Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver presents an interesting case for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination. The measured data indicates this system performs robustly across all resolution tiers, but the pattern of performance scaling reveals a system that is primarily limited by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor's strength becomes more apparent at 1080p. With a combo rank of 2242 out of 2867 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet it delivers playable frame rates even at 4K, suggesting that the game's demands are well-matched to this hardware's capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 117 FPS, which drops to 88 FPS at 1440p and further to 59 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24.8% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 33% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that as pixel count increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, which is expected given the RTX 2060's position in the performance hierarchy.

Looking at Low settings, the trend is more pronounced. The system achieves 178 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 32.8%. This consistent scaling across both setting tiers suggests that the RTX 2060 is handling the increased pixel workload predictably, without any sudden performance cliffs or thermal throttling issues.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture with min and max frame rates recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 149 FPS with a range of 127-171 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 112 FPS with a range of 95-129 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 75 FPS with a range of 64-86 FPS. The minimum frame rates scale proportionally with the averages, indicating stable performance without stuttering or frame pacing issues.

What is particularly telling is the relationship between resolution scaling and the CPU's capabilities. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, shows its strength at 1080p where the frame rates exceed 117 FPS at all settings. The fact that the 1080p Ultra score of 117 FPS is only 34% higher than the 4K Ultra score of 59 FPS suggests that even at lower resolutions, the GPU is still contributing significantly to the overall performance envelope.

The data reveals that this system is balanced for 1440p gaming, as the frame rates at this resolution remain above 88 FPS across all settings. At 1080p, the system has headroom that could be exploited with higher refresh rate monitors, while at 4K, the system delivers playable but not excessive performance. The scaling behavior is textbook GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with the CPU providing sufficient overhead to avoid becoming a bottleneck until frame rates approach the 170-180 FPS range.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. This processor features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The 65W TDP classification makes it a power-efficient choice for desktop gaming, while the 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample data storage for game assets.

In the context of Dave The Diver, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, but its capabilities are nonetheless evident. The PassMark single-thread score of 4691 places this processor in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong per-core performance that benefits games with limited thread utilization. The multithread score of 36470 further confirms the processor's overall computational strength, with the nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 average score, a mere 0.2% difference, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70163, which is 0.2% lower.

The 1080p performance data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. At 1080p Low, the system produces 178 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that any CPU bottleneck would likely manifest as inconsistent frame times or reduced scaling between settings. The fact that the Ultra setting at 1080p still produces 117 FPS indicates that the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s with DDR5 dual-channel support provides adequate data throughput for game physics and AI calculations. The L1 cache of 80 KB per core and L2 cache of 1 MB per core are typical for modern desktop processors, and the 32 MB shared L3 cache ensures that frequently accessed data remains close to the cores.

The relative performance of the 9700F compared to its nearest rivals shows a tightly grouped field. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X has an average score of 69515, which is 0.7% lower than the 9700F's 69996 average benchmark score, while the Intel Core i7-14700K at 69355 is 0.9% lower. This indicates that the 9700F is competitive with high-end desktop processors from both AMD and Intel, despite being positioned as a more mainstream offering.

For Dave The Diver specifically, the CPU's performance is more than adequate. The game's adventure genre typically features moderate CPU demands, and the data supports this assessment. At no resolution or setting does the frame rate appear to be constrained by the processor, as the scaling between settings at each resolution is consistent and predictable. The CPU's role is to maintain a stable foundation for the GPU to operate, and the 9700F accomplishes this without issue.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 178 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The 1080p Medium setting produces 149 FPS, while High produces 133 FPS and Ultra produces 117 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, the system achieves 67 FPS at 4K High settings and 59 FPS at 4K Ultra settings. The 4K Medium setting produces 75 FPS with a minimum of 64 FPS, indicating playable performance throughout.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its nearest rival, the Ryzen 9 7940HX?

A: The 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, while the Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, making the 9700F 0.2% faster. This places the two processors in a statistical tie for overall performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low setting produces 134 FPS, while Ultra produces 88 FPS. This represents a 34.3% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: Does the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM limit performance in this game?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM-related performance issues. The frame rates scale consistently across settings and resolutions, with no sudden drops that would suggest memory capacity problems.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2242 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the 78th percentile of all tested systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2242 out of 2867 tested configurations places this system in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the RTX 2060's age and position in the GPU hierarchy, as the processor is actually quite capable. The GPU's percentile of 58 among all GPUs indicates that it is slightly above average, while the CPU's percentile of 94 places it in the top 6% of all processors tested.

This discrepancy between CPU and GPU capabilities creates an interesting dynamic. The system is clearly CPU-overpowered relative to its GPU, which means that in Dave The Diver, the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. However, the strong CPU ensures that at 1080p, where the GPU has less work to do, the system can achieve frame rates above 117 FPS at all settings.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 holds its own. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average score of 15283, which is 0% different from the RTX 2060's 15290 average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1% difference, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, which is 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 at 15171 is 0.8% lower. This tight grouping indicates that the RTX 2060 is performance-equivalent to several newer and older cards in synthetic benchmarks.

The ranking position suggests that in a database filled with more modern hardware, this combo will not top any charts. However, the actual gameplay experience in Dave The Diver is smooth and playable across all tested configurations. The system's ability to maintain above 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings reflects the game's optimization and the hardware's capability to meet those demands.

The 2242nd position out of 2867 means that approximately 78% of tested combos perform better than this one. This is not surprising given the RTX 2060's age, but the actual performance numbers show that this system is more than adequate for Dave The Diver. The ranking likely reflects the GPU's lower average benchmark score relative to newer graphics cards, rather than any specific deficiency in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process by TSMC. This GPU features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The memory configuration includes 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective. The 160W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector make it a relatively straightforward card to install in most systems. The suggested PSU of 450W indicates that this is not a power-hungry component.

In Dave The Diver, the GPU's role is clearly dominant in determining frame rates at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by approximately 25% across all settings, while moving from 1440p to 4K reduces performance by another 33%. This consistent scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the graphics card's rendering throughput is the primary constraint.

The RTX 2060's FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s provide adequate computational power for this game. The pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s means that the GPU can fill 80.64 million pixels per second, which is sufficient for 4K gaming at moderate frame rates. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure that the GPU can take advantage of modern rendering techniques.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and an average benchmark score of 15290. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 provides a modern gaming workload metric, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 65014 and Vulkan score of 65846 show balanced compute performance across APIs.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for Dave The Diver at 4K with High settings, as evidenced by the 67 FPS average. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and data transfer between the CPU and GPU do not become bottlenecks. The fact that the system maintains stable frame rates at 4K Medium with a minimum of 64 FPS suggests that the memory subsystem is handling the workload effectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 178 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium settings average 149 FPS with a range of 127-171 FPS, while High settings average 133 FPS. Ultra settings produce 117 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 134 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS with a range of 95-129 FPS, High averages 100 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The minimum frame rate at Medium settings of 95 FPS ensures that even in demanding scenes, the game remains fluid.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable performance. Low settings average 90 FPS, Medium averages 75 FPS with a range of 64-86 FPS, High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 59 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K produces a frame rate that is just below the 60 FPS target, but the overall experience remains playable.

The complete data set shows a consistent performance hierarchy: Low produces the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The gaps between settings are relatively uniform across resolutions, with the difference between Low and Ultra being approximately 34% at each resolution. This consistency indicates that the game scales well with graphics settings and that the hardware responds predictably to changes in visual quality.

The Medium settings data provides the most insight into frame time consistency, as it is the only setting tier with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p, the range is 127-171 FPS around an average of 149 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 95-129 FPS around an average of 112 FPS. At 4K, the range is 64-86 FPS around an average of 75 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum frame rates is consistent at approximately 30% of the average, indicating stable performance without significant frame time spikes.

The 4K Ultra result of 59 FPS is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and it does so by only 1 FPS. This suggests that with minor settings adjustments, such as reducing a single graphics option, the system could maintain 60 FPS at 4K. The 4K High setting achieves 67 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the threshold while maintaining high visual quality.