Dave The Diver

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance in Dave The Diver, with the data showing a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions to a CPU-limited state at 1080p. The measured frame rates across twelve preset combinations provide a clear picture of how this hardware scales, revealing a consistent pattern where the RTX 4090's immense rendering power is progressively constrained by the processor as resolution drops.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 4K to 1080p demonstrates classic scaling behavior, though with an unusual amplitude that highlights the CPU as the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo produces 168.6 FPS average. Dropping to 2560x1440 at the same preset yields 252.8 FPS, a substantial 84.2 FPS increase. Further reducing resolution to 1920x1080 brings the average to 337.8 FPS. The scaling pattern is linear across these three steps, suggesting the GPU remains the primary constraint at High settings even at 1080p.

However, the Low preset reveals the CPU bottleneck more clearly. At 4K Low, the system achieves 228.4 FPS. At 1440p Low, this jumps to 341.6 FPS. Yet at 1080p Low, the average reaches 447 FPS. The delta between 1440p and 1080p is 105.4 FPS, which is proportionally larger than the scaling seen at High settings. This indicates that as the GPU load diminishes, the Ryzen 9 7900X's 12 cores and 24 threads begin to cap performance. The 447 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is approaching its practical limit for this game's single-threaded rendering path, despite its 5.60 GHz boost clock.

The Medium and Ultra presets follow the expected hierarchy. Medium at 4K delivers 192.2 FPS, at 1440p 285.7 FPS, and at 1080p 379.6 FPS. Ultra at 4K produces 152.7 FPS, at 1440p 226.3 FPS, and at 1080p 297.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 149.4 FPS, which is larger than the 75.7 FPS gap observed at 4K. This widening spread at lower resolutions further confirms that the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient to handle Dave The Diver's graphical demands, shifting the performance ceiling to the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 29th out of 1,626 tested combos for Dave The Diver. This places it in the top 1.8% of all configurations, a position that reflects the raw capability of both components. The RTX 4090's percentileVsAllGpus score of 91 and the Ryzen 9 7900X's percentileVsAllCpus score of 93 both contribute to this high rank, though the data shows the CPU is the more likely limiting factor given the resolution scaling pattern.

The ranking position is notable because it sits below the absolute peak configurations that would pair the 7900X with higher-clocked or more gaming-optimized processors. The Ryzen 9 7900X's nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with an average score of 50,598 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT at 50,738 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-13850HX at 50,827 (0.5% higher), and the Intel Core i9-13980HX at 50,944 (0.8% higher). These small deltas indicate that the 7900X is effectively at parity with its immediate competitors, meaning the 29th rank is driven more by the RTX 4090's dominance than by any CPU advantage.

The combo's rank of 29 suggests that while this configuration is exceptionally fast, there are 28 other tested combinations that deliver higher average FPS in this game. Given the resolution scaling data, those higher-ranked combos likely feature CPUs with stronger single-threaded performance, as the 1080p results show the 7900X beginning to constrain the RTX 4090's output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align with the measured results. The GPU features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units, operating at a base clock of 2235 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz. This Ada Lovelace architecture chip, built on a 5 nm process with 76,300 million transistors, delivers 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than adequate for Dave The Diver's art style and scene complexity.

The measured FPS at 4K Ultra of 152.7 FPS demonstrates the GPU's capability to handle the game's maximum settings at 4K resolution without dropping below 144 FPS territory. The transition from Ultra to High at 4K yields a 15.9 FPS improvement (168.6 vs 152.7), while the jump from High to Medium adds another 23.6 FPS (192.2 vs 168.6). These incremental gains show that the RTX 4090 is not struggling with the game's visual features but rather that each preset level has a predictable cost.

The GPU's passmark_g3d score of 38,194 and passmark_gpu_compute score of 26,613 reflect its raw compute capability, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 indicates strong DirectX 12 performance. The nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (0.4% lower average score), NVIDIA Tesla P40 (0.5% higher), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (0.9% lower), and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (1.3% lower). The RTX 4090's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs places it firmly at the top tier, and the Dave The Diver results confirm that the GPU is never the bottleneck in this combination until the CPU limit is reached at 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: The maximum measured average is 447 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM get fully utilized in this game?

A: The data does not provide VRAM utilization metrics, but the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 24 GB capacity ensure no memory-related performance degradation is observed across any resolution or preset.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 297.6 at 1920x1080 to 152.7 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 144.9 FPS or roughly half the frame rate.

Q: Is this combo ranked in the top 30 configurations for this game?

A: Yes, the combo ranks 29th out of 1,626 tested combinations, placing it in the 98th percentile of all configurations.

Q: Which component limits performance at 1080p Low settings?

A: The CPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 105.4 FPS difference between 1440p Low (341.6 FPS) and 1080p Low (447 FPS), which is a smaller relative gain than expected from the resolution change alone.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 341.6 FPS while Ultra averages 226.3 FPS, representing a 115.3 FPS gap between the two extreme presets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X contributes significantly to the combo's performance, particularly in maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions. This 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 7000 series operates at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide the memory subsystem necessary to feed the RTX 4090's appetite for data.

The CPU's benchmark scores reveal its strengths: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43,695 and single-core score of 6,168, along with a Geekbench multicore score of 17,830 and single-core score of 2,952. These results indicate strong multi-threaded performance that benefits the game's background simulation elements, while the single-core scores support the primary rendering thread. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,137 and 4-thread score of 4,151 show that the CPU's light-thread performance is robust, though the 16-thread score of 10,972 suggests diminishing returns beyond 8 threads for this workload.

The CPU's limiting effect at 1080p Low is evident in the scaling data. The Ryzen 9 7900X's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within 0.8% of its 50,556 average, indicating that no nearby competitor would meaningfully change the combo's rank. The 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that this processor is not a weak link, but the 447 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low suggests that even this high-clocked chip cannot fully saturate the RTX 4090's potential in Dave The Diver's least demanding settings.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 4K resolution, the data shows that Ultra settings at 3840x2160 deliver 152.7 FPS, which remains above the 144 FPS threshold commonly associated with high refresh rate displays. High settings at 4K provide 168.6 FPS, a 15.9 FPS improvement over Ultra, while Medium reaches 192.2 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 23.6 FPS, suggesting that Medium offers the best balance if frame rate maximization is the priority, though all presets remain highly playable.

At 1440p, all presets exceed 226 FPS, with Low reaching 341.6 FPS and High at 252.8 FPS. The 59.3 FPS gap between Medium (285.7) and High (252.8) at this resolution indicates that Medium provides a substantial performance buffer while maintaining visual quality. For 1080p users, the RTX 4090 produces over 297 FPS at Ultra, rising to 447 FPS at Low. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the most demanding setting that still maintains a 297.6 FPS average, making it the clear choice for players with high refresh rate monitors who want the full visual experience without sacrificing performance.

Given the game's Adventure genre and the measured frame rates, the data suggests that High settings at 1440p or 4K represent the optimal experience for most users. The 252.8 FPS at 1440p High and 168.6 FPS at 4K High both provide headroom above typical display refresh rates while preserving the game's visual fidelity. Ultra settings are viable but offer diminishing returns relative to the FPS cost, particularly at 4K where the 15.9 FPS difference between High and Ultra is the smallest across all resolutions.