Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is exceptionally light on GPU demands, and the Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination produces performance that is almost entirely CPU-bound at every resolution and settings level. The data shows a system that delivers playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, with the RTX 4080 SUPER’s raw power being held back by the game’s engine and the CPU’s single-thread throughput. This combo ranks in the 99th percentile of all 1,626 tested combinations, confirming it is one of the most capable pairings for this title, but the measured results reveal that the GPU is never the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is remarkably small, which indicates a severe CPU bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 302.3 at 1920x1080 to 228.1 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 74.2 FPS, and then to 155.3 at 3840x2160, another 72.8 FPS drop. This scaling pattern shows that even at 4K, the GPU is not being fully utilized; a purely GPU-limited scenario would show a much larger percentage decline as pixel count quadruples. The difference between 1080p Low (407.1 FPS) and 4K Low (202.3 FPS) is 204.8 FPS, which is still a linear drop, but the absolute values are so high that the game remains exceptionally smooth.

The most telling sign of the CPU limit is the spread between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (407.1 FPS) and Ultra (271.2 FPS) is 135.9 FPS, while at 4K, the same gap shrinks to 68.7 FPS (202.3 vs 133.6). This compression at higher resolutions suggests that as GPU load increases, the system moves closer to a balance point, but it never fully arrives. The RTX 4080 SUPER is clearly capable of far more work than the game presents, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of 133.6 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold and indicates that the graphics card has substantial headroom left unused.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 99 out of 1,626 tested combinations in Dave The Diver. That places it in the top 6.1% of all systems tested, which is an outstanding result for a game that is not graphically intensive. The ranking reflects the synergy between the i7-13700K’s strong single-core performance and the RTX 4080 SUPER’s massive throughput, but the data suggests that the rank is more evidence of the CPU’s capabilities than the GPU’s. When compared to other combos, the measured FPS numbers are so high that they are likely limited by the game’s engine or the CPU’s ability to feed the render pipeline.

The GPU itself sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,610, which is only 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489). This close margin shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not dramatically faster than its nearest rival in synthetic tests, but in this game, the combo rank of 99 suggests that the CPU is doing the heavy lifting. The i7-13700K, with a 93rd percentile rank among all CPUs, provides the single-thread muscle that Dave The Diver requires, and the measured FPS values confirm that this pairing is near the top of the leaderboard.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is the primary driver of performance in this title. With 16 cores and 24 threads, it has ample parallel processing power, but Dave The Diver is not a heavily multithreaded game. The CPU’s benchmark scores illustrate this: the 3dmark_single_thread score of 1,136 is modest, but the passmark_single_thread score of 4,333 shows strong per-core performance. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is critical here, as the game’s logic and draw calls are likely serialized, and the data shows that higher FPS correlates directly with this clock speed.

The L3 cache of 30 MB shared and the 2 MB L2 per core also help maintain low latency, which is essential for a game with frequent entity updates like Dave The Diver. The CPU’s cinebench_r23_multicore score of 39,000 is impressive, but the single-core score of 5,505 is what matters most for this game’s frame pacing. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700KF (deltaPct -0.1%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (deltaPct -0.5%), show that the 13700K is within 0.5% of its closest competitors, meaning any of these CPUs would produce similar results. The data indicates that the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, as evidenced by the 407.1 FPS on Low, which is likely near the engine’s maximum update rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. The Low preset delivers 407.1 FPS, Medium drops to 340.1 FPS, High runs at 302.3 FPS, and Ultra maintains 271.2 FPS. These numbers show a consistent 60-70 FPS penalty for each step up in quality, but even the lowest value, Ultra at 271.2 FPS, is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The 1080p results are purely CPU-limited, as the GPU is likely idling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the trend continues but with slightly lower absolute values. Low yields 304.2 FPS, Medium 253.4 FPS, High 228.1 FPS, and Ultra 202.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly 100 FPS, which is significant but still leaves the system with massive headroom. At 4K (3840x2160), the results are 202.3 FPS on Low, 172.1 FPS on Medium, 155.3 FPS on High, and 133.6 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra figure is the only one that approaches a typical high-refresh-rate limit, but it still exceeds 120 FPS, making it suitable for top-tier gaming monitors.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER ever the limiting factor in this game?

A: No. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 133.6, which is high, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K is linear, indicating the CPU is the primary bottleneck. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 53,610, but the game never stresses it enough to show a GPU limit.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p High (228.1 FPS) or even 4K High (155.3 FPS) would comfortably exceed 144Hz. The 4K High result shows that you can run at maximum resolution and still hit high refresh rates.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its closest CPU rival in this game?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47,282, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47,334) and 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 4364P (47,131). In practice, these differences are negligible, so performance would be nearly identical.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU’s 24 threads?

A: The CPU has 24 threads and strong multithread scores (cinebench_r23_multicore 39,000), but the game’s frame rates are likely limited by single-thread performance. The passmark_single_thread score of 4,333 is more indicative of the game’s behavior.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The maximum average FPS is 407.1, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the absolute ceiling, and it highlights the CPU’s ability to push well beyond 300 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The game is not demanding, and the 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is far more than needed. The 4K Ultra result of 133.6 FPS suggests that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to 4K High as the optimal balance. It delivers 155.3 FPS, which remains above 144Hz, while providing visual quality that is only 21.7 FPS lower than Medium (172.1 FPS) and 21.7 FPS higher than Ultra (133.6 FPS). The jump from High to Ultra costs 21.7 FPS, which is a significant 14% reduction, and the visual difference in a game like Dave The Diver is unlikely to justify that loss. If you prefer maximum fidelity, 4K Ultra at 133.6 FPS is still viable, but it drops below the 144Hz threshold, so High is the recommended sweet spot.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (253.4 FPS) offers a massive frame rate boost over High (228.1 FPS) with only a modest visual downgrade, and it stays well above 240Hz, suitable for esports-style gaming. For competitive play, 1080p Low (407.1 FPS) is the clear choice, as it maximizes frame rate and minimizes input latency, though the visual quality is markedly lower. The data suggests that the game’s engine caps out around 400 FPS, so there is no benefit to lowering settings below Low at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a high-end GPU with a 5 nm process, 45,900 million transistors, and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. Its 16 GB GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, and the 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance is immense. However, in Dave The Diver, the GPU is underutilized. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (133.6) is only 50% higher than the 1080p Low result (407.1), which is not proportional to the pixel load. This indicates that the GPU’s 10,240 shading units and 80 RT cores are mostly idle, waiting for the CPU to send draw calls.

The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has an average score of 53,489, only 0.2% lower, but the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 88th percentile rank shows it is a top-tier card. In this specific game, the GPU’s role is to ensure that even the heaviest settings are effortless, which it does with 133.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are overkill for this title, as the card likely never reaches full load. The data confirms that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not the limiting component in any measured configuration, making it a future-proof choice for more demanding titles, but for Dave The Diver, its power is largely redundant.