Microsoft Flight Simulator

This combination of an Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the data showing that every resolution and preset tested clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The pairing ranks 79th out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.1% of all configurations, and the benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant performance driver across all settings, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom even at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The data shows that Ultra settings at 3840x2160 produce an average of 84 FPS, which is the most demanding preset tested and remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Does the Intel Core i3-12100F bottleneck the RTX 5090 D at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results indicate no bottleneck, as the lowest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 142 FPS on Ultra settings, and the Low preset reaches 182 FPS, suggesting the CPU can adequately feed the GPU even at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the RX 6650M XT's 76,904 score, though the deltaPct is minimal and well within variance.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p according to the verdict?

A: The verdictByResolution data lists Ultra as the best setting at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 114 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that remains playable.

Q: Is there any resolution where this combo fails to reach 60 FPS?

A: No, the measured FPS data shows that all twelve tested configurations—four settings across three resolutions—produce average frame rates above 60 FPS, with the lowest being 84 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the spread between minimum and maximum FPS at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the data shows a 35 FPS spread at 3840x2160 (100-135 FPS), a 47 FPS spread at 2560x1440 (131-178 FPS), and a 50 FPS spread at 1920x1080 (141-191 FPS).

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results clearly indicate that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary performance driver in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the Intel Core i3-12100F serving as a capable supporting component. The evidence for this lies in the scaling patterns across resolutions and presets, where GPU-bound workloads dominate and the CPU's four cores and eight threads provide enough throughput to avoid significant bottlenecks.

Looking at resolution scaling, the data shows that moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 produces a measurable but modest frame rate drop across all settings. For example, at High settings the average declines from 149 FPS to 120 FPS, and at Ultra it drops from 142 FPS to 114 FPS. This 20-25% reduction when increasing pixel count by roughly 78% suggests that the GPU is being utilization-bound at lower resolutions, with the CPU providing enough headroom to maintain high frame rates. The further step to 3840x2160 produces another significant drop—from 120 FPS to 88 FPS at High settings—which is a 27% decrease, again consistent with GPU rendering load rather than CPU limitations.

The preset scaling within each resolution reinforces this interpretation. At 3840x2160, the average FPS moves from 151 on Low to 118 on Medium, then to 88 on High, and finally to 84 on Ultra. This is a steep 44% reduction from Low to Ultra, which is characteristic of GPU rasterization and shading workload scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the differences between presets would be smaller, as many settings (like texture quality and anti-aliasing) have minimal CPU impact. The fact that the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 11,860 and single-core 1,674 suggests it has reasonable processing power for a flight simulator, which is known to be CPU-heavy in environments with many AI aircraft or detailed scenery.

The data also shows that at lower resolutions, the FPS remains extraordinarily high—182 FPS at 1080p Low and 169 FPS at 1440p Low—which indicates the CPU is not holding back the GPU. If the i3-12100F were limiting, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS regardless of resolution, but the numbers consistently improve as resolution decreases. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth also help ensure that the GPU never stalls waiting for textures, even at 4K Ultra. In summary, the GPU is the dominant component for this title, but the i3-12100F provides sufficient single-thread and multi-thread performance to keep frame rates high at every tested resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and RTX 5090 D ranks 79th out of 3,714 tested configurations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 2.1% of all combos. This is a strong result, particularly given the relatively modest CPU. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 92% (compared to all GPUs) and its average score of 77,712 confirm that it is a high-end part, while the CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 13,494. The pairing works well because the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the CPU is just enough to avoid a major bottleneck.

Benchmark data shows that the i3-12100F's nearest CPU rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (avgScore 13,492, deltaPct 0%), the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% slower), and the Intel Core 7-1250U (13,351, 1.1% slower). On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904), 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), and 2.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605). These close margins show that the GPU is within normal variance of the best performing rivals but still holds a slight edge in this game's specific workload.

The rank of 79 means that only 78 other combos out of 3,714 achieve higher FPS in this game. This is a strong result for a combo with a 4-core CPU; most of the combos ranked above it likely use more expensive, higher-core processors, but the data proves that Microsoft Flight Simulator is more GPU-bound at these settings. For context, the combo is in the same performance tier as many systems with mid-range CPUs and flagship GPUs, which confirms the scalability of the i3-12100F in this title.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Microsoft Flight Simulator at high frame rates across all tested resolutions. The verdictByResolution data shows that every resolution—from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160—has all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) marked as playable. The best settings at each resolution all exceed 60 FPS, making this a solid choice for smooth flight simulation.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 84 FPS, which is 40% above the 60 FPS threshold. This means that even at 4K, you can run the game at the highest graphics quality with room to spare, though the data shows that Medium settings provide a smoother experience at 118 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra average is 114 FPS, which is nearly double the playability threshold, and the 2560x1440 High preset hits 120 FPS, making it a great balance. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is so high that all settings are above 142 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 182 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The measured data shows that the lowest average FPS in the entire test suite is 84 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra, so there is no configuration that falls below the playable threshold. The verdict is clear: this PC is fully capable of running the game at any resolution and settings, with the Ultra preset at 4K delivering the most demanding but still comfortable experience. The only thing to consider is that the data is measured, not estimated, so it represents real-world performance for this specific CPU-GPU combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the benchmark shows an average of 151 FPS on Low settings, 118 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 100 and maximum of 135), 88 FPS on High, and 84 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra preset has no min/max data, but the average is still above 60 and only 34% below the Low preset's average. The Medium settings at 4K provides the only min/max reading in this resolution, indicating a 35 FPS spread, which is relatively tight.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset average is 169 FPS, Medium is 154. 5 FPS (min 131, max 178), High is 120 FPS, and Ultra is 114 FPS. The 47 FPS spread at Medium is a bit wider than at 4K, and the High and Ultra averages are close, differing by only 6 FPS. The 1080p results are the strongest: Low averages 182 FPS, Medium is 166 FPS (141 min, 191 max), High is 149 FPS, and Ultra is 142 FPS. The 50 FPS spread at Medium suggests some scene dependent variation, but all values are well above 60 FPS.

Looking at the scaling from Low to Ultra, the 1080p data shows a 40 FPS drop (from 182 to 142), which is about a 22% reduction. At 1440p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 55 FPS (169 to 114), a 33% reduction, and at 4K, the drop is 67 FPS (151 to 84), a 44% reduction. This scaling is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the gap between settings widens as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor in this configuration.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best, with an average of 142 FPS. This is the highest quality setting, and the data shows that it still delivers more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. The High preset is 149 FPS, but Ultra is only 7 FPS lower, meaning there is no reason to drop to a lower setting for a small FPS gain.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again is the best, with an average of 114 FPS. The High preset is 120 FPS, but the difference is only 6 FPS, so the Ultra setting is the recommended choice, as it provides a 114 FPS average that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p data shows that the game is very playable at maximum quality, with the Medium preset at 154 FPS being a good alternative if you prefer a higher frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is still the best, with an average of 84 FPS. The High preset is 88 FPS, and the Ultra is only 4 FPS less, but still 24 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset offers 118 FPS, but the Ultra quality is the most demanding preset that remains playable. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, and the fact that it stays above 60 FPS means that the PC can handle the game at the highest settings possible.

In summary, for all three resolutions, the Ultra preset is the best choice, with the average FPS at 84, 114, and 142 FPS respectively for 4K, 1440p, and 1080p. These results indicate that the PC is fully capable of running Microsoft Flight Simulator at the highest quality settings without dropping below the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the data confirms that the GPU is the dominant component, providing the extra headroom needed for a fluid, immersive flight experience.