Dave The Diver

Dave The Diver, a 2023 adventure title, presents a relatively light workload for modern hardware, and the measured results with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 confirm this. The data shows consistently high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, making this combo a strong candidate for high-refresh-rate displays. The benchmark results indicate that the system's performance scales predictably with both resolution and graphical fidelity, offering a clear picture of where the balance lies between visual quality and raw frame throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 206 FPS for Low, 172 FPS for Medium, 154 FPS for High, and 136 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, representing a 70 FPS difference, which underscores the significant impact of the Ultra preset's additional graphical demands.

For players prioritizing maximum smoothness on a 1080p display, the Low preset offers a headroom of over 200 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. However, the Medium setting still delivers 172 FPS, which is ample for 144Hz panels, and it provides a noticeable improvement in visual fidelity over Low. The High preset at 154 FPS remains above the 144Hz threshold, making it a strong choice for those who want a balance of quality and speed. The Ultra preset, while still very smooth at 136 FPS, begins to approach the 120Hz threshold, making it less ideal for competitive play but perfectly suitable for a more immersive visual experience.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds, but with a tighter spread. The average frame rates are 155 FPS for Low, 129 FPS for Medium, 116 FPS for High, and 102 FPS for Ultra. Here, the Low preset is the only option that comfortably exceeds 144Hz. The Medium preset at 129 FPS is well-suited for 120Hz monitors, while High at 116 FPS and Ultra at 102 FPS are both viable for 100Hz or 120Hz displays, depending on the user's tolerance for occasional dips below the panel's maximum refresh rate.

The 4K results at 3840x2160 show a more pronounced performance cost. The average frame rates are 104 FPS for Low, 87 FPS for Medium, 77 FPS for High, and 68 FPS for Ultra. At this resolution, no preset reaches the 120 FPS mark. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a 100+ FPS average, while the Medium and High presets are ideal for 75Hz or 85Hz displays. The Ultra preset, with a 68 FPS average, is best reserved for players with 60Hz displays who want the highest possible visual fidelity.

The best experience per the measured data depends on the target display. For 1080p, the High preset is the optimal choice, as it delivers over 150 FPS while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium. For 1440p, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, keeping the frame rate above 120 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset is the only option that consistently stays above 100 FPS, but players with 60Hz displays can safely use the Ultra preset for maximum visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2317 MHz, with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. These specifications position the card as a capable entry-level to mid-range option, and the measured FPS in Dave The Diver reflects this.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor for this game. While Dave The Diver is not a particularly VRAM-hungry title, the data shows that the GPU is able to handle all tested settings at all resolutions without becoming a bottleneck. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent, suggesting that the 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the game's textures and effects, even at 4K. The GPU's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is more than adequate for the game's visual style, which favors stylized 2D sprites over complex 3D geometry.

The RTX 5050's performance in Dave The Diver is notably strong. At 1080p, it delivers over 130 FPS even on the Ultra preset, indicating that the card is rarely the limiting factor. The boost clock of 2572 MHz is sustained effectively, as the frame rates remain stable across different scenes. The card's 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in this game, which is typical for a 2D adventure title, but their presence ensures compatibility with any future updates or DLC that might introduce more demanding effects. The GPU's average benchmark score of 21035 and its percentile ranking of 66 versus all GPUs place it in the middle of the pack, but within the context of this specific game, its performance is exceptional.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the system's scaling behavior. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 154 FPS at 1920x1080 to 116 FPS at 2560x1440, a 24.7% decrease, and then to 77 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 33.6% decrease. This pattern shows that the GPU is the primary limiting component as resolution increases, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU must render more pixels.

The scaling is not perfectly linear, which is expected due to the increasing memory bandwidth demands and pixel fill rate requirements at higher resolutions. The RTX 5050's 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth is sufficient to keep up with the game's demands, but the transition from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that the GPU's 128-bit memory bus becomes a more significant constraint at 4K, where the higher pixel count requires more data to be fetched from VRAM.

The data for the Ultra preset shows a similar trend: 136 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is 33.3%, which is slightly steeper than the High preset's 33.6% drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects place a proportionally higher load on the GPU at high resolutions. Overall, the resolution scaling confirms that this combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K experience is limited to lower presets for high-refresh-rate play and requires a 60Hz display for the Ultra preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are consistently high. The Low preset achieves an average of 206 FPS, with no recorded minimum or maximum. The Medium preset averages 172 FPS, with a minimum of 146 FPS and a maximum of 198 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution. The High preset averages 154 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 136 FPS, with no min/max data provided for these two.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS values are still impressive. The Low preset records an average of 155 FPS. The Medium preset averages 129 FPS, with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS, showing a slightly wider variance than at 1080p. The High preset averages 116 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 104 FPS. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, which is the first scenario where the minimum falls below the 75 FPS mark. The High preset averages 77 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. These numbers illustrate that while the game remains playable at 4K, the frame rate is no longer sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays, and the Medium preset's minimum of 74 FPS is the only recorded data point that dips below 75 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 achieves a rank of 1725 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver. This places it in the bottom half of all tested configurations, which is a significant finding given the high FPS numbers recorded. The ranking indicates that while this specific combo delivers excellent playable frame rates, it is outperformed by a large number of other CPU/GPU pairs.

The combo's percentile position, roughly at the 60th percentile (1725/2867), suggests that the system is not at the top tier of performance for this game. This is likely due to the GPU's mid-range positioning relative to other tested combos, which may include higher-end graphics cards. The CPU's performance, while solid, is also not at the extreme high end. The rank of 1725 serves as a contextual benchmark, showing that this combo offers a good experience but is not the highest-performing option available. However, the data shows that the actual FPS results are more than sufficient for a smooth gaming experience, making this rank a reflection of relative comparison rather than an indicator of inadequacy.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, placing it in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs.

In Dave The Diver, the CPU's role is to ensure that frame times remain consistent, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough data to maintain over 200 FPS on the Low preset. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for this game, as it likely relies on a single main game thread. The 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures that this thread is processed as quickly as possible, contributing to the high average FPS.

The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads are more than sufficient for the game's background tasks, such as physics, AI, and asset streaming. The 24 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for keeping the game world responsive. The CPU's average benchmark score of 48995 is close to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (with a delta of -0.5%) and the Intel Core i5-14600K (with a delta of 0.8%), indicating that its raw computational power is comparable to other mid-range and high-end processors. In this game, the CPU's performance is more than adequate, and the measured FPS is primarily a function of the GPU's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Dave The Diver?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 206, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Dave The Diver at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows that the game runs at an average of 68 FPS on the Ultra preset and 104 FPS on the Low preset at 3840x2160, indicating that 8 GB is enough for all tested settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos in Dave The Diver?

A: This combo ranks 1725 out of 2867 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of all configurations tested in the game.

Q: Which preset is recommended for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the best option, as it achieves an average of 129 FPS, which is close to the 144Hz refresh rate, while providing a balanced visual experience.

Q: Does the CPU become a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: No, the data shows that the frame rates scale primarily with resolution and settings, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's high single-core boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures it keeps up with the GPU at all tested settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is 146 FPS, with a maximum of 198 FPS, showing a stable performance envelope.