Microsoft Flight Simulator

The data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 shows a system that is evenly matched, with the CPU providing a stable foundation and the GPU acting as the primary variable for visual fidelity. This pairing ranks 1464th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the measured results reveal a configuration capable of delivering playable frame rates across a wide range of settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache is a modest allocation, but the processor's single-threaded performance is its standout feature. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These figures are crucial for a flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which relies heavily on a single primary simulation thread for world and physics calculations.

The i3-12100F's multi-threaded capabilities are adequate for the game's secondary tasks. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 4023 indicate that while it has only four physical cores, they are efficient. The processor's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 72, placing it ahead of most desktop processors. When compared to its nearest rivals, it is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, showing a negligible deltaPct of -0.1. It also edges out the Intel Core i7-1250U by 0.4% and the Intel Core i3-10105 by 0.6%. This data suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i3-12100F will not be a bottleneck at lower resolutions and settings, but its 4-core limit could constrain performance in complex scenes with heavy AI traffic or detailed scenery, where the game's threading can expand beyond 8 threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture and features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 1680 MHz and 1920 shading units deliver a FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS. The GPU's 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present, but for a flight simulator, the raw rasterization performance and memory capacity are more relevant. The 6 GB VRAM is a critical factor; at 4K resolution with higher textures, this capacity can be easily saturated, leading to potential stutters or texture pop-in, though the measured data shows it handles the load without failing.

The RTX 2060's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 58, indicating it sits slightly above the median. Its average benchmark score of 16074 places it in close contention with its nearest rivals. It is 0.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, and 1.8% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. Conversely, it trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 by 1.7%. This positioning suggests that the GPU is a solid mid-range performer, and in this specific pairing, it is the component that dictates the ceiling for visual quality, especially at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU as resolution changes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 89.5 FPS. This high frame rate is indicative of a CPU-limited scenario, where the i3-12100F is pushing its limits to feed frames to the GPU. As resolution increases, the load transfers to the GPU. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 73 FPS, a 18.4% decrease. Moving to 3840x2160 Low results in 54.8 FPS, a further 25% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a system where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The trend is more pronounced on the High preset. The 1080p High average is 51.6 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 43.5 FPS, a 15.7% decline. The 4K High setting yields 33.7 FPS, a 22.5% drop from 1440p. The magnitude of these drops suggests that the RTX 2060's compute and memory bandwidth are being stretched thin as pixel count increases. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this configuration is 1080p, where the CPU can maintain a high frame rate ceiling, and the GPU can render the scene with sufficient detail.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this system to maintain a playable frame rate?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the most stable resolution. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 51.3 FPS, while the High preset averages 51.6 FPS. At 1440p, the Ultra preset dips to 42 FPS, and at 4K, the Ultra preset falls to 29.1 FPS, which is below the standard playability threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance impact the game's frame rate?

A: The i3-12100F scores 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which are strong results. This is reflected in the 1080p Low average of 89.5 FPS, demonstrating that the CPU can handle the simulation's primary thread efficiently at lower graphical loads.

Q: Is the 6 GB VRAM of the RTX 2060 sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The benchmark data shows that at 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 54.8 FPS on Low, 43.9 FPS on Medium, and 33.7 FPS on High. While the game runs, the lower performance at higher settings suggests that the 6 GB capacity is a limiting factor, as it may not be able to hold the necessary high-resolution textures without performance degradation.

Q: How does this system compare to its closest rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The CPU's overall score is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, with a deltaPct of -0.1. The GPU is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, but 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 73 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. This represents a significant 31 FPS difference, or a 42.5% reduction in performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved at the High preset. At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 51.6 FPS, which is only 0.3 FPS higher than the Ultra preset (51.3 FPS). This negligible difference suggests that the Ultra preset may not be properly utilizing the hardware at this resolution, or that the High preset offers a better balance of visual features without the extra overhead.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It averages 59.6 FPS, which is comfortably above the 30 FPS minimum for playability and offers a smoother experience than the High preset's 43.5 FPS. The Medium preset also provides a significant improvement over the Low preset's 73 FPS, with a more detailed rendering. For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option for consistent playability, averaging 54.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 43.9 FPS, which might be acceptable for a slower-paced sim, but the Low preset ensures a more stable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the average FPS measured for each resolution and settings combination.

1920x1080

• Low: 89.5 FPS
• Medium: 69.9 FPS
• High: 51.6 FPS
• Ultra: 51.3 FPS

2560x1440

• Low: 73 FPS
• Medium: 59.6 FPS
• High: 43.5 FPS
• Ultra: 42 FPS

3840x2160

• Low: 54.8 FPS
• Medium: 43.9 FPS
• High: 33.7 FPS
• Ultra: 29.1 FPS

The scaling from 1080p Low (89.5 FPS) to 4K Low (54.8 FPS) shows a 38.8% performance reduction, while the scaling from 1080p Ultra (51.3 FPS) to 4K Ultra (29.1 FPS) shows a 43.3% reduction. This indicates that the performance penalty for increasing resolution is slightly more severe at higher settings, reinforcing the role of the GPU as the limiting factor at 4K. The data confirms that the RTX 2060 is best utilized at 1080p and 1440p, where it can deliver frame rates well above the playability threshold on most presets.