Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 represents a high-end combination for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with measured data showing that every preset at every tested resolution clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. Across a matrix of three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four quality settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), the average frame rates range from a low of 77.5 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 226.5 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this system is never constrained by the simulator's demands in the tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers 226.5 FPS on Low settings, 185.7 FPS on Medium, 139.8 FPS on High, and 133.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is approximately 41%, showing the substantial impact of quality settings on frame rate at this resolution. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra is relatively small (139.8 to 133.9 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional visual features are not proportionally expensive at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust but shows the expected penalty from increased pixel count. Low settings produce 191 FPS, Medium drops to 147.7 FPS, High settles at 110.4 FPS, and Ultra reaches 107.2 FPS. The relative ordering is preserved, but the percentage difference between Low and Ultra grows to approximately 44%, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases. The difference between High and Ultra narrows further to just 3.2 FPS, making the choice between these two presets almost purely visual at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still maintains excellent playability but with more pronounced scaling. Low settings yield 140.8 FPS, Medium produces 109.7 FPS, High drops to 84.7 FPS, and Ultra delivers 77.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is about 45%, and the High-to-Ultra difference expands to 7.2 FPS, suggesting that the 4K resolution amplifies the cost of the highest-quality settings. The minimum and maximum FPS values are not provided in the measured data, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates, which consistently remain well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a combo rank of 64 out of 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the top 1.7% of all tested configurations, which is a strong indication of its capability for this specific title. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU in a game known for its heavy reliance on both single-threaded CPU performance and GPU rasterization power.

The percentile data for the individual components supports this ranking. The CPU sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs. When combined, the system's overall rank suggests that the pairing works effectively without significant bottlenecking in either direction. The fact that the combo rank (64th) is better than the individual component percentiles might indicate that the game's workload is well-balanced between the two components, allowing both to contribute meaningfully to the final frame rate.

It is worth remembering the rank is based on average FPS across all tested settings and resolutions, and the measured data shows that this combo never falls below 77.5 FPS in any configuration. This consistency is likely a major factor in the high ranking, as many lower-ranked combinations may struggle at specific settings or resolutions despite having decent average performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context on what other hardware would behave similarly in this combination. For the Intel Core i5-14600KF, the closest alternatives are the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 0.3% higher on average, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which is 0.4% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% lower. These deltas are all within a 1.6% range, meaning that swapping the i5-14600KF for any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator, provided the GPU remains the RTX 5090.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals to the RTX 5090 are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% higher). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% lower. These are data center and mobile parts rather than typical desktop gaming GPUs, which is an interesting quirk of the benchmark database. In practice, a system with the i5-14600KF and any of these rival GPUs would deliver frame rates within roughly 1.5% of the tested RTX 5090 configuration, meaning the overall playability picture would be essentially unchanged.

The implication is that the combo's rank is robust to small hardware variations. A user with a Ryzen 9 7900 instead of the i5-14600KF would see virtually identical performance, as would someone with a Tesla P100 rather than the RTX 5090. The game's performance ceiling at these high-end levels is clearly governed more by the overall platform capability than by any single component's specific model.

The Verdict

The verdict data is unambiguous: this combination can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at every tested resolution and preset with average frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with the Ultra preset achieving 77.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true, with Ultra reaching 107.2 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, and Ultra delivers 133.9 FPS.

The best settings per resolution, defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, are Ultra at all three resolutions. This means the system can run the game at maximum quality settings while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playability threshold. The lowest average FPS recorded across all tests is 77.5 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still 17.5 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, providing headroom for complex scenes or dense scenery that might cause dips below the average.

The data shows no configuration where the system falls below 60 FPS, which is a strong endorsement of this hardware pairing for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Even at the most demanding settings and resolution, the system maintains a playable frame rate, although the margin at 4K Ultra is thinner than at lower resolutions. Users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitors will find the system capable of fully utilizing those displays at lower settings, while 4K users will need to accept either Ultra at 77.5 FPS or High at 84.7 FPS for a smoother experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component is more critical at each setting. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (226.5 FPS) and Ultra (133.9 FPS) is substantial, but the absolute frame rates are high enough that both CPU and GPU have headroom. The relatively small gap between High (139.8 FPS) and Ultra (133.9 FPS) at 1080p suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU even at high quality settings, and the GPU is the primary limiter as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. The drop from Low to Medium is 43.3 FPS, from Medium to High is 37.3 FPS, and from High to Ultra is only 3.2 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more stressed as resolution increases, but the CPU still has enough single-threaded performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The minimal High-to-Ultra difference at 1440p suggests that the Ultra preset's additional GPU load is not significantly affecting the frame rate, possibly because the CPU is now the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The scaling from Low (140.8 FPS) to Medium (109.7 FPS) is a 31.1 FPS drop, Medium to High is 25 FPS, and High to Ultra is 7.2 FPS. The larger absolute drops at 4K indicate that the GPU is working much harder to fill the additional pixels, and the CPU is less likely to be the bottleneck at this resolution. The fact that 4K Ultra still achieves 77.5 FPS demonstrates the RTX 5090's raw throughput, but the data suggests that further increases in resolution or settings would strain the GPU before the CPU becomes a limiting factor.

Across all resolutions, the CPU's role is most significant at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS on Low settings. The i5-14600KF's 14 cores and 20 threads, along with its 5.30 GHz boost clock, are sufficient to maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not heavily loaded. As resolution increases, the GPU's parallel processing capabilities (21,760 shading units, 104.8 TFLOPS FP32) take over as the primary determinant of performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 77.5 FPS, which is 17.5 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440?

A: The best settings at 2560x1440 are Ultra, which achieves an average of 107.2 FPS. All settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to the nearest GPU rival in this game?

A: The RTX 5090's nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 0.3% higher on average benchmarks. This translates to a negligible difference in Microsoft Flight Simulator frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 226.5 FPS, which suggests the CPU (i5-14600KF, 90th percentile) is providing enough single-threaded performance to keep the GPU (RTX 5090, 92nd percentile) well-fed, with the GPU likely being the limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 64th out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.7% of all systems tested for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Are there any settings at any resolution where the frame rate drops below 60 FPS?

A: No. The lowest measured average FPS across all tested configurations is 77.5 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. Every resolution and preset combination stays above the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 133.9 FPS. This provides a 73.9 FPS margin over the playability threshold, making it the recommended setting for maximum visual quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 107.2 FPS. The margin over 60 FPS is 47.2 FPS, which is still substantial and allows for consistent frame rates even in complex flight scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra as well, achieving 77.5 FPS average. While this is the lowest margin (17.5 FPS over the threshold) across all tested configurations, it still comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS minimum for playability. Users who prefer a larger safety margin could opt for High settings at 84.7 FPS, but the data confirms that Ultra is playable at 4K with this hardware combination.