Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a typical stress-test title, yet the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination produces extraordinary frame rates that reveal a clear performance hierarchy. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU only becoming a factor at 1080p. This pairing ranks in the top 2% of all tested combos for this game, placing 32nd out of 1626 combinations. The RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, is the dominant force here, while the i7-12700K’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s logic.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is the most telling metric in this dataset. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 299.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 225.5 FPS, a 24.8% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 148.7, which is a 50.4% reduction from the 1080p figure. This pattern indicates that while the RTX 4090 is incredibly powerful, the demands of 4K rendering still impose a significant workload that scales with pixel count.

The scaling behavior shifts depending on the preset. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 425.8 FPS at 1080p to 225.6 FPS at 4K, a 47% decrease. At High settings, the drop is from 340.3 FPS to 173.1 FPS, a 49.1% decrease. This consistency across presets suggests that the resolution is the primary variable affecting performance, not the visual effects load. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller in relative terms than the gap between 1440p and 4K, indicating that the GPU’s rasterization engines are being pushed harder as the pixel count approaches the 3840x2160 mark.

At 1080p, the system is likely hitting a CPU bottleneck in certain scenes, given that the i7-12700K has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and strong single-thread performance, but the frame rates exceed what most displays can show. The data reveals that the RTX 4090 has substantial untapped potential at 1080p, where the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes the limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the constraint, as the frame rates scale predictably with the resolution increase.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p High offers a 256 FPS average, which balances visual fidelity with a frame rate far above any display’s refresh rate. While 4K Ultra still hits 148.7 FPS, the 1440p High setting provides a 72% higher frame rate with only a modest reduction in visual quality.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-12700K bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates range from 299.8 FPS at Ultra to 425.8 FPS at Low, which suggests the CPU is a limiting factor since the GPU could theoretically render more frames at such low resolution. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the 173.1 FPS High average versus the 340.3 FPS at 1080p.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from High to Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The data shows a drop from 173.1 FPS at High to 148.7 FPS at Ultra, a 14.1% reduction. This is a relatively small penalty for the visual improvements Ultra typically provides, making it a viable option for players with high-refresh-rate 4K displays.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for Dave The Diver?

A: At 1080p, the combo achieves over 299 FPS at every preset, which is far beyond the capabilities of any mainstream monitor. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 148.7 is exceptionally high for this resolution, indicating the hardware is far more powerful than the game requires.

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

A: The Low preset delivers 341.2 FPS, while Ultra drops to 225.5 FPS. This 115.7 FPS difference represents a 33.9% performance swing, giving players a wide range of options depending on their preference for visual effects versus raw frame rates.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 32nd out of 1626 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2% of all systems. This indicates that the i7-12700K and RTX 4090 pairing is among the most capable configurations for achieving maximum performance in Dave The Diver.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 32 out of 1626 places this system in the 98th percentile of all tested hardware combinations for Dave The Diver. This is a remarkable position, especially for a game that is not typically a demanding AAA title. The ranking indicates that only 31 other combinations of CPU and GPU have produced higher average frame rates in this specific benchmark suite. The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 35684, is a strong foundation. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, is only 0.3% behind in average score, showing the CPU is competitive but not class-leading.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, ranking in the 91st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 66473, is the primary driver of this high combo rank. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, is 0.4% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 is 0.9% ahead. The GPU’s raw performance, particularly its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate, allows it to dominate the frame rate charts. The combination of a top-tier CPU and the flagship GPU ensures that the system rarely encounters a bottleneck, except at the lowest resolutions where the CPU’s 20 threads become the ceiling.

Comparatively, the CPU’s nearest rivals show mixed results. The Intel Core i7-13700T is 0.6% ahead, while the Intel Core i5-14500HX is 0.7% behind. These small deltas suggest that the i7-12700K is well-positioned in the mid-to-high range of desktop processors. For this game, the 12 cores and 25 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient, as the frame rates at 4K Ultra of 148.7 FPS demonstrate that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU. The 32nd rank reflects the balance of this pairing, which excels in a game that rewards high clock speeds more than extreme core counts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution scaling is most apparent. The Low preset yields 425.8 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 377.1 FPS, High to 340.3 FPS, and Ultra to 299.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 126 FPS, or a 29.6% reduction. These numbers indicate that even at the lowest quality settings, the system is producing frame rates that exceed any current display’s refresh rate, making the GPU’s potential untapped at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 341.2 FPS, Medium 285.7 FPS, High 256 FPS, and Ultra 225.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 115.7 FPS, a 33.9% reduction. The High preset at 1440p delivers 256 FPS, which is still above the refresh rate of most high-end gaming monitors. The data shows a consistent pattern where each preset tier reduces performance by roughly 30-40 FPS at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates finally begin to align with the GPU’s rendering limits. Low settings average 225.6 FPS, Medium 192 FPS, High 173.1 FPS, and Ultra 148.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 76.9 FPS, a 34.1% reduction. The Ultra setting at 4K is the only configuration that drops below 150 FPS, but even this is far above the 60 FPS standard for most console games. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is capable of delivering a playable experience at 4K with all settings maxed out, with headroom for high refresh rates.

The pattern across all resolutions is that the Low preset offers a 25-30% performance boost over Ultra, but the absolute numbers are so high that the visual quality trade-off is rarely necessary. For players with 144Hz monitors, even 4K Ultra with a 148.7 FPS average is sufficient. For 240Hz displays, 1440p High at 256 FPS or 1080p Ultra at 299.8 FPS are the recommended targets.

Settings Recommendations

Given the exceptional frame rates measured, the choice of settings depends entirely on the display’s refresh rate and the player’s preference for visual fidelity. For 4K displays with a 144Hz refresh rate, the Ultra preset at 148.7 FPS is the optimal choice. This setting provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of most 4K monitors, ensuring a smooth experience without compromising on graphical detail.

For players using 1440p monitors with a 240Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 256 FPS is the best balance. This setting delivers frame rates above the 240Hz threshold, ensuring the monitor’s full potential is utilized. The Ultra preset at 225.5 FPS is also viable, but it sacrifices 30.5 FPS for visual effects that may not be noticeable during gameplay. The Medium preset at 285.7 FPS is an option for those who prioritize frame rates above all else, but the visual downgrade from High is significant.

At 1080p, the High preset at 340.3 FPS is the recommended choice. This setting provides excellent visual quality while maintaining frame rates that exceed any current gaming monitor’s capabilities. The Ultra preset at 299.8 FPS is also a strong option for players who want the best visuals possible, as the 40.5 FPS difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to be perceptible on most displays. The Low preset at 425.8 FPS is only recommended for competitive players using 360Hz monitors, as the visual degradation is substantial.

Across all resolutions, the data suggests that the High preset offers the best overall experience. It provides a significant visual improvement over Medium while maintaining frame rates that are only 10-15% lower. The Ultra preset is worth using at 4K, where the 148.7 FPS average is still above the 120Hz threshold for smooth gameplay. For any display with a refresh rate below 300Hz, the High or Ultra presets are the clear winners, as the hardware is powerful enough to handle the most demanding settings without sacrificing playability.