Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a highly capable configuration for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with benchmark results showing that every tested preset at every resolution clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data indicates a system that scales effectively from 1080p to 4K, maintaining high frame rates even at the most demanding settings. This analysis examines the measured performance data, optimal settings, component roles, and how this combination compares to other tested hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset at 3840x2160 that stays at or above 60 FPS?

A: At 4K, the Ultra preset is the most demanding playable option, producing an average of 70 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, with High at 73 FPS, Medium at 97 FPS, and Low at 125 FPS also exceeding the mark.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, placing it within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896). It sits 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712), showing near-identical performance among these four processors.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 170 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS. This represents a 75 FPS gap, with Medium at 132 FPS and High at 99 FPS filling the middle range.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 outperform its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698) by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757) by 2.7%.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 139, with an average of 164 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS. This is the only resolution in the dataset that provides min/max figures for the Medium preset.

Q: What percentile does the RTX 4080 rank in among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4080 ranks in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-12600KF ranks in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. This places both components in the upper tier of their respective hardware categories.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 70 FPS, which is the most demanding option that maintains the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows a clear progression: Low averages 125 FPS, Medium averages 97 FPS, and High averages 73 FPS. The Ultra preset at 70 FPS provides a comfortable margin above the playability threshold while offering maximum visual quality. The gap between High and Ultra is a modest 3 FPS, suggesting that the visual upgrade at Ultra comes at almost no performance cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS, making it the best choice for players seeking maximum quality. The scaling is consistent: Low produces 170 FPS, Medium produces 132 FPS, and High produces 99 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra is only 4 FPS, which is negligible in practical terms. This resolution appears to be the sweet spot for this configuration, as even the Ultra preset maintains a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset reaches an average of 117 FPS, which is the highest playable setting at this resolution. Low averages 207 FPS, Medium averages 164 FPS, and High averages 123 FPS. The differences between presets are larger here, with a 40 FPS gap between Medium and High and a 6 FPS gap between High and Ultra. The 1080p Ultra setting provides a high refresh rate experience, making it suitable for displays with refresh rates up to 117 Hz.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance data reveals a configuration where the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom across all settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 207 FPS on Low to 117 FPS on Ultra, a span of 90 FPS. This wide range indicates that the RTX 4080 is not fully utilized at lower settings, with the i5-12600KF's performance being a limiting factor at the highest frame rates. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, combined with its 4.90 GHz boost clock, provide enough processing power to keep up with the GPU's output at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates range from 170 FPS on Low to 95 FPS on Ultra, a span of 75 FPS. The reduced span compared to 1080p suggests that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the workload, but the CPU still has significant influence. The 4K resolution shows the narrowest span, from 125 FPS on Low to 70 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 55 FPS. This tighter range indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, with the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth becoming the determining factor.

The scaling between resolutions at the Ultra preset shows a clear pattern: 117 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 22 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 25 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistent reduction suggests that the GPU's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count. In contrast, the Low preset shows 207 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K, with larger absolute drops that indicate the CPU's role in maintaining high frame rates at lower graphical loads.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27872 with a -0.3% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which scores 27896 with a -0.3% delta. These processors would deliver nearly identical performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with differences well within measurement noise. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE, scoring 27712 with a +0.3% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, scoring 27887 with a -0.3% delta, also fall within this tight performance band. A system equipped with any of these CPUs paired with the RTX 4080 would produce frame rates essentially indistinguishable from the i5-12600KF configuration.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the closest match, with an average score of 54209 and a +0.1% delta, meaning it performs nearly identically to the RTX 4080. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 with a -1.1% delta, indicating slightly lower performance. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 55698 and 55757 respectively, with deltas of -2.6% and -2.7%, placing them slightly ahead in raw compute but within a narrow margin. In practical terms, any of these GPU alternatives would yield similar frame rates in the game, with differences unlikely to exceed a few FPS at any resolution or preset.

The Verdict

This configuration can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a 10 FPS margin. The High preset at 73 FPS, Medium at 97 FPS, and Low at 125 FPS provide additional headroom for players who prefer higher refresh rates or encounter demanding scenes. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS, offering a substantial margin above the playability threshold, while the Medium preset at 132 FPS and High at 99 FPS provide options for smoother gameplay. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 117 FPS, which is suitable for high refresh rate displays, with the Low preset reaching 207 FPS for maximum performance.

The verdict by resolution confirms that all four settings at each of the three resolutions are playable, with the Ultra preset being the recommended maximum quality setting at every resolution. The data shows no configuration where the frame rate falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combination of CPU and GPU is well-suited for the game's demands across a wide range of visual quality preferences.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU-GPU combination ranks 248th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 6.7% of all configurations in the benchmark database. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the i5-12600KF and RTX 4080 pairing, which delivers playable frame rates at all tested settings. The high ranking is particularly notable given the game's reputation as a demanding title, and the data confirms that this configuration is among the more capable options tested.

The rank of 248 out of 3714 indicates that a significant number of combinations perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or GPUs, but the measured frame rates show that this combo still provides a premium experience. The combination's position in the upper percentile aligns with the individual component percentiles, with the CPU in the 79th percentile and the GPU in the 86th percentile among all hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured frame rates show a clear progression across presets. The Low preset averages 125 FPS with no min or max data recorded. The Medium preset averages 97 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS, providing the only complete min/max dataset at this resolution. The High preset averages 73 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, both without recorded min or max values.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 170 FPS, followed by Medium at 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. The High preset averages 99 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS. This resolution shows consistent scaling, with the gap between Medium and High being the largest at 33 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset reaches 207 FPS, the highest average across all resolutions and settings. The Medium preset averages 164 FPS with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS, representing the highest minimum FPS recorded in the dataset. The High preset averages 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 117 FPS. The 1080p data shows the widest range of performance across presets, from 207 FPS to 117 FPS, demonstrating the system's ability to scale dramatically based on graphical load.