Dave The Diver

# Dave The Diver — Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

Dave The Diver presents an unusual scaling profile for this combination. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 231 FPS average, which is an exceptionally high ceiling for a game of this genre. The measured data shows a steady, predictable decline as resolution increases, but the shape of that decline reveals where the bottleneck shifts. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by roughly 25-30%, while the jump from 1440p to 4K produces a similar proportional decline. This consistent scaling pattern suggests a balanced system where neither component is dramatically over- or under-powered for the workload.

The critical observation is that even at 4K Ultra, the combination maintains a playable 77 FPS average. This is not a game that stresses modern hardware to its limits; rather, it appears to be well-optimized for a wide range of systems. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution is relatively modest—about 54 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the game's visual fidelity settings have a measurable but not overwhelming impact on performance. The limiting component shifts from the CPU at lower resolutions to the GPU at higher resolutions, but neither component ever becomes a severe constraint given the overall high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo is characterized by remarkably linear degradation. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 173 to 130—a reduction of 43 FPS. The subsequent step to 4K High brings the average down to 87 FPS, another 43 FPS reduction. This near-identical absolute drop between resolution tiers suggests the game's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count, and the system responds proportionally.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The 1080p Low result of 231 FPS falls to 174 FPS at 1440p (a 57 FPS drop) and then to 117 FPS at 4K (another 57 FPS drop). This consistent pattern of equal absolute drops indicates that the performance ceiling at each resolution is being hit, with the GPU becoming progressively more dominant as the workload increases. The fact that the drops are not larger in percentage terms at 4K suggests the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game, or that the game's memory footprint does not exceed that capacity even at Ultra settings.

Ultra settings show the tightest scaling margins. The 153 FPS average at 1080p drops to 115 FPS at 1440p, and then to 77 FPS at 4K. The absolute drops are 38 FPS and 38 FPS respectively, slightly smaller than the Low settings drops. This indicates that at Ultra, the additional shading and post-processing work creates a more uniform load distribution, mitigating some of the resolution-based scaling penalties. The minimum FPS data available for Medium settings shows a consistent pattern: 165 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all within 15% of the corresponding averages, suggesting frame time consistency is strong across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 1501 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver. That places it in the 48th percentile of all tested systems, which is a middle-of-the-pack position. The ranking reflects the fact that while the CPU is exceptionally powerful (96th percentile among all CPUs), the GPU is more modestly positioned (61st percentile among all GPUs). The game's performance is ultimately limited by the GPU at higher resolutions, which drags the overall combo ranking down.

The combo rank of 1501 out of 2867 means there are 1366 tested combinations that perform better in this game. Given that the RTX 4060 is an end-of-life product and the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a current-generation flagship, this pairing represents an asymmetric configuration—a top-tier CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. In a game like Dave The Diver, which appears to favor higher resolutions and visual settings, the GPU becomes the determining factor for the combo's overall ranking. The data suggests that systems with more powerful GPUs and less powerful CPUs would likely rank higher, as the game's performance scaling is dominated by GPU workload.

The rank position also needs to be interpreted within the context of the game's genre. As an adventure title, Dave The Diver does not demand the extreme frame rates that competitive shooters require. A combo ranking in the middle of the pack still delivers frame rates well above 60 FPS at all tested settings and resolutions, which is the practical threshold for smooth gameplay in this genre. The ranking is also influenced by the fact that many of the 2867 tested combos likely include high-end GPUs paired with any CPU, and those systems naturally dominate the upper portion of the ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It is built on TSMC's 3 nm process node with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The CPU's benchmark results are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. These figures place the processor in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,003.

For Dave The Diver specifically, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 231 FPS average, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the CPU's single-thread performance ceiling. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 7,303 is particularly relevant here, as adventure games often rely heavily on a single primary thread for game logic and scene management. The CPU's boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures that this primary thread can execute as quickly as possible.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores provide context for its positioning. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K scores 83,807 (0.2% lower), the AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83,090 (1.1% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82,980 (1.2% lower). The only rival that scores higher is the AMD EPYC 7F72 at 85,072 (1.3% higher). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the 290K Plus is well within the top tier of CPU performance. However, in Dave The Diver, the CPU's performance advantage over these rivals is unlikely to translate into meaningful FPS differences, as the game's frame rates are more constrained by GPU throughput at higher resolutions.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s with DDR5 support and dual-channel configuration is sufficient for the game's data streaming requirements. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 3 MB per core L2 cache and 192 KB per core L1 cache, provides ample caching for game assets and physics calculations. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60,860 and single-thread score of 4,823 confirm that the CPU excels in both parallel and serial workloads, though Dave The Diver is unlikely to stress all 24 cores simultaneously.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 231 FPS on Low, 194 FPS on Medium, 173 FPS on High, and 153 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting has a recorded minimum FPS of 165 and maximum of 223, showing a frame time distribution that is tight and consistent. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 78 FPS, which represents a 34% performance penalty for the highest visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 174 FPS on Low, 146 FPS on Medium, 130 FPS on High, and 115 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting again provides frame time data: minimum 124 FPS and maximum 168 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 59 FPS drop, which is a 34% penalty—identical to the 1080p percentage. This consistency across resolutions suggests that the performance cost of each settings tier is proportional, regardless of the base resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 117 FPS on Low, 98 FPS on Medium, 87 FPS on High, and 77 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 83 FPS and maximum of 112 FPS. The Low to Ultra penalty at 4K is 40 FPS, or 34%—again matching the pattern. This remarkable consistency in percentage scaling (34% penalty from Low to Ultra at all three resolutions) indicates that the game's settings adjustments have a uniform multiplicative effect on rendering cost, independent of resolution.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level is also consistent. At Low, the drop from 231 to 117 FPS is a 49% reduction. At Medium, 194 to 98 FPS is also a 49% reduction. At High, 173 to 87 FPS is a 50% reduction. At Ultra, 153 to 77 FPS is also a 50% reduction. This uniformity suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales linearly with pixel count, and the system's performance ceiling is being approached at 4K regardless of settings level.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD107 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process node. It features 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The memory runs at 2125 MHz, translating to 17 Gbps effective.

For Dave The Diver, the GPU's performance characteristics are well-suited to the game's demands. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient even at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the playable 77 FPS average at that setting. The GPU's FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s provide ample throughput for the game's visual effects. The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized, as Dave The Diver is not a ray tracing-intensive title based on the measured frame rates.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,639. Its nearest rivals in benchmark performance are all within 1%: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17,666 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17,588 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17,551 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17,509 (0.7% lower). This cluster of rivals indicates that the RTX 4060's raw compute performance is comparable to a range of older and integrated solutions, though its architectural advantages likely provide better real-world gaming performance.

The GPU's 115 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement are modest, and the dual-slot design with a single 12-pin power connector makes it easy to integrate into most systems. The PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the 8 GB frame buffer. In Dave The Diver, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the 77 FPS Ultra result, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold but represents a significant drop from the 153 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Dave The Diver at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 77 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS playability threshold. At 4K High, the average rises to 87 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 117 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 231 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 153 FPS. This represents a 78 FPS difference, or a 34% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17,639 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666, 0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M (17,588, 0.3% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17,551, 0.5% lower). All deltas are within 1%.

Q: Does the frame rate drop linearly as resolution increases?

A: Yes, the data shows a remarkably consistent scaling pattern. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 173 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p to 87 at 4K—each step representing a 43 FPS reduction. The same pattern holds at other settings levels.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, driven by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and single-core score of 7,303.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Dave The Diver?

A: This combination of CPU and GPU ranks 1501 out of 2867 tested combos in Dave The Diver, placing it in the middle of the distribution of tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate at 1080p, the High preset at 173 FPS is the optimal choice. It provides a 20 FPS improvement over Ultra (153 FPS) while maintaining a visually rich experience. The Medium preset at 194 FPS offers an additional 21 FPS headroom, but the visual difference between Medium and High is likely more noticeable than the frame rate difference, given that both are already far above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 231 FPS is unnecessary for smooth gameplay and sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a frame rate that exceeds the display refresh rate of most monitors.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 130 FPS, which is excellent for this resolution. The Ultra preset at 115 FPS is also viable if the user prioritizes maximum visual quality, as it remains well above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 146 FPS provides a comfortable margin for users with high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset at 174 FPS is overkill for most 1440p monitors, which typically cap at 144 Hz or 165 Hz.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is playable but close to the 60 FPS floor. The High preset at 87 FPS provides a more comfortable margin and is the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 98 FPS offers the best balance for users who want to ensure stable performance, especially in scenes with heavy on-screen activity. The Low preset at 117 FPS is viable for users with 120 Hz 4K displays, but the visual compromise is significant for an adventure game where atmosphere and detail matter.

Overall, the data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions. It delivers frame rates that are 2.4x higher than the 60 FPS baseline at 1080p, 2.2x at 1440p, and 1.45x at 4K. The consistent 34% penalty from Low to Ultra settings across all resolutions indicates that the game's settings scale predictably, allowing users to make informed trade-offs between visual quality and performance. For users with VRR displays, even the Ultra preset at 4K (77 FPS) would be acceptable, but for the broadest compatibility and smoothest experience, High settings are the data-supported recommendation.