Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

This combination delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested settings, but the data reveals a significant CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090 is clearly the dominant component, pushing frame rates well beyond what the Core i3-12100F can consistently feed at 1080p. At 4K Ultra, the combo still produces 157.8 FPS average, which is far above the threshold for smooth gameplay in this title. The measured results show that this pairing is heavily GPU-limited at 4K, while the CPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution drops.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component limits performance. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 363 at 1080p to 238.4 at 4K — a 34.3% reduction. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Low settings shows a 27.9% drop (330.5 to 238.4 FPS). The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint, as the RTX 5090 has ample headroom to render far more frames than the i3-12100F can process.

At Ultra settings, the 1080p to 4K transition shows a 48.8% reduction (308.4 to 157.8 FPS). This steeper drop at higher quality presets confirms that GPU load increases substantially with Ultra settings, shifting the bottleneck toward the graphics card. The 1440p to 4K Ultra scaling shows a 32.2% decline (232.9 to 157.8 FPS), which is consistent with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU.

The data suggests that at 1080p, regardless of preset, the frame rates cluster tightly between 308.4 and 363 FPS. This narrow range — a 54.6 FPS spread across all four presets — indicates the CPU is the limiting factor. At 4K, the spread widens to 80.6 FPS (157.8 to 238.4), showing that the GPU now has a more substantial influence on performance. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM and 512-bit bus are clearly not saturated by this game, even at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured data shows 157.8 FPS at 4K Ultra and 175.6 FPS at 4K High, both well above 144 Hz refresh rates. Even the most demanding preset delivers smooth gameplay.

Q: Why is the 1080p frame rate so much higher than 4K?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 363 FPS, while 4K Low achieves 238.4 FPS. The difference reflects increased GPU workload at higher resolutions, though the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads also play a role at lower resolutions.

Q: Which component limits performance at 1080p?

A: The data indicates CPU limitation. The Intel Core i3-12100F has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs. Frame rates plateau around 308-363 FPS at 1080p regardless of settings, suggesting the processor cannot push beyond this range.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 rank among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,306. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84,241, a negligible 0.1% difference.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: Dave The Diver is not VRAM-intensive at these settings. The RTX 5090's 32 GB GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provide far more capacity and throughput than needed, meaning VRAM is never a limiting factor in these measurements.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: This combination ranks 43rd out of 1,626 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.6% of all configurations measured for this game.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the High preset at 175.6 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from High to Ultra costs 17.8 FPS (175.6 to 157.8) — a 10.1% reduction — which may not justify the marginal visual improvements in a pixel-art adventure game. Medium at 199.4 FPS provides additional headroom for those with high refresh rate 4K monitors, while Low at 238.4 FPS is the choice for competitive play or extreme smoothness.

At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 232.9 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors. The High preset at 264.5 FPS offers a 13.6% improvement over Ultra while maintaining strong visual fidelity. For 1440p users, Medium at 294.5 FPS is excessive for standard 144 Hz panels but useful for 240 Hz or 300 Hz displays.

At 1080p, all presets exceed 308 FPS, making the choice purely about visual preference. Ultra at 308.4 FPS is the recommended preset for 1080p users with high refresh rate monitors. The 54.6 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p (363 to 308.4) represents a 15.0% performance cost for maximum visual quality, which is a reasonable trade-off. For esports-focused play, Low at 363 FPS maximizes frame pacing, but the CPU bottleneck means the GPU is underutilized at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 238.4 FPS on Low, 199.4 FPS on Medium, 175.6 FPS on High, and 157.8 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 33.8% performance decrease. The gap between Low and Medium is 39.0 FPS, Medium to High is 23.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 17.8 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, Low produces 330.5 FPS, Medium reaches 294.5 FPS, High hits 264.5 FPS, and Ultra delivers 232.9 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 97.6 FPS, representing a 29.5% reduction. The 1440p results show similar scaling patterns to 4K but with consistently higher absolute values.

At 1920x1080, Low leads with 363 FPS, followed by Medium at 340.6 FPS, High at 329.9 FPS, and Ultra at 308.4 FPS. The 1080p data shows a compressed range — only 54.6 FPS separates the lowest and highest presets. This tight clustering is the clearest evidence of CPU limitation, as the GPU's performance headroom cannot be fully utilized when the processor is the bottleneck.

Cross-resolution analysis shows that at Low settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 32.5 FPS (363 to 330.5), while 1440p to 4K costs 92.1 FPS (330.5 to 238.4). At Ultra settings, the same transitions cost 75.5 FPS (308.4 to 232.9) and 75.1 FPS (232.9 to 157.8), respectively. The larger drop at 4K Low compared to 4K Ultra indicates that lower settings place relatively more strain on the CPU at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 43rd out of 1,626 tested combinations in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 2.6% of all configurations. This high ranking reflects the RTX 5090's dominance, as the GPU sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84,306. The CPU, however, ranks in only the 72nd percentile of all processors, with an average score of 13,516.

The disparity between GPU and CPU rankings explains why this combo does not rank higher. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals — the RTX 5090 D (0.1% higher score), RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% higher), and AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (1.3% higher) — all have similar GPU performance. The Intel Core i3-12100F's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% lower score), Intel Core i7-1250U (0.4% lower), and Intel Core i3-10105 (0.6% lower).

Given the GPU's extreme performance, the 43rd ranking is primarily held back by the CPU. Combos ranked above 43rd likely pair the RTX 5090 with more powerful processors, reducing the bottleneck observed at 1080p. The data shows this combo is GPU-sufficient for 4K gaming but CPU-limited at lower resolutions, which caps its overall ranking despite outstanding 4K results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Alder Lake processor features a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark, 1,681 in Cinebench R23, and 2,224 in Geekbench. Multi-threaded performance reaches 4,051 in 3DMark 16-threads, 11,912 in Cinebench R23, and 7,413 in Geekbench.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but the 1080p data reveals its limitations. At 1080p, all presets cluster between 308.4 and 363 FPS, suggesting the processor cannot exceed roughly 363 FPS regardless of GPU capability. The 72nd percentile ranking places this CPU below most modern mid-range and high-end processors.

The boost clock of 4.30 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance for this game's engine, which does not appear to heavily utilize multi-threading given the 4-core configuration's ability to sustain high frame rates. However, the CPU's 58 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate a modest power envelope that limits sustained performance under heavy loads. The 12 MB L3 cache is sufficient for this game, as evidenced by strong minimum frame rates at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the clear performance driver in this combo. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, this GPU has vast resources for any game. Its 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs provide massive parallel processing capability. The base clock of 2017 MHz boosts to 2407 MHz, enabling 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

At 4K Ultra, the RTX 5090 produces 157.8 FPS, demonstrating its ability to handle high resolutions with ease. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 84,306 confirm its elite status. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84,241, showing that the standard RTX 5090 is marginally faster in synthetic tests.

The GPU's 32 GB VRAM is vastly over-provisioned for Dave The Diver, which does not appear to stress memory capacity at any tested setting. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that memory throughput never becomes a bottleneck. The RTX 5090's 5 nm process node and 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die represent the pinnacle of current GPU technology.

In this pairing, the RTX 5090 is the component that determines 4K performance, while the CPU limits 1080p frame rates. The GPU's immense power means that at 4K, it is the primary driver of the measured results, with settings scaling showing predictable performance reductions as visual quality increases.