Dave The Diver

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Dave The Diver. The measured frame rates reveal that this specific combination is heavily constrained by the processor at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s immense headroom only becomes apparent as the resolution climbs. The data shows a clear pattern: the 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake CPU, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, is the limiting factor at 1080p, but the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth take over the workload at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is the most telling indicator of where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 285.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 260.5 FPS, a reduction of roughly 8.8%. However, the jump to 3840x2160 High yields 177.2 FPS, a massive 32% drop from the 1440p figure. This non-linear decline is the signature of a CPU-limited scenario at the two lower resolutions, where the i5-11400F’s single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark is simply not enough to feed the RTX 5090’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GPU is waiting on the CPU to issue draw calls, capping performance well below its theoretical maximum.

At Ultra settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p Ultra result is 274.1 FPS, while 1440p Ultra is 234.7 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 157.5 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is 14.4%, but the delta between 1440p and 4K is 32.9%. This suggests that even at the highest preset, the CPU still holds sway at 1080p, but the GPU begins to feel the pressure at 4K. The most extreme example is the Low preset: 313.3 FPS at 1080p, 284.6 FPS at 1440p, and 235.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is just 24.9% lower than the 1080p Low, indicating that the GPU is finally becoming the primary constraint in this scenario.

The data strongly suggests that the RTX 5090 is underutilized at 1080p and 1440p. The difference between 1080p Low (313.3 FPS) and 4K Low (235.3 FPS) is only 78 FPS, whereas a purely GPU-bound title would exhibit a much wider gap given the 4x pixel count increase. The i5-11400F’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are the structural limits here. This is a classic case of a modern flagship GPU being paired with a mid-range 2021 processor, and the results reflect that mismatch.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090’s role in this pairing is to provide raw, untapped power. With a boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21,760 shading units, the GPU is capable of far more than the CPU can request. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus is overkill for Dave The Diver, but it ensures that there are zero memory capacity or bandwidth constraints even at 4K Ultra. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game’s textures and geometry, meaning the GPU never stalls waiting for data.

The 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores are largely idle in this title, as Dave The Diver is not a ray tracing showcase. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,411 and PassMark G3D score of 39,650 confirm its top-tier status, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. However, the measured FPS in this game does not reflect that ranking. At 1080p, the RTX 5090 is effectively coasting, with the CPU acting as the gatekeeper. The GPU’s pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are never fully taxed.

Interestingly, the GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, has an average benchmark score of 84,241, a delta of just 0.1% from the standard RTX 5090’s 84,306. This shows that the GPU itself is not the variable in this equation; the CPU is. The RTX 5090’s 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU indicate a power-hungry part, but the frame rates here are not a measure of GPU effort—they are a measure of CPU throughput. The 5 nm Blackwell 2.0 architecture is waiting for the 14 nm Rocket Lake processor to catch up.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combo ranks 93rd out of 1,626 tested combinations. This is a percentile ranking of approximately 94.3%, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested. However, this rank is misleading given the hardware involved. The i5-11400F sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,181. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17,189, delta 0%) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17,212, delta -0.2%). These are mobile-class chips, indicating that the desktop i5-11400F is competing with laptop parts in synthetic tests, not high-end desktop silicon.

The RTX 5090, by contrast, is in the 94th percentile of GPUs, with an average score of 84,306. The combination of a 75th percentile CPU and a 94th percentile GPU produces a 93rd place combo rank, which suggests the score is being dragged down by the processor. If the GPU were paired with a stronger CPU, this combo would likely rank much higher. The delta between the CPU’s rivals is negligible—within 0.2%—so the processor’s performance is firmly established as mid-tier, while the GPU is near the top of the stack. The combo rank of 93 out of 1,626 is a direct consequence of this imbalance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture across all four presets and three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 313.3 FPS, Medium 293.7 FPS, High 285.7 FPS, and Ultra 274.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is just 39.2 FPS (12.5%), indicating that the CPU is the bottleneck regardless of graphics settings. The GPU is so fast that even the most demanding preset at this resolution cannot saturate it.

At 2560x1440, the results are 284.6 FPS (Low), 268.2 FPS (Medium), 260.5 FPS (High), and 234.7 FPS (Ultra). The spread widens to 49.9 FPS (17.5%), showing that the GPU is starting to contribute more to the workload. The 1440p Ultra result is 14.4% lower than the 1080p Ultra, a clear sign that the additional pixels are beginning to engage the RTX 5090. Still, the CPU remains the primary limiter, as the 1440p Low result is only 9.2% below the 1080p Low.

At 3840x2160, the figures are 235.3 FPS (Low), 197.7 FPS (Medium), 177.2 FPS (High), and 157.5 FPS (Ultra). The spread between Low and Ultra is now 77.8 FPS (33.1%), demonstrating that the GPU is finally the dominant factor. The 4K Ultra result of 157.5 FPS is the only point where the RTX 5090 is being pushed, yet it still comfortably exceeds 144 FPS, making it highly playable on high-refresh 4K displays. The 4K Low result of 235.3 FPS shows that even at 4K, the CPU can still hold the GPU back in lighter settings.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that the Ultra preset is the optimal choice for this combination, but only at 4K. At 3840x2160, Ultra produces 157.5 FPS, which is above the threshold for smooth 144 Hz gameplay. The jump from High (177.2 FPS) to Ultra (157.5 FPS) costs 19.7 FPS, but the visual fidelity improvement is worth it given the GPU’s headroom. At 4K, the RTX 5090 is finally being utilized, and the Ultra preset leverages that power without sacrificing playability.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (260.5 FPS) is the sweet spot. The Ultra preset (234.7 FPS) is only 9.9% slower, but the CPU bottleneck means the extra GPU work does not translate to a meaningful visual difference. The Medium preset (268.2 FPS) offers a marginal 3% gain over High, so High is the better balance. At 1920x1080, the High preset (285.7 FPS) is recommended, as the Ultra preset (274.1 FPS) is limited by the CPU, and the lower presets do not provide a tangible FPS benefit.

For players seeking maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p (313.3 FPS) is the only way to exceed 300 FPS, but this is unnecessary for a game like Dave The Diver. The Ultra preset at 4K offers the best experience per the measured rows, as it delivers a console-beating 157.5 FPS while maxing out the graphical features. The i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to maintain these frame rates, but the data shows that the processor is the ceiling. The RTX 5090 is never the limiting factor until 4K Ultra, and even then, the combo delivers an excellent experience.