Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is an adventure title that proves surprisingly demanding at higher resolutions, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with the Intel Arc B370 produces a distinct bottleneck profile. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is firmly entry-level in this game, struggling to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K but offering a playable experience at 1080p. The data indicates a clear GPU limitation, as the CPU’s strong benchmark scores cannot compensate for the graphics card’s position in the low percentile rankings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a straightforward story: the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 98 FPS, which drops to 74 FPS at 1440p and further to 49 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling pattern typical of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 24 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 25 FPS, showing a consistent decline rather than a cliff edge.

Looking at High settings, the trend continues with 73 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 18 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is also 18 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload scales linearly with pixel count. The 4K results across all settings are below the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra settings yielding just 33 FPS. This makes 4K gaming impractical for this combination, as even Low settings cannot reach a smooth 50 FPS average.

The resolution scaling data suggests that the Ryzen 5 9600X is not the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain more consistent across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the steady decline with increasing resolution points directly at the Arc B370's limited pixel throughput. The 1080p results, while better, still show the GPU working hard, with the gap between Low and Ultra settings being 33 FPS, which is a significant spread that highlights the graphics card's sensitivity to settings changes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. Its benchmark presence is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low standing, and the nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 (a 0.2% difference) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with a score of 1190 (a 0.5% difference). These are ancient parts, which underscores how far behind modern discrete options this iGPU sits.

The GPU's specifications reinforce its entry-level nature. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The clock speeds are a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz, which are modest figures. More critically, the memory is listed as "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's DDR5 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is "System Dependent," which introduces a significant variable into performance, as the shared memory architecture can throttle under heavy load. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, both of which are low for modern gaming demands.

The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm this is not a high-performance part. It is designed for basic tasks, not for running Dave The Diver at high settings. The data shows that even at 1080p, the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS on Ultra settings, achieving only 65 FPS. At 1440p, the situation worsens, with High settings producing 55 FPS and Ultra dropping to 49 FPS. These numbers indicate that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the game's rendering requirements at higher resolutions. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support is present, but the hardware lacks the raw compute power to leverage it effectively.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a stark contrast to the GPU, representing a high-end desktop processor. It is part of the 9000 series based on Zen 5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The 65 W TDP is efficient, and it supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The CPU's cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 17528.5 in multicore and 2183.5 in singlecore. Geekbench scores are 14438 in multicore and 2923 in singlecore. The PassMark multithread score is 30027, and the single-thread score is 4570. These numbers place the CPU in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE with a score of 29656 (a 0.2% difference) and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H with a score of 29868 (a 0.5% difference), showing that the 9600X is competitive with higher-core-count parts in synthetic tests.

However, in Dave The Diver, the CPU's potential is largely untapped. The frame rates are consistently low, and there is no scenario where the CPU appears to be the limiting factor. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7585 and max-thread score of 7590 suggest that the CPU can handle multi-threaded workloads, but the game's performance is dictated by the GPU. The CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 342, does not translate into higher frame rates because the GPU is saturated. In this pairing, the Ryzen 5 9600X is essentially waiting on the Arc B370, and any CPU headroom is irrelevant to the final FPS output.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 9600X and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2642nd out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's severe limitations. The high-performing CPU does little to boost the ranking, as the game's performance is overwhelmingly GPU-bound. This is a clear case where a strong processor is hamstrung by a weak graphics solution.

The ranking data is consistent with the measured FPS. A combo that cannot exceed 98 FPS at 1080p Low is going to be near the bottom of the list. The 4K results, which max out at 49 FPS on Low settings, drag the overall standing down. The CPU's percentile rank of 81 is irrelevant when the GPU's percentile rank is 5. The system's overall effectiveness is determined by the weakest link, and in this case, the Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck. The deltaPct values for the GPU's rivals, such as the 0.2% difference with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, confirm that this iGPU is performing at a level comparable to hardware from over a decade ago.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings for this combo are at 1080p with Low or Medium presets. The Low preset yields 98 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches a high-refresh experience. The Medium preset produces 82 FPS, which is still smooth and offers better visual quality. The High preset at 73 FPS is also acceptable for most players, but the jump to Ultra drops the frame rate to 65 FPS, which is below the 72 FPS threshold that some consider ideal for fast-paced action.

At 1440p, the choices become more constrained. The Low preset achieves 74 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to 62 FPS, which is borderline. High settings at 55 FPS and Ultra at 49 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. The data suggests that 1440p is the upper limit for this combo, and only with Low settings can a consistent 60+ FPS be maintained. At 4K, no settings preset is viable. The best result is 49 FPS on Low, which is below the 50 FPS threshold for acceptable gameplay, and the Ultra preset at 33 FPS is not a playable option.

For the best experience per the measured rows, 1080p Medium is the sweet spot. It offers 82 FPS, which is a 16% improvement over High and a 26% improvement over Ultra, while still providing a visual upgrade over Low. The min FPS at 1080p Medium is 70, which ensures that frame drops are not too severe. The max FPS of 94 shows there is headroom in less demanding scenes. This preset balances visual fidelity with performance, making it the recommended choice for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 98 FPS on Low settings, 82 FPS on Medium, 73 FPS on High, and 65 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min FPS of 70 and a max FPS of 94, indicating some variance but generally stable performance. The spread from Low to Ultra is 33 FPS, showing that the GPU's performance is sensitive to settings changes. The 1080p results are the only ones where the combo can achieve a 60+ FPS average on all presets, with Ultra being the only one that dips below 70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings produce 74 FPS, Medium produces 62 FPS with a min of 52 and max of 71, High produces 55 FPS, and Ultra produces 49 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 25 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more constrained by pixel count than by settings. The Medium preset's min FPS of 52 is close to the 50 FPS threshold, indicating that frame drops can be noticeable. The 1440p results show that this resolution is only viable for Low and Medium settings, and even then, the performance is marginal.

At 3840x2160, the results are poor across the board. Low settings achieve 49 FPS, Medium achieves 41 FPS with a min of 35 and max of 47, High achieves 37 FPS, and Ultra achieves 33 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 35 is a significant drop from the average, indicating severe frame pacing issues. The difference between Low and Ultra is 16 FPS, which is the smallest spread across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is reaching its absolute limits. The 4K results are not suitable for gameplay, as even the best case of 49 FPS on Low is below the standard for smooth performance. The data clearly shows that this combo is intended for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a stretch and 4K being an unrealistic target.