Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is a lightweight adventure title by modern hardware standards, and this pairing of an Intel Core i7-14700KF with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER produces exceptionally high frame rates across all tested settings. The benchmark data shows that the combination is rarely stressed, with average FPS figures that far exceed display refresh rate capabilities. This analysis examines how the measured performance scales with resolution, where this specific combo sits relative to other tested configurations, and what the individual component specifications reveal about the results. The data indicates a system that is overqualified for the task, but the specific scaling patterns and frame rate drops between presets offer useful insights for optimizing the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, with the limiting factor shifting depending on the preset. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 355 FPS, which drops to 267 FPS at 1440p and further to 179 FPS at 4K. This represents a 49.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, indicating that while the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, the CPU's headroom is substantial enough to maintain very high frame rates even at the lowest resolution.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher presets. With Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 234 at 1080p to 176 at 1440p (a 24.8% reduction) and then to 118 at 4K (a further 32.9% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 49.6%, which is nearly identical to the Low preset's percentage drop. This consistency across presets suggests that the rendering load scales similarly with resolution regardless of the quality level, and that the GPU is the dominant constraint even at 1080p Ultra where the CPU could theoretically push higher frame rates.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum FPS data, the pattern holds. At 1080p Medium, the average is 297 FPS with a minimum of 253 and maximum of 342. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 224 FPS with a minimum of 190 and maximum of 257. At 4K Medium, the average is 150 FPS with a minimum of 127 and maximum of 172. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the spread between minimum and maximum, remains tight across all three resolutions, suggesting no significant stuttering or CPU-related frame pacing issues.

The data strongly indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting component at all tested resolutions. The 4K High preset produces 134 FPS, which is 33.3% lower than the 1440p High result of 200 FPS, and the 1440p High result is 24.5% lower than the 1080p High result of 265 FPS. These reductions are larger than what would be expected if the CPU were the primary constraint, as the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample processing power for a game like Dave The Diver.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 602 out of 3710 tested combinations places it in the top 16.2% of all tested systems for this game. This is a strong showing, though not at the very top of the leaderboard, which reflects the fact that Dave The Diver is not a demanding title and even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates. The percentile ranking implies that the vast majority of tested combos are capable of running the game smoothly, and this particular pairing is merely representative of a well-balanced modern system rather than an outlier.

The i7-14700KF's individual benchmark scores help contextualize this ranking. The processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and a single-core score of 6,235, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% ahead), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% ahead), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% ahead), while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K trails by 1%. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, confirming that the CPU is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's ranking is slightly lower, sitting in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.1% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.1% ahead), and NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.2% ahead), with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile trailing by 1%. This close grouping indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER's performance is well-established, and its 83rd percentile ranking is respectable for a mid-to-high-end card.

Given that the combo ranks 602nd out of 3710, the data suggests that many other combinations with similar or better CPU and GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 118 FPS is certainly playable, but it is not the highest possible score, and users seeking maximum performance could benefit from a more powerful GPU. However, for the vast majority of displays, the 1440p and 1080p results are more than sufficient.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than adequate for a game like Dave The Diver that does not feature large, high-resolution textures. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective transfer, and the core base clock is 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores. This translates to 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is far beyond what this game requires. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,627 and PassMark G3D score of 29,995 confirm that this is a capable mid-range card, but its 83rd percentile ranking indicates that it is not at the top of the GPU hierarchy.

The VRAM configuration of 12 GB is worth noting. Dave The Diver's art style is pixel-based and stylized, which typically does not consume large amounts of video memory. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (118 FPS) and 4K High (134 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not hitting a VRAM capacity wall, as frame rates would drop more severely if it were swapping to system memory. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is also sufficient for the game's data streaming requirements, as evidenced by the consistent minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (127 FPS).

The GPU's power characteristics, with a 220 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 550 W, are modest, but these figures do not directly impact the benchmark results. The dual-slot cooler and 267 mm length are typical for this class of card, and the single 16-pin power connector simplifies installation. The card's production status is listed as end-of-life, which may be relevant for potential buyers but does not affect its measured performance in this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. At 1080p, all presets produce frame rates well above 200 FPS, with the Low preset hitting 355 FPS and the Ultra preset still managing 234 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 34.1%, but both are far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, so the visual quality improvement from Ultra is essentially free in performance terms.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 200 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual fidelity and speed. The Ultra preset drops to 176 FPS, a 12% reduction, while the Medium preset sits at 224 FPS and the Low preset at 267 FPS. Given that the game's art style is not heavily dependent on high-end graphical effects, the Medium preset at 224 FPS provides a smoother experience with a 12% improvement over High, but the visual differences are likely subtle.

For 4K, the High preset's 134 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. The Ultra preset drops to 118 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 11.9% reduction from High for marginal visual gains. The Medium preset produces 150 FPS, which is 11.9% faster than High, but the Low preset at 179 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for a 33.6% increase over High. The sweet spot is clearly High, as it maintains a high frame rate while preserving the intended visual presentation.

The data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load. The minimum FPS values on Medium settings (253 at 1080p, 190 at 1440p, 127 at 4K) are all well above typical display refresh rates, indicating that even the lowest frame times are smooth. For users with high-refresh-rate displays (144 Hz or 165 Hz), the 1440p High or 4K High presets are the best choices, as they maintain frame rates above the refresh rate while delivering good visual quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 355 at 1080p with Low settings. This is the maximum recorded value, though the Ultra preset at 1080p still produces 234 FPS.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1440p or 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: The data shows the combo excels at both, but 1440p provides a more comfortable margin. At 1440p High, the average is 200 FPS, while at 4K High it is 134 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset drops to 118 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the edge.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i7-14700KF scores 44,167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, placing it 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, while being 0.9% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. These differences are negligible.

Q: Does the 12 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4070 SUPER cause any issues at 4K?

A: No. The measured 4K Ultra average of 118 FPS and 4K Medium minimum of 127 FPS indicate that the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor. The game's stylized art style does not demand large texture memory.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 602nd out of 3,710 tested combinations, placing it in the top 16.2%. This is a strong result, though not the absolute top, reflecting the game's low hardware requirements.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER is within 1% of its nearest rivals. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB by 0.1%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile by 0.1%, and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 by 0.2%, while leading the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile by 1%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70,163.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is largely passive due to the game's low computational demands. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (355 FPS) is nearly three times the 4K Ultra result (118 FPS), demonstrating that the GPU is the primary constraint even at low resolutions. The CPU's single-core performance of 6,235 in Cinebench R23 and 2,578 in Geekbench single-core is more than sufficient for the game's physics and AI calculations, which are relatively simple.

The processor's multi-core capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and a PassMark multithread score of 52,425, are not fully utilized in this title. The game does not scale well across many threads, and the 20-core configuration is overkill for the workload. However, this excess capacity ensures that the CPU never becomes a bottleneck, even at the highest frame rates measured.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 with dual-channel configuration does not directly affect the benchmark results, as the game's memory bandwidth requirements are modest. The 33 MB of L3 cache is also not a limiting factor, as the game's working set is small. The i7-14700KF's performance in this game is best described as providing a stable foundation that allows the RTX 4070 SUPER to operate without any CPU-induced frame rate drops, as evidenced by the consistent minimum FPS values across all tested presets and resolutions.