Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver presents an interesting case study in hardware scaling, as the measured results for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 show a title that is remarkably fluid at nearly every setting. The data indicates a system that is rarely stressed by the game’s demands, with performance headroom that allows for high refresh rate gameplay even at 4K resolution. This combination of a modern 14-core processor and a 40-series graphics card produces frame rates that suggest the game’s engine is more reliant on raw GPU throughput than CPU scheduling, though the processor’s strong single-thread performance ensures no bottlenecks are introduced.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet distinctive pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the lowest settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a drop from 319 FPS to 240 FPS, a 24.7% reduction, while moving from 1440p to 4K further reduces the average to 161 FPS, another 32.9% decline. This steep scaling curve at Low settings indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises, but the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high, suggesting the game is not particularly demanding.

The scaling behavior changes character when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 211 FPS, which falls to 158 FPS at 1440p (a 25.1% drop) and then to 106 FPS at 4K (a 32.9% reduction from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets is notable, implying that the rendering workload scales fairly linearly with resolution regardless of the visual complexity. This is a sign that the game’s performance is primarily bound by pixel throughput rather than shader complexity, which is typical for a 2D-style adventure title with relatively simple geometry.

The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (319 FPS) and Ultra (211 FPS) is 108 FPS, but at 4K this gap shrinks to just 55 FPS (161 FPS vs 106 FPS). This convergence suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant constraint, overshadowing the additional shader work required by higher quality settings. The RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient for the game’s needs, as even at 4K Ultra the average stays above 100 FPS.

What the resolution scaling ultimately indicates is that this combo is vastly overqualified for Dave The Diver at 1080p, where even the most demanding preset nearly doubles the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors. The 4K results are more interesting, as the system still manages to hit 120 FPS on High settings, which would satisfy most high-refresh 4K display owners. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the larger frame rate drops when moving from 1440p to 4K compared to the 1080p to 1440p transition.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 14 cores and 20 threads arranged in a hybrid architecture. The processor’s boost clock of 5.30 GHz on its performance cores is a key factor in gaming scenarios, as Dave The Diver appears to benefit from high single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594 and Geekbench single-core score of 2445 both indicate top-tier per-core performance, which the game’s simulation and logic systems likely leverage.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 17085. This places the i5-14600KF in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 49394 puts it just 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. The data suggests that Dave The Diver does not heavily stress the CPU, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates remain high even at 1080p Low, where CPU overhead would typically become more apparent if the processor were a bottleneck.

The processor’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast memory for game data, though the game’s relatively simple world likely does not require extensive caching. The 125 W TDP indicates the chip can sustain high clocks under load, and the fact that it is multiplier unlocked allows for overclocking, though the measured results already show no CPU limitation. The passmark multi-thread score of 38697 and single-thread score of 4273 further confirm that this processor has no trouble feeding the RTX 4070 with draw calls and game logic updates.

At lower resolutions, the CPU’s role becomes more critical, as the GPU has more headroom to render frames quickly. The 319 FPS result at 1080p Low demonstrates that the i5-14600KF can process game state and issue rendering commands fast enough to support very high frame rates. However, the fact that the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor even at these extreme frame rates suggests that Dave The Diver is not a CPU-intensive title, and the processor’s headroom would allow for background tasks or streaming without impacting performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of the measured frame rates, and its specifications align well with the observed scaling behavior. The GPU’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs provide substantial pixel throughput, while the 184 texture mapping units handle the game’s 2D sprite textures efficiently. The boost clock of 2475 MHz allows for high sustained performance, and the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a game with relatively modest texture requirements.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648, places it slightly above the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% faster) and just 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile. In the context of Dave The Diver, these benchmark scores translate to the high frame rates observed, as the game’s visual style does not heavily tax the GPU’s ray tracing or tensor cores. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this title, which appears to rely on traditional rasterization.

The GPU’s thermal and power characteristics, with a 200 W TDP and dual-slot design, suggest it can maintain its boost clock under sustained load without throttling. The measured FPS data supports this, as even at 4K Ultra the average frame rate of 106 FPS does not show signs of thermal-related performance degradation. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is likely a key factor in the smooth 4K performance, as the game’s high-resolution textures and effects require substantial data throughput.

The RTX 4070’s performance in this game is characterized by its ability to maintain high frame rates across all tested configurations. The smallest margin between Low and Ultra settings occurs at 4K (55 FPS), which indicates that at this resolution the GPU is approaching its fill rate limits. However, the fact that even the most demanding preset at 4K stays above 100 FPS suggests that the GPU has significant headroom for future game updates or additional visual features. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 and Passmark G3D score of 26927 provide context for the GPU’s overall capability, though Dave The Diver’s specific workload appears to be less demanding than these synthetic benchmarks suggest.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 319 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the game is highly optimized and the hardware is more than capable of running at extremely high refresh rates.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8%.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 capable of 4K gaming in this title?

A: Yes, the data shows the RTX 4070 achieves 106 FPS at 4K Ultra and 120 FPS at 4K High settings. Even at 4K Low, it reaches 161 FPS, demonstrating that 4K gaming is very comfortable for this GPU in Dave The Diver.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 201, with a minimum of 171 FPS and a maximum of 231 FPS. This 60 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates some variability but overall smooth performance.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance?

A: The i5-14600KF scores 4594 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 32544 in multi-core, representing a 7.1x scaling factor. This indicates strong single-thread performance, which is beneficial for games that rely on fewer cores.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 319 FPS while Ultra settings produce 211 FPS, a difference of 108 FPS. This represents a 33.9% performance reduction when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 846th out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 22.8% of all configurations. This ranking is notably lower than the individual component percentiles might suggest, as the CPU ranks in the 90th percentile and the GPU in the 81st percentile. The discrepancy indicates that the game is not demanding enough to fully utilize the capabilities of either component, meaning many lower-end combinations can achieve similar frame rates.

The combo’s ranking relative to all tested configurations suggests that Dave The Diver’s performance ceiling is reached fairly quickly with mid-range hardware. The 846th rank out of 3710 combos means that 2864 other configurations perform better in this specific game, likely because they feature even more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can push frame rates beyond the 319 FPS maximum observed here. However, the absolute performance of this combo is extremely high, and the ranking primarily reflects the fact that the game is so easy to run that even high-end hardware saturates the engine’s capabilities.

The data shows that this combo sits in the upper quartile of performance, but the game’s low system requirements mean that the ranking is less meaningful than in more demanding titles. The combo’s performance is sufficient for any practical use case, including 4K high refresh rate gaming, which is evidenced by the 120 FPS average at 4K High settings. The ranking also indicates that users with this hardware would experience no performance-related issues, as even the lowest measured frame rate of 106 FPS at 4K Ultra is well above typical display refresh rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 319 FPS, Medium settings yield 267 FPS with a minimum of 227 and maximum of 307 FPS, High settings achieve 238 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain 211 FPS. The 108 FPS difference between Low and Ultra represents a 33.9% performance penalty for maximum visual quality, but even the lowest figure is more than sufficient for competitive gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440 resolution, the performance remains impressive. Low settings average 240 FPS, Medium settings achieve 201 FPS with a range of 171 to 231 FPS, High settings deliver 179 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 158 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p results in a 24.7% reduction at Low settings and a 25.1% reduction at Ultra settings, showing consistent scaling across quality presets.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers high frame rates. Low settings average 161 FPS, Medium settings achieve 135 FPS with a minimum of 114 and maximum of 155 FPS, High settings produce 120 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain 106 FPS. The 4K results show a 32.9% reduction from 1440p at both Low and Ultra settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at this resolution. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings across all resolutions show consistency, with 227 FPS at 1080p, 171 FPS at 1440p, and 114 FPS at 4K, representing 85.0%, 85.1%, and 84.4% of their respective averages.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience depends on the user’s display capabilities. For 1080p displays, High settings at 238 FPS provide an excellent balance between visual quality and performance, as the difference between High and Ultra is only 27 FPS while the visual improvement may be noticeable. Users with 144 Hz displays can comfortably use Ultra settings at 211 FPS, which still exceeds the display’s refresh rate.

For 1440p displays, Medium settings at 201 FPS offer the best combination of smoothness and visual fidelity, with the minimum frame rate of 171 FPS still exceeding 144 Hz refresh rates. High settings at 179 FPS also work well, but the 22 FPS reduction from Medium may not justify the visual gains for competitive players. Ultra settings at 158 FPS remain viable for those prioritizing image quality over frame rate headroom.

At 4K resolution, High settings at 120 FPS provide the best experience for high refresh rate displays, as this exceeds the 120 Hz threshold commonly found on 4K monitors. Medium settings at 135 FPS offer even more headroom, but the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in a game with detailed pixel art. Ultra settings at 106 FPS are playable but may not satisfy users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, as the frame rate falls below these thresholds. Low settings at 161 FPS are recommended only for competitive play where maximum frame rate is prioritized over visual quality.

The data suggests that Medium settings offer the most consistent performance, as evidenced by the measured minimum and maximum frame rates across all resolutions. The Medium preset shows a 80 FPS spread at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K, indicating progressively tighter frame pacing at higher resolutions. For most users, selecting Medium or High settings based on display refresh rate will provide the smoothest experience, while Ultra settings are best reserved for users with 60 Hz displays who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.