Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a top-tier experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold at every tested resolution and preset. This combination ranks 97th out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the 97th percentile of all systems evaluated. The data shows a system that not only clears the playability bar but does so with substantial headroom, allowing users to prioritize visual fidelity without compromising frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 78.9 FPS. This is significant because Ultra is the highest available preset, meaning the system can run the game at maximum visual quality at 4K while maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the best settings are also Ultra, delivering an average of 105.4 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p yields a substantial 26.5 FPS improvement at the same preset, indicating that the RTX 4090's performance scales well when pixel count decreases.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset again leads with an average of 130.1 FPS. The progression from 4K to 1080p at Ultra shows a clear pattern: 78.9 → 105.4 → 130.1 FPS, a 65% increase in frame rate from the highest to lowest resolution. This demonstrates that the combination is heavily GPU-bound at 4K but becomes increasingly CPU-limited at lower resolutions, where the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads still provide ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings, the system achieves an average of 78.9 FPS, which is 18.9 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for the highest frame rate?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces the highest average frame rate at 228.9 FPS. However, at Ultra settings, 1080p still delivers 130.1 FPS, making it the best resolution for combining high quality with high speed.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p compared to 4K?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS across all presets ranges from 105.4 FPS (Ultra) to 188.4 FPS (Low). This represents a 33-42% improvement over the equivalent 4K settings, depending on the preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for this game at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results show that at 1920x1080, even the most demanding Ultra preset produces 130.1 FPS, while Low settings reach 228.9 FPS. These numbers suggest the GPU has significant unused capacity at this resolution, though the high frame rates may still benefit users with high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the benchmark data?

A: The FACT PACK lists no minimum or maximum FPS values for any resolution or settings combination. Only average FPS figures are provided, so the data does not include frame time variance or 1% low metrics.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at all settings in 4K?

A: Yes. The lowest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 77.4 FPS at High settings, which is still 17.4 FPS above the playable threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) average above 60 FPS at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 97th out of 3714 tested hardware combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 2.6% of all systems benchmarked with this game. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU: the i7-13700K's strong single-thread performance (as shown by its 4333 PassMark single-thread score) and the RTX 4090's massive compute throughput (82.58 TFLOPS FP32) work together to handle the game's demanding flight dynamics and terrain rendering.

The ranking is particularly notable given the game's release date of 2020-08-17; the fact that this 2022 hardware still sits near the top of the leaderboard in 2025 indicates both the game's scalability and the hardware's longevity. The combo's percentile rank of 97 aligns with its measured FPS results: at 4K Ultra, it produces 78.9 FPS, which is 31.5% above the 60 FPS threshold, while at 1080p Ultra it hits 130.1 FPS, more than double the playable minimum.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data from the CPU benchmarks, the Intel Core i7-13700K's average benchmark score of 46881 is nearly identical to several other processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 scores 46971 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022 (0.3% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654 (0.5% lower) and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 scores 46653 (0.5% lower). These deltaPct values of -0.2% to 0.5% indicate that all four alternatives would deliver virtually indistinguishable CPU performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator, as the game's frame rates at higher resolutions are more dependent on GPU throughput.

For the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60347 is matched by the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326 (0% difference). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896 (2.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657 (2.9% lower). These small deltas suggest that swapping the RTX 4090 for any of these GPUs would result in similar average FPS, though the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth may still give it an edge in texture-heavy scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system produces the following average FPS across presets:

• Low: 132.7 FPS
• Medium: 104.5 FPS
• High: 77.4 FPS
• Ultra: 78.9 FPS

Notably, the High preset at 77.4 FPS is slightly lower than Ultra at 78.9 FPS. This counterintuitive result may stem from specific optimization differences in how the game handles certain rendering paths between presets. The gap between Low and Ultra is 53.8 FPS, showing that the settings scale has a significant impact on performance at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the results improve substantially:

• Low: 188.4 FPS
• Medium: 146.2 FPS
• High: 109.4 FPS
• Ultra: 105.4 FPS

The difference between High and Ultra narrows to just 4.0 FPS at this resolution, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects (likely volumetric clouds and higher shadow resolution) have diminishing returns on performance. The jump from Medium to High is 37.2 FPS, the largest step between presets.

At 1920x1080, the system reaches its peak performance:

• Low: 228.9 FPS
• Medium: 184.0 FPS
• High: 137.8 FPS
• Ultra: 130.1 FPS

The scaling pattern here shows a 44.9 FPS drop from Low to Medium, another 46.2 FPS drop to High, and a smaller 7.7 FPS drop to Ultra. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU begins to become a limiting factor at lower presets, as the RTX 4090 can render frames faster than the i7-13700K can feed it data.

The Verdict

This PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS or higher across every resolution and preset combination tested. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous:

• 3840x2160: All four presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 78.9 FPS — the best playable settings.
• 2560x1440: All four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 105.4 FPS — the best playable settings.
• 1920x1080: All four presets are playable, with Ultra reaching 130.1 FPS — the best playable settings.

The system never dips below 77.4 FPS in any configuration, which is 17.4 FPS above the playable threshold. The data confirms that this combination is not just capable of running the game, but does so with enough headroom to handle future updates or more demanding add-ons. The 4K Ultra result of 78.9 FPS is particularly impressive, as it demonstrates that users do not need to compromise on visual quality to achieve a smooth experience at the highest resolution. For users with high-refresh-rate displays, the 1080p results show frame rates well above 130 FPS at Ultra, making this combo suitable for competitive or visually demanding flight simulation scenarios.