Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a demanding title by modern standards, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination obliterates it at every preset. The benchmark data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at 4K, but transitions to a more CPU-limited state at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 470 FPS. This pairing ranks in the top 0.4% of all tested combinations, confirming it as an elite configuration for this game, even if the game itself does not require such hardware to run smoothly.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but expected, revealing a shift in the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 472 FPS; at 1440p, that figure falls to 371 FPS, and at 4K, it settles at 248 FPS. This represents a 47% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, while the GPU begins to take over as pixel count rises.

The trend is consistent across all quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 368 FPS at 1080p to 277 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 186 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 33% performance hit at High settings, which is a larger relative drop than the 25% reduction seen from 1080p to 1440p. This pattern suggests that the RTX 5090 D's raw pixel throughput is the dominant constraint at 4K, while the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The combo delivers 325 FPS at 1080p, 245 FPS at 1440p, and 164 FPS at 4K. The 50% performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is the largest of any preset, further confirming that the 4K resolution is where the GPU workload becomes significant. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 84 FPS (248 vs 164), while at 1080p that same gap is 147 FPS (472 vs 325), showing that resolution scaling compresses the impact of quality settings when the GPU is heavily loaded.

The data indicates that this system is never truly challenged by Dave The Diver. Even at the most stressful combination of 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 164 FPS far exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the pronounced drop in performance when moving from 1440p to 4K. At 1080p, the CPU appears to be the ceiling, as the frame rates plateau in a range that suggests the game's engine or the CPU's single-thread performance is the constraining factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units deliver a theoretical FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. These specifications are far beyond what Dave The Diver requires, and the measured frame rates reflect this massive overprovisioning.

The GPU's 32 GB VRAM is completely irrelevant for this game, as Dave The Diver is not a texture-heavy title that would stress memory capacity. Even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 164 FPS shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or bandwidth limitations. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is similarly excessive, as the game's asset streaming demands are modest compared to the GPU's capabilities.

The RTX 5090 D's percentile ranking of 92 against all GPUs places it in the top 8% of graphics cards, and its average benchmark score of 77712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which is its closest rival in the data. The GPU's performance in this game is so far above the requirements that it never drops below 164 FPS at any measured setting or resolution. This suggests that the GPU's role is not to struggle with the workload but rather to deliver maximum frame rates with no compromise, even at 4K.

The GPU's clock behavior is not explicitly measured in the frame data, but the consistency of results across settings indicates stable boost clock operation. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 84 FPS, which is a 34% reduction, showing that the GPU has enough headroom to absorb increased shader and pixel work without dropping below playable thresholds. The 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU are not reflected in the game's performance, as the workload is light enough that thermal or power constraints never manifest in the FPS data.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 472 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 368 FPS at 1080p to 186 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 182 FPS or approximately 49%.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial (e.g., from 277 to 186 FPS at High), while the CPU is likely the constraint at 1080p where frame rates exceed 325 FPS even at Ultra settings.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 100 FPS in any tested configuration?

A: No. The lowest average frame rate recorded is 164 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which remains well above 100 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (score of 76904), but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (score of 78940).

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 310 FPS, with a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 357 FPS, indicating a variance of 93 FPS between the lowest and highest recorded frames.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Ultra preset is the optimal choice for this hardware combination, as it delivers frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of virtually all displays. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 164 FPS, which is still more than sufficient for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The performance cost of moving from High to Ultra at 4K is 22 FPS (186 to 164), a 12% reduction, which is a small price for the visual fidelity gains.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset runs at 245 FPS, making it the clear best choice for users with 144Hz or 240Hz displays. The difference between Medium and Ultra at this resolution is 65 FPS (310 vs 245), but the Ultra preset's visual enhancements justify the trade-off. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 325 FPS, which is overkill for any current display, yet it remains the most visually pleasing option without any risk of dropping below 300 FPS.

For users who prioritize maximum frame rates over visual quality, the Low preset at 1080p offers 472 FPS, but this is only relevant for competitive scenarios where every frame matters. The Medium preset provides a balanced middle ground, with 412 FPS at 1080p and 208 FPS at 4K, but given the extreme headroom of this system, there is no practical reason to choose Medium over Ultra. The data strongly suggests that the Ultra preset at any resolution is the best experience, as the RTX 5090 D ensures that even the most demanding settings remain effortlessly playable.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 15th out of 3710 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 0.4% of all configurations. This elite ranking is consistent with the hardware's synthetic benchmark performance: the CPU ranks in the 94th percentile against all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile against all graphics cards.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 70163 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (score 69996) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (score 69875), but 1% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (score 70879). This places the i7-14700KF in a highly competitive position, with its 20 cores and 28 threads providing strong multi-threaded performance that is more than adequate for Dave The Diver's lighter CPU demands.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 77712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and 2.1% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB. Despite these synthetic benchmark differences, the RTX 5090 D's real-world performance in Dave The Diver is exceptional, as evidenced by the 164 FPS minimum at 4K Ultra. The combo's 15th-place ranking out of 3710 reflects a system that is not only powerful on paper but also translates that power into top-tier frame rates in this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 472 FPS, while Medium averages 412 FPS with a minimum of 351 FPS and a maximum of 474 FPS. High settings yield 368 FPS, and Ultra drops to 325 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 147 FPS decline, representing a 31% reduction in performance as quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings average 371 FPS, Medium averages 310 FPS (min 264, max 357), High averages 277 FPS, and Ultra averages 245 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 126 FPS, a 34% reduction. The 1440p results are 21-22% lower than their 1080p counterparts across all presets, indicating a consistent scaling penalty.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload becomes more apparent. Low settings produce 248 FPS, Medium averages 208 FPS (min 177, max 239), High averages 186 FPS, and Ultra averages 164 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 84 FPS, a 34% reduction. Compared to 1080p, the 4K results are 47-50% lower, showing that resolution is the primary factor affecting performance. The Medium preset at 4K shows the only recorded minimum FPS below 200 (177 FPS), but even this worst-case scenario remains far above any playability threshold.