Dave The Diver

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and offers PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In the context of Dave The Diver, this processor's specifications translate to a strong foundation for maintaining high frame rates. The game is an adventure title, and the measured FPS data shows that the i5-12400F is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 195 FPS average, which is near the top of what a 60 Hz or even 144 Hz display can use. The CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a PassMark single-thread score of 3481, is more than adequate for the game's logic and physics. The multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380, ensure that background tasks and any additional game threads are handled without causing frame drops.

The CPU's benchmark profile places it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with an average score of 19047 (0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E with 19056 (-0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-1335U with 18982 (0.3% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7773X with 18979 (0.3% delta). These comparisons show that the i5-12400F sits in a tightly contested performance band, with deltas of less than 0.5% either way. For Dave The Diver, this means that the CPU's performance is typical of its class, and the measured FPS figures reflect a balance where the GPU becomes the primary determinant of frame rate as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 163 FPS, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in multi-threaded performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19039, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 19047, showing a 0% delta. The Intel Core 3 201E is slightly lower at 19056, representing a -0.1% delta.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 65, while at 1080p Ultra it is 129 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom remains largely unused.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 195, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other settings or resolutions in the measured data exceed this value.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, scores 18159, which is a -0.4% delta relative to the RTX 2060 SUPER.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 147 FPS average, while Ultra settings yield 97 FPS average. This represents a 50 FPS drop when moving from Low to Ultra at the same resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience for this combo. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 146 FPS average, while Medium delivers 163 FPS and Low delivers 195 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 17 FPS, which is notable, but both are well above typical display refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 129 FPS, still smooth, but the incremental visual gain over High comes at a 17 FPS cost. For a balanced experience, the High preset at 1080p is recommended, as it provides a substantial frame rate buffer above 60 FPS while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 110 FPS average, which is excellent for a 1440p display. Medium delivers 123 FPS, and Low reaches 147 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 97 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame time variability might become noticeable on high-refresh monitors. For 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot, offering 110 FPS with a 13 FPS advantage over Ultra and a 13 FPS deficit versus Medium.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. High settings produce 74 FPS average, Medium produces 82 FPS, and Low produces 98 FPS. Ultra drops to 65 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is recommended, as it delivers 82 FPS average with a minimum of 70 FPS, which keeps the experience smooth and avoids the sub-70 FPS territory of Ultra. Low settings push the frame rate to 98 FPS, but the visual compromise is often not worth the extra 16 FPS over Medium for an adventure game. The data shows that Medium at 4K provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a minimum FPS of 70 ensuring consistent frame pacing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2618 out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, which is surprising given the solid FPS numbers observed in the measured data. The rank suggests that many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs achieve higher average frame rates in this game, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher boost clocks.

However, the percentile context is important. The CPU sits in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. This means the combo is composed of components that are above average individually, but the combination does not push into the top tier of tested systems. The rank of 2618 out of 3710 indicates that roughly 70% of tested combos perform better in this specific game, which could be due to the game's relatively light CPU requirements or the GPU's age relative to newer cards.

The measured FPS data, though, tells a more nuanced story. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 146 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard. Even at 4K Ultra, it maintains 65 FPS. These numbers suggest that while the combo may not rank highly in a broad comparison, it is entirely capable of delivering a smooth experience in Dave The Diver across all tested settings. The rank likely reflects a wide field of competitors with newer, higher-end hardware, rather than a deficiency in this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 146 at 1920x1080 to 110 at 2560x1440, and then to 74 at 3840x2160. This represents a 24.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 49.3% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drops are from 195 at 1080p to 147 at 1440p (24.6% drop) and then to 98 at 4K (49.7% drop from 1080p).

These percentage drops are nearly identical across settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's performance is consistent regardless of resolution, so the frame rate decline is directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. The RTX 2060 SUPER's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are the primary factors in this scaling. At 4K, the GPU must process four times the pixels of 1080p, and the measured FPS values reflect this load.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is slightly steeper, with drops from 129 at 1080p to 97 at 1440p (24.8% drop) and then to 65 at 4K (49.6% drop from 1080p). This consistent pattern across all settings confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at any resolution, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS drops are purely a function of resolution, not settings-related CPU load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the Low setting achieves an average of 195 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings produce an average of 163 FPS, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS. High settings yield 146 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 129 FPS average. The 1080p results show a clear gradient, with a 66 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU's load increases significantly with each preset tier.

At 2560x1440, the Low setting achieves 147 FPS average, Medium produces 123 FPS (minimum 105, maximum 141), High yields 110 FPS, and Ultra drops to 97 FPS. The gradient here is 50 FPS between Low and Ultra, slightly less steep than at 1080p, which suggests that the GPU is beginning to approach its limits at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 105 at Medium settings is still well above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the Low setting achieves 98 FPS average, Medium produces 82 FPS (minimum 70, maximum 95), High yields 74 FPS, and Ultra drops to 65 FPS. The gradient is 33 FPS between Low and Ultra, which is the smallest of all resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is heavily constrained, and the differences between settings have a reduced impact on frame rate because the GPU is already near its maximum output. The minimum FPS of 70 at Medium settings is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, but it remains acceptable for a smooth experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is based on the TU106 chip, built on TSMC's 12 nm process, with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. It features 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. The GPU has 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The base clock is 1470 MHz, with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

In Dave The Diver, the GPU's role is pivotal. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance at all resolutions, particularly as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU is capable of delivering high frame rates, with 195 FPS at Low settings. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for this game, as no memory-related stutters are evident in the FPS data. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and scene complexity are handled without issue, even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile with a score of 18159 (-0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with 18189 (-0.5% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 460 with 18373 (-1.5% delta), and the Intel Arc A770M with 18383 (-1.6% delta). These deltas are all within 2%, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER is competitive with these cards, though slightly behind in raw compute. In practical terms for Dave The Diver, the GPU's performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high frame rates, and it remains playable at 4K, albeit with lower settings required to maintain 60+ FPS.