Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is an adventure title that proves unexpectedly demanding on high-refresh displays, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a fascinating spread of results across resolutions. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of 4K playability, yet the scaling patterns reveal a delicate balance between the CPU's strong Zen 4 architecture and the GPU's aging Turing silicon.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data paints a clear picture of how this combo scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces a robust 133 FPS average, which climbs to 178 FPS on Low settings. This suggests the CPU is doing heavy lifting at lower resolutions, keeping frame rates well above the 144Hz threshold for competitive play. Moving to 1440p, the High preset still delivers a very smooth 100 FPS average, while Low pushes to 134 FPS—numbers that indicate the GPU is starting to take on more responsibility but hasn't yet become the primary constraint.

The jump to 4K tells a different story. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 67, a substantial 50% reduction from the 1080p result. The Medium preset at 4K yields 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 and maximum of 86, showing some frame-time variance but remaining playable. Ultra at 4K falls to 59 FPS average, just below the 60 FPS target that many consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K manages 90 FPS, which is impressive for a GPU in this class.

The scaling pattern reveals that this game becomes GPU-bound very quickly as resolution increases. The 1080p to 1440p transition shows only a 25% drop in performance on High settings (133 to 100 FPS), but the 1440p to 4K transition is far more punishing, with another 33% reduction (100 to 67 FPS). This non-linear drop suggests that the RTX 2060's memory bandwidth and fill rate are the limiting factors at 4K, rather than any CPU bottleneck. The fact that Low settings at 4K still achieve 90 FPS indicates that even at this resolution, the underlying engine is well-optimized, but the GPU simply cannot sustain high-fidelity rendering at 4K without significant compromises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest configuration by modern standards, and the data suggests it becomes a bottleneck in Dave The Diver at higher resolutions. The GPU's 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs are clocked at a base of 1365 MHz with a boost of 1680 MHz, producing 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this title, which does not appear to rely heavily on ray tracing based on the performance numbers.

The GPU's percentile rank of 58 versus all GPUs places it in the lower-middle tier, and its benchmark scores reflect this positioning. The PassMark G3D score of 14111 is respectable, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 shows moderate DirectX 12 capability. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, delta 0%), AMD Radeon 680M (15270, delta 0.1%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, delta 0.6%). These tight deltas of less than 1% show that the RTX 2060 is performance-adjacent to a surprisingly broad range of hardware, from a decade-old flagship to modern integrated graphics.

In Dave The Diver specifically, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K. The difference between Low and High settings at 3840x2160 is 23 FPS (90 vs 67), which is substantial and indicates that texture quality and shader complexity are taxing the 6 GB frame buffer. The Medium preset's minimum of 64 FPS at 4K suggests that even with moderate settings, there are moments where the GPU struggles to maintain fluidity. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 336 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K data clearly shows the GPU hitting its limits.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture built on TSMC's 5 nm process. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz, it delivers strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1049 and Cinebench R23 single-core result of 1930. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for gaming workloads.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows it excels in multithreaded tasks, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and Geekbench multicore result of 15371. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 8484 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 8479, indicating excellent scaling across all cores. The Ryzen 7 7700's percentile rank of 87 versus all CPUs places it in the top 13% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 40081 puts it in close competition with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048, delta 0.1%), Intel Core 5 221E (40144, delta -0.2%), and AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40246, delta -0.4%).

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p where frame rates exceed 130 FPS on High settings. At this resolution, the Ryzen 7 7700's strong single-thread performance ensures that game logic, physics, and AI computations are not bottlenecks. The 5.30 GHz boost clock is particularly valuable for this title, which appears to favor fast single-core response. The 65W TDP and 8-core configuration provide enough headroom for background tasks without compromising gaming performance.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing for Dave The Diver. Even at 4K with Ultra settings, where the GPU is clearly struggling to maintain 60 FPS, the CPU's performance is more than sufficient. The 16 threads ensure that any multithreaded rendering tasks or asset streaming are handled efficiently, allowing the GPU to be the primary determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, but only with specific settings. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 averages 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 FPS, while High averages 67 FPS. Ultra falls to 59 FPS average, just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1080p, the combo achieves 149 FPS on Medium and 133 FPS on High, making it suitable for 144Hz displays. At 1440p, High settings still deliver 100 FPS, which is excellent for 100Hz+ monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283, delta 0%), Radeon 680M (15270, delta 0.1%), and RTX 3050 OEM (15199, delta 0.6%). All are within 0.8% of each other.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060?

A: No. The CPU's strong performance, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and single-core score of 1930, ensures it is not the limiting factor. The GPU becomes the constraint at 4K, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops at that resolution.

Q: What settings provide the most consistent frame times at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 112 FPS average with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 129 FPS. This provides the tightest frame-time variance among 1440p options.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2922 out of 3710 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 21% of all systems tested in Dave The Diver.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2922 out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places the system in the 21st percentile of all configurations, which is a surprisingly low ranking given the strong CPU performance and decent FPS numbers. The ranking reflects that many other tested combos feature more powerful GPUs, even if their CPUs are weaker, because this game becomes GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The rank suggests that while this combo is perfectly playable, it is not competitive with higher-end systems. The Ryzen 7 7700's top-tier CPU performance (87th percentile) is somewhat wasted in this pairing for this particular game, as the RTX 2060's mid-range GPU (58th percentile) holds the system back. However, the ranking also indicates that the combo is far from the bottom, outperforming roughly 788 other tested configurations.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores—the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, Intel Core 5 221E, AMD Ryzen 9 270, and Intel Core i9-13905H—all have similar average scores within 0.6% of the Ryzen 7 7700. This suggests that swapping the CPU for any of these would not meaningfully change the combo's ranking in Dave The Diver, as the GPU remains the dominant factor. The combo's rank of 2922 is a reflection of the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions rather than any CPU deficiency.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 133 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, easily exceeding 60 FPS and approaching 144Hz territory. The Ultra preset at 117 FPS is also viable if visual fidelity is paramount, with only a 12% performance penalty over High. The Medium preset at 149 FPS is the best choice for competitive play on high refresh rate monitors, providing the headroom needed to maintain smooth frame times during intense sequences.

At 1440p, the High preset at 100 FPS is the clear recommendation for most users, offering a solid 60+ FPS experience with excellent visual quality. The Medium preset at 112 FPS with a 95 FPS minimum is the safer choice for those who prioritize frame-time consistency, as the 17 FPS spread between minimum and maximum is manageable. Ultra at 88 FPS is acceptable for those who want maximum visuals, but the 12 FPS drop from High may not justify the marginal visual improvements.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 75 FPS is the only sensible choice for a smooth experience, with a 64 FPS minimum that ensures gameplay remains fluid. The High preset at 67 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Ultra at 59 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended, while Low at 90 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for the performance gain. The data clearly indicates that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, providing the best balance of fidelity and playability without compromising the experience.