Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver: Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

The pairing of Intel's six-core Rocket Lake processor with NVIDIA's Ampere-based RTX 3070 produces a consistently playable experience across all tested resolutions in Dave The Diver, though the performance curve reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to increasingly GPU-limited as resolution climbs. The measured data shows this combo delivers triple-digit average frame rates at every resolution and settings level tested, with the gap between Low and Ultra presets widening from 89 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 4K — a pattern that indicates the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck only when pixel count reaches its maximum.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable trajectory, but the magnitude of the drop reveals important characteristics about this specific CPU-GPU combination. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 196 at 1920x1080 to 147 at 2560x1440, a 25% reduction, and then to 99 at 3840x2160, representing a further 33% decline from the 1440p figure. This steepening curve suggests the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become progressively more stressed as pixel count increases, with the 4K result dropping to roughly half the 1080p frame rate.

The Low preset tells a similar story with different absolute numbers. Starting at 262 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate falls to 197 at 1440p (a 25% drop) and then to 132 at 4K (a 33% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage declines across presets is notable — it indicates that resolution scaling behaves predictably regardless of graphical load, with each step up in resolution exacting a similar toll on the GPU. However, the headroom at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the graphics card can render at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset includes the only min/max FPS data in the measured set, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 and maximum of 252, yielding a spread of 65 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 165 with a minimum of 140 and maximum of 190 (a 50 FPS spread), while at 4K Medium, the average falls to 111 with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127 (a 33 FPS spread). This tightening range at higher resolutions indicates that GPU-bound scenarios produce more consistent frame delivery, whereas the CPU-bound 1080p results exhibit greater variance.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic resolution sensitivity, with frame rates falling from 173 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p (a 25% decline) and then to 87 at 4K (a 33% decline from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 87 FPS remains comfortably above 60 FPS, suggesting this combination handles even the heaviest settings at 4K without dropping into problematic territory. Overall, the data indicates that resolution scaling is smooth and predictable, with the GPU becoming the primary limiter at 4K while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F brings six physical cores and twelve threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. These specifications, combined with 12 MB of shared L3 cache, position the processor as a mid-range desktop part that posts a 71st percentile ranking against all CPUs in the benchmark database. The 3DMark results show a single-thread score of 868 and a max-thread score of 5652, with the 16-thread score of 5619 nearly matching the max-thread result — suggesting the processor's twelve threads are fully utilized in heavily threaded workloads.

Dave The Diver, as an adventure title, does not appear to be exceptionally demanding on CPU resources based on the measured frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 262 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's practical limit for this workload. The fact that this 1080p Low result is only 34% higher than the 1080p High result of 196 FPS — while the 4K gap between Low and High is 33% (132 vs 99 FPS) — indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor even at the lowest settings. Instead, the GPU's rendering capabilities cap performance more substantially at higher resolutions.

The processor's multi-threaded capabilities are reflected in Cinebench scores of 14340 in R23 multicore and 2024 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 7737 multicore and 1777 single-core. These synthetic benchmarks suggest the 11400F delivers solid throughput for gaming workloads, though its nearest rivals in the database — the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher average score), Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% lower), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% higher) — all fall within a narrow performance band. This indicates the CPU's compute performance is competitive with a wide range of other processors, but none of these rivals are specifically gaming-focused parts.

The 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node suggest the 11400F runs efficiently, and the measured frame rates in Dave The Diver indicate that even the highest 1080p results do not strain the processor excessively. The 262 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low, while impressive, still leaves headroom for the GPU to be the bottleneck at higher settings. The data supports a conclusion that this CPU provides ample processing power for this game, with the RTX 3070 serving as the performance delimiter as resolutions and settings increase.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest measured average is 262 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, while the lowest is 87 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does this system maintain 60+ FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra result shows an average of 87 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold despite being the most demanding configuration tested.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, placing it within 0.6% of all four nearest rivals — the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, 0.3% higher), Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, 0.4% lower), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278, 0.6% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074, 0.6% higher).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 197 FPS while Ultra produces 130 FPS, a difference of 67 FPS or roughly 34% higher performance at Low compared to Ultra.

Q: Does the GPU have enough memory for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory appears sufficient based on the 4K results, with all four settings presets delivering average frame rates above 87 FPS at 3840x2160.

Q: How does the GPU rank against its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, placing it 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083), 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037), 1.1% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019), and 1.5% below the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468).

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates on high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, the Low preset delivers 262 FPS, which is 34% higher than High's 196 FPS and 51% higher than Ultra's 173 FPS. However, given that even Ultra settings maintain 173 FPS at 1080p, there is little practical reason to sacrifice visual quality for additional frame rate, as 173 FPS already exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 FPS, offering a balanced compromise between the extremes.

At 1440p, the High preset's 147 FPS represents a sweet spot for most users, sitting between the Ultra setting's 130 FPS and the Medium setting's 165 FPS. The 4K results show that all presets remain playable, with High achieving 99 FPS, Medium 111 FPS, and Ultra 87 FPS. For 4K users, the Medium preset offers the best balance, providing 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS — the only 4K configuration with recorded minimum frame data, indicating a stable experience with less variance than the lower-resolution Medium results.

The measured data suggests that High settings provide the best experience-per-frame-rate tradeoff across all resolutions when considering the diminishing returns of Ultra. At 1080p, High delivers 196 FPS (13% lower than Ultra's 173 FPS, which is counterintuitive — actually High is 13% higher than Ultra), while at 1440p High achieves 147 FPS versus Ultra's 130 FPS, and at 4K High reaches 99 FPS versus Ultra's 87 FPS. The consistent 13% performance advantage of High over Ultra across all resolutions makes High the recommended preset for users who want strong visual fidelity without sacrificing significant frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1588 out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the 57th percentile of all system configurations evaluated. This mid-pack ranking reflects a balanced pairing that delivers strong performance but is outpaced by combinations featuring higher-end CPUs and GPUs. The rank of 1588 suggests that while this system is far from the top of the database, it substantially outperforms the majority of tested configurations in this particular game.

The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all graphics cards indicate that neither component is a standout performer in its class, yet their combination produces results that are greater than the sum of their individual percentile positions might suggest. The 1080p High result of 196 FPS and 4K High result of 99 FPS demonstrate that this pairing delivers high-refresh-rate capable performance at mainstream resolutions and solid 4K performance.

The rank of 1588 means that 2122 tested combos (57.2%) perform worse in this game, while 1587 combos (42.8%) perform better. This places the system in the upper-middle tier of the database, appropriate for a mid-range CPU paired with an upper-mid-range GPU. For users considering this combination, the data indicates it is well-suited for Dave The Diver's requirements, offering no weak points that would cause performance issues at any tested resolution or settings level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results across all settings presets. Low settings produce an average of 262 FPS, Medium achieves 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 and maximum of 252, High reaches 196 FPS, and Ultra manages 173 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 89 FPS drop (34% reduction), with each settings step down from Low to Medium costing 42 FPS, Medium to High costing 24 FPS, and High to Ultra costing 23 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings average 197 FPS, Medium achieves 165 FPS with a minimum of 140 and maximum of 190, High reaches 147 FPS, and Ultra produces 130 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 67 FPS (34% reduction), mirroring the percentage drop seen at 1080p. The consistent 34% reduction from Low to Ultra across both 1080p and 1440p indicates that settings have a proportional impact on performance regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 132 FPS, Medium achieves 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 and maximum of 127, High reaches 99 FPS, and Ultra produces 87 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 45 FPS (34% reduction), maintaining the same proportional relationship observed at lower resolutions. The 4K Medium result, with its recorded minimum of 94 FPS, demonstrates that even the most demanding resolution tested maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay throughout.

The complete data set shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reduces frame rates by approximately 25% at the same settings, while each settings step from Low to Medium to High to Ultra reduces frame rates by approximately 16% at the same resolution. This uniform scaling behavior indicates a well-balanced system where neither the CPU nor GPU creates unexpected bottlenecks, allowing for predictable performance across a wide range of configurations.