Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, an adventure title released in 2023, presents a fascinating case study for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing. The measured FPS data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but begins to show CPU limitations at 1080p, particularly when settings are lowered. This combination, ranking 939th out of 1626 tested combos, occupies a solidly mid-pack position, with its performance profile shifting dramatically depending on the resolution and graphical preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K produces a significant and predictable drop in frame rates, but the magnitude of that drop tells a clear story about which component is carrying the load. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 152.6 at 1080p to 114.7 at 1440p, and finally to 75.6 at 2160p. This represents a 50.5% reduction in performance from the lowest to the highest resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 4060 is being pushed progressively harder as pixel count increases, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width becoming the limiting factor.

However, the scaling pattern changes dramatically at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 217.3 FPS, which drops to 175.9 at 1440p and then to 118.6 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 19.0%, while from 1440p to 4K it is 32.6%. This uneven scaling suggests that at lower settings, the CPU begins to assert its influence. The i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.10 GHz, appears to be approaching its ceiling at 1080p Low, where the GPU has more headroom than the processor can feed it.

The medium settings curve reinforces this interpretation. The 1080p Medium average of 194.5 FPS drops to 143.7 at 1440p (a 26.1% decrease) and then to 99.7 at 4K (a 30.6% decrease). This more consistent scaling indicates a better balance between CPU and GPU load. The data implies that the RTX 4060 is capable of delivering high frame rates at any resolution, but the i5-9400's six physical cores without hyper-threading create a bottleneck that becomes more visible as the graphical workload lightens.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz provide the computational muscle, while the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Dave The Diver, these specifications translate to a GPU that can comfortably handle 4K Ultra at 75.6 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for many cards.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 66 versus all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 23181, places it in the upper-mid tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, both of which score within 0.7% of the RTX 4060's average. This close grouping in raw compute scores, however, does not necessarily translate to identical gaming performance, as the measured FPS data for Dave The Diver shows the RTX 4060 achieving over 200 FPS at 1080p Low.

The transition from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra sees the average FPS halve from 152.6 to 75.6, which indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are being taxed heavily at higher resolutions. The 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate and 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for smooth gameplay at 1440p, where the card produces 132.8 FPS at High settings, but the 4K Ultra result of 75.6 FPS suggests the card is approaching its practical limit for this title at maximum quality.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 939th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the 57.7th percentile of all pairings in the database. This mid-pack positioning is somewhat surprising given the RTX 4060's individual GPU percentile of 66, but it reflects the limiting influence of the i5-9400, which sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs. The combination's performance is therefore constrained by its weaker link, which is the processor.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it within 0.6% of the Intel Core i7-8809G, which scores 2319, and just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 and i3-1125G4, both scoring around 2300. This clustering indicates that the i5-9400 is performing at a level comparable to much newer budget processors, which explains why the combo rank is not higher. The data suggests that pairing the RTX 4060 with a stronger CPU would likely push this combination higher in the rankings, but as measured, the system delivers consistent, playable performance across all tested scenarios.

The fact that this combo achieves 86.4 FPS at 4K High while ranking in the bottom half of the database indicates that Dave The Diver is not an exceptionally demanding title for high-end hardware. The game's adventure genre likely features less complex geometry and fewer draw calls than a AAA shooter, allowing the RTX 4060 to shine even with a modest CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Dave The Diver with this hardware?

A: 1440p High provides an excellent balance, delivering 132.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold while still offering quality visuals. 4K is also viable at High settings with 86.4 FPS, making it a strong choice for users with high-resolution displays.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 bottlenecking the RTX 4060?

A: Yes, particularly at 1080p with lower settings. The gap between 1080p Low (217.3 FPS) and 1440p Low (175.9 FPS) is only 19.0%, whereas the drop from 1440p to 4K is 32.6%. This uneven scaling at Low settings indicates the CPU is limiting performance at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, placing it 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). It is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580 (23021).

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra the average FPS is 75.6, which is playable. At 4K High it improves to 86.4 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 99.7 FPS. All tested 4K settings produce frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the RAM configuration of this CPU?

A: The i5-9400 supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The total L3 cache is 9 MB shared across the six cores.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4060 have and what type is it?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory clock of 2125 MHz, which translates to 17 Gbps effective and a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz are modest by today's standards, and its 65 W TDP reflects its efficiency-oriented design. The CPU's percentile ranking of 50 among all processors indicates it is exactly average in the database, and its average benchmark score of 2305 places it in a tight cluster with the Intel Core i3-10305 and i3-1125G4.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the system produces 217.3 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is working near its maximum capacity, as the GPU has more than enough headroom to render frames faster. The difference between 1080p Low (217.3 FPS) and 1440p Low (175.9 FPS) is 41.4 FPS, which is a smaller absolute drop than the 57.3 FPS difference between 1440p Low and 4K Low (118.6 FPS). This pattern indicates that the CPU can maintain high frame rates but begins to struggle when the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

The processor's single-core Cinebench R23 score of 1125 and multi-core score of 7969 highlight its age, as newer processors achieve significantly higher scores. However, for an adventure game like Dave The Diver, which may not heavily utilize multi-threading, the six physical cores are sufficient to maintain playable frame rates. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the CPU manages to feed the GPU enough data to achieve 75.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset delivers 152.6 FPS, which is high enough for any monitor. However, the High preset at 173.6 FPS offers diminishing returns in visual quality for a 13.8% performance gain. The Medium preset at 194.5 FPS and Low at 217.3 FPS provide even higher frame rates, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it for a game that likely features detailed underwater environments.

At 1440p, the High preset at 132.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience with good visual fidelity. Ultra at 114.7 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate. The Medium preset at 143.7 FPS is a good middle ground, while Low at 175.9 FPS is excessive for most users.

For 4K displays, the High preset at 86.4 FPS is the best balance of quality and performance. Ultra at 75.6 FPS is still playable, but the 14.3% drop from High may not be justified by the visual improvement. Medium at 99.7 FPS offers a significant boost over High, and Low at 118.6 FPS is the fastest option, though it may look noticeably worse on a large 4K screen. The data suggests that High settings at any resolution provide the most consistent experience, with frame rates ranging from 86.4 FPS at 4K to 173.6 FPS at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 152.6 at Ultra to 217.3 at Low. The Medium preset produces 194.5 FPS, while High achieves 173.6 FPS. These results show a clear trend: each step down in settings yields a corresponding increase in frame rate, with the largest jump occurring between High and Medium (20.9 FPS) and the smallest between Medium and Low (22.8 FPS).

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 114.7 at Ultra, 132.8 at High, 143.7 at Medium, and 175.9 at Low. The differences between presets are more pronounced at this resolution, with Ultra to High showing a 18.1 FPS gap, High to Medium a 10.9 FPS gap, and Medium to Low a 32.2 FPS gap. This suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS falls to 75.6 at Ultra, 86.4 at High, 99.7 at Medium, and 118.6 at Low. The scaling between presets is more uniform here, with gaps of 10.8 FPS (Ultra to High), 13.3 FPS (High to Medium), and 18.9 FPS (Medium to Low). This consistency indicates that at 4K, the RTX 4060 is the primary bottleneck, and its performance is scaling predictably with the graphical load. The data shows that even at the most demanding setting combination (4K Ultra), the system maintains an average FPS above 60, making it a viable option for high-resolution gaming.