Dave The Diver

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a playable, if not spectacular, experience in Dave The Diver. The data shows a combination that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, with frame rates that scale predictably with resolution and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the component roles, and provides clear guidance on how to get the most out of this specific hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS across all settings. At 2560x1440, frame rates drop below 60 FPS on High and Ultra presets, while 3840x2160 never reaches 60 FPS on any setting.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset averages 72 FPS, which is 9 FPS lower than the High preset’s 81 FPS average. The data shows that High offers a better balance, as the jump to Ultra provides no measured benefit in minimum or maximum frame rates that would justify the performance cost.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Intel Arc B390’s benchmark percentile (9th) is drastically lower than the CPU’s (85th), and the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound pattern, with performance dropping by roughly half as resolution increases.

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

A: Technically yes, but not comfortably. The best result at 3840x2160 is 55 FPS on Low settings, and the Ultra preset only manages 36 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is only viable on Low, and even then, it barely hits a playable frame rate.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 rank against other GPUs?

A: The GPU sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% slower), placing it in the entry-level performance tier.

Q: What is the most consistent settings preset across all resolutions?

A: The Medium preset provides the most stable experience. It is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a 39-53 FPS range at 4K, a 58-78 FPS range at 1440p, and a 77-104 FPS range at 1080p, indicating fewer frame-time spikes than other presets.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary driver of performance in this pairing, and the data indicates it is a significant limiting factor. This integrated graphics processor, based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The benchmark results show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a low standing, and the nearest rivals in the data are all older, entry-level NVIDIA parts, with the GeForce GT 520MX being 1.3% faster and the GeForce GT 625 OEM being 2.5% slower.

The GPU’s memory configuration is described as "System Shared," with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This is a crucial detail, as it means the GPU is using a portion of the system’s main memory rather than dedicated VRAM, which can impact performance, especially at higher resolutions. With 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, the B390 has a theoretical pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. In the context of Dave The Diver, these specifications translate to a GPU that can handle the game’s 2D pixel-art style but struggles to maintain high frame rates at demanding resolutions. The fact that the 4K Low preset (55 FPS) is only 14 FPS faster than the 4K High preset (41 FPS) suggests that the GPU’s raw throughput is the bottleneck, rather than memory bandwidth or texture fill rate alone.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. For this specific combination of CPU and GPU, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended target. It delivers an average of 81 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth. The Ultra preset only offers 72 FPS on average, and the data does not show any measured minimum or maximum benefits that would make the 9 FPS loss worthwhile.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the most prudent choice. It achieves an average of 68 FPS with a measured range of 58 to 78 FPS, ensuring that frame rates rarely dip below 60. The High preset at this resolution drops to 61 FPS, and while playable, it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 1440p (82 FPS) is an option for maximum smoothness, but the visual quality trade-off is likely too steep for a game like Dave The Diver.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 55 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 46 FPS, and the High preset drops to 41 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as it averages only 36 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 9 FPS, which is a significant difference for a game that may have many on-screen elements. Given the overall low percentile of the GPU, prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity at 4K is the correct approach.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2538 out of 2867 tested combos for Dave The Diver. This places it in the bottom 12% of all pairings in the database, a direct result of the GPU’s weak performance. The CPU is a high-end desktop processor, but the GPU’s 9th percentile standing drags the entire combo down. This pairing is a clear example of a significant bottleneck; the system’s overall capability is defined by its slowest component.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmark data are all processors with very similar average scores. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 is 0.3% faster, the Intel Core 7 250H is 0.5% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is 0.7% faster. This clustering shows that the Ryzen 7 7700X is a solid mid-to-high-tier performer, but its potential is almost entirely wasted in this configuration. The GPU’s nearest rivals, on the other hand, are all at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX is 1.3% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M is 1.5% faster, confirming that the Arc B390 is performing at an entry-level tier. The disparity between the two components is stark, and the resulting combo rank reflects that imbalance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a high-performance desktop processor that is not the limiting factor in this pairing. It features 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong; for example, it scores 19,088 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,987 in single-core. The processor sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is more powerful than the vast majority of its peers. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average benchmark score, showing it is a well-rounded, capable chip.

In the context of Dave The Diver, this CPU has more than enough processing power to handle the game’s logic, AI, and physics. The game’s 2D adventure gameplay does not typically demand high thread counts. The 7700X’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the CPU’s tasks. The measured FPS data shows performance scaling that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 36 FPS (108 vs 72), which is a 33% drop. This is a large margin that is primarily driven by the GPU’s ability to render more complex effects, not the CPU’s ability to calculate game state. The CPU is consistently ready to feed frames to the GPU, but the GPU cannot keep up with the higher-resolution demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the combo performs admirably. The Low preset averages 108 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS, High averages 81 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The Medium preset has a measured range of 77 to 104 FPS, indicating a stable experience. The High and Ultra presets have no recorded minimum or maximum values, but the average scores show a linear progression of performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops become more pronounced. The Low preset averages 82 FPS, which is a 26 FPS drop from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 68 FPS, with a range of 58 to 78 FPS. High and Ultra average 61 FPS and 54 FPS, respectively. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 28 FPS, showing that the GPU’s workload is becoming more demanding. The 1440p Medium preset is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS while also having a recorded minimum above 58 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 55 FPS, which is the only playable option. The Medium preset averages 46 FPS, with a range of 39 to 53 FPS. High and Ultra average 41 FPS and 36 FPS, respectively. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 19 FPS, which is a 35% reduction. This indicates that the GPU’s pixel fill rate and shader throughput are overwhelmed at this resolution, and the system cannot provide a smooth experience on higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K has a severe impact on frame rates, confirming a GPU-bound system. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset, the average FPS drops from 81 to 61, a 24.7% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K on the same preset, the average FPS drops from 61 to 41, a 32.8% decrease. The total drop from 1080p to 4K on High settings is from 81 FPS to 41 FPS, which is a 49.4% reduction in performance.

This scaling is consistent with the GPU being the limiting component. When the CPU is the bottleneck, frame rates typically stay flat across resolutions, as the CPU is already at its limit. Here, the frame rate drops steeply as resolution increases, which means the GPU is working harder to render more pixels. For example, on Low settings, the frame rate drops from 108 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 4K, a 49% reduction. The fact that the percentage drop is similar across all settings presets suggests that the resolution is the primary driver of the performance cost, not the complexity of the graphical effects. This analysis indicates that the Intel Arc B390’s limited processing power is the defining characteristic of this hardware pairing, and users should target 1080p for the best experience.