Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX reveals a clear pattern of scaling across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 182 FPS, which drops to 155 FPS at 1440p and further to 114 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases.

The Medium settings row shows a similar trend: 149 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 40%, slightly steeper than at Low settings, suggesting that the additional shading work at Medium amplifies the resolution penalty. High settings produce 112 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K — a 40% decline from the lowest to highest resolution. Ultra settings follow with 107 FPS, 86 FPS, and 64 FPS respectively, a 40% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings — all hovering around 37-40% — indicates that the RX 7900 XTX's 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is not being bottlenecked by memory capacity or bandwidth at any resolution tested. Instead, the scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs are being pushed harder as pixel count increases.

Notably, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K at every settings level. For instance, at Low settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 27 FPS, while 1440p to 4K costs 41 FPS. This nonlinear scaling is typical of flight simulation workloads, where the complex terrain and weather rendering at 4K places disproportionate stress on the GPU's texture rate of 959.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s.

The data suggests that the Core i3-12100F with its 4 cores and 8 threads is capable of feeding the RX 7900 XTX adequately at 1080p, as evidenced by the 182 FPS Low result. However, the fact that Ultra settings at 1080p (107 FPS) is only 3 FPS higher than Ultra at 4K (64 FPS) — a 40% drop — implies that the CPU's single-thread performance, marked by a Geekbench single-core score of 1932, is sufficient to avoid becoming the limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 182 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset yields 149 FPS, High produces 112 FPS, and Ultra delivers 107 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 64. This is the lowest measured result across all resolution and settings combinations, representing a 40% drop from the Ultra preset at 1080p.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XTX's 24 GB VRAM provide any benefit in this game?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus ensures that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution, even at 4K Ultra. The bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s supports the consistent scaling pattern observed across settings.

Q: Is the Core i3-12100F bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p?

A: The 1080p Low result of 182 FPS suggests the CPU can drive high frame rates. The CPU's single-thread score of 1674 in Cinebench R23 indicates strong per-core performance, which is critical for flight simulation's physics and AI workloads.

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

A: The combo ranks 510th out of 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 14% of all tested systems.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 120 FPS average with a minimum of 102 FPS and maximum of 138 FPS. This is the only preset at 1440p with measured min/max values, indicating stable frame pacing.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX achieves a combo rank of 510 out of 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the 86th percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms approximately 86% of the configurations in the benchmark database for this specific title.

The ranking is notable given the CPU's modest specifications. The i3-12100F sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, scores 13492 (0% delta), while the Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452 (0.3% delta). This indicates the i3-12100F is competitive with older mid-range processors despite having only 4 cores.

The GPU, however, is the dominant contributor to the combo's ranking. The RX 7900 XTX ranks at the 64th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 19410. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB at 19334 (0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp at 19177 (1.2% delta). The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 31238 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 85612 demonstrate substantial compute capability that translates well to flight simulation's rendering demands.

That the combo achieves a better relative ranking (top 14%) than either component individually (CPU at 68th percentile, GPU at 64th percentile) suggests a synergistic pairing. The i3-12100F's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its PassMark single-thread score of 3444 and Geekbench single-core score of 1932, complements the GPU's raw throughput. Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for being sensitive to single-core performance due to its simulation loop, and the data confirms this combination extracts more value from both components than their standalone metrics would predict.

Compared to the full range of 3714 combos, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper tier. The 510th rank means 3204 other configurations score lower, while only 509 score higher. This is a strong result for a CPU that retailed with a launch MSRP of $97, though pricing is not a factor in the ranking methodology.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 107 FPS average, which is playable but represents only a 4% improvement over High at 112 FPS — wait, the data shows High at 112 FPS and Ultra at 107 FPS, so Ultra is actually 4.5% lower than High. This counterintuitive result suggests that the Ultra preset introduces additional computational overhead without a proportional visual benefit at this resolution.

The Medium preset at 1080p offers 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS and maximum of 172 FPS, providing the most consistent frame pacing among all 1080p options. For competitive or high-refresh-rate displays, the Low preset's 182 FPS is the clear choice, though it sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance. With 120 FPS average, 102 FPS minimum, and 138 FPS maximum, it maintains smooth frame delivery while offering improved visual quality over Low (155 FPS) and significantly better performance than High (91 FPS) or Ultra (86 FPS). The 34 FPS gap between Medium and High at 1440p indicates that the High preset's additional effects create a substantial performance cost.

For 4K gaming, the data reveals a stark tradeoff. Ultra produces 64 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for dips. Medium at 89 FPS provides a more comfortable margin, while High at 67 FPS is nearly identical to Ultra. The Low preset at 114 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 100 FPS, but at a significant visual cost.

The most balanced experience across all resolutions is the Medium preset. It consistently delivers frame rates that are 60-100% higher than Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual quality for a flight simulator where terrain detail and weather effects matter. The measured min/max values at Medium (127-172 FPS at 1080p, 102-138 FPS at 1440p, 76-102 FPS at 4K) indicate stable performance without extreme frame time spikes.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 1080p (112 FPS) or 1440p (91 FPS) offers a reasonable compromise. The Ultra preset's marginal improvement over High — measured at 107 versus 112 FPS at 1080p, and 86 versus 91 FPS at 1440p — does not justify the performance penalty, making High the superior choice for maximum quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 182 FPS, representing peak performance. Medium averages 149 FPS with a measured range of 127 to 172 FPS. High averages 112 FPS, and Ultra averages 107 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 41% reduction in average FPS, indicating that each settings tier adds meaningful GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low averages 155 FPS, a 15% drop from 1080p Low. Medium averages 120 FPS with a range of 102 to 138 FPS, representing a 19% reduction from 1080p Medium. High averages 91 FPS, down 18% from 1080p High. Ultra averages 86 FPS, down 20% from 1080p Ultra. The consistency of these reductions suggests the GPU scales predictably with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results show more pronounced drops. Low averages 114 FPS, a 26% reduction from 1440p Low and 37% from 1080p Low. Medium averages 89 FPS with a range of 76 to 102 FPS, a 26% drop from 1440p Medium. High averages 67 FPS, down 26% from 1440p High. Ultra averages 64 FPS, down 26% from 1440p Ultra. The consistent 26% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates that the resolution increase is the dominant factor.

The min/max data available only for Medium settings provides insight into frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 127-172 FPS (a 35% spread). At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 102-138 FPS (a 35% spread). At 4K Medium, the range is 76-102 FPS (a 34% spread). This consistent relative spread suggests the frame time distribution remains stable across resolutions, with no anomalous spikes or stutters introduced at higher pixel counts.

The Ultra preset at all three resolutions delivers very close results: 107 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The 40% total drop from 1080p to 4K mirrors the Low preset's 37% drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects do not change the resolution scaling behavior. This is characteristic of a GPU that is compute-bound at higher resolutions rather than memory-bound, consistent with the RX 7900 XTX's 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the single-thread performance that Microsoft Flight Simulator relies heavily upon. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674 and multicore score of 11860 demonstrate strong per-core efficiency, which is critical for the simulation's main thread.

The CPU's L3 cache of 12 MB shared and L2 cache of 1.25 MB per core help maintain data locality for the game's streaming world elements. The PassMark data compression score of 160452 and integer math score of 40978 indicate solid general-purpose compute that handles the simulation's physics and AI calculations. The floating point math score of 31977 supports the vector math required for flight dynamics.

At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 182 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not severely bottlenecked at lower resolutions. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 show that the processor scales reasonably with thread count, though the 4-core design means it cannot match higher-core-count CPUs in heavily multithreaded scenarios.

The CPU's percentile rank of 68 among all CPUs places it in the upper-midrange tier. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta) and Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% delta), indicating it performs comparably to older 6-core processors despite having fewer cores. This is largely due to its 4.30 GHz boost clock and modern Alder Lake IPC improvements.

The fact that the combo ranks 510th out of 3714 — better than the CPU's individual percentile — suggests that the i3-12100F's single-thread performance is well-suited to this game's requirements. The Geekbench single-core score of 1932 and PassMark single-thread score of 3444 confirm that the CPU can maintain high frame rates without becoming the primary bottleneck, even when paired with a flagship GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2498 MHz and game clock of 2365 MHz deliver substantial compute throughput, with FP32 performance rated at 61.39 TFLOPS. The 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, ensuring that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 31238 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 85612 demonstrate its DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) capability, which Microsoft Flight Simulator leverages for advanced rendering features. The 96 ray accelerators support the game's optional ray-traced effects, though the measured data does not isolate this workload.

The GPU's percentile rank of 64 among all GPUs is notably lower than its raw performance would suggest, due to the benchmark database including many specialized or professional cards. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (0.4% delta) and NVIDIA TITAN Xp (1.2% delta), which are older architectures but score similarly in aggregate benchmarks.

In this game, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 37-40% FPS drop across all settings, which aligns with the GPU being the primary limiter as pixel count increases. At 4K Ultra, the 64 FPS result is respectable for a flight simulator, and the 89 FPS at 4K Medium indicates that the GPU has ample headroom for moderate settings at high resolutions.

The GPU's texture rate of 959.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s are critical for rendering the detailed terrain and aircraft models in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die provide the compute density needed for the simulator's complex weather and lighting models. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841 confirms strong DirectX 12 performance, which is the primary API used by the game.

The GPU's 355 W TDP and suggested 750 W PSU indicate its power requirements, but the measured FPS data shows that this power translates directly into frame rate performance across all tested settings. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for flight simulation, where large texture packs and high-resolution terrain data can exceed 8 GB or 16 GB capacities found in lower-tier GPUs.