Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, a 2023 adventure title, presents an interesting case study when paired with an Intel Core i5-9400 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The benchmark data reveals a significant imbalance between the components, where the CPU, a 6-core/6-thread Coffee Lake part from 2018, appears to be the primary constraint on performance, even at lower resolutions. While the RTX 5090 is a top-tier Blackwell 2.0 GPU with a 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs, the system's frame rates suggest that the older processor limits the full potential of the graphics card, creating a bottleneck that is particularly evident in how the FPS scales from 1080p to 4K.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates across resolutions tell a compelling story about where the performance ceiling lies in this combination. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 217.7 FPS, which drops modestly to 196.3 FPS at 1440p and further to 171.3 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern—a decrease of about 21% from 1080p to 1440p and another 13% from 1440p to 4K—is relatively shallow for a GPU with the raw power of the RTX 5090, which features 21,760 shading units and a boost clock of 2407 MHz.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost up to 4.10 GHz, is the limiting factor. The difference between 1080p Low (217.7 FPS) and 4K Low (171.3 FPS) is only 46.4 FPS, which is a surprisingly small gap for a GPU that is typically capable of much larger scaling deltas. If the RTX 5090 were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much more dramatic FPS drop as resolution increases, since the GPU's workload grows exponentially with pixel count. Instead, the relatively flat curve indicates that the CPU is unable to feed the GPU enough data to saturate it, even at 1080p, keeping the frame rate pinned near what the processor can handle. This is a classic sign of a CPU-bound scenario, where the game's logic and draw call processing on the 6-thread processor becomes the constraint.

The trend holds across all settings presets. At Ultra, the frame rate goes from 191.1 FPS at 1080p to 174.4 FPS at 1440p and 152 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 16.7 FPS, and the drop to 4K is another 22.4 FPS. This suggests that even as the GPU's rendering load increases with higher settings, the overall performance is still heavily influenced by the CPU. The RTX 5090, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, is clearly not the limiting factor here; it has ample headroom to handle higher resolutions, but the i5-9400's performance ceiling prevents it from being fully utilized. The data implies that Dave The Diver is not a particularly demanding title for modern GPUs, but it does place a load on the CPU that this older 14 nm processor struggles to keep up with.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a combo rank of 538 out of 1626 different combos tested in Dave The Diver. This places it in the top third of all tested systems, which is respectable but not exceptional, especially considering the caliber of the GPU involved. For context, the RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, making it one of the most powerful cards available. The fact that this combo only ranks 538th suggests that the CPU is holding back the overall performance significantly.

To put this in perspective, the i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% faster), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (0.4% faster), with the Intel Core i7-8809G being 0.6% slower. These are all relatively modest processors, and the data indicates that the i5-9400 is performing exactly in line with other mid-range CPUs. When paired with a GPU that is in the 94th percentile, the result is a combo that is ranked lower than what the GPU alone would suggest. This is a clear indication that the CPU is the bottleneck, preventing the system from reaching the frame rates that a top-tier GPU like the RTX 5090 is capable of in other, more balanced configurations. The rank of 538 out of 1626 shows that while this system is far from the bottom, there are many other combinations that achieve better performance in this game, likely those with newer, higher-core-count CPUs that can better feed the RTX 5090.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, with a transistor count of 92,200 million on a 750 mm² die using a 5 nm process. It comes with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. Its boost clock is rated at 2407 MHz, and it has a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. These specifications are among the best in the industry, and the card's average benchmark score of 84306, which is 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 and 1.6% higher than the NVIDIA CMP 40HX, confirms its dominance in synthetic tests.

However, in Dave The Diver, the GPU's role seems diminished due to the CPU bottleneck. The game's measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 152 FPS, which is still very high, but it doesn't reflect the card's true potential. The fact that the FPS at 1080p Low is 217.7 FPS, which is only 65.7 FPS higher than 4K Ultra, demonstrates that the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for any game at any resolution, and Dave The Diver is unlikely to stress it. The card's high clock speeds and massive compute power (104.8 TFLOPS FP32) are simply not being fully utilized because the CPU cannot deliver frames fast enough. This is a case where the GPU's raw performance is wasted due to an unbalanced system configuration. The data shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of much higher frame rates in this game, but the i5-9400 prevents it from reaching them, highlighting the importance of pairing high-end GPUs with equally capable CPUs.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 217.7, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems in Dave The Diver?

A: This combo ranks 538th out of 1626 tested combinations, placing it in the top third of all systems.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 197.2 at 1080p to 177.9 at 1440p, and then to 155.4 at 4K.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's performance being fully utilized in this configuration?

A: The data suggests no, as the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is relatively shallow, indicating the CPU is the limiting factor, not the GPU.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts, and how do they relate to its performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads, which is a modest configuration that places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, contributing to the bottleneck.

Q: At what settings does the frame rate dip below 160 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 152, which is the only setting at this resolution that falls below 160 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 217.7 FPS, which drops to 204.7 FPS on Medium, 197.2 FPS on High, and 191.1 FPS on Ultra. This shows a spread of 26.6 FPS between the lowest and highest quality presets at 1080p, indicating that the CPU is the main constraint, as the GPU can easily handle the increased load from higher settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a slight decrease. Low settings produce 196.3 FPS, Medium settings yield 189.3 FPS, High settings deliver 177.9 FPS, and Ultra settings cap out at 174.4 FPS. The drop between 1080p and 1440p for each setting is relatively consistent, ranging from 16.3 FPS (from 217.7 to 196.3 at Low) to 21.4 FPS (from 197.2 to 177.9 at High). This consistency further reinforces the idea that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU's performance scaling with resolution is not the primary driver.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still high but show the most significant drops. Low settings achieve 171.3 FPS, Medium settings reach 166.9 FPS, High settings produce 155.4 FPS, and Ultra settings bring up the rear at 152 FPS. The difference between 1440p and 4K is more pronounced, with drops of 25 FPS at Low, 22.4 FPS at Medium, 22.5 FPS at High, and 22.4 FPS at Ultra. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a very playable frame rate, but the overall pattern suggests that the i5-9400's 6 threads are working hard to keep up with the GPU, and the performance gains from the RTX 5090 are not fully realized.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake architecture processor with 6 cores and 6 threads, a configuration that was common for mid-range desktop CPUs around its release. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 9 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% faster), showing that it performs as expected for its class.

In the context of Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is critical. The game appears to be sensitive to single-thread performance and overall CPU throughput. With only 6 threads, the i5-9400 struggles to provide the RTX 5090 with a constant stream of frames. The data shows that the FPS at 1080p Low (217.7) is only 46.4 FPS higher than at 4K Ultra (152), which is a small margin for such a powerful GPU. This suggests that the CPU is hitting its limit, and the GPU is waiting for the processor to send it work. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz is decent, but the lack of hyper-threading (6 threads for 6 cores) means that the processor can't handle multiple tasks as efficiently as a CPU with more threads, such as a modern 12-core or 16-core part.

The fact that this combo ranks 538th out of 1626, despite having a GPU in the 94th percentile, is a direct result of the CPU's performance. The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 3346 and the R15 score of 803 are strong for its generation, but they are simply not enough to keep up with the RTX 5090 in this game. The data implies that to fully unlock the RTX 5090's potential, a more powerful CPU with higher single-core performance and more threads would be necessary. The i5-9400, while not a weak processor, is clearly the bottleneck in this pairing, limiting the system's overall performance to a level that a mid-range GPU could also achieve.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the best experience in Dave The Diver with this hardware combination depends on the user's priority for visual fidelity versus raw frame rate. If the goal is maximum performance, the 1080p Low preset, which yields 217.7 FPS, is the clear choice. However, given the game's adventure genre and likely slower pacing, the difference between 191.1 FPS (1080p Ultra) and 217.7 FPS (1080p Low) is unlikely to be noticeable in actual gameplay, making the Ultra preset a better option for a richer visual experience without a significant compromise.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers 174.4 FPS, which is still extremely smooth and provides a better image quality than 1080p. The difference between Ultra and Low at this resolution is 21.9 FPS (174.4 vs 196.3), which is a smaller gap than at 1080p. This makes 1440p Ultra a highly attractive option, as it balances visual quality with high frame rates. For users with 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 152 FPS is the best choice. While it's the lowest frame rate in the measured data, it's still above 144 FPS, which is excellent for most displays, and the visual fidelity at 4K will be superior to lower resolutions.

The data suggests that the system is powerful enough to run the game at Ultra settings at any resolution without dropping below 150 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 152 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it shows that even with the CPU bottleneck, the system can handle the most demanding settings. Therefore, the recommendation is to use the Ultra preset at 1080p, 1440p, or 4K, depending on the user's monitor, as the frame rate penalty for increasing visual quality is modest. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, but the performance gains over Ultra are small (e.g., 204.7 vs 191.1 at 1080p), making Ultra the more compelling choice for an enhanced gaming experience. The Low preset is only advisable if the user is targeting the absolute maximum FPS, which is likely unnecessary for this game.