Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is an adventure title that, on the surface, does not appear to demand the most extreme hardware. However, the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals performance characteristics that are anything but modest. This combination ranks 7th out of 1626 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.4% of all systems evaluated for this game. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand how these two components contribute to the game's output, what the scaling patterns mean for system balance, and which settings provide the most compelling experience.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this CPU has the raw single-thread speed that adventure games often rely upon for game logic, entity updates, and physics calculations. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287, alongside a Geekbench single-core score of 2932.

In the context of Dave The Diver, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the FPS data at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 466.3 FPS. This is a remarkably high frame rate that exceeds most display refresh rates, yet it indicates that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with data faster than the graphics card can render at these settings. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache likely contribute to keeping the game's data readily accessible, minimizing stalls. The processor's 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs reinforces that it is a top-tier performer, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, shows a delta of 0.0%, indicating they perform nearly identically in aggregate benchmark scores.

The 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest this is a high-performance part, but the data shows that in this specific game, even at the highest frame rates, the CPU does not appear to be the bottleneck. When comparing the 1080p Low score of 466.3 FPS to the 1080p Ultra score of 306.9 FPS, the drop is primarily due to increased GPU load from higher graphics settings. The CPU's robust multi-threading capabilities, evidenced by its Passmark Multi-Thread score of 52392, may also help manage background tasks and the game's streaming requirements, but the core game logic is not pushing the processor to its limits.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable graphics card with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, offering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, comprises 21760 shading units and 680 tensor cores. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and its FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS position it as an extreme performer. It ranks in the 94th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84306.

In Dave The Diver, the GPU's influence is most pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 158.2 FPS, a significant reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure. This demonstrates that the game becomes more GPU-bound as resolution increases, with the rendering workload scaling with pixel count. The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D (delta 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (delta 1.3%), but the measured FPS results show how the RTX 5090's massive memory bandwidth and compute resources translate to playable frame rates even at 4K.

The 32 GB VRAM is particularly relevant for an adventure game with potentially large textures and complex scenes, though the data does not indicate any memory-related performance cliffs. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 39650 and its DirectX 12 score of 185 show strong API performance, which is crucial for a modern title. The transition from 1080p to 4K at High settings results in a drop from 347 FPS to 175.7 FPS, a 49% reduction, which is a typical scaling pattern for a high-end GPU that is being constrained by the increased pixel shading workload at higher resolutions.

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

Q: What is the best resolution for achieving a 240Hz refresh rate with this combo?

A: At 1440p, the system achieves 262.9 FPS on High settings and 294.7 FPS on Medium, both of which exceed the 240 FPS threshold. At 4K, no settings preset reaches 240 FPS, with the highest being 233.8 FPS on Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70074, while its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70104, resulting in a delta of 0.0%. This indicates the two processors are effectively tied in performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's performance more dependent on its memory bandwidth or its compute units?

A: The data shows the GPU has a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests that the GPU's pixel fill rate (423.6 GPixel/s) and shading units (21760) are the primary factors, as frame rates halve when the pixel count quadruples, which is consistent with a compute-bound scenario.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings yield 466.3 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 306.9 FPS. This represents a reduction of 159.4 FPS, or a 34.2% decrease in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: How does the system's overall ranking in this game compare to its component rankings?

A: The combo ranks 7th out of 1626 combinations. The CPU is in the 96th percentile, and the GPU is in the 94th percentile, which indicates the combined system is performing near the top of its class, with its rank being slightly higher than either component's individual percentile.

Q: Does the game show better scaling from 1440p to 4K or from 1080p to 1440p on High settings?

A: On High settings, the average FPS drops from 347 at 1080p to 262.9 at 1440p, a decrease of 84.1 FPS (24.2%). From 1440p to 4K, it drops from 262.9 to 175.7, a decrease of 87.2 FPS (33.2%). The larger relative drop from 1440p to 4K indicates the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 466.3 FPS, which is the peak performance observed. Medium settings achieve 391.8 FPS, High settings reach 347 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 306.9 FPS. This shows a clear gradient where each step up in quality costs a significant number of frames, with the largest single jump being from Low to Medium, costing 74.5 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains exceptionally fast. Low settings yield 353.7 FPS, Medium provides 294.7 FPS, High hits 262.9 FPS, and Ultra settles at 235.1 FPS. The pattern is consistent, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 118.6 FPS. At this resolution, all presets remain above 200 FPS, demonstrating the system's ability to handle high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming without compromise.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive but shows the expected reduction. Low settings achieve 233.8 FPS, which is a 56.9% drop from the 1080p Low score. Medium settings produce 194.5 FPS, High settings deliver 175.7 FPS, and Ultra settings complete the lineup at 158.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 75.6 FPS, which is narrower in absolute terms than at lower resolutions but represents a larger percentage difference, indicating that the GPU is being pushed harder.

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

The scaling behavior across resolutions is a strong indicator of where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 347 FPS at 1080p to 262.9 FPS at 1440p, and then to 175.7 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24.2%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 33.2%. This increasing rate of decline as resolution rises is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

In a perfectly GPU-bound situation, the FPS would scale inversely with the pixel count. The pixel count from 1080p to 1440p increases by 77.8%, but the FPS drops by only 24.2%. From 1440p to 4K, the pixel count increases by 125%, and the FPS drops by 33.2%. The fact that the FPS drop is much smaller than the pixel count increase in both cases suggests that the system is not purely GPU-limited at the lower resolutions.

The RTX 5090's high fill rate and bandwidth allow it to handle the increased pixel workload efficiently, but the data implies that at lower resolutions, the CPU may be providing more frames than the GPU can render, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limiter. The CPU's strong single-core performance is likely sufficient to keep up with the game's logic even at high frame rates, but the transition to 4K places a heavier burden on the GPU's shading units and ROPs, resulting in the more pronounced FPS drop.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings preset depends on the target display refresh rate and resolution. For a 4K display with a 144Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 175.7 FPS is the most appropriate, as it provides a smooth experience with a 31.7 FPS headroom over the refresh rate. Ultra at 4K produces 158.2 FPS, which is also above 144Hz, but the 17.5 FPS improvement from High to Ultra is not warranted for the small visual gain, making High the better balance.

For 1440p owners with a 240Hz display, the High preset at 262.9 FPS is the recommended choice, as it clears the 240Hz target with a 22.9 FPS margin. Medium at 294.7 FPS also exceeds the target, but the jump to High offers better visual fidelity for a 31.8 FPS cost, which is a reasonable trade-off. Ultra at 235.1 FPS falls short of 240Hz, so High is the optimal setting for this scenario.

At 1080p, the system is so powerful that even Ultra at 306.9 FPS exceeds any common display refresh rate, including 300Hz panels. In this case, the recommendation is to use the Ultra preset to maximize visual quality, as the frame rate remains above 300 FPS. Low and Medium settings at 1080p provide 466.3 and 391.8 FPS, respectively, but these are only useful for benchmarking or if the user has an exceptionally high-refresh-rate display and prioritizes frame rate over graphics.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 7th out of 1626 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This is a top-tier result, placing it in the top 0.43% of all systems. The ranking is consistent with the individual component strengths, where the CPU sits in the 96th percentile and the GPU in the 94th percentile. The fact that the combo ranks slightly higher than either component's percentile suggests that the pairing is well-balanced for this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700KF with a delta of 0.0% and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X with a delta of -0.5%. These differences are minimal, indicating that the 14700K is at the top of its class. The GPU's rivals include the RTX 5090 D (delta 0.1%) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (delta 0.2%), but the measured FPS results show that the desktop RTX 5090 is performing as expected.

Ranking 7th out of 1626 means there are only six other combinations that produce higher average frame rates in this game. Given the extreme performance of the RTX 5090, it is likely that these higher-ranked combos feature even more powerful CPUs, such as those with higher single-core scores. However, the difference in FPS between the 7th and 1st ranked combos is likely small, and the i7-14700K + RTX 5090 pairing offers a near-optimal experience for Dave The Diver. The data confirms this is a flagship system that delivers exceptional performance across all resolutions and settings.