Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver is not a demanding title, and the performance data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 confirms this emphatically. This combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. The data indicates that users can expect a highly responsive experience even at maximum settings, making this hardware pairing overkill for the game's visual demands but excellent for maximum refresh rate displays.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic pattern of shifting bottlenecks. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 408 FPS, but this drops to 206 FPS at 4K with the same settings. This 49.5% reduction in performance as resolution increases indicates that while the RTX 4080 is still the primary driver of frame output, the CPU is beginning to assert its limits at lower resolutions. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is 101 FPS (from 408 to 307), while the gap between 1440p and 4K is also 101 FPS (from 307 to 206), showing a nearly linear scaling pattern that suggests neither component is fully saturated until the highest resolution.

The scaling behavior changes significantly when moving to Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 269 FPS, which drops to 203 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 24.5% reduction) and further to 136 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 33% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is 49.4%, nearly identical to the Low settings drop. This consistency across settings presets indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the game's engine does not introduce unexpected overhead at higher settings that would disproportionately impact higher resolutions.

The most telling data point for understanding the limiting component comes from the Medium settings results, which include minimum and maximum frame rate data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 342 FPS with a minimum of 290 FPS and maximum of 393 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and maximum of 296 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 172 FPS with a minimum of 146 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS. The minimum frame rates at each resolution are roughly 85% of the average, suggesting consistent frame pacing without significant hitches, which points to a well-optimized game engine rather than a component struggling to keep up.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why Dave The Diver runs at such high frame rates. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is far more than the game requires, as evidenced by the minimal performance difference between settings presets at the same resolution. For instance, at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 70 FPS (from 206 to 136), which is substantial but still results in playable frame rates even at the most demanding preset.

The RTX 4080's clock speeds play a significant role in its performance. With a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, the GPU can sustain high frequencies during gaming workloads. The 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores provide additional processing capability, though Dave The Diver's art style and gameplay mechanics do not appear to heavily utilize these features based on the frame rate data. The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance provides ample compute headroom for the game's physics and rendering tasks, which is reflected in the consistently high frame rates across all tested configurations.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB ensures that texture loading and memory allocation never become a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings where the game produced 136 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is sufficient for the game's data streaming requirements, and the benchmark results show no signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops. The GPU's percentile ranking of 86% among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards, and its nearest rivals show only minimal performance differences: the RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% slower.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its specifications are more than adequate for Dave The Diver. The CPU features 14 cores and 14 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration provides substantial single-thread performance, which is crucial for games that rely heavily on a few cores for game logic and physics calculations. The PassMark single-thread score of 4516 demonstrates strong per-core performance, while the multi-thread score of 37816 shows the CPU can handle more demanding workloads when needed.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used data, which helps maintain consistent frame rates even in complex game scenes. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor at 4K resolutions, where the GPU takes on the primary rendering burden. However, at 1080p Low settings, the system produces 408 FPS, which approaches the limits of what a CPU can feed to the GPU. This suggests that the CPU is capable of sustaining extremely high frame rates, but the game's engine may have some single-thread limitations that prevent even higher performance.

The CPU's overall performance, as measured by its average benchmark score of 46062, places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals show remarkable parity: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 is 0.1% faster, the Intel Core i9-13900HX is 0.1% slower, and both the AMD EPYC 4364P and AMD EPYC 7303 are 0.2% faster. This tight clustering indicates that the Core Ultra 5 235 provides competitive performance in its class, and in Dave The Diver specifically, the CPU's capabilities are more than sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at any tested resolution or settings combination.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Dave The Diver at 4K 144Hz?

A: Yes, the data confirms this is possible. At 4K Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 136 FPS, which is below 144Hz. However, at 4K High settings, the average rises to 154 FPS, and at 4K Medium settings, it reaches 172 FPS. This means users can achieve 144Hz at 4K by selecting High or Medium settings.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for the highest frame rates?

A: The highest recorded frame rate is 408 FPS at 1080p Low settings. For users prioritizing maximum performance, 1080p Low provides the fastest experience. However, 1440p Medium delivers 257 FPS, which is still extremely high while offering better visual quality, making it a strong balance.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 or the Core Ultra 5 235 the bottleneck in this game?

A: At 4K resolutions, the RTX 4080 is the primary bottleneck, as frame rates scale with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more of a limiting factor, particularly at Low settings where the system produces 408 FPS. The data shows the GPU is the dominant component, but the CPU can cap performance at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, making the SUPER 0.1% slower. This difference is negligible in real-world gaming, and both cards would produce nearly identical frame rates in Dave The Diver.

Q: Does the game benefit more from the GPU's 16 GB VRAM or the CPU's 14 cores?

A: The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more important for this game. The frame rate differences between settings presets at the same resolution are primarily due to GPU workload, not CPU limitations. The CPU's 14 cores provide ample processing power, but the game's demands are better served by the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capabilities.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1440p High is 230 FPS. This is well above the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors, ensuring a smooth experience even on high-refresh-rate displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination in Dave The Diver is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates. Low settings yield an average of 408 FPS, Medium settings produce 342 FPS with a minimum of 290 FPS and maximum of 393 FPS, High settings deliver 305 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 269 FPS. These results show a clear progression where each settings tier reduces performance by approximately 20-40 FPS, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 139 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show the expected reduction from 1080p. Low settings produce 307 FPS, Medium settings deliver 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and maximum of 296 FPS, High settings achieve 230 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 203 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 104 FPS, which is smaller than the 139 FPS gap at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the resolution demands become more apparent. Low settings produce 206 FPS, Medium settings deliver 172 FPS with a minimum of 146 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS, High settings achieve 154 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 136 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 70 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload scales more significantly at higher resolutions, but all settings remain highly playable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. For 1080p users with high refresh rate monitors (240Hz or above), Medium settings provide the best experience, delivering 342 FPS average with a minimum of 290 FPS. This preset offers a significant visual upgrade over Low settings while maintaining frame rates well above the refresh rate threshold, and the minimum FPS of 290 ensures consistent performance without drops below 240Hz.

For 1440p users, High settings are the recommended choice, producing 230 FPS average. This provides a substantial visual quality improvement over Medium settings while still maintaining frame rates above 200 FPS. The 203 FPS at Ultra settings also remains excellent, but the 27 FPS gain from dropping to High is worth the visual trade-off for most users, especially those with 240Hz monitors who want to ensure they stay above the refresh rate.

For 4K users, Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering 172 FPS average with a minimum of 146 FPS. This ensures the frame rate stays above 144Hz even during demanding scenes. High settings at 154 FPS are also viable for 144Hz displays, but the 18 FPS penalty from Medium to High is noticeable. Ultra settings at 136 FPS are only recommended for users with 120Hz displays or those who prioritize maximum visual fidelity over frame rate consistency, as the minimum FPS may drop below 120Hz in some scenarios.