Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress test for flagship hardware, but the data for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination reveals a clear performance curve. Across all measured settings, the frame rates are exceptionally high, indicating that this pairing is far more than sufficient for the game’s demands. The benchmark results show a system that is GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions to a more balanced state as resolution drops, making the analysis of scaling and component roles particularly informative for builders looking to pair high-end parts with lighter titles.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo is telling. At 4K (3840x2160) with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 154 FPS. Dropping to High at the same resolution yields 174 FPS, a modest 13% increase. Moving to Medium at 4K pushes the average to 195 FPS, and Low reaches 233 FPS. This progression indicates that even at 4K, the RTX 5090 has headroom, but the game’s engine begins to show CPU limitations at the very highest settings.

Stepping down to 1440p (2560x1440) shows a significant jump in performance. At Ultra, the average is 229 FPS, which is 75 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result. High at 1440p produces 260 FPS, Medium reaches 291 FPS, and Low hits 348 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p at High settings is particularly striking: 174 FPS to 260 FPS, a 49% improvement. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the gap narrows as resolution decreases.

At 1080p (1920x1080), the curve flattens considerably. Ultra runs at 305 FPS, High at 345 FPS, Medium at 360 FPS, and Low at 384 FPS. The difference between 1440p High (260 FPS) and 1080p High (345 FPS) is 85 FPS, which is substantial. However, the gap between 1080p Medium (360 FPS) and 1080p Low (384 FPS) is only 24 FPS. This compression at the top end indicates that the CPU, the Intel Core i5-13400F, is becoming the bottleneck. The 1080p results show that the RTX 5090 is not being fully utilized; the frame rate is capped by the processor’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls.

The data shows a classic pattern: resolution scaling is steep from 4K to 1440p, but the returns diminish sharply as you approach 1080p. The limiting component shifts from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. For a game like Dave The Diver, which is not graphically intensive, the RTX 5090 is overkill at lower resolutions, and the i5-13400F becomes the deciding factor in maximum frame rates. The measured frames at 1080p Low (384 FPS) versus 4K Low (233 FPS) illustrate a 65% performance delta, proving that the resolution is still the primary variable, but the CPU sets the ceiling at high FPS ranges.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores are solid for a mid-range desktop chip: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 22604, and the single-core score is 3191. In the context of Dave The Diver, these numbers are more than adequate, as the game’s workload is not heavily threaded.

The CPU’s role becomes evident when examining the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 384 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all settings. However, the jump from 1080p Medium (360 FPS) to 1080p Low (384 FPS) is only 6.7%, while the jump from 1440p Medium (291 FPS) to 1080p Medium (360 FPS) is 23.7%. This indicates that the CPU is nearing its limit at 1080p, as the GPU is no longer the constraint. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and the max-thread score of 7307 show that the processor’s multi-threaded capability is consistent, but Dave The Diver likely relies more on single-thread performance.

The single-thread performance, measured at 960 in 3DMark and 3634 in Passmark, is what drives the frame rate at lower resolutions. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz helps here, but the data suggests that the i5-13400F is the limiting factor at 1080p Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 305, which is still high but lower than the 384 FPS at Low. The CPU’s L3 cache is 20 MB shared, which is ample for this game’s data sets, but the architecture’s 10 nm process node and 65 W TDP indicate a power-efficient design that prioritizes sustained performance over peak boosts.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-13400F’s average benchmark score is 25292, placing it right next to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta) and the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3% delta). This means the CPU is not a performance outlier; it sits in a competitive mid-range tier. In Dave The Diver, this translates to a processor that can handle the game’s logic without breaking a sweat, but it does cap the absolute maximum frame rate. The CPU’s 16 threads are not fully utilized, as the game likely runs on fewer cores, but the high boost clock ensures responsive frame times.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience per the data is to prioritize High settings at 1440p or 1080p. At 1440p High, the system averages 260 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. This provides a smooth experience without the diminishing returns of Ultra settings. The difference between 1440p High (260 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (229 FPS) is 31 FPS, or 13.5%, which is noticeable but not critical for a game like Dave The Diver where fast-paced action is not the primary focus.

For 4K users, High settings at 174 FPS are the sweet spot. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K results in a drop to 154 FPS, a 13% reduction in performance for marginal visual gains. Medium at 4K (195 FPS) is also viable, but High offers a better balance of visual fidelity and frame rate. The 4K Low setting (233 FPS) is not recommended, as the visual downgrade is likely significant, and the frame rate is already high enough at High.

At 1080p, the recommendation is to use High settings (345 FPS) or Medium (360 FPS). The difference between Medium and Low (384 FPS) is only 24 FPS, suggesting that Low settings do not provide a meaningful performance benefit. Ultra at 1080p (305 FPS) is the lowest in this resolution, but it is still far above playable thresholds. The data indicates that the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, so lowering settings from High to Low only yields a 11% performance increase, whereas moving from Ultra to High yields a 13% increase. Therefore, High is the optimal preset for 1080p, as it balances load on the CPU and GPU.

For the overall best experience, 1440p High stands out. It offers a 49% higher frame rate than 4K High (260 vs 174 FPS) while maintaining the same settings, making it the most efficient use of the hardware. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 247, which is above the typical 144 Hz refresh rate, ensuring a stable experience. The measured data suggests that the system is overprovisioned for 1080p, making 1440p the target resolution for this combo.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 110th out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places it in the top 3% of all configurations, which is a strong result, but not the absolute top. The ranking suggests that there are 109 other combos that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game, likely involving faster CPUs that can push the frame rate higher at 1080p.

The rank is influenced by the CPU’s performance ceiling. While the RTX 5090 is a top-tier GPU, ranking in the 92nd percentile for all GPUs, the i5-13400F is in the 77th percentile for all CPUs. The combo’s overall rank of 110 indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor; the CPU is holding the system back from reaching the highest possible frame rates. In a game like Dave The Diver, which is not graphically demanding, the CPU becomes more critical to the final ranking.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is clearly in the high-performance tier. The 3710 combos tested include a wide range of hardware, and being in the 110th position means the system outperforms the vast majority. However, the data also shows that the RTX 5090 is not fully utilized, as a faster CPU would likely push the combo higher. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 79842, which is significantly higher than its nearest rivals, but the game’s frame rate is not solely determined by GPU power.

The rank of 110 out of 3710 is a practical indicator for builders. It shows that this combo is more than capable of running Dave The Diver at high frame rates, but it is not the optimal pairing for absolute performance. The system would benefit from a CPU with higher single-thread performance to fully unlock the RTX 5090’s potential. The combo’s rank is a direct result of the CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 960, which is moderate for a modern processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a 32 GB GDDR7 card with a 512-bit memory bus and a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its boost clock is 2407 MHz, and it has 21760 shading units. These specs make it an absolute powerhouse, and its role in Dave The Diver is to ensure that frame rates remain high at 4K. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is still able to maintain 154 FPS, which confirms its raw power.

The GPU’s VRAM of 32 GB is far more than Dave The Diver requires, but it ensures that there is no memory bottleneck at any resolution. The memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is also superfluous for this game, but it allows the GPU to handle the textures at 4K without issue. The GPU’s benchmark scores, such as the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355, reflect its high compute capability, but the game’s frame rates are not limited by the GPU until 4K.

At 4K, the GPU is the primary driver of performance. The scaling from 4K Low (233 FPS) to 4K Ultra (154 FPS) shows a 34% performance drop, which is typical for a resolution-heavy workload. The GPU’s pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1636.8 GTexel/s are more than enough to handle the game’s rendering, but the frame rate at 4K is still influenced by the CPU’s ability to issue commands.

The GPU’s role diminishes as resolution drops. At 1440p, the frame rates are so high that the GPU is not working at full capacity. At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rate does not increase proportionally with lower settings. The GPU’s TDP of 575 W and suggested PSU of 950 W indicate that it is a power-hungry component, but the data shows that in Dave The Diver, it is not the bottleneck. The GPU’s 92nd percentile ranking confirms its high performance, but the game’s frame rates are capped by the CPU at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS for this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 384 at 1080p with Low settings. This is achieved with the Intel Core i5-13400F and RTX 5090 combination.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become the limiting factor?

A: The data shows that the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rate at 1080p Low (384 FPS) is only 24 FPS higher than 1080p Medium (360 FPS), indicating that the GPU is not the constraint.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 110th out of 3710 tested combinations in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 3% of all configurations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: At 1440p with High settings, the average FPS is 260. This is the recommended settings for a balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 fully utilized in this game?

A: No, the RTX 5090 is not fully utilized at 1080p and 1440p. The frame rates are high, but the CPU limits the maximum FPS. The GPU is the limiting factor only at 4K.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 4K Ultra and 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 154, while at 1080p Ultra it is 305. This represents a 98% increase in performance when dropping from 4K to 1080p.