Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core i5-12600KF + Intel Arc B580

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a smooth and thoroughly playable experience in Dave The Diver, a 2023 Adventure title. This combo ranks 1278th out of 1626 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the measured framerates tell a story of consistent performance that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold at nearly every setting and resolution tested. The data reveals a pairing where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate, while the CPU provides ample headroom to avoid bottlenecking even at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, featuring a 20 MB shared L3 cache and an 80 KB L1 cache per core, along with 1.25 MB L2 per core. This processor posts a robust multi-threaded score of 23,444 in Cinebench R23 and 9,846 in Cinebench R20, while single-core performance is strong at 3,309 in Cinebench R23 and 1,389 in R20. Its average benchmark score of 27,827 places it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs tested.

In the context of Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is largely background support. The game is not a demanding multi-threaded workload, and the i5-12600KF's 16 threads are far more than the title requires. The data shows that the CPU's performance headroom is significant—its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores an almost identical 27,829 (0% delta), and the Intel Core i5-12600K at 27,851 (-0.1% delta). The i5-12600KF trails the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H by a negligible 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i7-13700H by 0.4%. This cluster of nearly identical scores means that swapping to any of these CPUs would yield virtually no difference in this game's frame rates.

Because the framerates scale so directly with resolution and settings, it is evident that the CPU is not the limiting factor. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lightest and CPU demands are relatively highest, the i5-12600KF's 10 cores and 4.90 GHz boost clock keep the data flowing without introducing any measurable frame pacing issues. The processor's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate a desktop-class part with substantial performance margin, but in this adventure title, that margin goes largely unused.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the clear workhorse in this pairing. Built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using TSMC's 5 nm process, this GPU packs 19,600 million transistors across a 272 mm² die. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, alongside 20 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a fixed 2670 MHz base and boost clock, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a substantial pool for a game like Dave The Diver.

The B580's synthetic benchmark results place it at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23,021. Its nearest rivals are tightly grouped: the AMD Radeon 760M scores 22,999 (0.1% delta), the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 22,950 (0.3% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is just 0.7% ahead at 23,181. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile trails by 1.3% at 22,729. These tiny deltas suggest that in broader workloads the B580 trades blows with the RTX 4060, but in Dave The Diver specifically, the measured FPS data shows the B580 performing strongly across all settings.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, even at 4K Ultra, where the highest memory pressure would occur. The 456.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and asset loading never become a bottleneck. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s are more than adequate for the game's 2D-heavy, pixel-art aesthetic, which places far less demand on rasterization than a modern 3D shooter. The data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo still achieves 124.6 FPS, indicating the GPU is nowhere near its limits even at maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and smooth scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 137.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops performance to 107.6 FPS, a 21.9% reduction, and at 4K High the frame rate falls to 68.8 FPS, another 36.1% drop from 1440p. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's role remains constant while the GPU's workload increases with pixel count.

The settings scaling at each resolution further underscores the GPU's dominance. At 1080p, the spread from Low (184.5 FPS) to Ultra (124.6 FPS) is 59.9 FPS, a 32.5% penalty for maximum quality. At 1440p, the spread from Low (140.4 FPS) to Ultra (93 FPS) is 47.4 FPS, a 33.8% penalty. At 4K, the spread tightens: Low runs at 92.5 FPS, Medium at 78.5 FPS, High at 68.8 FPS, and Ultra at 61.7 FPS, a total drop of 30.8 FPS or 33.3% from Low to Ultra. This consistent ~33% penalty across all resolutions indicates that the GPU's shading and memory subsystems scale linearly with quality settings, and the CPU is never exposed as a limiting factor.

The most telling observation is that 4K Ultra still maintains 61.7 FPS, barely above the ideal 60 FPS target. This means the B580 is fully utilized at the highest preset, but it does not fall below playable thresholds. At 1080p Low, the 184.5 FPS result suggests the GPU could push even higher, but the CPU's role becomes more prominent at such high frame rates; even so, the i5-12600KF's single-thread score of 3,309 in Cinebench R23 ensures it keeps up without issue. The resolution scaling data strongly indicates a GPU-bound configuration at every resolution tested, with the CPU holding steady in the background.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1278th out of 1626 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the 78.6th percentile of combinations—meaning roughly 21.4% of tested combos perform worse. This rank is somewhat surprising given the solid framerates; the database includes many higher-end CPUs and GPUs that push well beyond 200 FPS in this undemanding title, which drags this combo's relative position down despite its absolute playability.

The rank reflects the fact that Dave The Diver is not a graphically intense game, and many combos with more powerful GPUs (like the RTX 4060, which sits just 0.7% ahead in average GPU score) will post higher frame rates. However, the measured data shows this combo never dips below 61.7 FPS at any tested setting or resolution, which is a stronger real-world result than the raw rank suggests. The combo's position is also influenced by the CPU's 84th percentile ranking—it is a strong processor, but not the absolute fastest, and in a game where even mid-range CPUs exceed 120 FPS, the bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU.

Compared to its nearest GPU rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the B580's average benchmark score is only 0.7% lower, yet in Dave The Diver the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (124.6) and 4K Ultra (61.7) indicate that the B580 is well-optimized for this title. The rank of 1278 out of 1626 should be interpreted as "comfortably mid-pack" rather than "struggling," because the actual frame rates are all above the playability threshold. For a game that demands little from hardware, this combo offers a smooth, stutter-free experience, which is ultimately what matters more than its relative standing in a crowded field.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results: Low settings produce 184.5 FPS, Medium reaches 155.4 FPS, High achieves 137.7 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 124.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 59.9 FPS, showing a clear but manageable performance cost for maximum quality.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable. Low settings yield 140.4 FPS, Medium drops to 117.6 FPS, High comes in at 107.6 FPS, and Ultra holds at 93 FPS. The 1440p results show a 47.4 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, with every preset staying well above the 60 FPS mark. The 1440p Ultra result of 93 FPS is particularly strong, indicating that this combo can handle high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors even at maximum in-game quality.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings deliver 92.5 FPS, Medium achieves 78.5 FPS, High reaches 68.8 FPS, and Ultra just clears the 60 FPS line at 61.7 FPS. The 4K results show a 30.8 FPS spread from Low to Ultra, and even the worst-case scenario (4K Ultra at 61.7 FPS) remains playable. The data shows that the Intel Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K in this title, and the i5-12600KF's 10 cores provide no observable bottleneck at any setting. The overall pattern is one of consistent, high-performance delivery, with the combo never falling below the 60 FPS playability threshold across the entire tested matrix.