Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in the benchmark database, and this pairing of an Intel Core i3-12100F with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti lands near the very bottom of the performance stack. The data shows a combo rank of 3665 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the 1.3rd percentile of all tested systems. This is a configuration that will run the simulator, but the measured FPS figures indicate that users must make significant compromises in resolution and visual fidelity to achieve playable frame rates. The following analysis breaks down exactly what to expect from this hardware pairing across the tested settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the average frame rate exceeds 30 FPS, and that is only at Low settings. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, all settings presets produce average frame rates below 31 FPS, with most falling into the high teens or low twenties.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces the lowest average FPS at every resolution: 22 FPS at 1920x1080, 17 FPS at 2560x1440, and 13 FPS at 3840x2160. These figures are below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a flight simulator where precise control is required.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti holds an average benchmark score of 4193, which places it at the 25th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon R5 M330, scores 4170, a delta of 0.6% — effectively a performance tie. The NVIDIA Quadro K2100M and AMD Radeon Vega 3 are also within 1.8% of its score.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiting factor. The i3-12100F has a 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs and scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1674 in single-core. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and 4-thread score of 2859 indicate adequate processing power for the GTX 1050 Ti, which sits at the 25th GPU percentile.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at Medium settings in 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 30, with a minimum of 26 FPS and a maximum of 35 FPS. This is the only settings preset at 1080p that produces a stable 30 FPS average with a minimum above 25 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 3665th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 1.3% of all tested systems, indicating that it is one of the least capable configurations for this particular title in the database.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data paints a clear picture: this hardware is only suited for the Low preset at 1920x1080 if you want a playable experience. At that resolution and settings, the average FPS is 39, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to exceed 35 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p drops the average to 30 FPS with a minimum of 26 FPS, which is borderline acceptable for a flight simulator but may feel choppy during dense scenery or weather effects.

Moving up to 2560x1440, even the Low preset yields only 31 FPS average, with Medium at 24 FPS and High at 18 FPS. These numbers suggest that 1440p is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is marginal. At 3840x2160, all presets are effectively unplayable: Low produces 23 FPS, Medium 18 FPS, High 14 FPS, and Ultra 13 FPS. There is no scenario at 4K where this combo delivers a smooth experience.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data indicates that 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the sweet spot. This configuration delivers a 30 FPS average with a minimum of 26 FPS, which is acceptable for casual flying. Users who prioritize smoothness over visuals should drop to Low at 1080p for the 39 FPS average. Avoid Ultra entirely, as it offers no playable advantage at any resolution — the 22 FPS at 1080p is the highest Ultra result, which is still below the Medium preset's minimum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In CPU benchmarks, it scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1674 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7252 and single-core score of 1932. Its 3DMark scores show scaling from 893 single-thread to 4023 max-threads, indicating that it utilizes all 8 threads effectively.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and the complex scenery streaming that the title is known for. The i3-12100F's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is a mid-range performer, but its 4-core/8-thread configuration is sufficient for this game's threading model. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck here — the GPU is. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 39 FPS, which is more than double the 14 FPS seen at 4K High, demonstrating that the CPU can feed the GPU at lower resolutions but the GPU cannot keep up at higher loads.

The processor's single-thread performance is particularly relevant for flight simulators, which often rely heavily on a few main threads. With a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 893, the i3-12100F provides adequate single-thread performance for this game. The 8 threads help with background tasks like terrain loading and AI traffic, but the overall frame rate ceiling is set by the GPU, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 3665 out of 3714 tested combinations places this system in the bottom 1.3% of all configurations tested in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is an exceptionally low ranking that reflects the GTX 1050 Ti's age and performance tier — the GPU sits at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 68th percentile. The mismatch between these two components is stark: the CPU is a modern, capable processor, but it is paired with a GPU that was already entry-level at its launch.

The data indicates that this combo performs worse than 98.7% of all tested systems in this game. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta), Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% higher), and Intel Core 5 120UL (0.7% lower). The GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (0.6% higher), NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (1% higher), and AMD Radeon Vega 3 (1.8% higher). None of these close competitors would offer a meaningfully different experience in this game.

The practical implication of this ranking is that users should have very low expectations. The measured FPS data confirms this: the best-case scenario (1080p Low) yields 39 FPS, while the worst-case (4K Ultra) yields 13 FPS. This combo is only suitable for low-resolution, low-settings gameplay, and even then, it will struggle in busy areas or with add-on scenery.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a Pascal architecture GPU with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth. It has a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, with 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its compute performance is rated at 2.138 TFLOPS FP32, and it uses 75 W of power. The GPU's benchmark scores are low: PassMark G3D scores 6340, Geekbench OpenCL scores 18129, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scores just 305.

The 4 GB VRAM is a significant limitation for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which loads large textures for terrain, aircraft, and buildings. At 4K resolutions, the VRAM is likely exhausted, contributing to the extremely low frame rates: 14 FPS at High, 18 FPS at Medium, and 23 FPS at Low. The 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth is also insufficient for the data demands of this title, especially at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 25th percentile ranking is the primary reason for this combo's poor performance. The measured FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings: from 39 FPS at 1080p Low down to 13 FPS at 4K Ultra. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor across all configurations. Even at 1080p Low, the frame rate is only 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that most users would consider smooth for a flight simulator.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. The Low preset averages 23 FPS, Medium averages 18 FPS (with a minimum of 15 and maximum of 21), High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. None of these are playable, and the gap between Low and Ultra is only 10 FPS, showing that the GPU is overwhelmed regardless of settings.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly. The Low preset reaches 31 FPS average, which is the only 1440p configuration above 30 FPS. Medium drops to 24 FPS (minimum 21, maximum 28), High to 18 FPS, and Ultra to 17 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 7 FPS loss, indicating that the Medium preset's additional effects significantly tax the GPU.

At 1920x1080, the data shows the only viable configurations. The Low preset delivers 39 FPS average, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium produces 30 FPS average (minimum 26, maximum 35), which is the second-best result. High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 9 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is only 1 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's extra features cost almost nothing compared to High — both are equally unplayable.

The overall pattern shows that this combo is only capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p Low, with 1080p Medium as a borderline option. Every other resolution/settings combination falls below 31 FPS average, which is insufficient for a game that requires precise control over an aircraft. The data strongly suggests that users should stick to 1080p and avoid anything above Medium settings.