Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-13400F (launch MSRP $196) paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D (launch MSRP 2,299 USD) is a combination that handles Microsoft Flight Simulator with substantial headroom. Measured data shows this pairing clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at every resolution and preset tested, from 84 FPS at 4K Ultra to 192 FPS at 1080p Low. The following sections break down the exact frame rates, examine how the CPU and GPU share the workload, and compare this combo against nearby hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The table below lists the average, minimum, and maximum FPS recorded for each resolution and preset. Minimum and maximum values are only provided for the Medium preset; for High and Ultra, only averages are available.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 88 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 151 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 118 | 100 | 135 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 84 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | High | 120 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 179 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 159 | 136 | 183 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 114 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | High | 149 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 192 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 175 | 149 | 202 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 142 | — | — |

The spread between Low and Ultra grows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap is 50 FPS (192 vs 142); at 1440p it widens to 65 FPS (179 vs 114); and at 4K it reaches 67 FPS (151 vs 84). This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU still holds its own at 1080p. The Medium preset, which is the only one with recorded minimums, shows minimums of 100 FPS at 4K, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 1080p — all well above the 60 FPS threshold. Even at 4K Ultra, the average of 84 FPS leaves a comfortable margin, and the absence of min/max data for that preset does not contradict the overall high averages.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured scaling across resolutions and presets reveals a clear division of labor. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 192 FPS, which is a very high frame rate for a flight simulator. This suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls and physics data, even at the lowest settings. The i5-13400F posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,604 and a single-core score of 3,191, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample processing power for the game's complex scenery and aircraft systems.

As resolution climbs, the GPU's workload increases disproportionately. At 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is 67 FPS, compared to 50 FPS at 1080p. This larger delta at 4K is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance: the RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB GDDR7 memory and 21,760 shading units, is a top-tier card (92nd percentile of GPUs), but even it sees a significant frame rate penalty at 4K Ultra. The CPU's influence is still present, but the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factor.

The benchmark scores support this interpretation. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 44,065 is far above the CPU's relative standing, and the FPS scaling confirms that the GPU is the more decisive component in this pairing. At 1080p, the CPU is not a bottleneck — the frame rates are high enough that even a weaker GPU would likely produce similar numbers. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the primary constraint, as the frame rate drops by roughly 45% from Low to Ultra, while the CPU's workload per frame remains relatively stable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The i5-13400F's average benchmark score is 25,292. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (score 25,284, 0% delta), Intel Core 5 120 (score 25,362, -0.3% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (score 25,365, -0.3% delta), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (score 25,201, 0.4% delta). All of these CPUs fall within 0.4% of the i5-13400F's score, so swapping to any of them while keeping the same GPU would yield nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator. In CPU-bound scenarios — such as 1080p with low settings — the difference would be imperceptible.

For the GPU, the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77,712. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1% slower, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% faster, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB are 2.1% and 2.4% faster, respectively. A system with any of these GPUs paired with the same CPU would produce FPS values within a few points of the numbers in the table above. The RX 6850M XT, being 1.6% faster, might push 4K Ultra from 84 FPS to roughly 85 FPS, while the Tesla P100 16 GB could reach 86 FPS. Conversely, the RX 6650M XT would likely land around 83 FPS at 4K Ultra. These differences are small enough that the overall verdict — all presets above 60 FPS — remains unchanged.

The Verdict

This system can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at all tested resolutions and presets. According to the verdict data, every preset at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080 is marked as playable, meaning the average FPS exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest average among all combinations is 84 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still 40% above the playable threshold. At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 114 FPS, and at 1080p, Ultra averages 142 FPS. The recorded minimums for Medium — 100 FPS at 4K, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 1080p — further demonstrate that even the most demanding scenes will not dip below 60 FPS. In short, the combination of the i5-13400F and RTX 5090 D provides a smooth, high-frame-rate experience across the board.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU+GPU combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this pairing ranks 43rd out of 3,714 entries. That places it in the top 43 systems, a strong result that puts it ahead of the vast majority of configurations. The rank reflects both the CPU's solid multi-threaded performance and the GPU's exceptional rasterization capabilities. For a flight simulator that can be demanding on both processors, this combo is clearly among the most capable tested.

Best Settings per Resolution

Since every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, the most demanding preset — Ultra — is the recommended choice at each resolution. At 3840x2160, Ultra delivers an average of 84 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 114 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 142 FPS. These numbers show that the system has enough headroom to run the game at maximum visual quality without sacrificing frame rate. For users who prefer higher refresh rates, dropping to High or Medium at 4K yields 88 and 118 FPS respectively, but even the Ultra preset is comfortably above 60 FPS. The data indicates that Ultra is the optimal setting for this combo at all tested resolutions.