Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver: Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combination lands at rank 79 out of 1626 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations for this game. The pairing of a 6-core Intel Alder Lake processor with a Blackwell-architecture RTX 5080 produces exceptional frame rates across every resolution and settings preset, though the data reveals interesting dynamics about where the bottleneck shifts as resolution changes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This 10nm Alder Lake-S processor sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% ahead) and the Intel Core i5-1335U (0.3% ahead), showing that this chip remains competitive with older higher-tier parts.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is substantial but not dominant. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 367.4 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 81.3 FPS (from 367.4 down to 286.1), indicating that the CPU can feed frames faster than even the RTX 5080 can render at maximum settings. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and single-thread score of 909 suggest balanced performance that handles the game's physics and AI calculations without creating a hard ceiling at lower resolutions.

The processor's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB provide sufficient data locality for the game's procedural fishing and restaurant management systems. Notably, the single-thread Cinebench R23 score of 2332 and Geekbench single-core score of 2221 confirm that the 4.40 GHz boost clock delivers strong per-thread performance, which matters for a game that likely has one primary simulation thread.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, this Blackwell 2.0 architecture card has more than enough memory capacity and throughput for Dave The Diver's relatively modest graphical demands. The 10752 shading units and 84 RT cores provide raw compute that pushes frame rates into triple digits even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows a 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 59188. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Arc A570M (1.6% behind) and Intel Arc Pro A60 (1.9% ahead), though these comparisons reflect raw compute rather than gaming performance. The 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate explain why the card can sustain such high frame rates.

At 4K Ultra, the RTX 5080 still delivers 145.7 FPS, which is remarkably high for a pixel-dense resolution. The GPU's 2617 MHz boost clock and 30 Gbps effective memory speed allow it to maintain these frame rates without thermal throttling, as the dual-slot design with a 360 W TDP suggests robust cooling capability.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of diminishing frame rate returns as resolution increases, which points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the frame rate drops from 323.8 to 241.0 FPS — a 82.8 FPS reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the frame rate falls from 241.0 to 161.2 FPS — a 79.8 FPS drop.

This consistent ~80 FPS reduction per resolution step indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom. At 1080p Low, the 367.4 FPS ceiling appears to be CPU-limited, since the GPU could likely render more frames if the processor could supply them. However, at 4K Ultra, the 145.7 FPS result suggests the GPU is fully utilized.

The scaling efficiency is particularly telling at Low settings: 367.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 325.7 at 1440p (an 11.3% reduction) and then to 220.8 at 4K (a 32.2% reduction from 1440p). This non-linear scaling indicates that at 4K Low, the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the CPU's 6-core configuration begins to matter more as frame rates exceed 300 FPS thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce 367.4 FPS, Medium reaches 346.3, High hits 323.8, and Ultra still manages 286.1. The spread of 81.3 FPS between Low and Ultra demonstrates that even at maximum settings, the frame rate remains far above any display refresh rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results remain extremely high. Low settings achieve 325.7 FPS, Medium reaches 274.3, High hits 241.0, and Ultra delivers 214.3. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows slightly to 111.4 FPS, showing that the GPU is beginning to feel the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates stay impressive but show more separation between presets. Low settings deliver 220.8 FPS, Medium reaches 180.7, High hits 161.2, and Ultra drops to 145.7. The 75.1 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is smaller than at 1440p, indicating that the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint regardless of quality settings.

The data shows a clear pattern: every preset at every resolution exceeds 144 FPS, meaning this combo can drive high-refresh-rate displays even at 4K with maximum settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Dave The Diver at 4K Ultra with high refresh rates?

A: Yes. The measured 4K Ultra average of 145.7 FPS exceeds the 144 Hz threshold, and 4K High reaches 161.2 FPS. This makes the RTX 5080 capable of driving both high resolution and high refresh simultaneously.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low (367.4 FPS), the CPU appears to be the limiting factor, as the gap between Low and Ultra settings is only 81.3 FPS. The i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads can sustain roughly 367 FPS in this game, beyond which the GPU would need more processor throughput.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 79th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all pairings. This indicates that the i5-12400F and RTX 5080 form a well-balanced partnership for this game.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 37.7 FPS (323.8 vs 286.1). At 1440p, the difference narrows to 26.7 FPS (241.0 vs 214.3). At 4K, the gap is 15.5 FPS (161.2 vs 145.7), showing that visual quality settings have less impact at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival CPUs?

A: The i5-12400F scores 19221 on average, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-8700K and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U. It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% and leads the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%.

Q: Is the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. Dave The Diver's graphical demands are well within the 16 GB GDDR7 capacity, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures no memory bandwidth constraints at any tested setting.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Ultra preset at 1440p provides the best overall experience. At 214.3 FPS, this configuration delivers near-maximum visual quality while maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of virtually any monitor. The 1440p Ultra result is 68.6 FPS higher than 4K Ultra, making it the sweet spot for competitive play and visual fidelity.

For 4K users, the High preset at 161.2 FPS is the recommended choice. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 15.5 FPS, but High provides a 10.6% frame rate improvement that could be meaningful for maintaining consistent refresh rates on 144 Hz displays. The Low preset at 4K (220.8 FPS) offers no practical advantage over Medium (180.7 FPS) since both exceed any display capability.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 286.1 FPS is the best option, as the frame rate remains so high that reducing settings provides no tangible benefit. The 81.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is imperceptible to most users, so maximizing visual quality is the rational choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 79 out of 1626 tested configurations places it in the 95th percentile of all system pairings for Dave The Diver. This is a strong result that reflects the synergy between the i5-12400F and RTX 5080. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and GPU's 89th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that exceeds what either component could achieve alone.

The ranking suggests that this pairing outperforms many combinations with more expensive CPUs, because Dave The Diver's performance ceiling is largely determined by GPU throughput at higher resolutions. The i5-12400F's 6-core configuration with 12 threads is sufficient to keep the RTX 5080 fed at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU's massive 56.28 TFLOPS compute capacity drives the exceptional 4K results.

In the context of all 1626 tested combos, this system's 79th place ranking indicates that only 78 configurations — likely featuring flagship CPUs paired with top-tier GPUs — deliver higher frame rates in this game. For the vast majority of users, this pairing offers near-elite performance without requiring a more powerful processor.