Dave The Diver

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Dave The Diver with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 shows a game that scales gently with resolution, indicating the GPU is rarely the limiting factor. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings drops the average frame rate from 230.5 FPS to 213.6 FPS, a modest reduction of roughly 7%. The further step to 3840x2160 Ultra brings the average down to 144.7 FPS, which is still far above any competitive refresh-rate threshold. This pattern—where even the heaviest 4K preset stays above 140 FPS—suggests the RTX 5080 is not being pushed to its limits in this title.

The scaling across the full resolution range at High settings tells a clearer story. At 1920x1080 High, the combo delivers 241.8 FPS. At 2560x1440 High, it reaches 217.7 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, it still maintains 162 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 33%, which is substantial but not the kind of cliff-edge falloff seen in GPU-bound games. The data indicates that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is keeping pace even at lower resolutions where the frame rate ceiling is high.

A key observation is the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the spread from Low (266.3 FPS) to Ultra (230.5 FPS) is only about 15%. At 3840x2160, the spread from Low (214.6 FPS) to Ultra (144.7 FPS) widens to about 33%. This widening gap at higher resolution points to the GPU beginning to matter more as pixel count rises, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the game is never struggling. The limiting component here is likely the game's engine itself, which appears to have a frame rate ceiling around 266 FPS at the lowest settings.

Benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5080, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, is nowhere near saturation. The 4K Ultra result of 144.7 FPS is the only data point that dips below 200 FPS, and even that is decisively smooth. The conclusion from the resolution scaling data is that Dave The Diver is a light load for this hardware combination, with the CPU's single-thread performance (a 3DMark single-thread score of 688) being more relevant than the GPU's raw compute at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At every resolution, Low settings deliver the highest average frame rates, with the peak being 266.3 FPS at 1920x1080. However, the gains from dropping to Low are modest compared to the visual cost. The data shows that moving from High to Low at 2560x1440 only increases the average from 217.7 FPS to 245.4 FPS, a relative improvement of about 13%. Given that High already exceeds 200 FPS at both 1080p and 1440p, the Low preset is unnecessary for smoothness.

The best experience per the measured rows is the High preset at 2560x1440, delivering 217.7 FPS. This combination offers a substantial visual uplift over Low while still maintaining a frame rate that is nearly triple the typical 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160, High still yields 162 FPS, which is excellent for a 4K display. The Ultra preset at 4K (144.7 FPS) is also viable, but the marginal difference from High (roughly 11% lower) suggests High is the sweeter spot unless maximum visual fidelity is the priority.

Medium settings sit predictably between Low and High. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 251.1 FPS, at 1440p it delivers 231.9 FPS, and at 4K it delivers 182.5 FPS. The data does not reveal any stability or frame-time anomalies that would push a recommendation toward Medium. Given that the gap between High and Medium at 1080p is only about 4% (241.8 vs. 251.1 FPS), High is the clear recommendation for most users. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, never drops below 144 FPS at any resolution, so it is also a safe choice for those with high-refresh-rate 4K displays.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 plays a supporting role in Dave The Diver, as evidenced by the frame rate data. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than this game requires, and the 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is never taxed. The card's boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are high, but the game's modest graphical demands mean these clocks are likely not sustaining maximum load. The GPU's benchmark scores—a PassMark G3D score of 36565 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637—place it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, yet the in-game results show it coasting.

The pattern of frame rates suggests the RTX 5080 is not the bottleneck even at 4K. The fact that 4K Low (214.6 FPS) is only slightly lower than 1440p Low (245.4 FPS) indicates that the GPU has ample headroom. If the GPU were the limiting factor, the 4K results would show a more pronounced drop relative to 1440p. The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is also not a concern; Dave The Diver's art style and scene complexity are unlikely to approach that ceiling.

The GPU's role is further clarified by the settings scaling. From Low to Ultra at 4K, the average FPS falls from 214.6 to 144.7, a drop of about 33%. This is a larger relative change than at 1080p (where Low to Ultra drops from 266.3 to 230.5, about 13%), which shows the GPU's shading units (10752), TMUs (336), and ROPs (112) begin to matter more at higher pixel counts. However, the absolute performance is so high that the RTX 5080's role is best described as "ensuring no frame rate ceiling is ever hit," rather than being a critical determinant of playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured averages provides a full picture of performance across resolutions and settings.

1920x1080:

The Low preset delivers 266.3 FPS, the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium reaches 251.1 FPS. High drops to 241.8 FPS. Ultra settles at 230.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 35.8 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding settings at 1080p are well within the hardware's comfort zone.

2560x1440:

Low produces 245.4 FPS. Medium follows at 231.9 FPS. High is just behind at 217.7 FPS. Ultra comes in at 213.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 31.8 FPS, slightly tighter than at 1080p. All results exceed 200 FPS, making this resolution entirely unrestricted by the hardware.

3840x2160:

Low yields 214.6 FPS. Medium drops to 182.5 FPS. High maintains 162 FPS. Ultra falls to 144.7 FPS, the lowest result in the dataset. The spread from Low to Ultra is 69.9 FPS, the widest of any resolution, showing that 4K is where the GPU's workload increases most noticeably. Still, every 4K preset stays above 144 FPS, which is a strong result for a 4K gaming scenario.

The data reveals a consistent ordering: Low > Medium > High > Ultra at every resolution. The differences between settings shrink at lower resolutions, confirming that the CPU and engine are the primary contributors to the frame rate ceiling at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this combo?

A: The highest result is 266.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Does the combination maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the 3840x2160 Ultra preset produces an average of 144.7 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS target.

Q: How much faster is Low compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low delivers 245.4 FPS while Ultra delivers 213.6 FPS, making Low about 15% faster.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 the limiting component in this game?

A: The data suggests not. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is moderate, and the GPU's 16 GB memory and high bandwidth are not saturated, indicating the CPU or engine is more likely the ceiling.

Q: What is the best preset for a 4K display according to the data?

A: High at 3840x2160 yields 162 FPS, which is a strong balance. Ultra is 144.7 FPS, but the visual gain may not justify the 11% performance drop.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: This Intel Core i5-10400F and RTX 5080 combination ranks 260th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F plays a more significant role in Dave The Diver than the GPU, particularly at lower resolutions. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, this Comet Lake processor provides sufficient single-thread performance to drive high frame rates. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and PassMark single-thread score of 2541 are moderate by modern standards, but the game's demands appear to be well within its capabilities.

The evidence for CPU involvement comes from the frame rate patterns. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is only 35.8 FPS, and the Low result of 266.3 FPS appears to be a ceiling imposed by the processor or engine. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 12115, is not a limiting factor here; the game likely relies more on the 2-thread and 4-thread performance, where the 3DMark scores are 1350 and 2560 respectively.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for this title. The fact that 1440p results are only slightly lower than 1080p results (e.g., High: 217.7 vs. 241.8 FPS) suggests the CPU is keeping up with the increased pixel workload without becoming a bottleneck. It is only at 4K Ultra that the GPU's workload rises enough to produce a more distinct separation, but even then the CPU manages to feed the GPU sufficiently. The i5-10400F's percentile rank of 73 against all CPUs indicates it is a mid-range processor, yet in Dave The Diver it delivers top-tier frame rates when paired with the RTX 5080.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 260th out of 1,626 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places the setup in the top 16% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the CPU's age and market position. The rank reflects the game's light engine demands, which allow the high-end GPU to compensate for the mid-range CPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—such as the AMD EPYC 7552 (0.4% higher average score), AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.8% lower), Intel Core i5-8500 (1.1% lower), and AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 (1.2% lower)—are all closely matched in raw processing power. This suggests that the i5-10400F is not a standout performer in general, but in this specific game, the combination with the RTX 5080 yields a result that is far ahead of the median combo. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc A570M (1.6% higher GPU score) and Intel Arc A580 (2.5% lower), are also tightly clustered, meaning the RTX 5080's high percentile rank (89) is the main driver of the combo's overall position.

The rank of 260 out of 1,626 confirms the GPU's dominance in this workload. The data shows that even with a modest CPU, the RTX 5080's raw power (56.28 TFLOPS FP32) ensures that Dave The Diver runs at exceptional frame rates across all settings. The combo's position in the top 16% indicates that most other tested configurations—likely those with weaker GPUs—cannot match this level of performance. For a 2020-era CPU paired with a 2025 flagship GPU, this rank confirms that the pairing is well-balanced for this particular game.