Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress test for a high-end desktop pairing, but the measured data for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a system with significant headroom at every preset. The results show a combination that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops, making the choice of settings and monitor more impactful than the hardware itself.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 383 FPS, but this drops to 307.2 FPS at 1440p and further to 207.7 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern—a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and another 32% reduction from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, while the CPU has ample headroom at lower ones.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution decreases. At 4K, the difference between Low (207.7 FPS) and Ultra (134.8 FPS) is 72.9 FPS, a 35% performance penalty for maxing out visuals. At 1080p, that same Low-to-Ultra gap grows to 116.4 FPS (383 vs 266.6), representing a 30% drop. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough that the extra shader work from Ultra settings becomes the dominant cost, whereas at 4K the GPU is already saturated and the relative cost of higher settings is smaller.

The data also shows that the game scales almost linearly with resolution at each preset level. For High settings, the 1080p score of 302.8 FPS drops to 230.9 FPS at 1440p (a 24% reduction) and then to 152.3 FPS at 4K (a 34% reduction from 1440p). This non-linear drop at 4K suggests the GPU's memory bandwidth or compute capacity becomes a hard constraint at that resolution, even though the absolute frame rates remain very high.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 111th out of 1626 tested combos for Dave The Diver. That places it in the top 7% of all configurations, which is impressive but not surprising given the components involved. The rank reflects the fact that many other combos with higher-end CPUs or more specialized hardware can achieve even higher frame rates in this particular game, which is not particularly demanding.

The ranking is likely influenced by the fact that the RTX 4080 SUPER is paired with a mid-range i5-13400F rather than a flagship CPU. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 88 means it outperforms 88% of all GPUs tested, while the CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 82 is slightly lower. In a game like Dave The Diver, which appears to favor GPU throughput at higher resolutions, this pairing still delivers excellent results, but the CPU becomes a relative weakness at 1080p where its lower single-thread performance compared to top-tier processors limits peak FPS.

The combo rank of 111 out of 1626 is a strong result, but the data suggests that this system is more than capable of driving high-refresh-rate displays at 1440p and even 4K, which is where most users would realistically play this title. The ranking would likely be higher if the game were more GPU-intensive at lower resolutions, but as it stands, the i5-13400F is holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER from its full potential in the most CPU-bound scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide solid performance for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 21,279 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3,004 in single-core, with a 3DMark max-thread score of 7,307.

For Dave The Diver, the CPU's role becomes clear when examining the frame rate scaling. At 1080p Low, the system hits 383 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and 3,634 in Passmark single-thread tests indicate that the i5-13400F is competent but not exceptional for high-FPS scenarios. The fact that it ranks 82nd percentile among all CPUs means it is better than most, but there is a clear ceiling.

The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this adventure title, which likely uses fewer than 8 threads effectively. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 5,591 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7,307, suggesting that the game does not scale beyond 8 threads. This means the i5-13400F's additional cores are not a limiting factor, but its single-thread performance becomes the bottleneck at very high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 383 FPS on Low, 336.4 FPS on Medium, 302.8 FPS on High, and 266.6 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a consistent 10-12% performance drop for each step up in settings, with the CPU clearly limiting the maximum frame rate. The 116.4 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is the largest of any resolution, reinforcing that the CPU is the constraint at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become 307.2 FPS on Low, 256.6 FPS on Medium, 230.9 FPS on High, and 200.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p averages around 20-25% across all settings, which is less than the pixel count increase (1.78x), indicating that the GPU is starting to become more of a factor but still has headroom. The Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 106.6 FPS, showing that the CPU is still contributing to the performance ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the results are 207.7 FPS on Low, 168.4 FPS on Medium, 152.3 FPS on High, and 134.8 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low score is still above 200 FPS, which is remarkable for a game that is not graphically demanding. The Low-to-Ultra gap shrinks to 72.9 FPS, the smallest absolute difference, confirming that the GPU is the primary limiter at this resolution. The 4K High score of 152.3 FPS is sufficient for any high-refresh-rate 4K monitor.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Dave The Diver at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 134.8 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS and even above 120 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the data shows a 307.2 FPS Low score versus 200.6 FPS Ultra, a 106.6 FPS gap. This indicates the GPU is becoming more relevant, but the CPU still has some influence. The 1440p High score of 230.9 FPS suggests either component is sufficient for most displays.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 111th out of 1626 combos for Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 7% of all tested systems, with the GPU performing at the 88th percentile and the CPU at the 82nd percentile.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for this game?

A: Based on the data, 1440p Ultra at 200.6 FPS or 4K High at 152.3 FPS both offer excellent experiences. The 4K High setting provides a 17% higher frame rate than 4K Ultra while looking nearly identical.

Q: Does lowering settings help at 1080p?

A: Yes, but marginally. At 1080p, Low gives 383 FPS while Ultra gives 266.6 FPS. The gain of 116.4 FPS from Ultra to Low is significant, but the CPU limits the absolute maximum, so the benefit is less than at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER overkill for this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is only fully utilized at 4K, where it still delivers over 200 FPS on Low. At 1080p, the CPU limits performance to 383 FPS, meaning the GPU has unused capacity. However, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and high bandwidth ensure no issues at any setting.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data strongly favors the High preset at 4K. The 152.3 FPS average at 3840x2160 High is 13% faster than the Ultra preset's 134.8 FPS, while the visual difference between High and Ultra in a game like Dave The Diver is typically minimal. This provides a smooth experience on any 4K display, including those with 144 Hz refresh rates.

If you are using a 1440p monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset at 256.6 FPS is the optimal choice. It delivers 11% more frames than High (230.9 FPS) while maintaining good visual fidelity. The Low preset at 307.2 FPS offers diminishing returns for the visual quality loss, unless you have a 360 Hz display that can utilize the extra frames.

For 1080p users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the High preset at 302.8 FPS is recommended over Ultra (266.6 FPS). The 36.2 FPS gain is noticeable on a 300 Hz display, but the visual difference is not. The Medium preset at 336.4 FPS is also viable if you prefer maximum smoothness over shadows and textures. Avoid the Low preset at 1080p since the CPU limits gains to just 383 FPS, which only benefits the most extreme 360 Hz+ displays.