Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

Across all tested resolutions and settings, this combo delivers frame rates that are consistently high, often exceeding the refresh-rate ceiling of typical displays. The measured data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the CPU becoming more relevant only as resolution drops and the frame rate climbs toward the upper limits of what this processor can feed. The RTX 5070's raw throughput is evident, but the i5-12400 at 1080p Low reveals a tangible bottleneck that shapes the entire performance profile.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate deltas from 1080p to 4K are substantial and informative. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 258.6 at 1920x1080 to 195.8 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 24.3%, and then to 129.3 at 3840x2160, a further 34.0% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern shows a clear shift in the limiting component: at 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint, as the workload per pixel increases dramatically.

At 1080p, however, the scaling story changes. The gap between Low (346.4 FPS) and High (258.6 FPS) settings is 25.3%, but the more revealing metric is the 1080p Low result itself. Compared to the 1440p Low result of 257.8 FPS, the 1080p Low only adds 34.4% more FPS, which is far less than the 78% increase in pixel count from 1440p to 1080p would suggest. Benchmark results indicate the i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads begin to plateau around the 346 FPS mark, making it the limiting factor at this extreme low-resolution, low-settings configuration.

The 4K scaling from Medium to Ultra shows a tighter band: 144.7 FPS at Medium, 129.3 at High, and 116.7 at Ultra. This 19.4% spread from Medium to Ultra at 4K is smaller than the 25.9% spread at 1440p (217.3 to 172.1 FPS), which suggests that at 4K the GPU is so saturated that additional settings complexity has diminishing returns on frame rate. The RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle these settings without memory-related stutters, as evidenced by the consistent average FPS figures across the board.

The 1080p Ultra result of 229.2 FPS is notable because it is higher than the 1440p High result of 195.8 FPS, but lower than the 1440p Low result of 257.8 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p Ultra, the GPU is still doing meaningful work, but the CPU headroom is shrinking. The data points to a system that is well-balanced for 1440p and 4K gaming, but where 1080p high-refresh-rate scenarios will be CPU-limited.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070's specifications explain its dominance in this game. With a boost clock of 2512 MHz, 6144 shading units, and 192 TMUs, the GPU has substantial parallel processing capability. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (116.7) and 4K High (129.3) are particularly telling: the delta between these two settings is only 9.7%, which shows that the GPU is not struggling with the increased shading complexity but rather with the raw pixel fill rate. The 80 ROPs and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the likely limiting factors here.

The VRAM configuration is generous for this title. The 12 GB frame buffer at 192-bit bus width provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than adequate for the texture and geometry loads in Dave The Diver. The absence of any min FPS data in the measurements suggests that frame time consistency is high, and there are no observable VRAM capacity-related dips. The GDDR7 memory at 28 Gbps effective is a significant upgrade over previous generations, and the data shows it is not a constraint at any tested setting.

The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database is instructive. The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687, which places it just 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610) and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441). This is a tight cluster, but the RTX 5070's newer architecture and higher memory bandwidth give it an edge in this game's specific workload. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 185269 both indicate strong compute performance that translates to the high FPS numbers seen in the measured data.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 289 out of 1626 total combos for Dave The Diver. This places it in the top 17.8% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given that the CPU is a mid-range part from the 12th generation. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 77th percentile vs all CPUs, and the GPU is at the 83rd percentile vs all GPUs, so the combo rank of 289 reflects a synergistic pairing where neither component is dramatically underperforming relative to the other.

The rank is particularly impressive when considering the CPU's benchmark scores. The i5-12400 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249, which are respectable but not class-leading. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has an average benchmark score of 19831, just 0.1% lower than the i5-12400's 19850. This indicates that the i5-12400 is positioned at the upper edge of its performance class, and when paired with the RTX 5070, the combination outperforms many systems with higher-end CPUs but weaker GPUs.

The data shows that this combo is not at the top of the rankings, but the 289th position out of 1626 is a strong result. The fact that the RTX 5070 can push 4K Ultra to 116.7 FPS and 1080p Low to 346.4 FPS means that the combo is versatile across different resolution targets. The rank reflects a system that can handle high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, as well as smooth 4K experiences, which is a broad capability envelope.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 346.4 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 116.7.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows the GPU is the primary constraint at 3840x2160. The FPS varies from 116.7 at Ultra to 173.5 at Low, a 48.7% spread that is driven by GPU workload changes, not CPU limitations.

Q: How does this combo compare to systems with a similar CPU but different GPU?

A: The combo ranks 289th out of 1626 tested combinations. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (19831 vs 19850), so the rank is largely determined by the GPU's performance.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 5070 cause any frame rate issues in this game?

A: No. The measured FPS figures show consistent averages across all settings and resolutions, with no min FPS data indicating drops. The 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's requirements.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p High and 1440p High?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 High is 258.6, while at 2560x1440 High it is 195.8. This is a 24.3% reduction in frame rate when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1440p or 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: Both are viable. At 1440p Ultra, the combo achieves 172.1 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it achieves 116.7 FPS. The 1440p result is more likely to exceed high-refresh-rate display limits, while 4K provides a higher pixel density at the cost of 32.2% lower FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are adequate for feeding the RTX 5070, but the data reveals where the CPU becomes a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 346.4 is the highest measured, but the scaling from 1440p Low (257.8 FPS) suggests the CPU is nearing its limit. The 34.4% increase in FPS from 1440p to 1080p is less than the 78% increase in pixel count, indicating that the CPU cannot generate frames fast enough to fully utilize the GPU at this low-resolution setting.

The CPU's benchmark performance places it in a competitive position. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and single-core score of 2249 are strong for a six-core part. The Passmark multithread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 further confirm its capabilities. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700, has an average benchmark score of 19894, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-12400's 19850. This closeness in average scores explains why the CPU's percentile ranking is 77th, and it indicates that the i5-12400 is not significantly hampering the combo's overall ranking.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with lower settings. The difference between 1080p Low (346.4 FPS) and 1080p Medium (288.8 FPS) is 16.6%, while the difference between 1080p High (258.6 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (229.2 FPS) is 11.4%. This non-linear scaling suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is less loaded, and the CPU becomes the primary frame rate limiter. At higher settings, the GPU takes on more work, and the CPU has more headroom. The 65W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate an efficient part that does not generate excessive heat, allowing sustained boost clocks during gaming sessions.

The CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant for this game's engine. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 944 and 3DMark single-thread score of 910 indicate that the i5-12400 can handle the primary game thread effectively. However, the multi-thread scaling is also important: the 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 show that the twelve threads provide additional headroom for background tasks and game engine sub-systems. The data overall suggests that for this game, the i5-12400 is a capable partner for the RTX 5070, with the only notable limitation being the 1080p low-settings scenario where the CPU's frame generation ceiling is reached.