Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress test for high-end hardware, but the measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at lower resolutions and surprisingly capable of maintaining high refresh rates even at 4K. The benchmark results show a performance curve that scales predictably with resolution, while the CPU's substantial core count ensures that frame pacing remains consistent across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a classic resolution scaling curve, with the most dramatic performance drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p, followed by a more moderate decline moving to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 303 FPS, which drops to 228 FPS at 1440p – a 24.8% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS falls from 228 to 153, a 32.9% decline. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at every resolution, which is expected given the RTX 4080 SUPER's specifications.

Looking at the Low settings data, the scaling is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system hits 406 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate that suggests the CPU and memory subsystem are capable of feeding the GPU at extreme rates. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 306 FPS (a 24.6% drop), and 4K Low produces 205 FPS (a 33.0% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings – roughly 25% from 1080p to 1440p and 33% from 1440p to 4K – points to a well-balanced system where neither component becomes a bottleneck prematurely.

The Medium settings data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing additional insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 340 FPS with a minimum of 289 FPS and a maximum of 391 FPS, giving a spread of 102 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 256 FPS with a min of 217 and max of 294 (spread of 77 FPS). At 4K Medium, the average drops to 171 FPS with a min of 146 and max of 197 (spread of 51 FPS). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently utilized, reducing CPU-induced frame time spikes.

What the scaling reveals is that this combo is capable of delivering playable performance at any resolution, but the headroom available at 1080p is extraordinary. The 406 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU, and the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Dave The Diver's demands at any resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 406, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is a strong indicator that the CPU and GPU combination has significant headroom for high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 135 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and even exceeds 120 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions, but the bottleneck is not severe. At 1080p High, the system achieves 303 FPS, and at 4K High it reaches 153 FPS, showing that the GPU scales down gracefully as resolution increases.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 306 FPS while Ultra settings produce 202 FPS, a difference of 104 FPS (or 34% lower performance at Ultra). This is a relatively modest penalty for maximum visual quality.

Q: Does the combo maintain consistent frame rates, or are there drops?

A: Based on the Medium settings data, frame rates are consistent. At 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 146 and the maximum is 197, with an average of 171, indicating that the system stays within a tight performance band.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 252nd out of 3710 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.8% of all systems tested for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. For a game like Dave The Diver, which is not typically memory-bandwidth intensive, this capacity ensures that texture streaming and asset loading never become a limiting factor, even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. These clocks, combined with 10,240 shading units and 320 texture mapping units, deliver a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s. In practical terms, this means the GPU can process the game's 2D-meets-3D art style with substantial headroom, which is reflected in the 135 FPS result at 4K Ultra.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's benchmark scores reinforce its position. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 260075, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54209 is within 0.1% of the standard RTX 4080, which is an expected result given the "SUPER" refresh's modest performance uplift. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X with a score of 54828 (1.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 55698 (2.7% higher), indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER sits in a competitive performance tier.

The GPU's role in Dave The Diver is further clarified by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the 406 FPS result suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, but the frame rate is likely capped by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and physics updates. At 4K Ultra, the 135 FPS result shows the GPU is working harder, but the 16 GB VRAM buffer ensures that no texture pop-in or stutter occurs. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler design are consistent with a high-end card that is built for sustained performance, and the 1x 16-pin power connector with a 700 W suggested PSU indicates the system has ample power delivery for overclocking headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptionally high frame rates: 406 FPS at Low, 340 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 289 and maximum of 391), 303 FPS at High, and 268 FPS at Ultra. The 138 FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p demonstrates that the GPU has enough headroom to accommodate significant visual upgrades without dropping below high-refresh-rate territory.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings produce 306 FPS, Medium settings yield 256 FPS (min 217, max 294), High settings reach 228 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 202 FPS. The 104 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is smaller than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases. The Medium settings minimum of 217 FPS suggests that even during complex scenes, the system maintains frame rates well above 144 Hz.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive for a game of this type. Low settings achieve 205 FPS, Medium settings average 171 FPS (min 146, max 197), High settings reach 153 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 135 FPS. The 70 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K shows a tighter performance envelope, but the minimum of 146 FPS at Medium ensures that even demanding scenes remain smooth. The data reveals that this combo can drive a 4K 144 Hz display with High settings, and only at Ultra does it dip below 144 FPS, where it still maintains a 135 FPS average.

The Medium settings data across all resolutions is the most informative for understanding frame pacing. At 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 102 FPS; at 1440p, it narrows to 77 FPS; at 4K, it tightens to 51 FPS. This trend indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU's consistent workload reduces the likelihood of CPU-induced frame drops, resulting in more predictable performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 252nd out of 3710 tested combos for Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 6.8% of all systems. This ranking is a strong result, though it reflects the game's relatively light performance demands rather than the absolute peak of hardware capability. The top 6.8% placement means that the vast majority of tested systems – 3,458 of them – produce lower frame rates in this game.

The ranking is consistent with the hardware's individual performance tiers. The RTX 4080 SUPER sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and the Core i5-14600KF ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. When combined, these two components produce a system that is near the top of the performance curve, but the game's modest requirements mean that even mid-range systems can achieve playable frame rates, which keeps the combo from ranking higher.

The combo's rank of 252 indicates that there are 251 tested configurations that perform better, likely featuring higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4090 series or possibly dual-GPU setups. However, for a single-GPU system with a mainstream Intel CPU, this ranking is excellent. The measured data shows that the combo exceeds 200 FPS at 1440p High settings, a result that only a small fraction of systems can match.

It is importantly the combo's ranking is based on average FPS across all settings and resolutions, which means that its performance at 4K Ultra – 135 FPS – is a significant contributor to its high placement. Many systems that rank higher may only do so because they are tested with more powerful GPUs, but the Core i5-14600KF's strong single-threaded performance ensures that it does not hold back the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF plays a supporting role in Dave The Diver, but its specifications indicate why it is well-suited for this task. The CPU features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This combination of high core count and high single-thread boost clock is ideal for a game that is not heavily multithreaded but benefits from fast response times.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32544 in multi-core and 4594 in single-core, putting it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its Geekbench scores of 17085 multi-core and 2445 single-core are similarly strong. The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with an average score of 49228 (0.3% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49196 (0.4% higher), showing that the i5-14600KF is competitive with higher-tier AMD offerings.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is evident in the high frame rates at low resolutions. The 406 FPS result at 1080p Low is a direct reflection of the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls at a rapid pace. The 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled quickly, which is critical for frame pacing. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used data, reducing latency and improving consistency.

The CPU's 125 W TDP is modest for a 14-core processor, and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory gives builders flexibility. The Intel Socket 1700 platform with PCIe Gen 5 lanes ensures that the CPU does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 SUPER's PCIe 4.0 interface. The unlocked multiplier on the KF suffix allows for overclocking, which could provide additional performance headroom, though the measured data already shows excellent results.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K follows GPU expectations, with no anomalous frame rate plateaus that would suggest CPU saturation. The i5-14600KF's position in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, combined with its 14 cores and 20 threads, means it has ample headroom for both current and future gaming workloads.