Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i5-14400F pairs a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake-R design with a 2.50 GHz base and 4.70 GHz boost clock, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings a 32 GB GDDR7 frame buffer across a 512-bit bus, pushing 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute from 21,760 shading units. In Dave The Diver, this combination produces remarkably high frame rates at every tested preset, with the 1080p Low result of 391 FPS representing the ceiling of the measured data and 4K Ultra dipping to 164 FPS — still far beyond what the game's pixel-art adventure aesthetic would seem to demand. The benchmark results indicate a system that is heavily overqualified for this title, yet the scaling patterns between resolutions and settings reveal where the CPU and GPU each take turns as the limiting factor.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i5-14400F is a 10-core processor with 16 threads, built on Intel's 10 nm Raptor Lake-R process with a 65 W TDP. Its 2.50 GHz base clock and 4.70 GHz boost clock place it as a mid-range desktop part, but its benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,645 and single-core score of 3,055, plus a Geekbench multi-core result of 11,268 and single-core of 2,058. The processor sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 32,279.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining high frame pacing at elevated frame rates. The game's measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low — where the GPU has the least work to do — the system averages 391 FPS. That number, while not a pure CPU limit, suggests the i5-14400F's single-thread performance is sufficient to keep up with the RTX 5090 D's output at lower resolutions. The processor's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher) — all within a tight 0.7 percentage point band, indicating the i5-14400F is competitive with a wide range of laptop and desktop chips in synthetic workloads.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support contribute to its responsiveness, but in a game like Dave The Diver — which is not a heavy multithreaded title — the key metric is the 3,055 single-core Cinebench R23 score. That figure, combined with the 4.70 GHz boost clock, suggests the CPU can deliver consistent frame delivery even when the GPU is producing hundreds of frames per second. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,701 reinforces this: the i5-14400F is not a bottleneck at 1080p, where the RTX 5090 D is still able to push 325-391 FPS depending on settings.

FAQ

Q: How does the Core i5-14400F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32,279 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32,233, 0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-11900 (32,226, 0.2% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32,354, 0.2% lower). The Intel Core i7-12800H is the closest competitor at 32,121, just 0.5% lower.

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

A: The highest average FPS is 391, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest measured average is 164 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5090 D compared to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB versions are 2.1% and 2.4% higher, respectively.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326, and Geekbench Vulkan score is 376,915.

Q: What memory configuration does the RTX 5090 D use?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, running at 28 Gbps effective.

Q: How does the i5-14400F's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded?

A: The multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 21,645 is roughly 7.1 times the single-core score of 3,055, while Geekbench shows a multi-core score of 11,268 versus 2,058 single-core — a 5.5x multiplier. PassMark multithread score is 25,470 versus 3,701 single-thread.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Dave The Diver, this pairing of Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 32nd out of 2,867 total combos. That places it in the top 1.1% of all tested systems for this game, which is an exceptional result given that the CPU is a mid-range desktop part rather than a flagship. The ranking reflects the fact that Dave The Diver is not a demanding title for modern hardware — even a 10-core processor like the i5-14400F, which sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, is more than adequate when paired with a GPU that ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

The rank of 32 out of 2,867 suggests that only 31 other combinations — presumably featuring higher-end CPUs like Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts — managed to produce higher frame rates. The gap between this combo and the top is likely minimal, given that the RTX 5090 D is already delivering 391 FPS at 1080p Low, which approaches the practical limit for many display refresh rates. The combo's position in the rankings underscores that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting: the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 is dramatically higher than the CPU's 32,279, and in a game with modest CPU demands, that imbalance favors the GPU.

For context, the i5-14400F's nearest CPU rivals all have nearly identical average scores (within 0.5%), yet the combo's rank in this game depends almost entirely on the GPU. The RTX 5090 D, with its 92nd percentile standing, is the primary driver of the 32nd-place finish. Had this CPU been paired with a weaker GPU, the rank would drop substantially — the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers 12 configurations: four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160). At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 325 (Ultra) to 391 (Low), with Medium at 368 and High at 353. The Medium preset also records a minimum of 312 FPS and a maximum of 423 FPS, providing the only min/max data at this resolution.

Moving to 1440p, the averages drop predictably: Low produces 356 FPS, Medium 310 FPS, High 277 FPS, and Ultra 245 FPS. The Medium preset again has the only min/max figures, with 264 FPS minimum and 357 FPS maximum. At 4K, the averages fall further: Low yields 248 FPS, Medium 208 FPS, High 186 FPS, and Ultra 164 FPS. The 4K Medium configuration records a minimum of 177 FPS and maximum of 239 FPS.

The delta between resolutions is consistent. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 66 FPS (391 to 325). At 1440p, that spread grows to 111 FPS (356 to 245). At 4K, the spread is 84 FPS (248 to 164). Interestingly, the 1080p Low result of 391 FPS is only 35 FPS higher than the 1440p Low result of 356 FPS, while the 1440p Low to 4K Low drop is 108 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p, the system is approaching a CPU or game-engine limit, since the GPU should theoretically be capable of even higher frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU workload. At Low settings, the system delivers 391 FPS at 1080p, 356 FPS at 1440p, and 248 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35 FPS (9.0% reduction), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 108 FPS (30.3% reduction). At Ultra settings, the progression is 325 FPS at 1080p, 245 FPS at 1440p, and 164 FPS at 4K — a drop of 80 FPS (24.6%) from 1080p to 1440p, then 81 FPS (33.1%) from 1440p to 4K.

The pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor. The i5-14400F's single-thread performance (3,055 in Cinebench R23, 3,701 in PassMark) caps the frame rate around 325-391 FPS regardless of settings. At 1440p, the GPU begins to take a more significant role, as evidenced by the larger percentage drops between presets. At 4K, the RTX 5090 D is clearly the bottleneck — the 164 FPS at Ultra represents a 58% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result, which is consistent with the 4x pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K.

The fact that 1080p Low (391 FPS) is only 9% faster than 1440p Low (356 FPS) — while 1440p Low is 30% faster than 4K Low (248 FPS) — confirms that the game is CPU-limited at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090 D's 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS of compute are not being fully utilized until the resolution reaches 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, every preset delivers well above 300 FPS, making the Ultra preset (325 FPS) the best choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing playability. The 66 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is imperceptible on most displays, so there is no reason to reduce settings.

At 1440p, the High preset (277 FPS) offers a strong balance, but Ultra (245 FPS) is still far above any common refresh rate threshold. The Medium preset (310 FPS) provides a 65 FPS advantage over Ultra, which could matter for 360 Hz displays, but the visual quality loss is unlikely to be worth it in a game like Dave The Diver. For most users, Ultra at 245 FPS is the recommended choice.

At 4K, the Ultra preset (164 FPS) is still well above 144 Hz, making it the clear recommendation for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset (186 FPS) offers a 22 FPS improvement for those seeking maximum frame rates, but the visual difference between High and Ultra in this title is typically minor. The Medium preset (208 FPS) provides the highest frame rate with playable quality, but the step down from Ultra to Medium is substantial.

For the best overall experience, the data supports using Ultra settings at any resolution — the minimum measured FPS of 177 (at 4K Medium) suggests the system never drops below playable levels, and the Ultra preset at 4K (164 FPS average) is still faster than most displays can show. The only scenario where lowering settings makes sense is if targeting a 360 Hz or 480 Hz display at 1080p, where the Low preset's 391 FPS would be the only way to approach those refresh rates.