Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, an adventure title with a top-down ocean exploration and sushi restaurant management loop, presents a unique workload that is neither purely GPU-bound nor entirely CPU-limited. The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable experience across the board, but the benchmark data reveals a nuanced scaling pattern that suggests the system's performance ceiling shifts depending on the resolution and preset. The measured FPS numbers indicate that while the Arc B570 carries the bulk of the rendering load, the quad-core processor must keep up with the game's simulation and AI routines, creating a dynamic where optimization requires balancing both components.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p and finally 4K shows a clear, predictable degradation in average frame rates, but the percentage drop is not uniform across all quality presets. At 1080p High, the system achieves 124 FPS, which drops to 94 FPS at 1440p High, a reduction of 24.2%. Pushing further to 4K High yields 63 FPS, which is 49.2% lower than the 1080p result and 33.0% lower than the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, but the relatively high frame rates at 1080p suggest that the processor is not yet a bottleneck at this resolution.

Examining the Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the system hits 167 FPS, but this drops to 125 FPS at 1440p Low, a 25.1% decline. The 4K Low result of 84 FPS represents a 49.7% drop from 1080p, which is very similar to the High preset's scaling. This consistency across presets implies that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel throughput, not graphical complexity. The Medium preset follows this trend with 139 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p (a 24.5% drop), and 70 FPS at 4K (a 49.6% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic absolute loss, going from 110 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p (a 24.5% drop) and then to 55 FPS at 4K (a 50.0% drop from 1080p).

The data suggests that Dave The Diver scales almost linearly with pixel count, as the percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p hover around 24-25%, and the drops from 1080p to 4K are consistently near 50%. This near-linear scaling indicates that the game's rendering pipeline is heavily pixel-bound, with the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth being the limiting factors. The fact that the Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are being taxed at 4K is evident from the sharp decline to 55 FPS at Ultra, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold often considered the baseline for smooth gameplay.

The implication is that the limiting component at higher resolutions is unequivocally the GPU. The i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to feed the Arc B570 at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 110 FPS even at Ultra settings, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's workload increases disproportionately. Users targeting 4K will need to accept lower presets or frame rates in the 55-84 FPS range, while 1440p offers a more comfortable margin with all presets exceeding 83 FPS. The scaling data strongly suggests that the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory is not a limiting factor at these resolutions, as the consistent scaling pattern points to compute and pixel throughput rather than memory capacity constraints.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC, is the dominant contributor to this game's performance. With a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, the GPU operates at a consistent frequency, which helps maintain predictable frame pacing. The 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units provide the raw compute power needed for the game's water effects and dynamic lighting, while the 80 render output units (ROPs) handle the pixel finalization that drives the resolution scaling observed above. The 18 ray tracing cores are present, but Dave The Diver's stylized art style likely does not heavily utilize ray tracing, meaning these cores may remain idle in most scenes.

The memory subsystem is a key strength for this GPU. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the textures and geometry in this adventure title. The memory clock of 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, allows the GPU to stream data efficiently, and the benchmark results show that even at 4K Ultra, the system does not stutter due to memory starvation. The FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS gives a theoretical ceiling for shader work, and the measured results indicate that the GPU is being utilized effectively across all presets, with the 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS representing a near-maximum load.

Comparing the Arc B570 to its nearest rivals, the benchmark data shows it sits at 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534, a delta of 0.1%, meaning the Arc B570 is essentially tied with that mobile part. The Intel Arc A750, a previous generation card, scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher, suggesting the B570 is a modest improvement over its predecessor in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X and NVIDIA Quadro M4000M are significantly behind at 20662 and 20480 respectively, with deltas of -0.5% and 0.4%, putting them in a similar performance tier despite their older architectures.

In Dave The Diver specifically, the GPU's role is to maintain high frame rates across resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as even Ultra settings yield 110 FPS. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, with the Ultra preset dropping to 55 FPS, indicating that the pixel workload is overwhelming the 80 ROPs. The 10 GB memory capacity is sufficient for this game, as there is no evidence of texture thrashing or stuttering at any resolution, even at 4K Ultra. The consistent scaling pattern suggests that the GPU's compute units are being fully utilized at higher resolutions, and the 2500 MHz clock ensures that performance scales predictably with load.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1080p is 167, achieved with the Low preset. The Ultra preset yields 110 FPS, Medium yields 139 FPS, and High yields 124 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the Arc B570 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as 1080p frame rates exceed 110 FPS across all presets. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads providing sufficient throughput to keep the GPU fed.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to the RTX 3070 Mobile in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534. This represents a delta of 0.1%, meaning the two GPUs are statistically tied in performance.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 139 at 1080p to 105 at 1440p, and then to 70 at 4K. This is a 49.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

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

A: No, the 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The 4K Medium preset achieves 70 FPS, which exceeds the target.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of the combined setup among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2282 out of 2867 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 20.4% of all configurations for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates, with all presets exceeding 110 FPS. The Low preset leads with 167 FPS, followed by Medium at 139 FPS, High at 124 FPS, and Ultra at 110 FPS. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 118 FPS and maximum of 160 FPS, indicating a tight frame time distribution with rare dips. The other presets do not have min/max data, but the averages suggest that the system is well above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p gaming exceptionally smooth.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. The Low preset achieves 125 FPS, Medium drops to 105 FPS (with min 89 and max 121), High yields 94 FPS, and Ultra produces 83 FPS. All presets remain above 80 FPS, which is still a very playable experience, but the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 42 FPS at this resolution. The min FPS of 89 at Medium indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system does not drop below a smooth threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. The Low preset achieves 84 FPS, Medium drops to 70 FPS (with min 60 and max 81), High yields 63 FPS, and Ultra produces 55 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 60 FPS is exactly at the playability threshold, suggesting that occasional dips could be noticeable. The Ultra preset's 55 FPS average indicates that 4K gaming requires reduced settings for a consistently smooth experience. The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is excellent, 1440p is very good, and 4K is playable only at Low or Medium settings without compromising frame rate stability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2282 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the 79.6th percentile of all configurations. This means that roughly 20% of tested systems perform worse than this setup, while 80% perform better. The ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components. The CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 13494, while the GPU is at the 65th percentile with an average score of 20556. The combo ranking being lower than either component's individual percentile suggests that Dave The Diver may be particularly sensitive to one of these components, or that the combination of a quad-core CPU with a mid-range GPU does not scale optimally in this title.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, has an average score of 13492, a delta of 0%, meaning the i3-12100F is statistically identical to that processor in synthetic tests. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, which is 0.3% lower, while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, a 0.7% higher score. This tight grouping indicates that the i3-12100F is at the top of its performance class, but the 4-core/8-thread configuration may limit its ability to feed the GPU in games that utilize more than 8 threads. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3070 Mobile, is essentially tied, but the Arc B570's 10 GB of memory gives it an edge in texture-heavy scenarios, even if the synthetic scores are identical.

In the context of Dave The Diver, the combo's rank suggests that while it is not a top-tier system, it is capable of delivering playable frame rates at most settings. The 2282 rank out of 2867 indicates that many users with more powerful CPUs and GPUs will achieve higher frame rates, but the measured data shows that this combo still exceeds 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p for all presets, and at 4K for Low and Medium. The ranking should be interpreted as a reflection of relative performance, not an absolute measure of playability, as the system clearly meets the needs of most gamers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 110 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 124 FPS offers a slight performance boost with minimal visual degradation, but the Ultra preset's 110 FPS is already smooth enough that the extra visual quality is worth the small frame rate cost.

At 1440p, the High preset at 94 FPS provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS is also playable, but the 11 FPS difference may not justify the graphical improvements for all users. The Medium preset at 105 FPS is a good option for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, as it offers a 11.7% improvement over High while still looking decent. The Low preset at 125 FPS is only recommended for competitive play or if the user prefers maximum smoothness, as the visual sacrifices are significant.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 70 FPS is the recommended choice, as it is the highest preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 84 FPS offers a 20% performance boost but with noticeably reduced visual quality. The High preset at 63 FPS is borderline, with the average just above 60 FPS, but the min FPS data for Medium suggests that dips below 60 are possible at this preset. The Ultra preset at 55 FPS should be avoided unless the user can tolerate sub-60 FPS gameplay. The data indicates that the Medium preset at 4K is the sweet spot for this combo, providing a stable experience without excessive compromise.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, operates at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process, provides a solid foundation for gaming, but its limited core count is evident in the benchmark data. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and single-core score of 1674 place it firmly in the entry-level segment for modern processors. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help mitigate the core count limitation, but the 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its mid-tier status.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, AI routines, and the physics of the ocean environment. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to 167 FPS at Low settings, indicating that it is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, the 3dmark scores reveal that the CPU's multithreaded performance (4051 with 16 threads) is significantly higher than its single-thread score (893), suggesting that the game can utilize multiple threads effectively. The Passmark physics score of 985 and integer math score of 40978 indicate that the CPU can handle the game's computational demands without issue.

The nearest rivals to this CPU include the Intel Core 3 N355, which scores 13492 (a 0% delta), and the Intel Core i5-9500, which scores 13452 (a 0.3% delta). These processors offer similar average benchmark scores, but the i3-12100F's boost clock of 4.30 GHz gives it an advantage in single-threaded tasks, as evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 893. The CPU's 58 W TDP and 163 mm² die size suggest it is efficient, and the lack of integrated graphics means the Arc B570 handles all display output. The data indicates that the CPU is sufficient for this game, but its 4-core configuration may limit performance in scenes with many simultaneous entities, as the min FPS of 60 at 4K Medium suggests occasional dips when the CPU is under load.