Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a demanding title, but the measured frame rates for this Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination reveal a system that is heavily overqualified for the task, delivering playable performance even at 4K Ultra. The data indicates that the primary bottleneck is the GPU, though the CPU's capabilities are more than sufficient to feed it at every resolution tested.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound curve. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 238.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 180.9 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 118.5 FPS, which is 50% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline as pixel count increases confirms that the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor; the CPU is not holding the system back at any point.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this. At 1080p, the gap between Low (320.3 FPS) and Ultra (210.8 FPS) is 109.5 FPS, showing that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still working hard to push frames. However, at 4K, the same settings gap narrows to 51.8 FPS (160.2 FPS on Low vs 108.4 FPS on Ultra). This compression of the performance delta at higher resolutions is typical of a GPU-limited scenario where raw pixel throughput becomes the dominant cost, rather than the shader complexity added by higher presets.

The most telling indicator is the 4K Low result of 160.2 FPS. This is still an exceptionally high frame rate for 4K, and it is only 31% lower than the 1080p Low score of 320.3 FPS. If the CPU were a constraint, the 4K Low score would likely be much closer to the 1080p Low score, as the lower settings would reduce CPU overhead. Instead, the 50% drop from 1080p High to 4K High suggests that the RTX 4070's 12 GB of memory and its processing cores are the limiting resource, not the i5-14400F's 10 cores.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. For a game like Dave The Diver, which is not a multi-threaded stress test, these specifications are more than adequate. The processor’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093 place it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong performance across the board.

Benchmark results show that the i5-14400F sits within 0.2% of rivals like the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513 avg score) and the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32584 avg score) in the aggregate benchmark, meaning the CPU is not a weak link in this pairing. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by the PassMark single-thread score of 3723, is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in games that rely on a few primary threads. In Dave The Diver, this translates to the ability to process game logic and draw calls without bottlenecking the GPU, which is evident in the 320.3 FPS achieved at 1080p Low.

The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 or DDR5 also contribute to smooth performance, ensuring that data can be fed to the cores efficiently. However, the data does not show any scenario where the CPU’s architecture or clock speed prevents the GPU from reaching its potential. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is so high that it is likely approaching the game’s engine frame rate cap or the practical limit of the rendering pipeline, rather than a CPU ceiling. In short, this processor has ample headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the star of this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the card has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is sufficient for 4K textures in this game, as evidenced by the playable 118.5 FPS at 4K High. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, allows it to handle the pixel and shader workload effectively.

The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 26927 places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals are surprisingly modest. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (0.6% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38008 (1.9% higher), while the RTX 4070 is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371). This suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 is comparable to much older or lower-tier cards, but its real-world gaming performance, as shown in the measured FPS, is exceptional.

The 4K Ultra result of 108.4 FPS is a clear indicator that the GPU is the limiting factor. At this setting, the card is working at its maximum capacity, and the frame rate drops below the 4K High result by 10.1 FPS. The data shows that moving from High to Ultra at 4K costs 10.1 FPS, while at 1080p it costs 27.9 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are more expensive relative to the pixel count at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the sheer number of pixels dominates the cost, making the difference between presets smaller. The RTX 4070’s 200 W TDP and 16-pin power connector are not relevant to the performance data, but the card’s power delivery is clearly adequate for the task.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Dave The Diver at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 108.4 FPS at 4K Ultra and 118.5 FPS at 4K High, both well above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: No. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a GPU-bound pattern, and the CPU’s 88th percentile ranking indicates it has sufficient headroom to keep up.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 238 FPS, while Ultra produces 159.2 FPS, a difference of 78.8 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 375th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: 2560x1440 with High settings yields 180.9 FPS, offering a high frame rate with a significant visual upgrade over 1080p, while 4K High at 118.5 FPS is also viable for a smoother experience.

Q: Is there a big difference between High and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: The difference is 10.1 FPS (118.5 FPS vs 108.4 FPS), which is a 9% drop, making the Ultra preset a less efficient choice at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a rank of 375 out of 1626 tested combinations in Dave The Diver. This places it in the top 23% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the game’s low system requirements. The ranking reflects that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU is the primary driver of the high frame rates. The fact that it is not in the top 100 is likely due to other combos using even more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 or higher-clocked variants, but the data shows that this pairing is far more than adequate.

The ranking suggests that this system is overkill for Dave The Diver. A lower-tier GPU would likely achieve similar frame rates at 1080p, but this combo’s strength lies in its ability to handle 4K with ease, making it a future-proof option for more demanding titles. The deltaPct to the CPU’s nearest rivals is minimal (0.2% or less), indicating that the i5-14400F is not a differentiator in this game; the GPU is. Therefore, the rank reflects the RTX 4070’s raw performance rather than a balanced system score.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p display, the data shows that High settings (238.7 FPS) provide a massive frame rate advantage over Ultra (210.8 FPS) with only a marginal visual difference in most games. Given the high frame rates, Medium at 269.7 FPS is also a valid choice for competitive play, but High is the sweet spot for visual fidelity without unnecessary performance loss. At 1440p, High (180.9 FPS) is the recommended preset, as it offers a 21.7 FPS improvement over Ultra (159.2 FPS) while still looking excellent. Pushing to Ultra at this resolution is only for those who prioritize image quality over frame rate, but the drop is not severe.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. High (118.5 FPS) is the best option, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and is only 10.1 FPS slower than Ultra (108.4 FPS). The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 9% performance hit is unlikely to provide a noticeable visual improvement in a game with this art style. Low settings are unnecessary at any resolution, as even 4K Low (160.2 FPS) is overkill, and the visual degradation would be obvious. For the best experience, the data indicates that 2560x1440 on High (180.9 FPS) or 3840x2160 on High (118.5 FPS) are the ideal configurations, depending on whether you prioritize frame rate or pixel density.