Dave The Diver

The pairing of an Intel Core i3-12100F with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in Dave The Diver presents a fascinating case study in bottleneck dynamics. The data reveals a combination that is overwhelmingly powerful for this title, yet the frame time consistency and the sheer headroom available invite a closer look at where the performance ceiling truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo in Dave The Diver shows a surprisingly shallow performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K, which strongly suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 298 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 150 FPS — a 49.7% reduction. This is a much smaller penalty than one would expect from a GPU-bound scenario, where 4K typically halves or more than halves the frame rate. The RTX 4090, with its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth, is clearly capable of far higher output than the Core i3-12100F can feed it at 1080p. The evidence is in the 1080p Low preset: 363 FPS. That number is not constrained by the GPU; it is a direct reflection of the CPU's single-thread and light-threaded throughput. The 4K Low result of 227 FPS reinforces this — even at the most GPU-friendly settings, the frame rate does not climb as high as the 1080p Low figure, indicating that at 4K the GPU begins to take on a more equal role, but the CPU is still a factor. The scaling from 1080p High (328 FPS) to 1440p High (254 FPS) is a 22.6% drop, and then to 4K High (170 FPS) is a further 33.1% drop. This progressive scaling is typical of a system where the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, the load balances at 1440p, and the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K — but only just. The RTX 4090 is so powerful that even at 4K Ultra, it still averages 150 FPS, a signal of the GPU's brute force and the relatively light graphical demands of this adventure title.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3,710 tested CPU and GPU combinations in Dave The Diver, this specific pairing ranks 152nd. That places it in the top 4.1% of all combos tested, which is an exceptional position. The ranking is a direct consequence of the RTX 4090's immense strength. The GPU alone sits in the 88th percentile among all GPUs in the database, meaning it outperforms 88% of all other graphics cards. The CPU, however, is a different story. The Core i3-12100F sits in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13,494. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (score 13,492, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (score 13,452, 0.3% delta). This means the CPU is decidedly mid-range. The combo rank of 152 is therefore proof of the GPU dragging the overall system performance upward. If the CPU were more powerful, the rank would likely be much higher, possibly inside the top 50. The data implies that for this specific game, the RTX 4090 is operating well below its potential, held back by a processor that is simply not fast enough to keep the GPU's frame buffer fed at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed star of this configuration, and its specifications are almost comically overkill for Dave The Diver. The GPU features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, all clocked at a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. In this game, the GPU's role is to render a 2D side-scrolling adventure with minimal geometric complexity. The measured FPS results show that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU is averaging 150 FPS, which is far below its theoretical maximum. The 1080p Low result of 363 FPS is likely close to the game engine's frame rate limit or the CPU's maximum output, not the GPU's. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 and its Passmark G3D score of 38,194 are among the highest in the database, yet they are not being fully utilized here. The VRAM capacity of 24 GB is completely irrelevant for this title; the game likely uses less than 4 GB. The GPU is essentially idling, waiting for the CPU to send draw calls. The data suggests that the RTX 4090 is operating in a state of severe underutilization, a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular look at performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 363 FPS on Low, 341 FPS on Medium, 328 FPS on High, and 298 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is only 65 FPS (17.9%), which is unusually small and reinforces the CPU bottleneck theory. The 1080p Medium result includes a minimum FPS of 290 and a maximum of 392, indicating some frame time variance. At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 330 FPS, Medium 284 FPS, High 254 FPS, and Ultra 224 FPS. The drop from 1080p High to 1440p High is 74 FPS, a 22.6% reduction. The 1440p Medium result shows a minimum of 242 FPS and a maximum of 327 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 227 FPS, Medium 190 FPS, High 170 FPS, and Ultra 150 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 150 FPS is the lowest of the entire set, but it is still exceptionally high. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS. The pattern is clear: the frame rate scales linearly with resolution and settings, but the absolute numbers are always high, never dropping below 150 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure of 150 FPS is the only result that suggests any meaningful GPU workload. The 1080p Low figure of 363 FPS is the highest, and it is also the most telling, as it represents the pure CPU throughput ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its L3 cache is 12 MB shared. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 1,674 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 11,860 in multi-core. Its Geekbench single-core score is 1,932, and multi-core is 7,252. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score is 893, and its 4-thread score is 2,859. These numbers are respectable for a budget processor, but they are dwarfed by the RTX 4090's capabilities. The CPU's role in Dave The Diver is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The game is not heavily threaded, as evidenced by the fact that the 3DMark 8-thread score (4,026) is nearly identical to the max-threads score (4,023). This means the game likely benefits most from the CPU's single-core and quad-core performance. The 1080p Low result of 363 FPS is almost certainly a CPU limit. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% faster) and the Intel Core 7 1250U (1.1% faster). This CPU is the bottleneck. The data shows that upgrading to a faster CPU would yield significant frame rate gains at 1080p and 1440p, potentially pushing the 1080p Low result well past 400 FPS. The 4K results would also improve, but to a lesser extent, as the GPU would become the primary limiter.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combo, the best experience is achieved by maximizing visual quality without sacrificing performance, because performance is already abundant. The data shows that the 4K Ultra preset delivers 150 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors. Therefore, the recommendation is to play at 4K with the Ultra preset. There is no reason to lower settings. At 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers 224 FPS, which is excellent for a 240 Hz monitor. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 298 FPS, which is overkill for any current monitor. The only scenario where lowering settings would be beneficial is if the user is experiencing frame time inconsistency. The measured data shows that the 1080p Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 290 and a maximum of 392, a variance of 102 FPS. This could cause micro-stuttering. In that case, enabling V-Sync or a frame rate cap (e.g., 240 FPS) would provide a smoother experience. The 4K Medium preset has a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS, a variance of 57 FPS, which is more stable. The Ultra preset at 4K has no min/max data, but the average of 150 FPS suggests it is the most stable option. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is the best choice for all resolutions, as it provides the highest visual fidelity with frame rates that are still far above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates a CPU bottleneck, especially at 1080p and 1440p. The 1080p Low result of 363 FPS is likely limited by the CPU's single-thread performance, as the RTX 4090 is capable of much higher frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 150 FPS shows the GPU is more engaged, but the CPU is still a factor.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo?

A: The data suggests 4K is the optimal resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K delivers 150 FPS, which is both visually stunning and smooth. Lower resolutions do not provide a meaningful frame rate advantage due to the CPU bottleneck, and they sacrifice image quality.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 152nd out of 3,710 tested combinations in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 4.1% of all systems. This high rank is almost entirely due to the RTX 4090, as the CPU is only in the 68th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 150 FPS. This is the lowest result in the dataset, but it is still exceptionally high for a 4K resolution.

Q: Does the 24 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4090 matter for this game?

A: No. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than Dave The Diver requires. The game's visual style is not demanding on VRAM, and the GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is also vastly underutilized.

Q: What is the CPU's single-core performance, and why does it matter?

A: The Core i3-12100F has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,674 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 893. This matters because Dave The Diver appears to be lightly threaded, relying heavily on single-core performance. The CPU's 4.30 GHz boost clock helps, but it is still the limiting factor in this configuration.