Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold on Low and Medium presets, with Medium averaging 69.6 FPS. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS, so those presets are not playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best 1440p setting for this hardware?

A: At 2560x1440, only Low is playable, averaging 75.7 FPS. Medium dips to 57.4 FPS, High to 41.4 FPS, and Ultra to 40.4 FPS, so Low is the only preset that holds 60 FPS or better.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with the RTX 2060 and i5-12400?

A: No. At 3840x2160, every preset fails the 60 FPS requirement. Low averages 55 FPS, Medium 45.1 FPS, and High/Ultra both sit near 31 FPS. The database lists no playable settings at 4K for this combination.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to nearby GPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival in average benchmark score is the GTX 580 with a delta of 0%, followed by the Radeon 680M at +0.1%, the RTX 3050 OEM at +0.6%, and the RX 7600 at +0.8%. These are effectively identical in raw score.

Q: How does the Core i5-12400 compare to nearby CPUs?

A: The i5-12400 sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the EPYC 7643 at -0.1%, Core i7-1355U at -0.3%, Ryzen AI 5 330 at -0.7%, and Core i3-14100F at +0.9% in average benchmark score. The differences are within one percent.

Q: Which component is more limiting at 1080p Medium?

A: The data shows the CPU's single-thread and multi-thread scores are strong (Cinebench R23 single-core 2257, multi-core 15989), while the GPU's passmark G3D score is 14111. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate of 69.6 FPS suggests the GPU is the constraint, as lowering resolution from 1440p to 1080p only improves Medium from 57.4 to 69.6 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database groups the Core i5-12400 with several processors that deliver nearly identical average benchmark scores. The AMD EPYC 7643 scores 18697, just 0.1% lower than the i5-12400's 18683. The Core i7-1355U scores 18730 (0.3% higher), the Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811 (0.7% higher), and the Core i3-14100F scores 18519 (0.9% lower). For gaming, these CPUs would produce similar frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, though the i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.40 GHz boost clock give it a specific profile that differs from the mobile-oriented chips.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060's nearest rivals in average score are the GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta), Radeon 680M (15270, +0.1%), RTX 3050 OEM (15199, +0.6%), and RX 7600 (15171, +0.8%). In practical terms, swapping to any of these would yield nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator. However, architectural differences matter: the RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the GTX 580 is a much older architecture without modern API features. The RX 7600 and RTX 3050 OEM would behave closely in this title, but the RTX 2060's ray tracing cores (30) and tensor cores (240) could affect future settings that use those features.

The CPU and GPU together rank in the 2946th position out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing this pairing in the lower-middle portion of the database. That rank reflects the combination's overall capability, not just the individual components. A stronger GPU would shift the rank higher, but the CPU's 72nd percentile standing suggests it is not the primary bottleneck at most settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for heavy CPU demands, but the recorded data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the gap between Low (90.2 FPS) and Ultra (50.7 FPS) is 39.5 FPS, indicating that visual settings drive the workload. At 1440p, the spread from Low (75.7 FPS) to Ultra (40.4 FPS) is 35.3 FPS. At 4K, the spread from Low (55 FPS) to Ultra (31.2 FPS) is 23.8 FPS, a smaller absolute difference but still significant.

The scaling between resolutions tells a clearer story. At Low settings, dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rate by 14.5 FPS (from 90.2 to 75.7), and dropping to 4K reduces it further to 55 FPS. At Medium settings, the same progression goes from 69.6 to 57.4 to 45.1 FPS. This pattern indicates that the RTX 2060's 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus become progressively more strained as pixel count rises. The GPU's bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p but struggles to feed the 4K frame buffer alongside the simulation's terrain data.

The CPU's role is more apparent at lower resolutions and lower presets. At 1080p Low, the 90.2 FPS result suggests that the i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads can feed the GPU adequately. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 indicate solid throughput for the simulation's physics and AI computations. At 4K, the CPU matters less because the GPU becomes the dominant constraint; the 4K Low and High results (55 and 31.1 FPS) show that even with minimal CPU load, the GPU cannot reach 60 FPS.

For players targeting 1080p Medium, the GPU is the primary limiter. Upgrading the CPU would yield little benefit, as the GPU's passmark G3D score of 14111 and the 69.6 FPS result at 1080p Medium suggest the rendering pipeline is saturated. At 1440p Low, the 75.7 FPS result indicates balanced usage, but the CPU still has headroom given its 72nd percentile rank. At 4K, the GPU is unquestionably the bottleneck, as no preset reaches 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this combination at rank 2946 out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. That puts it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which reflects the title's demanding nature. The game's release in 2020 set a high bar, and while this hardware was current in its era, the simulation's continuous terrain streaming and complex physics push it hard.

The rank is driven more by the GPU than the CPU. The i5-12400's 72nd percentile among CPUs is respectable, but the RTX 2060's 58th percentile among GPUs drags the overall combo down. In the database, combos with similar CPU but stronger GPUs would rank significantly higher, while combos with weaker CPUs and the same GPU would rank lower.

Comparing to the nearest rivals, the RTX 2060's performance is essentially tied with the RX 7600 and RTX 3050 OEM. That means any combo using those GPUs with a similar CPU would land in the same rank neighborhood. The CPU's rivals, like the i3-14100F, would also produce nearly identical results given the 0.9% score delta. In practical terms, this combo represents a baseline for playable flight simulation: it handles 1080p Medium and 1440p Low, but nothing above that.

The measured data confirms this ranking. At 1080p Ultra, the 50.7 FPS average is 9.3 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Medium, the 57.4 FPS result is 2.6 FPS short. These near-misses explain why the combo sits where it does: it is close to playable at several settings but only clears the bar on two presets at 1080p and one at 1440p.

The Verdict

This PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator, but only within specific resolution and preset boundaries. The verdict by resolution is clear.

At 3840x2160, the database lists no playable settings. Low averages 55 FPS, Medium 45.1 FPS, High 31.1 FPS, and Ultra 31.2 FPS. All fall below the 60 FPS threshold, so 4K is not viable for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, only Low is playable with an average of 75.7 FPS. Medium (57.4 FPS), High (41.4 FPS), and Ultra (40.4 FPS) all miss the mark. Players at 1440p must accept Low settings to maintain fluid frame rates.

At 1920x1080, both Low and Medium are playable, with Medium being the best option at 69.6 FPS. High (52.4 FPS) and Ultra (50.7 FPS) fall short, so those presets are not recommended for a 60 FPS target.

The overall assessment: this is a 1080p system for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It can handle the game at Medium settings with headroom, and it will run at 1440p if you drop to Low. For 4K, it is not sufficient, and even 1440p Medium requires a GPU upgrade.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database provides exact average FPS for each resolution and preset. The most demanding setting that maintains 60 FPS or higher is the target.

1920x1080: The best playable preset is Medium, averaging 69.6 FPS. This is the highest quality setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Low averages 90.2 FPS but sacrifices visual detail. High (52.4 FPS) and Ultra (50.7 FPS) are not playable.

2560x1440: The best playable preset is Low, averaging 75.7 FPS. Medium drops to 57.4 FPS, which is below the threshold. High (41.4 FPS) and Ultra (40.4 FPS) are significantly lower. Players should use Low at 1440p for a stable experience.

3840x2160: No preset is playable at 4K. Low comes closest at 55 FPS, but it still misses the 60 FPS target by 5 FPS. Medium (45.1 FPS), High (31.1 FPS), and Ultra (31.2 FPS) are all well below. The database assigns no best settings for this resolution.

For users who can tolerate frame rates below 60 FPS, the 4K Low preset at 55 FPS might be acceptable, but the official playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the data does not list any 4K settings as playable. The practical recommendation is to run 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and performance, or 1440p Low if you prefer higher resolution over detail.