Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver presents an interesting case for hardware analysis because it is a 2D adventure title that still manages to scale significantly with GPU and CPU capabilities. The measured configuration combines the Intel Core i5-14400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The data shows that this pairing produces exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the performance scaling reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings and resolutions, while becoming increasingly CPU-limited at lower resolutions and settings. The combination achieves a frame rate range from a minimum of 155.2 FPS at 4K Ultra to a maximum of 391.3 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the hardware is never truly stressed by this title, though the differences between settings presets are substantial.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F 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 4.70 GHz. It features 20 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of Dave The Diver, this processor's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic data. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, as the frame rates at 4K are significantly lower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor. However, the data also indicates that at 1080p with Low settings, the frame rate hits 391.3 FPS, which is only modestly higher than the 349.8 FPS seen at 1080p High, suggesting that the CPU's single-thread performance begins to matter more as the GPU workload decreases.

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. Its nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i7-12800H and the AMD Ryzen 7 250, with performance deltas of 0% and -0.2%, respectively. This indicates that the i5-14400F is a very capable mid-range processor that can keep up with much more expensive options in gaming workloads. In Dave The Diver, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for the game's demands, as the frame rates at 1080p Low and Medium (391.3 and 367.1 FPS, respectively) suggest that even at the highest frame rates, the CPU is not fully saturated. The 4.70 GHz boost clock helps maintain high single-threaded performance, which is critical for games that rely on a single main thread for physics and game logic.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved with this CPU-GPU combo in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 391.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 349.8 FPS, while at 4K High, it drops to 178.1 FPS, representing a 49% decrease in performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate is 155.2 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 391.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary performance limiter as resolution and settings increase.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 353.8 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 231.3 FPS, a difference of 122.5 FPS or 34.6% lower performance for Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F with the RTX 5090 ranks 21st out of 1626 total tested combinations in Dave The Diver.

Q: What is the minimum average frame rate recorded for this configuration?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 155.2 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data for this combination reveals a clear trend: frame rates decrease consistently as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies by settings preset. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the frame rate drops from 349.8 FPS to 260.3 FPS, a 25.6% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same High settings, the frame rate drops further to 178.1 FPS, another 31.6% decrease. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 5090's rendering workload increases significantly with each resolution step.

The data also shows that the scaling is more pronounced at lower settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 391.3 FPS at 1080p to 353.8 FPS at 1440p (a 9.6% decrease), but then falls sharply to 235 FPS at 4K (a 33.6% decrease from 1440p). This suggests that at 1080p and 1440p with Low settings, the CPU may be starting to limit performance, as the GPU is not fully utilized. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as the pixel count increases dramatically. At Ultra settings, the frame rate scales more linearly: 311.3 FPS at 1080p, 231.3 FPS at 1440p, and 155.2 FPS at 4K, representing decreases of 25.7% and 32.9%, respectively. This indicates that the RTX 5090 is consistently the limiting factor at Ultra settings across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The data shows that this particular configuration, the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, achieves a combo rank of 21 out of 1626 tested combinations in Dave The Diver. This places it in the top 1.3% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a very high-performing combination for this game. The top 20 configurations are likely to include more powerful CPUs, such as higher-end Core i9 or Ryzen 9 processors, but the difference in real-world performance is likely minimal given the high frame rates already achieved.

The fact that this mid-range CPU can rank this highly with a flagship GPU suggests that Dave The Diver is not a particularly CPU-intensive title. The i5-14400F's percentile rank of 88 among all CPUs, combined with its nearest rival performance deltas (0% vs the Core i7-12800H), indicates that it provides sufficient processing power to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5090. The 21st place ranking also demonstrates that the RTX 5090's raw power is the dominant factor in this combo's performance, as it is one of the highest-performing GPUs available, ranking in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship graphics card based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, with a 5 nm process node and 92,200 million transistors. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs. In Dave The Diver, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops when moving from 1080p to 4K.

The RTX 5090's benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 5090 D and the RTX 5050 Mobile, with performance deltas of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. The GPU's massive memory capacity of 32 GB is far more than needed for Dave The Diver, but the high bandwidth and compute power ensure that even at 4K Ultra, the game runs at an average of 155.2 FPS. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows that the GPU handles the increased graphical load gracefully, with the largest drop being from Low to Ultra at 4K, where the frame rate goes from 235 FPS to 155.2 FPS, a 34% decrease.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this configuration are consistent across all resolutions and settings, with no stuttering or frame drops indicated by the data. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 391.3 FPS at Low settings to 311.3 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium settings produce 367.1 FPS, while High settings produce 349.8 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest, but even the slowest 1080p setting is well above any high-refresh-rate display's capability.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain extremely high. Low settings produce 353.8 FPS, Medium produces 295.6 FPS, High produces 260.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 231.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 122.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is working harder but still has plenty of headroom. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest but still impressive. Low settings yield 235 FPS, Medium yields 197.6 FPS, High yields 178.1 FPS, and Ultra yields 155.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that drops below 200 FPS, but it still represents a very playable experience on most high-end monitors. Across all resolutions, the data shows that the RTX 5090 is consistently the dominant component, with the i5-14400F providing ample support to avoid creating a CPU bottleneck.