Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver: Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combination ranks 170th out of 3,710 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the top 4.6% of all systems tested for this game. The pairing of Intel's 24-core flagship with NVIDIA's 16 GB Blackwell GPU delivers elite frame rates across every resolution, with the RTX 5080 clearly dominating the performance equation at 4K while the i9-14900K provides ample headroom at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The 170th position out of 3,710 combos represents a strong showing, though not the absolute top tier for Dave The Diver. This rank reflects the measured performance of this specific CPU-GPU pairing in this particular game, and the data shows the system consistently delivers triple-digit average FPS at every tested resolution and preset combination.

At 4K Ultra, this combo produces a 141 FPS average, which is 88 FPS above the 4K Low setting's 213 FPS average — a substantial range that indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor at this resolution. The 1440p results show even higher performance, with the Ultra preset averaging 210 FPS and Low hitting 318 FPS. At 1080p, the system reaches a 423 FPS average on Low, demonstrating exceptional capability for high-refresh-rate displays.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 95 among all tested CPUs reinforces that this processor is near the top of the performance spectrum, though its nearest rivals show it is not the absolute fastest. The i9-14900K trails the i9-14900KF by 0.3%, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus by 0.6%, and the EPYC 7413 by 1.2% in average benchmark score, while leading the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 by 1.7%. These small deltas indicate the CPU performance is tightly clustered among top-tier processors.

The GPU's 87th percentile among all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 56,083, places it slightly above the Radeon 8060S by 0.6% and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 0.7%, while trailing the RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%. This positioning suggests the RTX 5080 is a high-end but not absolute flagship GPU, yet in Dave The Diver specifically, it delivers frame rates that many lower-ranked combos cannot approach.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080 features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Dave The Diver's demands, as evidenced by the high average FPS across all settings and resolutions. The GPU's 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs work together to deliver the measured performance, with a boost clock of 2617 MHz and a base clock of 2295 MHz.

The GPU's FP32 compute performance of 56.28 TFLOPS, along with its 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores, provides substantial processing capability. In Dave The Diver, the GPU's pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s contribute to the smooth rendering seen in the measured FPS data. The 4K High average of 159 FPS and 4K Medium average of 179 FPS demonstrate that the GPU handles the game's graphical workload efficiently at high resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capabilities: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637, Geekbench OpenCL score of 235,901, and Vulkan score of 255,450. The PassMark G3D score of 36,565 and GPU compute score of 21,789 indicate strong overall performance. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, memory constraints are unlikely to be a limiting factor in this game, as the measured 141 FPS average at 4K Ultra demonstrates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves a 423 FPS average, which drops to 318 FPS at 1440p Low and 213 FPS at 4K Low — a 49.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU becomes more influential, while at higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the primary performance determinant.

The High preset shows a similar trend: 316 FPS at 1080p, 238 FPS at 1440p, and 159 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset scales from 279 FPS at 1080p to 210 FPS at 1440p and 141 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, shows 354 FPS average at 1080p (301 min, 407 max), 266 FPS at 1440p (227 min, 306 max), and 179 FPS at 4K (152 min, 205 max).

The resolution scaling analysis suggests that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound or at least approaching CPU limitations, given the massive frame rates that exceed typical display refresh rates. As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's workload grows, and the FPS drops accordingly. The 4K Ultra to 4K Low spread of 72 FPS (141 to 213) indicates the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest resolution, with the difference between presets being more pronounced at 4K than at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Dave The Diver with this hardware?

A: The data shows playable frame rates at all tested resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 141 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it averages 210 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it reaches 279 FPS. The choice depends on display capabilities and preference for graphical fidelity versus raw frame rate.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% higher than the Radeon 8060S, 0.7% higher than the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and 2.3% higher than the Radeon Pro W5700X, but 2.2% lower than the RX 9070 GRE.

Q: What is the CPU's ranking among all tested processors?

A: The i9-14900K ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 79,097. Its nearest rival, the i9-14900KF, scores 79,371, which is 0.3% higher.

Q: How much FPS does the Medium preset deliver at each resolution?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 354 FPS with a minimum of 301 FPS and maximum of 407 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 266 FPS with 227 FPS minimum and 306 FPS maximum. At 4K Medium, the average is 179 FPS with 152 FPS minimum and 205 FPS maximum.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM capacity of the RTX 5080 cause any issues in this game?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related performance issues. The 4K Ultra preset still achieves a 141 FPS average, indicating the 16 GB GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for Dave The Diver at all tested settings.

Q: How large is the performance gap between the lowest and highest presets at 4K?

A: The gap between 4K Low (213 FPS average) and 4K Ultra (141 FPS average) is 72 FPS, representing a 51.1% increase in frame rate when dropping from Ultra to Low settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings 24 cores and 32 threads to this combination, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. This Raptor Lake-R architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, features a 36 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its high-end positioning, with Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39,399.5 and single-core score of 2,262.5.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The 1080p Low average of 423 FPS and 1080p High average of 316 FPS suggest the CPU can feed the GPU with sufficient data to maintain extremely high frame rates. The PassMark multithread score of 58,674 and single-thread score of 4,697 indicate strong performance in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads.

The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with its dual-channel memory bus, provides flexibility for system builders. The 125 W TDP and PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes ensure the CPU can communicate efficiently with the RTX 5080 via the GPU's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 provides a fallback display option, though it is not needed for gaming performance with the discrete GPU installed.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum visual quality, the Ultra preset at 4K delivers a 141 FPS average, which exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate of many high-end monitors. At 1440p, Ultra produces a 210 FPS average, making it an excellent choice for 240 Hz displays. The 1080p Ultra average of 279 FPS is suitable for even the fastest gaming monitors available.

The High preset offers a balanced experience with a 159 FPS average at 4K and 238 FPS at 1440p. This setting may be preferable for players who want slightly higher frame rates with minimal visual compromise. The Medium preset provides the highest minimum frame rates at each resolution, with 301 FPS minimum at 1080p, 227 FPS at 1440p, and 152 FPS at 4K, ensuring smoother frame pacing.

The Low preset is unnecessary for this hardware combination, as even the most demanding Ultra settings produce frame rates far above what is needed for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that players with 4K displays should use Ultra or High settings without concern, while those with 1440p or 1080p displays can select Ultra for the best visual experience while still maintaining frame rates well above 200 FPS.