Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, a 2023 adventure title, presents an interesting case for hardware analysis because its visual style and gameplay demands are not typical of high-end stress tests. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable, delivering high frame rates even at maximum settings. The benchmark results indicate a configuration where the GPU is the primary performance driver, but the CPU provides enough headroom to prevent bottlenecks, creating a smooth experience across all tested resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the absolute frame rates remain high, indicating this combo is never truly strained. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system averages 213 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 159.4 FPS, a reduction of roughly 25%. The jump to 3840x2160 sees a further significant drop to 104 FPS at Ultra settings, which is a 35% decrease from the 1440p figure. This pattern illustrates that the RTX 4070's rendering load increases substantially with pixel count.

However, the nature of the scaling suggests a shift in the bottleneck. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes a more relevant factor, limiting the GPU's potential output. The difference between 1080p Low (319.3 FPS) and 1440p Low (237.3 FPS) shows a 25.7% drop, which is substantial. But when comparing 1440p Low to 4K Low (162.1 FPS), the drop is 31.7%, a steeper decline that points to the GPU becoming the definitive limiting component. The trend shows that as resolution increases, the performance curve is dictated almost entirely by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth, with the CPU's influence waning. The data confirms that at 4K, the system is firmly in a GPU-bound state, while at 1080p, the CPU's capabilities are being tested more directly.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The system achieves 319.3 FPS on Low settings and 213 FPS on Ultra at 1920x1080. This represents a 33.3% performance reduction when moving to the highest quality presets.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, the data shows it is capable of 4K gaming, with an average of 104 FPS at 3840x2160 on Ultra settings. Lowering to High settings increases the average to 118.1 FPS.

Q: How much of a frame rate increase is seen when dropping from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate goes from 159.4 FPS on Ultra to 237.3 FPS on Low. This is an increase of 77.9 FPS, or a 48.9% improvement.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops by 35% from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra, indicating the GPU's workload is the bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more significant as frame rates approach very high values.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a high-refresh-rate 1440p monitor?

A: For a 1440p display with a high refresh rate, the High preset is a strong choice, delivering an average of 178.8 FPS. The Ultra preset still provides a very playable 159.4 FPS, but High offers a noticeable performance buffer.

Q: How does the frame rate at 4K Medium compare to 4K High?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 133.7 FPS, which is 15.6 FPS higher than the High preset's 118.1 FPS. This makes Medium a good option for prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the central component in this configuration's performance. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for handling the texture data and pixel fill rates required at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 5888 shading units allow it to process the game's rendering efficiently. In Dave The Diver, the GPU's role is clearly demonstrated by the scaling pattern; as resolution increases, the demand on the GPU's pixel rate and memory bandwidth grows, directly impacting the frame rate.

The benchmark data shows the GPU is operating well within its limits. At 1080p Ultra, the 213 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, as the CPU becomes a more significant factor at these high frame rates. However, at 4K Ultra, the 104 FPS average is a clear indication of the GPU being the primary bottleneck, with its compute and memory resources fully engaged. The RTX 4070's performance percentile of 81 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, places it as a high-end part, and these game results are consistent with that standing. The GPU's memory capacity of 12 GB is likely sufficient for this title, as no data suggests a memory-related performance collapse at higher settings. The frame time consistency, implied by the stable averages, suggests that the GPU's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, while not directly used for standard rasterization, contribute to the overall efficiency of the Ada Lovelace architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Dave The Diver, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is ranked 409 out of 1626 tested combos. This puts it in the top 25% of all configurations tested for this game, indicating a strong performance tier. While the frame rates are high, the rank suggests that many other combos, likely with more powerful GPUs or CPUs, can achieve even higher averages. The rank is a holistic measure, and the data shows this combo is a well-balanced performer that will not struggle with this title. The GPU's own average benchmark score of 37283 and its 81st percentile rank are in line with the combo's overall standing, suggesting the pairing does not introduce any unusual inefficiencies. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 against all CPUs also shows a balanced partnership, with neither component being a weak link in a way that would drag the combo down significantly in the overall ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the processing foundation for this system. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it offers a robust multi-threaded capacity, scoring 21279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7314 in 3DMark 16-thread tests. Its single-thread performance is also competent, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004. In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The data suggests it performs this role admirably. The high frame rates at 1080p, particularly the 319.3 FPS on Low, demonstrate that the CPU can handle a substantial number of frames per second without becoming a hard bottleneck.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz is a key factor in its single-threaded performance, which is critical for gaming. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency. The benchmark data shows the CPU is not holding the system back at standard gaming resolutions. For instance, at 1440p High, the system hits 178.8 FPS, a frame rate where CPU limitations often start to appear in less capable processors. The fact that the system achieves this without issue indicates the i5-13400F has ample headroom. The CPU's performance is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Core i7-13620H, which has an average score of 25201, a mere 0.1% difference, confirming its position in the market.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured performance data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. The average FPS starts at 319.3 on Low, decreases to 265.1 on Medium, 240.6 on High, and finally 213 on Ultra. This shows a consistent scaling curve where each settings tier costs a predictable amount of performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. The Low preset averages 237.3 FPS, Medium drops to 201.2 FPS, High to 178.8 FPS, and Ultra to 159.4 FPS. This resolution is arguably the sweet spot for this combo, as it offers high visual fidelity while maintaining frame rates well above 144 Hz on the High preset.

At 3840x2160, the system still provides a playable experience. The Low preset yields 162.1 FPS, which is still very fast. The Medium preset averages 133.7 FPS, and High drops to 118.1 FPS. The Ultra preset produces an average of 104 FPS. While this is the lowest figure in the dataset, it remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the High preset at 118.1 FPS is a strong option for 4K gaming. The data consistently shows that this hardware combination is overqualified for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and is fully capable of handling 4K with only minor compromises to settings for higher refresh rates.