Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, a 2023 adventure title, is not typically the first game that comes to mind when discussing flagship hardware like the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D. Yet, this combination produces extraordinary frame rates that push the boundaries of high-refresh-rate display technology. The benchmark data reveals a system with such immense headroom that it redefines expectations for this pixel-art underwater adventure, delivering performance that is limited more by the CPU's single-thread capabilities than the GPU's massive rendering power. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, providing a clear picture of how this hardware duo handles the game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic pattern of shifting bottlenecks. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves a staggering 420 FPS average. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the average to 371 FPS, and at 4K, it falls further to 248 FPS. This represents a 59% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, indicating that the load is increasingly shifting to the GPU as resolution climbs.

However, the most telling data emerges at High settings. The average FPS at 1080p is 368, only marginally lower than the Low preset's 420 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 277 FPS, and at 4K, it reaches 186 FPS. The gap between Low and High at 1080p is just 52 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K at High settings is 91 FPS. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the Intel Core i7-12700KF is the limiting factor, preventing the RTX 5090 D from reaching its full potential. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and 2-thread score of 2065 are likely insufficient to feed the GPU at these extreme frame rates.

The scaling pattern becomes clearer when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the average is 325 FPS; at 1440p, it is 245 FPS; and at 4K, it is 164 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 50% at Ultra, which is more moderate than the Low preset's 59% drop. This indicates that as visual complexity increases, the GPU becomes more engaged, and the relative impact of resolution scaling becomes more predictable. The RTX 5090 D's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for this game's demands, even at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an absolute powerhouse on paper, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs are overkill for a game like Dave The Diver, which features relatively simple 2D sprites and moderate 3D environments. The benchmark results confirm this, as the GPU never appears to be the primary constraint in this title.

Looking at the measured FPS, the RTX 5090 D's role is to provide a massive safety margin. At 4K Ultra, it still manages 164 FPS average, which is far beyond what most displays can show. The GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and it sits just 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT in the nearest rivals comparison. This benchmark context is interesting because it suggests that the RTX 5090 D's raw compute is not being fully utilized in Dave The Diver.

The memory subsystem of the RTX 5090 D is particularly noteworthy. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, there is zero risk of hitting a VRAM limit at any resolution. The game's textures and effects are unlikely to consume more than a fraction of this capacity. The memory clock of 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective, is more than enough to handle the bandwidth requirements of a 4K frame buffer. The GPU's massive 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is essentially idle during gameplay, as the game's rendering workload is not compute-intensive.

The fact that the RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include mobile GPUs like the RX 6650M XT and RX 6850M XT, as well as data center Tesla P100 cards, underscores the unusual positioning of this desktop flagship. In Dave The Diver, the GPU's role is to ensure that frame rates never dip below playable levels, even at the highest settings. The data shows that the GPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the CPU's performance ceiling is the primary limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,838 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 34,092. However, Dave The Diver appears to be more sensitive to single-thread performance, where the CPU scores 4,071 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1,043 in 3DMark single-thread.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 85th among all CPUs indicates it is a solid performer, but it is not at the very top of the heap. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700T and Intel Core i5-13600T, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of -0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. This clustering shows that the 12700KF is not uniquely positioned to excel in this game.

The data suggests that the CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 420, but the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls likely caps out around this level. The fact that the 1080p High preset still achieves 368 FPS, only 52 FPS less than Low, indicates that the CPU is already near its limit. The GPU is waiting for the CPU to supply data, and the 12700KF's 20 threads are not all being utilized effectively, as the game likely relies on a few primary threads.

The CPU's L3 cache of 25 MB shared is adequate for this game, and its dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provides sufficient bandwidth. The 3DMark scores for 2 threads (2,065) and 4 threads (4,011) show scalable performance, but the single-thread score of 1,043 is the critical value. In a game like Dave The Diver, where the main game loop may be bound to a single thread, this score directly impacts maximum achievable FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this setup?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 420, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the peak performance the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination can deliver in this game.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D overkill for Dave The Diver?

A: The data indicates yes. Even at 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS is 164, which is far above playable thresholds. The GPU's average benchmark score is 77,712, placing it in the 92nd percentile, but the game does not appear to stress it significantly.

Q: Why does performance drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The percentage drop varies by settings. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 59%, while at Ultra it is 50%. This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU becomes a bottleneck at 1080p, and the GPU's workload scales more linearly with resolution at higher settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the results?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043. This is likely the limiting factor at 1080p, where the average FPS is capped around 420 regardless of settings, as the game may not be able to issue more draw calls to the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for competitive play?

A: Based on the data, 2560x1440 with High settings provides an average of 277 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. For absolute maximum FPS, 1920x1080 with Low settings achieves 420 FPS, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it.

Q: Does the GPU memory capacity ever become a concern?

A: No. The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is more than sufficient for any setting in this game. The lowest average FPS recorded is 164 at 4K Ultra, and VRAM usage is not a limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 277 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate display, while providing a significant visual upgrade over Low and Medium settings. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p is 33 FPS average, but the visual improvements in texture detail and effects are likely worth it.

If the user has a 4K display, the High preset at 3840x2160 is still viable, with an average of 186 FPS. This is above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many 4K monitors. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 164 FPS, which is still playable but may not be worth the extra GPU load for marginal visual gains.

For users with 1080p displays, the High preset at 368 FPS is the sweet spot. The Ultra preset at 325 FPS does not provide a meaningful visual difference in this art style, and the extra 43 FPS from High is more beneficial for competitive play. The Low preset at 420 FPS is only recommended for those chasing absolute maximum frame rates, but the visual quality reduction is substantial.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 395 FPS at 1080p, 310 FPS at 1440p, and 208 FPS at 4K. It provides the only measured minimum FPS values in the data, with 335 FPS at 1080p, 264 FPS at 1440p, and 177 FPS at 4K. These minimums suggest that Medium settings have more consistent frame pacing, which can be important for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset leads with an average of 420 FPS, followed by Medium at 395 FPS, High at 368 FPS, and Ultra at 325 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 335 FPS and a maximum of 454 FPS, indicating a wide performance envelope. The High and Ultra presets do not have recorded minimum or maximum values, but their averages are still far above any display's refresh rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages remain impressive. Low settings produce 371 FPS, Medium produces 310 FPS, High produces 277 FPS, and Ultra produces 245 FPS. The Medium preset again shows a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 357 FPS. The consistency of the Medium preset across resolutions suggests it is well-optimized for this hardware combination.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still exceptional for a game of this type. Low settings achieve 248 FPS, Medium achieves 208 FPS, High achieves 186 FPS, and Ultra achieves 164 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum is 177 FPS and maximum is 239 FPS. Even at the most demanding 4K Ultra setting, the average FPS of 164 is well above the 60 FPS standard, making this setup future-proof for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming.

The data shows that the combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D provides an embarrassment of riches for Dave The Diver. The CPU's performance ceiling is the primary constraint at lower resolutions, while the GPU's massive resources are only partially utilized. This system is capable of delivering buttery-smooth gameplay at any resolution and setting combination, with the only trade-off being the visual fidelity versus frame rate preference of the user.