Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a lopsided pairing on paper, but for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the data shows this combination is surprisingly effective. The RTX 4080 carries most of the load at higher resolutions, while the i5-10400F, a 6-core Comet Lake part, keeps pace well enough to avoid becoming a severe bottleneck. The recorded measurements indicate that this system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at every resolution and preset tested, making it a viable option for simmers who prioritize graphical fidelity over raw CPU headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 70 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets, High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, are playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: At 2560x1440, the best settings preset is Ultra, which delivers an average of 95 FPS. This is the highest quality option available and it still provides a significant frame rate cushion above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is 25 FPS on average. Low settings produce 134 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 109 FPS average. The gap between these two extremes shows the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's performance close to any other graphics cards in the database?

A: The database lists the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER as the closest rival, with an average benchmark score of 54209 compared to the RTX 4080's 54247. This represents a delta of only 0.1%, meaning the two cards are effectively tied in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Does the CPU become a limiting factor at any resolution tested?

A: The data suggests the CPU is less of a factor at higher resolutions. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 70 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it is 109 FPS. The scaling between resolutions indicates the GPU is the primary driver of performance, with the CPU providing sufficient support across all tested settings.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combination for this specific game?

A: The combo ranks 646 out of 3714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top percentile of systems, indicating strong overall performance for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this pairing at 646 out of 3714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. That puts it in the upper tier of systems, roughly in the 83rd percentile of all tested hardware configurations. The ranking reflects the RTX 4080's strong raw performance, which is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, combined with the i5-10400F's more modest 68th percentile standing among CPUs. The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the CPU is adequate enough to support it without dragging down the overall result.

This rank is particularly notable because the CPU is not a high-end part. The i5-10400F's average benchmark score of 14185 places it near the Intel Xeon 6756E and AMD EPYC 7552, both of which are within 0.5% of its score. The fact that this combination still reaches the 646th spot out of 3714 confirms how well the RTX 4080 compensates for the CPU's limitations in a GPU-heavy title like this flight simulator. The measured FPS data confirms this, as even at 1080p, where CPU load is typically highest, the system still delivers over 100 FPS on average across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a comprehensive look at how this system performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system delivers 134 FPS average on Low settings, 123 FPS average on Medium, 110 FPS average on High, and 109 FPS average on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, giving a clear picture of frame time consistency at that setting.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down gracefully. Low settings produce 125 FPS average, Medium produces 114 FPS average with a range of 97 to 131 FPS, High produces 99 FPS average, and Ultra produces 95 FPS average. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 9 to 14 FPS depending on the preset, which is a modest penalty for the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the system still remains comfortably playable. Low settings deliver 113 FPS average, Medium delivers 97 FPS average with a range of 83 to 112 FPS, High delivers 73 FPS average, and Ultra delivers 70 FPS average. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, with a 25 FPS drop on High settings and a 25 FPS drop on Ultra settings. This indicates that the RTX 4080 is being pushed harder at 4K, but it still maintains an average above 60 FPS even at the most demanding preset.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the i5-10400F sits in a tight cluster of processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, a delta of 0.2% from the i5-10400F's 14185. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, a delta of 0.5%. On the other side, the Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, which is 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, which is 0.6% higher. For practical purposes, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly indistinguishable performance in this game, as the differences are well within measurement noise.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080's closest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209 versus the RTX 4080's 54247, a delta of just 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.6% higher. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, 2.7% higher. In gaming terms, these deltas translate to single-digit FPS differences, so any of these GPUs would produce a very similar experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The data suggests that if the RTX 4080 is unavailable, any of these alternatives would be a near drop-in replacement without a noticeable change in frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data clearly shows that the RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing. The FPS scaling across resolutions provides the evidence: at 1080p Ultra, the system averages 109 FPS, at 1440p Ultra it averages 95 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it averages 70 FPS. This consistent downward trend as resolution increases is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution, so the FPS drops are directly attributable to the GPU rendering more pixels.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent when looking at the difference between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low settings produce 134 FPS average, while Ultra produces 109 FPS average. The 25 FPS gap is caused by the GPU working harder on visual effects, but the CPU is still able to feed it frames fast enough to keep the average above 100 FPS. At 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra is 43 FPS (113 vs 70), which shows the GPU's workload scaling more steeply at higher resolutions.

The verdict data reinforces this interpretation. At all three resolutions, including 4K, every settings preset is classified as playable, meaning the CPU never becomes a hard bottleneck that prevents the system from hitting 60 FPS. The i5-10400F, despite being a 2020-era part, provides enough single-thread performance to keep up with the RTX 4080 in this specific game. For users who plan to play at 1080p or 1440p, the CPU is sufficient. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, but the system still performs admirably.

The Verdict

This system can absolutely run Microsoft Flight Simulator. The verdict data lists every resolution and every settings preset as playable, with the playable threshold set at 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, delivering 109 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with a 95 FPS average. At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best settings preset, and the system still manages a 70 FPS average.

The practical takeaway is that this combination offers no compromises in visual quality. Users can crank every slider to maximum at 4K and still maintain a frame rate above 60 FPS. The only caveat is that the minimum FPS data is only recorded for Medium settings, where the lowest recorded value is 83 FPS at 4K and 104 FPS at 1080p. For Ultra settings, no minimum data is available, but the average FPS figures suggest there is enough headroom that severe dips are unlikely.

For a flight simulator, where smoothness and consistency matter more than raw competitive frame rates, this system is more than adequate. The 70 FPS average at 4K Ultra leaves room for minor fluctuations without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p and 1080p, the system has substantial headroom, making it suitable for users who may want to enable additional mods or run background applications while flying. The combination of a mid-range CPU and a top-tier GPU is unconventional, but the recorded data shows it works extremely well for this specific title.