Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a demanding title by modern standards, but the measured data for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 reveals a configuration that is heavily bound by the GPU at higher resolutions. The frame rates scale predictably with both resolution and preset, but the spread between settings tells a clear story about where this combo’s performance ceiling lies. The RX 580, an end-of-life Polaris part, is the limiting factor in most scenarios, while the quad-core i3-12100F has enough headroom to keep up without becoming a bottleneck at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic drop in average frame rates across all presets, confirming that the Radeon RX 580 is the primary constraint. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 76.5 at 1080p to 59.3 at 1440p, then further down to 38.2 at 4K. That represents a 50% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a steep penalty that points directly at the GPU’s pixel throughput limits. The RX 580’s 32 ROPs and 256-bit memory bus are simply not enough to feed a 4K display with high detail levels.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets, but the percentage drop is slightly steeper at higher quality settings. Moving from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, the average FPS goes from 106.1 to 51.5, a 51% decrease. On Ultra, the drop is from 68.6 to 32.7, a 52% decrease. This near-uniform scaling suggests that the game is purely fill-rate limited at 4K, with no significant CPU involvement in the frame time equation. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combination, as even Medium settings hold above 60 FPS at that resolution.

The frame rate behavior at 1080p reinforces the GPU-bound analysis. At Low settings, the i3-12100F can push the RX 580 to 106.1 FPS, but the GPU’s architecture limits the Ultra preset to 68.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 37.5 FPS, which is a wider margin than the 24.5 FPS spread at 1440p. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU has enough single-thread performance to expose the GPU’s weaknesses, while at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the absolute bottleneck regardless of settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process. It carries 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The core clocks are modest by modern standards, with a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz. These specs place the card in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559. In the nearest rival comparisons, the RX 580 is effectively tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at a 0% delta, and sits just 0.1% ahead of the GTX 950.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting for Dave The Diver, as the game’s art style and asset streaming can benefit from larger frame buffers, though the measured data does not indicate any VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops. The memory clock runs at 2000 MHz, which translates to 8 Gbps effective, and the 256-bit bus provides sufficient bandwidth for 1440p gaming. At 4K, the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a limiting factor, as the pixel fill rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s struggle to keep up with the higher resolution demands.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 support (12_0) is adequate for this title, and the Vulkan 1.3 API support suggests compatibility with modern rendering paths. The FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is respectable for a card from 2017, but it is the memory subsystem and ROP count that dictate the 4K results. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra of 32.7 confirms that this GPU is not designed for high-resolution high-detail gaming, though it remains playable at lower settings. The 185 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector indicate a power draw that is manageable for older systems, but the performance per frame at 4K is clearly suboptimal.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that Medium settings at 1440p offer the best balance of visual quality and performance for this configuration. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average FPS is 64.7, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Dropping to Low at 1440p yields 75.7 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is likely not worth the 11 FPS gain. High at 1440p produces 59.3 FPS, which is marginal for 60 Hz displays, making Medium the sweet spot.

For 1080p users, the recommendation shifts to High or Ultra depending on preference for visual detail. High at 1080p delivers 76.5 FPS, which is smooth and visually pleasing. Ultra at 1080p drops to 68.6 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns on the quality increase. Low at 1080p hits 106.1 FPS, which is excellent for high refresh rate monitors, but the graphical downgrade is substantial. The data suggests that High at 1080p is the best default, as it maintains a high frame rate while preserving the game’s aesthetic.

At 4K, the options are limited. Medium yields 43.5 FPS and Low yields 51.5 FPS, both of which are below the ideal 60 FPS target. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 32.7 FPS average will feel sluggish in a game that benefits from responsive controls. If 4K is a requirement, Low settings are the only viable option, but the experience will be compromised. The data clearly indicates that this GPU is not suited for 4K gaming in Dave The Diver, and users should target 1440p as the maximum resolution for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all presets. Low settings produce the highest average at 106.1 FPS, followed by Medium at 87.4 FPS, High at 76.5 FPS, and Ultra at 68.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37.5 FPS, which is the largest of any resolution, indicating that the CPU has enough headroom to fully utilize the GPU at this resolution. The i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RX 580 at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across the board. Low settings yield 75.7 FPS, Medium drops to 64.7 FPS, High falls to 59.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 53.5 FPS. The 22.2 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is narrower than at 1080p, showing that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor. The 8 GB VRAM is still sufficient, but the compute and fill rate limitations start to show. The data shows that Medium is the only preset that consistently holds above 60 FPS at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 51.5 FPS, Medium averages 43.5 FPS, High averages 38.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 32.7 FPS. The 18.8 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is fully saturated at 4K. None of the presets reach 60 FPS, and even Low settings struggle to maintain playable frame rates during demanding scenes. The data indicates that 4K is not a viable option for this hardware combination in Dave The Diver.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Dave The Diver at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p with High settings the average FPS is 76.5, and at 1440p with Medium settings it reaches 64.7. However, at 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS, with the highest being Low at 51.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the most comfortable resolution, with all presets exceeding 68 FPS. For higher quality, 2560x1440 with Medium settings is viable at 64.7 FPS, but 3840x2160 should be avoided.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 76.5 at 1080p to 38.2 at 4K, which is a 50% reduction. At Low settings, it drops from 106.1 to 51.5, also a 51% reduction.

Q: Is the RX 580 the bottleneck in this system?

A: The frame rate scaling indicates the GPU is the primary limiter, especially at higher resolutions. The RX 580’s 32 ROPs and 256-bit bus limit 4K performance, while the i3-12100F has sufficient single-thread performance to keep up at 1080p.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings for this game?

A: Only at 1080p, where Ultra averages 68.6 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 53.5 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 32.7 FPS, which is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: There is no evidence of VRAM-related problems in the measured data. The 8 GB capacity is sufficient for this game at all tested resolutions, but the memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is a limiting factor at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The CPU is manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process and fits the LGA 1700 socket. With a TDP of 58 W, it is a power-efficient part that does not require elaborate cooling.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i3-12100F scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1681 in single-core, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 13516, putting it nearly on par with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534 with a delta of -0.1%. The i3-12100F is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U and 0.6% ahead of the i3-10105. These scores indicate that the quad-core processor has strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for games like Dave The Diver that rely on a few threads for game logic and physics.

The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p, where the GPU is fully utilized. At Low settings, the system reaches 106.1 FPS, which is close to the RX 580’s practical limit. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz ensures that the CPU can deliver frames quickly enough to feed the GPU. At higher resolutions, the CPU’s role diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 3DMark scores, such as 4023 for max threads and 893 for single-thread, reinforce that the CPU has enough processing power for this game’s demands, but it is not a high-core-count part that would shine in heavily threaded workloads. For Dave The Diver, the i3-12100F is more than adequate, providing a stable platform for the RX 580 without introducing CPU-related frame drops.