Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core i7-12700K + Intel Arc B570

This combination delivers a thoroughly playable Dave The Diver experience across all tested resolutions, with the Intel Arc B570 proving capable of driving even 4K Ultra past the 50 FPS mark. The pairing of a 12-core Alder Lake processor with Intel's Battlemage GPU produces a system where the graphics card is the clear bottleneck at every setting tier, though the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures no frame-time surprises in this adventure title. The measured data shows a consistent scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, with the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth handling the game's demands without issue.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is firmly GPU-limited at all resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 124 FPS at 1920x1080 to 94 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 63 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 24.2% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 33.0% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story but with lower absolute numbers. The system delivers 110 FPS at 1080p, drops to 83 FPS at 1440p (a 24.5% decrease), and reaches 55 FPS at 4K (a 33.7% decrease from 1440p). This consistent percentage drop across different quality levels confirms that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the dominant factor limiting performance. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads are not the constraint here; even at 4K Ultra, the processor has ample headroom.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern changes slightly. The system produces 167 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 25.1% and 32.8% respectively, showing that even when the graphics load is minimized, the GPU remains the bottleneck. The fact that Low settings at 4K (84 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1080p (110 FPS) by a margin of 76% indicates that the Arc B570's raw throughput is substantial, but the game's higher presets impose a significant cost.

The 4K Medium result of 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS suggests that this resolution is viable for smooth gameplay, but the 60 FPS minimum at Medium is worth noting. At 4K High, the average of 63 FPS sits right at the edge of typical 60 Hz display refresh rates, while 4K Ultra at 55 FPS falls below that threshold. The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination, offering 94 FPS at High and 83 FPS at Ultra, both comfortably above 60 FPS with room to spare.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combination. At 94 FPS average, it delivers 49.2% more frames than the same preset at 4K (63 FPS) while maintaining a resolution that is still sharp on most displays. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 11 FPS (from 94 to 83), which is an 11.7% performance penalty for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a game like Dave The Diver.

For users with 4K displays, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 is the recommended choice. The 70 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum ensures consistent frame pacing, whereas High at 4K dips to an average of 63 FPS with no reported minimum, and Ultra falls to 55 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is only 7 FPS (from 70 to 63), suggesting that the High preset's additional visual features are not worth the performance risk on a 60 Hz display.

At 1080p, the High preset at 124 FPS is the sensible pick for high-refresh-rate monitors, providing a 12.8% improvement over Ultra (110 FPS) while still looking superior to Medium (139 FPS). The Low preset at 167 FPS is only relevant for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays, but the visual compromise is significant. The data shows diminishing returns beyond High at 1080p: the gap between High and Ultra is 14 FPS (124 to 110), while the gap between Medium and High is 15 FPS (139 to 124), meaning each step up costs roughly the same but the visual benefit of Ultra over High is typically smaller than High over Medium.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570's specifications directly explain its performance in Dave The Diver. With 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, the card provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for this game's texture and geometry demands even at 4K. The 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, deliver 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and the measured frame rates align with what that raw throughput suggests.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: both base and boost clocks are listed at 2500 MHz, which indicates a fixed clock strategy rather than a dynamic boost range. This can lead to more predictable performance but also means the card does not overclock itself under lighter loads. The 150 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest a card that requires adequate airflow, though the 450 W suggested PSU provides ample headroom for this pairing with the 125 W TDP processor.

The card's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534 (0.1% higher), while the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (0.1% lower). This places the B570 in a competitive mid-range tier, and the Dave The Diver results reflect that positioning: the game is not demanding enough to expose the card's weaknesses, but the scaling patterns show it is working near its limits at 4K Ultra.

The 18 ray tracing cores and 2304 shading units are underutilized in this adventure title, which relies more on traditional rasterization. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compliance ensure compatibility with modern APIs, and the 12_2 feature level means the game can use advanced features if enabled. However, the measured data shows that even without heavy RT workloads, the card's 80 ROPs and 144 TMUs are the likely limiters at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its highest frame rates. Low settings yield 167 FPS average, Medium delivers 139 FPS with a minimum of 118 FPS and maximum of 160 FPS, High achieves 124 FPS, and Ultra reaches 110 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 57 FPS, representing a 34.1% performance range. The Medium preset's minimum of 118 FPS ensures that even the heaviest scenes stay well above 100 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable experience at any setting.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low settings average 125 FPS, Medium averages 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS, High averages 94 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 42 FPS, a 33.6% range. The Medium preset's minimum of 89 FPS means there is no risk of dropping below 60 FPS, and even Ultra's 83 FPS average leaves a 27.7% margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Low settings average 84 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS, High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 29 FPS, a 34.5% spread that mirrors the 1080p pattern. The Medium preset's 60 FPS minimum is exactly at the threshold for smooth playback, while Ultra's 55 FPS average falls below it. This makes 4K a viable but constrained resolution for this game, with only Low and Medium presets guaranteeing 60 FPS minimums.

The consistency across resolutions is striking: the percentage difference between Low and Ultra is nearly identical at 1080p (34.1%) and 4K (34.5%). This uniformity indicates that the game's settings scale predictably with pixel count, and the Arc B570's performance characteristics do not introduce any resolution-specific anomalies. The 1440p numbers show a slightly smaller spread (33.6%), suggesting that this resolution is where the card operates most efficiently.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 2282 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the 79.6th percentile of all systems tested. That means roughly 20% of tested combinations perform better in this game, while 80% perform worse. Given that the GPU sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs and the CPU in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, the combo's ranking is dragged down by the graphics card, which is the limiting factor.

The CPU's performance metrics support this analysis. The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 19784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1850.5 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 34404 and single-thread score of 4013. Its 3DMark max threads score of 9979 and single thread score of 1043 show a processor that is well above average, but in a game like Dave The Diver, the GPU dominates the frame time budget. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-12700KF (0.2% lower), confirming it is a solid mid-high tier processor.

The GPU's ranking is more modest. The Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher) and the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% lower), with an average benchmark score of 20556. In Dave The Diver specifically, the combo's rank of 2282 suggests that the game is not particularly demanding on the GPU, allowing the B570 to perform relatively better than its overall percentile might suggest. The 10 GB VRAM is more than sufficient, and the game does not appear to tax the memory subsystem heavily.

For context, the combo's rank means there are 585 tested combinations that perform better in this game. Given that the CPU is in the 84th percentile, many of those better-performing combos likely feature stronger GPUs rather than stronger CPUs. The data indicates that upgrading the graphics card would yield more improvement in Dave The Diver than upgrading the processor, which already has ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Dave The Diver at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings. The 4K Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, while High averages 63 FPS and Ultra drops to 55 FPS. The Medium preset is the only 4K option that guarantees a 60 FPS minimum.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings it delivers 94 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 83 FPS. This provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with all presets staying well above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The B570's average benchmark score of 20556 places it 0.1% below the Intel Arc A750 (20582) and 0.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534). In Dave The Diver specifically, the card performs within this expected mid-range tier.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is nearly linear with pixel count, and the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom. The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile.

Q: What settings should I use for a 144Hz 1080p monitor?

A: High settings at 1920x1080 produce 124 FPS average, which is close to 144Hz but not fully saturating it. Low settings reach 167 FPS, which would fully utilize a 144Hz display, but Medium at 139 FPS is a better visual compromise if you can tolerate occasional dips below 144 FPS.

Q: Does the 10 GB VRAM cause any issues in this game?

A: No. The measured data shows no VRAM-related stutters or performance drops. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB GDDR6 memory are sufficient for all tested settings, including 4K Ultra, which averaged 55 FPS without indication of memory pressure.