throughput demand outpaces the GPU’s processing capacity.

However, the scaling is not linear, and the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p. This suggests that while the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading power become the bottleneck as resolution increases. The RTX 4060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for this game but starts to show strain at 4K Ultra where the average FPS drops to 79.7. The difference between 4K High (88.1 FPS) and 4K Ultra (79.7 FPS) is only 9.5%, demonstrating that the GPU is already working near its limit at this resolution, and additional settings have diminishing returns.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a boost clock of 2460 MHz, which is a relatively high frequency that helps maintain solid performance in a game like Dave The Diver that may not be heavily multithreaded. The GPU’s 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs are tasked with rendering the game’s 2D-style graphics, which are not particularly demanding compared to modern 3D titles. The data shows that even at 4K Low settings, the combo achieves 118.7 FPS, meaning the GPU is never completely overwhelmed.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a notable consideration. At 4K Ultra, the game appears to utilize the available memory effectively, as the frame rate remains playable. However, the measured frame rates suggest that the game does not require excessive memory, as the performance drop from High to Ultra at 4K is modest. The GPU’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is not a limiting factor here, as the data shows no anomalies that would indicate bandwidth starvation. The FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS is more than adequate for the pixel-art style, which relies more on fill rate and memory bandwidth than complex compute shaders.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data strongly suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 172.2, which is 20.2 FPS lower than Low (233.7 FPS) but still well above any refresh rate threshold. At 1440p High, the average is 131 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. Even at 4K High, the 88.1 FPS average is smooth and responsive.

The Ultra preset is not worth the performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 152.1, which is a 20.1 FPS reduction from High. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 116.5 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it reaches 79.7 FPS. The visual uplift from High to Ultra in a stylized game like this is likely minimal, while the frame rate penalty is measurable. For users with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 1440p (147.1 FPS) or High at 1080p (172.2 FPS) are the sweet spots. At 4K, High is the most sensible choice, as the drop from High to Ultra (8.4 FPS) is not justified by the marginal visual gains.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing ranks 908 out of 1626 combos for Dave The Diver. This places it in the 44th percentile, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of tested configurations but is not a top-tier setup. The ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components. The Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor that sits at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4060 is at the 66th percentile among all GPUs. The combination’s rank is lower than either component’s individual percentile, which indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this specific game.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, with a delta of 0%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which is 0.3% faster. This suggests that the 8400F is a solid performer for the price, but it is not a standout in raw compute. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Arc B580, which is 0.7% slower, and the AMD Radeon 760M, which is 0.8% faster. The closeness of these scores indicates that the RTX 4060 is well-positioned among its peers, but it does not offer a significant performance advantage.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 8400F, based on the Zen 4 architecture, operates at a base clock of 4.20 GHz and boosts up to 4.70 GHz. This is a high-frequency 6-core processor that is more than capable of feeding the RTX 4060 in Dave The Diver. The game is not heavily threaded, as evidenced by the CPU’s 3DMark scores: 1874 for 2 threads, 3563 for 4 threads, and 5275 for 8 threads. The scaling from 2 to 8 threads is nearly linear, but the jump from 8 threads to 16 threads (6091) and max threads (6165) is minimal, indicating that the game likely does not utilize more than 8 threads effectively.

In practical terms, the CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943, is crucial for this game. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the FPS reaches 233.7, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for frame generation. The fact that 4K Low (118.7 FPS) is roughly half of 1080p Low (233.7 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache is shared across all cores, which is sufficient for the game’s data access patterns. The processor’s memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates remain consistently high across all tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor with this combo?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 131, which is below 144 FPS but still smooth. For a full 144Hz experience, 1080p High delivers 172.2 FPS, and 1440p Medium hits 147.1 FPS, both of which exceed the refresh rate threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for Dave The Diver. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 79.7, indicating that the VRAM is not causing a severe bottleneck, as the performance drop from High to Ultra is modest.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests it is not a major bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 233.7, which is very high. The CPU’s single-thread score of 2943 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance that can keep up with the GPU.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The difference is 8.4 FPS, with High at 88.1 FPS and Ultra at 79.7 FPS. Given the minimal visual impact likely in this game’s art style, High is the recommended setting to maintain a smoother frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other systems?

A: It ranks 908 out of 1626 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower half of the database, which is expected given the mid-range nature of both the CPU and GPU.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, it can. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 79.7, and at 4K High, it is 88.1. Both are playable, making 4K a viable option for this specific game, though not at the highest refresh rates.