Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is an exceptionally demanding flight simulation title, and the combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a predictable but constrained experience. The measured data reveals a system that is firmly anchored to 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates, but which struggles significantly at higher resolutions. The benchmark results indicate a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested presets, with the gap between settings widening as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination points decisively toward the Low preset as the only setting that provides a consistently fluid experience across common resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 52.7 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to break past the 50 FPS threshold. This makes it the sole option for users seeking a stable simulation experience without significant graphical compromises. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 42.8 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth, while High and Ultra at 1080p drop to 34.1 FPS and 32.4 FPS respectively, indicating a substantial performance penalty for modest visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more restrictive. The Low preset is the only viable option, producing an average of 43.7 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but the drop from 1080p Low is significant, representing a loss of nearly 9 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p falls to 31.8 FPS, which is marginal for a flight simulator where smooth camera panning is essential. High and Ultra at 1440p are effectively unplayable, with averages of 26.5 FPS and 25.9 FPS respectively. The data suggests that for 1440p gaming, users must accept the Low preset or consider reducing the resolution.

The 3840x2160 resolution is largely a non-starter for this hardware combination. Even the Low preset only manages an average of 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience. The Medium preset drops to 24.3 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 16.5 FPS and 18.6 FPS respectively. These figures indicate that 4K gaming is not a realistic target for the RX 580 with this CPU in this title. The recommendation is clear: prioritize 1080p with the Low preset for the best balance of performance and playability, or use 1440p Low if visual fidelity at a higher resolution is preferred over frame rate stability.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, as evidenced by the sharp performance degradation as resolution increases. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p textures but becomes stressed at higher resolutions, where the demand for memory bandwidth and capacity grows exponentially. The GPU’s base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and its 2304 shading units deliver a peak FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS.

The data shows a clear correlation between resolution and frame rate, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the RX 580 can leverage its full compute capability, but as the resolution climbs to 1440p and 2160p, the rendering load increases, and the GPU’s architectural limitations become apparent. The 8 GB VRAM is not exhausted at 1080p, but the memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at higher pixel counts. The GPU’s percentile rank versus all GPUs is 53, indicating it sits near the median of the database, and its average benchmark score of 13559 places it in a similar performance tier to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 950.

The RX 580’s performance characteristics in Microsoft Flight Simulator are consistent with its overall standing. The game’s heavy reliance on draw calls and terrain streaming puts pressure on both the GPU’s shading units and its memory subsystem. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (52.7 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (32.4 FPS) demonstrates a 20.3 FPS swing, which is a direct result of the increased shader complexity and texture filtering at higher presets. The GPU’s dual-slot design and 185 W TDP are adequate for the task, but the data suggests that this card is best paired with a 1080p monitor for this specific simulation title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most playable frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 52.7 FPS. 2560x1440 is viable only on Low (43.7 FPS), while 3840x2160 is not recommended as even the Low preset only reaches 33 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to the Low preset at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 32.4 FPS, which is 20.3 FPS lower than the Low preset’s 52.7 FPS. This represents a 38.5% reduction in performance, indicating that the Ultra preset is not worth the visual uplift for most users.

Q: Is this system capable of 1440p gaming in this title?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which yields an average of 43.7 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 31.8 FPS, which is below the preferred threshold for smooth gameplay, making Low the only sensible choice at this resolution.

Q: How much of a frame rate drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 1440p on the Low preset?

A: The average frame rate decreases from 52.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 43.7 FPS at 2560x1440. This is a reduction of 9 FPS, or approximately a 17% loss in performance, which is a significant penalty for the resolution increase.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K on the Medium preset?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 on Medium is 24.3 FPS. This is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience, and the data indicates that 4K resolutions are not viable for this hardware combination.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory bandwidth affect performance at higher resolutions?

A: The RX 580 has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The data shows a steep performance decline at 3840x2160, where even the Low preset only achieves 33 FPS, suggesting that the memory subsystem becomes a limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combination’s performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 32.4 FPS on Ultra to 52.7 FPS on Low. The Medium preset achieves 42.8 FPS, and High reaches 34.1 FPS. This shows a clear linear progression from Low to Ultra, with each step up in settings costing approximately 5-10 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only setting to remain above 40 FPS, achieving 43.7 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 31.8 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 26.5 FPS and 25.9 FPS respectively. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 11.9 FPS, which is larger than the corresponding gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses. The Low preset achieves 33 FPS, which is the highest figure at this resolution. Medium drops to 24.3 FPS, High falls to 16.5 FPS, and Ultra manages only 18.6 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset at 4K scores higher than High, which may be due to the specific rendering paths used at different presets. The overall trend is clear: this hardware is not designed for 4K simulation.

The data also reveals that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than from 1440p to 4K. For example, on Low, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 9 FPS, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 10.7 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are stretched to their limits at 4K, resulting in a disproportionate performance loss.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1652 out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a low-performance configuration for this particular title. The rank reflects the severe limitations of the RX 580 at higher resolutions, as well as the CPU’s moderate single-thread performance.

The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 72 against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 13516. This places it just 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which has an average score of 13534, and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U. These rival comparisons show that the i3-12100F is a capable processor for its class, with strong single-threaded performance that is relevant for flight simulators. However, its multi-threaded capabilities are less critical in this game, which leans heavily on a few cores.

The GPU holds a percentile rank of 53 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559. This places it in a dead heat with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564, 0% delta), and slightly above the GTX 950 (13549, 0.1% delta). The RX 580’s performance is not remarkable, but it is consistent with its mid-range positioning. The combination’s low rank in this game is primarily due to the GPU’s inability to handle the game’s demanding visuals at higher resolutions, rather than any CPU deficiency. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system is adequate, but the rank of 1652 out of 1795 confirms that most other tested combinations offer superior performance in this simulation.