Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress test for high-end hardware, but the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination reveals a clear performance hierarchy that scales predictably with resolution. The game, a 2D adventure title with a release date of 2023-06-27, is far more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, yet the measured FPS shows that even a modest 8 GB graphics card can deliver excellent frame rates at all common resolutions. The data shows a total of 12 measured configurations, spanning three resolutions and four quality presets, with the average frame rates ranging from a low of 68 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 206 FPS at 1080p Low.

Resolution Scaling

The relationship between resolution and frame rate is the most defining characteristic of this benchmark set. Starting at 1920x1080, the system produces exceptionally high frame rates across all settings. At the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 136, while dropping to Low yields an average of 206 FPS. This 70 FPS gap between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p illustrates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at this resolution.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very playable but show a noticeable decline. The Ultra preset averages 102 FPS, which is a 34 FPS drop from the 1080p Ultra result. Similarly, the Low preset at 1440p averages 155 FPS, compared to 206 FPS at 1080p. This reduction of approximately 25% at the Low preset and 25% at the Ultra preset indicates that the GPU is scaling with the increased pixel count, but the RTX 5050 has enough bandwidth and compute power to maintain high performance.

The jump to 3840x2160 is where the RTX 5050 begins to show its limits. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 68, which is exactly half of the 1080p Ultra score. The High preset at 4K averages 77 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 87 FPS. Interestingly, the Low preset at 4K still manages an average of 104 FPS. This suggests that while the GPU is heavily taxed at this resolution, it is not completely overwhelmed, and reducing settings can recover significant performance. The drop from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset is from 206 FPS to 104 FPS, a 50% reduction, which is a typical scaling factor for a GPU with an 8 GB memory buffer and a 128-bit memory bus.

The data implies that the limiting component at 1080p is the GPU, but not in a way that causes a bottleneck for the CPU. The Ryzen 7 7700, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than sufficient to keep up with the RTX 5050's output at lower resolutions. However, at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops to levels that are still playable but far from the high refresh rate territory seen at 1080p. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with the Ultra preset dropping from 102 FPS to 68 FPS, a 33% reduction, which points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput being the primary constraints.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance, the benchmark data provides clear guidance. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, offering an average of 136 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the visual improvements from High to Ultra are likely worth the 18 FPS cost (154 to 136). The Medium preset at 1080p averages 172 FPS, but the jump to High only costs 18 FPS (from 172 to 154), making High a better choice for those who want a bit more visual quality without sacrificing much speed.

At 2560x1440, the High preset stands out as the sweet spot. It averages 116 FPS, which is only 13 FPS less than the Medium preset's 129 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 102 FPS, which is still excellent, but the difference between Ultra and High is 14 FPS, and the visual gains may be less noticeable on a 1440p panel. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 155 FPS is an option, but the visual downgrade is substantial. The Medium preset at 1440p, with a minimum FPS of 110 and a maximum of 149, provides a stable experience, but High is the recommended preset for its combination of quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the settings recommendations shift toward prioritizing frame rate stability. The Ultra preset averages 68 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS playability threshold, but it leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 77 FPS offers a more comfortable margin, and the Medium preset at 87 FPS is the best balance for 4K gaming. The Low preset at 104 FPS is the only configuration that consistently exceeds 100 FPS at 4K, but the visual compromise is significant. For a game like Dave The Diver, which has a stylized 2D art style, the Medium preset at 4K is recommended, as it provides a 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without excessive visual degradation.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a desktop processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with the Raphael codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The processor has a TDP of 65 W and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. In the context of Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and AI, which are not particularly demanding for this genre.

The benchmark data for the CPU shows strong multithreaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and a single-core score of 1930. The Geekbench multicore score is 15371, and the single-core score is 2525. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 8484, while the single-thread score is 1049. These numbers indicate a processor that excels in both single-threaded and multithreaded workloads, but for Dave The Diver, the single-thread performance is more relevant, as the game is unlikely to utilize all 16 threads effectively.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 206 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it achieves 136 FPS. These high frame rates are a signal of the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with enough data. The Ryzen 7 7700's boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled quickly, and the 32 MB of shared L3 cache reduces latency for frequently accessed data. The CPU's percentile ranking of 87 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081, places it in the upper tier of processors, but its nearest rivals are closely matched, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scoring 40048 (0.1% delta) and the Intel Core 5 221E scoring 40144 (-0.2% delta).

The CPU's performance in this game is best understood by looking at the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates across all resolutions at a given setting. Instead, the data shows a clear drop in FPS as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 7 7700's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Dave The Diver, and the processor's performance is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting in the measured data.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest average FPS in the measured data is 206, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset averages 68 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, but it only has 8 FPS of headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, has an average score of 21153, which is 0.6% higher.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has a minimum FPS of 110 and a maximum of 149, with an average of 129.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Ryzen 7 7700 have?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 5050?

A: The RTX 5050 has a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a discrete graphics card from the GeForce 50-series, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip. It has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The card features 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s, and it connects via a PCIe 5.0 x8 interface.

In Dave The Diver, the GPU is the primary driver of performance, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with resolution. The card's 8 GB memory buffer is sufficient for this game, as it is not a memory-intensive title, but the 128-bit bus width limits the memory bandwidth, which becomes a factor at 4K. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are adequate for the game's 2D art style, but the FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS is the main compute resource.

The benchmark data for the GPU shows a Passmark G3D score of 17326 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 90334, and the Vulkan score is 89381. These scores place the RTX 5050 in the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with a score of 21153 (0.6% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with a score of 20713 (1.6% lower). The RTX 5050 is a mid-range card, and its performance in Dave The Diver reflects this, with strong 1080p performance and playable 4K performance at medium settings.

The GPU's role in this game is to render the 2D sprites, lighting effects, and water animations. The card's 8 GB memory is more than enough for the game's textures, and the 20 RT cores are likely underutilized, as the game does not heavily rely on ray tracing. The RTX 5050's boost clock of 2572 MHz ensures that it can maintain high frame rates, but at 4K, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become limiting factors. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K, but it is still capable of delivering a smooth experience at Medium settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 206 FPS, the Medium preset averages 172 FPS with a minimum of 146 and a maximum of 198, the High preset averages 154 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 136 FPS. This represents a 70 FPS spread from Low to Ultra, with each step up in settings costing roughly 20-30 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 155 FPS, the Medium preset averages 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 and a maximum of 149, the High preset averages 116 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor. The Medium preset's minimum of 110 FPS ensures that there are no major frame rate dips, making it a stable choice for 1440p gaming.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 104 FPS, the Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100, the High preset averages 77 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 36 FPS, which is the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at 4K. The Medium preset's minimum of 74 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but the Ultra preset's 68 FPS average leaves little room for error in demanding scenes.

The combo rank for this CPU and GPU combination in Dave The Diver is 1725 out of 2867, placing it in the 60th percentile of all tested combinations. This ranking reflects the RTX 5050's mid-range status, but the actual frame rates are more than adequate for the game's genre. The data shows that the system is capable of delivering a high refresh rate experience at 1080p and 1440p, and a stable 60-90 FPS experience at 4K, with the Medium preset being the recommended choice for 4K gaming.