Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, an Adventure title from mid-2023, presents an unusual bottleneck scenario when paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The data indicates a system where the GPU is massively overqualified for the task, yet the CPU holds the reins tightly, resulting in a performance profile that is more about consistency than raw scaling. The measured frames per second (FPS) across all resolutions and settings are exceptionally high, but the deltas between them reveal that the processor, not the graphics card, is the primary limiting factor in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is surprisingly modest, which is a clear indicator of the CPU bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS only declines from 218.9 at 1920x1080 to 173.1 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 21%. This is a small penalty for a four-fold increase in pixel count, suggesting that the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly, but it is waiting on the CPU to feed it draw calls and game logic.

Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 shows a more conventional scaling pattern. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 180.9 to 159.3, a decrease of about 12%. This indicates that the GPU is starting to become more of a factor as the resolution increases, but the CPU still manages to keep pace without causing a dramatic collapse. The most telling sign is the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the difference is 29.9 FPS (218.9 vs 189.0), while at 4K, it narrows to 20.3 FPS (173.1 vs 152.8). This compression of the settings spread at higher resolutions implies that the CPU is the consistent bottleneck; when the GPU is given more work (higher resolution), it has less idle time, but the frame rate ceiling is still determined by the i5-9400's processing power.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this specific combination at rank 509 out of 1626 tested combos for Dave The Diver. This puts it in the upper third of all systems tested, which is a strong showing, but it also highlights a significant mismatch. The RTX 4090 is one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available, with an average benchmark score of 66473 and a percentile rank of 91, meaning it outperforms 91% of all GPUs in the database. In contrast, the Intel Core i5-9400 has a percentile rank of 50, placing it squarely in the middle of all CPUs.

The 509th rank out of 1626 combos is a direct consequence of this pairing. The data suggests that the combo is not performing anywhere near the level that the GPU alone could achieve in a more balanced system. The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2305 puts it in close competition with the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, deltaPct 0.2). This is a mid-range processor being paired with a top-tier graphics card, and the ranking reflects that the CPU is preventing the system from reaching the top percentile of performance for this game. The system is fast, but it is not as fast as the sum of its parts would suggest.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster of a graphics card, and its specifications are overkill for Dave The Diver. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The core clocks are equally impressive, with a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. This hardware is designed for 4K gaming at maximum settings in demanding AAA titles, but in this Adventure game, it is clearly not the limiting factor.

The measured FPS data supports this. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages an average of 152.8 FPS. This is a very high frame rate that most systems cannot achieve at that resolution. However, the fact that it is only 6.5 FPS lower than the 4K High preset (159.3) suggests the GPU is not being taxed by the visual fidelity. The 24 GB of VRAM is also far more than this game could possibly use, so memory capacity is not a concern. The GPU's role here is to provide a high frame rate floor, but its full potential is left untapped because the CPU cannot feed it data fast enough to saturate its rendering capabilities. The card is effectively waiting for instructions, which is why the FPS differences between settings are so small.

Settings Recommendations

Given the data, the optimal settings for this combination are a matter of preference between raw frame rate and visual quality, but the measured rows provide a clear picture. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 218.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 189.0 FPS. The difference is 29.9 FPS, which is noticeable but not game-breaking. However, the Ultra preset at 1080p still provides an extremely high frame rate that is well beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is the best choice for this system. The i5-9400 is the bottleneck, so the GPU has the headroom to run the game at the highest visual settings without a significant performance penalty. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 173.6 FPS, which is still incredibly smooth. Even at 4K, the Ultra preset holds an average of 152.8 FPS, which is excellent. The CPU bottleneck is so severe that enabling higher settings does not cost much in terms of frame rate, making the Ultra preset the most sensible option to maximize visual fidelity while maintaining a high refresh rate experience. The only reason to drop to a lower preset would be to chase extreme frame rates for a 240Hz or higher monitor, but for the vast majority of users, Ultra is the clear winner.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset for this combination shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 218.9 on Low to 189.0 on Ultra. The Medium preset sits between them at 208.2, and High is at 196.7. The spread of 29.9 FPS is the largest of any resolution, which indicates that the CPU is the primary limiter here, as the GPU can easily handle any settings load.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates begin to compress. Low averages 200.3 FPS, Medium 190.1 FPS, High 180.9 FPS, and Ultra 173.6 FPS. The spread narrows to 26.7 FPS. This shows the GPU starting to take on a bit more work, but the CPU is still the main constraint.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest but still exceptionally high. Low averages 173.1 FPS, Medium 165.8 FPS, High 159.3 FPS, and Ultra 152.8 FPS. The spread is now just 20.3 FPS. This is the most GPU-bound scenario, but the fact that the difference between Low and Ultra is so small reinforces that the CPU is still the bottleneck. The system is always fast, but it is never able to fully express the GPU's power.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 7969, and its single-core score is 1125. These are solid numbers for a mainstream processor, but they are not in the same league as the RTX 4090's capabilities.

In Dave The Diver, a game that is likely more dependent on single-threaded performance, the i5-9400's single-core score of 1125 is the key statistic. The benchmark results show that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the FPS does not scale significantly with resolution. The high frame rates are a signal of the game's low system requirements, but the ceiling is set by the processor's ability to process game logic and draw calls. The data shows that the system is held back by this CPU, preventing the RTX 4090 from delivering its full potential. The CPU's percentile rank of 50 is a stark contrast to the GPU's 91, and this mismatch is the defining characteristic of this combo's performance.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates a CPU bottleneck. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is only about 21% at Low settings, which is very small. If the GPU were the limiter, the drop would be much more pronounced. The CPU's benchmark percentile of 50 versus the GPU's 91 confirms this mismatch.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 218.9, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak frame rate recorded for this configuration.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM useful for this game?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than Dave The Diver requires. The high frame rates across all settings and resolutions indicate that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor, and this amount of memory is excessive for this title.

Q: What settings should I use for the best experience?

A: The Ultra preset is recommended. At 4K, it still delivers an average of 152.8 FPS, and at 1440p it hits 173.6 FPS. Since the CPU is the bottleneck, there is little performance to gain by lowering settings, so maximizing visual quality is the best choice.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 509th out of 1626 combinations. This places it in the upper third of all tested systems, but its performance is held back by the CPU, preventing it from reaching a higher position.

Q: Does the CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks match its in-game performance?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 7969 and single-core is 1125. These scores are moderate, and the in-game data reflects this. The 6-core, 6-thread processor limits the frame rate ceiling, as seen in the small FPS differences between resolution and settings, which is consistent with a mid-range CPU being paired with a top-tier GPU.