Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress test for high-end hardware, but the measured data for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions. This pairing, ranking 1311 out of 1626 tested combinations in this game, demonstrates that the RTX 2060 is the primary driver of frame rates, with the i5-11400F providing ample headroom even at lower settings. The benchmark results show a system that is capable of delivering smooth, playable experiences at all standard resolutions, though the margin for error shrinks as pixel count and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a predictable and significant drop in performance, but the pattern is more nuanced than a simple linear decline. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 132 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34.4 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 drops the average further to 64.9 FPS, which is a 67.1 FPS decrease from the 1080p baseline. This indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with resolution, a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload.

The data suggests that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial, with the High preset losing 32.7 FPS when jumping from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160. This is a steeper drop than the 34.4 FPS loss seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that the GPU is struggling more with the sheer pixel count and memory bandwidth demands of 4K.

Interestingly, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 179.6 FPS, while at 4K Low it manages 91.6 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low can nearly hit 180 FPS shows that the i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting up to 4.40 GHz, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates. However, the 88 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low reinforces that the RTX 2060 is the bottleneck, as even at the lowest settings, the resolution increase significantly impacts performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with a 12 MB shared L3 cache, provide solid single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 2029 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 14372 in multi-core, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. This level of performance is well-suited for a game like Dave The Diver, which is not heavily threaded.

The benchmark data confirms that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this title. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and max-thread score of 5652 indicate that the processor’s multi-threading capabilities are consistent. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the i5-11400F is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct of 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct of -0.2). This parity in average benchmark scores suggests that any of these CPUs would perform similarly in Dave The Diver, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rates.

The high frame rates observed at 1080p Low (179.6 FPS) and Medium (149.9 FPS) are strong indicators that the CPU is delivering frames without creating a bottleneck. Even at 1440p Low, the system hits 132.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. The CPU’s ability to maintain these rates, even with a relatively modest boost clock, shows that Dave The Diver’s game logic and physics are not demanding enough to tax the i5-11400F’s 6 cores, leaving the GPU as the clear performance ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process and features 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Its base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz, paired with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yield a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This configuration places the GPU in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are modest by modern standards but are clearly sufficient for this game.

The measured FPS data shows the RTX 2060’s performance is heavily influenced by the preset. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 61.1 FPS, barely above the 60 FPS threshold. This is a direct result of the GPU’s memory constraints and compute capabilities being pushed to their limits. The difference between 4K High (64.9 FPS) and 4K Ultra (61.1 FPS) is only 3.8 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is not significantly more demanding than High, but both are near the edge of what the GPU can handle at this resolution.

The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (deltaPct of 0.5) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (deltaPct of -1.7). The performance parity with these cards suggests that the RTX 2060 is a mid-range option that delivers consistent results. The data shows that the GPU is the sole bottleneck in this system, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings, not with CPU workload. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the system relies on the GPU’s ability to manage memory efficiently, which is reflected in the 64.9 FPS average at High settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination can achieve?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 179.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with the High preset, the average frame rate is 64.9 FPS, which is playable. However, at the Ultra preset, it drops to 61.1 FPS, indicating the GPU is near its limit.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest competitors?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, deltaPct -0.2).

Q: Is the system more CPU-bound or GPU-bound?

A: The data clearly indicates a GPU-bound system. The frame rate drops significantly with resolution increases (from 179.6 FPS at 1080p Low to 91.6 FPS at 4K Low), while the CPU’s high 3DMark multi-threading scores suggest it is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 132 FPS. At 1440p High, it is 97.6 FPS, a difference of 34.4 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s average benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074. The AMD Radeon RX 7600S scores 15996, which is a deltaPct of 0.5, meaning the RTX 2060 is slightly ahead.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p High, the system achieves 132 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. At 1440p High, the average frame rate of 97.6 FPS is still excellent, providing a smooth experience without the need to compromise on settings. The Ultra preset at these resolutions is also viable, with 119.3 FPS at 1080p and 89.4 FPS at 1440p, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is not worth the 12.7 FPS and 8.2 FPS performance cost, respectively.

At 4K resolution, the choice is more critical. The Ultra preset yields 61.1 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset, at 64.9 FPS, is a safer bet for maintaining a stable experience. However, the Medium preset offers 75.7 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For the most consistent 4K experience, the Medium preset is recommended, as it provides a 10.8 FPS advantage over High while likely retaining most of the game’s visual fidelity. The Low preset, at 91.6 FPS, is an option for those prioritizing frame rate above all else, but it is unnecessary given the performance of the higher presets.