Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not the kind of title that typically stresses flagship hardware, but the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination reveal a fascinating scaling curve that defies the usual GPU-bound progression. At 1080p with Low settings, the pairing produces 412.1 FPS, which is a figure so high that it suggests the render pipeline is operating at near-absolute efficiency. Dropping to 4K at the same Low preset yields 239 FPS, representing a substantial 42% reduction in throughput. This delta indicates that while the RTX 5090 is still flexing its muscles, the resolution jump from 1080p to 4K is beginning to introduce a meaningful pixel-pushing workload that even this flagship GPU must respect.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced when examining the High preset across the three resolutions. At 1080p High, the system achieves 350.1 FPS, which falls to 263.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 177.4 FPS at 4K. The step from 1440p to 4K alone costs 85.9 FPS, or roughly 33% of the 1440p performance. This is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the Core i5-12600KF’s 10 cores and 16 threads are more than capable of feeding the graphics card at lower pixel counts. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the bottleneck, as evidenced by the relatively modest 15% performance gap between Low (412.1 FPS) and Ultra (312.1 FPS) settings, whereas at 4K, the GPU workload dominates, with the gap between Low (239 FPS) and Ultra (155.5 FPS) expanding to 35%.

Interestingly, the Medium preset at 4K delivers 196.5 FPS, which is higher than the High preset’s 177.4 FPS, but the Ultra preset drops significantly to 155.5 FPS. This suggests that the transition from Medium to High and then to Ultra introduces increasingly heavy visual effects that tax the GPU’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The RTX 5090’s boost clock of 2407 MHz is clearly being utilized effectively at these settings, but the game’s art style, which is primarily 2D pixel art with 3D lighting, does not seem to scale in a linear fashion with GPU compute. The result is that the 5090 is often waiting on the CPU at lower resolutions, which reflects the i5-12600KF’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data from 1080p to 4K paints a clear picture of where the bottleneck shifts within this system. At 1920x1080, the average FPS across all settings ranges from 312.1 at Ultra to 412.1 at Low, which is a spread of exactly 100 FPS. This narrow band indicates that the CPU is the primary constraint; the RTX 5090 is being held back by the i5-12600KF’s ability to issue draw calls and manage game logic. The CPU’s 3DMark max-thread score of 7952 and Passmark multithread score of 27575 are respectable, but they are not enough to fully saturate a GPU that scores 14411 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. As the resolution increases to 2560x1440, the FPS figures drop by roughly 20-25% across the board, with High going from 350.1 to 263.3 FPS. This is where the GPU starts to take on more of the load, but the CPU is still contributing to the overall latency.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes steeper, and the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. The High preset suffers a 32.6% reduction from its 1440p counterpart, falling to 177.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is even more demanding, dropping to 155.5 FPS, which is only 49.8% of the 1080p Ultra score. This is a significant performance cliff that indicates the 4K resolution is overwhelming the GPU’s pixel fill rate, despite its 423.6 GPixel/s capability. The fact that the Low preset still manages 239 FPS at 4K shows that the RTX 5090 has immense headroom, but the game’s higher settings introduce effects like ambient occlusion and dynamic shadows that are particularly costly at high pixel counts. The data strongly suggests that for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, 1080p or 1440p is the sweet spot, while 4K is best reserved for visual fidelity over raw frame rates, given that even the Ultra preset remains above 155 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090’s role in this combination is pivotal, but its massive specifications are only partially utilized by Dave The Diver. The GPU’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is far more than this game requires, even at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results show that the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at any settings, as the frame rate differences between Medium and High are more likely attributed to shader complexity and texture filtering rather than memory allocation. The GPU’s base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz are relatively modest for a flagship, but the 21760 shading units and 680 TMUs deliver immense parallel processing power. This is reflected in the Passmark G3D score of 39650, which places the 5090 in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

However, the game’s performance is not directly proportional to the GPU’s raw compute. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is overkill for a title with simple geometry, and the 176 ROPs are rarely saturated. Instead, the data shows that the GPU’s role is to ensure that frame times remain consistent even when the CPU is struggling to keep up. At 1080p, the RTX 5090’s immense power means that it can render frames faster than the CPU can prepare them, leading to the observed bottleneck. At 4K, the GPU’s pixel processing becomes the bottleneck, but it still maintains high average FPS due to its 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate. The nearest rivals, such as the RTX 5090 D, have a negligible 0.1% performance delta, confirming that this is a top-tier card that is unlikely to be the weakest link in any gaming scenario. The GPU’s 94th percentile ranking versus all GPUs underscores its dominance, but the measured FPS suggest that pairing it with a mid-range CPU like the i5-12600KF results in a system that is balanced only at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 412.1, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the absolute ceiling for this pairing in Dave The Diver.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 350.1 at 1080p to 177.4 at 4K, representing a 49.3% reduction in frame rate. This is a significant loss that highlights the GPU’s role in higher resolution rendering.

Q: Is the RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: No, the benchmark data shows no signs of VRAM limitations. The frame rates scale consistently with settings changes, and the 32 GB capacity is far beyond what Dave The Diver requires, even at 4K Ultra.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of high frame rate and visual quality?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with High settings delivers 263.3 FPS, which is a strong balance. It offers a 48.5% improvement over 4K High while maintaining a high level of visual fidelity.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K at 27829, showing a 0% delta. It also performs within 0.1% of the Core i5-12600K.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 239 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 155.5 FPS. This is an 83.5 FPS difference, or a 35% reduction in performance when enabling all visual features.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For users with a 1080p 360Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 389.5 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant boost over High (350.1 FPS) while maintaining a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 312.1 FPS is still playable, but the marginal visual improvements over Medium do not justify the 77.4 FPS loss. For 1440p displays, the High preset at 263.3 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a 10.1% improvement over Medium (292.9 FPS) is not possible, so High is the best balance, as Ultra drops to 229.5 FPS. The Low preset at 354.6 FPS is only recommended for competitive scenarios where every frame counts, but the visual downgrade is noticeable.

At 4K, the situation changes, and the High preset at 177.4 FPS is the most balanced option. The Medium preset at 196.5 FPS offers a 10.7% performance increase but sacrifices some visual quality, while the Ultra preset at 155.5 FPS is still above 144 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The Low preset at 239 FPS is overkill for most 4K monitors, which typically cap at 144Hz or 240Hz, and the visual quality is severely compromised. Therefore, the data suggests that for the best experience, users should prioritize the High preset across all resolutions, as it delivers the most consistent performance scaling. The Ultra preset is only recommended for those who prioritize image quality over raw FPS, as the game’s 2D art style does not benefit significantly from the extra effects.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive benchmark database, the combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 17th out of 1626 tested combos for Dave The Diver. This places the system in the top 1% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result given that the CPU is not a flagship part. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking among all processors, combined with the GPU’s 94th percentile, creates a pairing that outperforms the vast majority of systems. The high rank is primarily driven by the RTX 5090’s raw power, as the CPU’s performance is adequate but not outstanding. The data shows that the combo is more competitive at higher resolutions, where the GPU’s dominance is more pronounced, but even at 1080p, the system delivers frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most monitors.

The rank of 17th suggests that there are only 16 other combinations that perform better, likely featuring newer or higher-tier CPUs. However, the i5-12600KF’s strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444, ensures that it does not hold the GPU back significantly. The benchmark results indicate that this is a well-balanced system for Dave The Diver, with the GPU providing the majority of the performance headroom. The 1626 total combos include a wide range of hardware, from budget to enthusiast, and this pairing’s top-17 finish confirms the RTX 5090’s capabilities. For users considering this build, the data confirms that it is a top-tier choice for this game, capable of delivering high frame rates at any resolution and setting combination.