Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title, and the data for the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER shows a system that can handle it, but requires careful settings management to achieve a smooth experience. The measured FPS across resolutions and presets reveals a clear pattern: this combo is capable of excellent frame rates at 1080p, playable at 1440p, but struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K with higher presets. The benchmark results indicate that users will need to prioritize either visual fidelity or frame rate, as the gap between presets is significant.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal experience for this combination is found at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset, which delivers a measured average of 75.7 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay during complex flight scenarios. While the Low preset achieves a higher 101.6 FPS, the visual compromise is substantial. The High preset at 1080p still hits a respectable 57.7 FPS, but it is close to the edge of where stutters might become noticeable. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 54.3 FPS, which is below the ideal target for a simulation where smooth camera pans are critical.

For users with 1440p monitors, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the practical ceiling, producing 65.3 FPS. This is sufficient for a playable experience, though it does not offer the same headroom as the 1080p Medium setting. The High preset at 1440p falls to 44.5 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower, more deliberate flying but will feel less responsive in dynamic situations. At 4K, the results are more constrained; the Medium preset yields 47.4 FPS, which is borderline. The Low preset is the only 4K option that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, achieving 58.5 FPS, but this requires sacrificing most graphical enhancements.

The data indicates that the "sweet spot" for this hardware is 1080p Medium. This configuration balances the CPU and GPU loads effectively, providing a frame rate that is nearly 30% higher than the High preset at the same resolution. Choosing Medium over High at 1080p is a prudent trade-off, as the visual difference in a flight simulator is often less noticeable than the performance gain during cloud-heavy or city-flying segments.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical factor in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for streaming vast amounts of terrain and texture data. The GPU's boost clock of 1650 MHz and its 2176 shading units are tasked with rendering the complex geometry and lighting effects. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions; the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, indicating that the rendering load outpaces the GPU's capabilities.

The GPU's performance in this game is further contextualized by its standing among other graphics cards. It holds the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which scores 0.5% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which is 0.3% lower. This close grouping suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is positioned at a performance tier where small clock or memory differences have a noticeable impact on frame rates. In practical terms, the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p with Medium settings, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 34.2, indicating the card is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum detail.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 101.6, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K resolution smoothly?

A: At 4K, the best result is with the Low preset, which achieves 58.5 FPS. The Medium preset yields 47.4 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 34.9 and 34.2 FPS, respectively. A smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K is not achievable with this hardware.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The benchmark data shows the RTX 2070 has a 0.5% higher average score than the RTX 2060 SUPER. This indicates a negligible performance difference between the two cards in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be a bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1440p, the FPS drops from 80.1 on Low to 44.5 on High, a 44% reduction, which points to the rendering load on the GPU being the primary constraint rather than the CPU's processing power.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The Low preset achieves 101.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 54.3 FPS. This represents a performance drop of approximately 47% when moving to the highest visual quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1295 out of 1795 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower half of all systems tested, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing that high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gameplay is out of reach. The rank indicates that while this is a functional setup, there are many other combinations that deliver higher frame rates in this specific title.

The ranking is a reflection of the system's overall capability. The CPU itself sits in the 73rd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 14168, and is closely matched with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (-0.8%) and Intel Core i5-8500 (-1.1%). The GPU, at the 63rd percentile, is the weaker component relative to its own field. This combination of a mid-tier CPU and a lower-mid-tier GPU results in a system that is adequate for 1080p gaming but lacks the headroom for more demanding scenarios. The 1295th rank out of 1795 combos suggests that users with this setup should not expect top-tier performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data illustrates a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 75.7 FPS on Medium settings. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average FPS drops to 65.3, a reduction of approximately 14%. This is a moderate decrease, suggesting that the GPU is still within its comfortable operating range at 1440p. However, the transition to 3840x2160 at Medium settings results in 47.4 FPS, a further drop of 27% from the 1440p figure. This steeper decline indicates that the GPU is beginning to hit its memory bandwidth and processing limits at 4K.

The scaling behavior changes with the preset. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 101.6 at 1080p to 80.1 at 1440p, a 21% reduction, and then to 58.5 at 4K, a 27% reduction from 1440p. This pattern suggests that at lower presets, the CPU has a more significant role in maintaining frame rates, as the GPU is not as heavily taxed. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the FPS at 1080p is 54.3, which falls to 45.9 at 1440p and 34.2 at 4K. The performance delta between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 25%, showing that the GPU's workload scales almost linearly with pixel count when all effects are enabled. The data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 1440p and above, as the frame rate declines are consistent with rendering resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 101.6 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. The Medium preset follows at 75.7 FPS, which is still highly playable. The High preset yields 57.7 FPS, which is playable but with less headroom. The Ultra preset produces 54.3 FPS, which is the lowest at this resolution but still technically playable for a simulation.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases across all presets. The Low preset maintains a solid 80.1 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 65.3 FPS, which is the recommended setting for this resolution. The High preset falls to 44.5 FPS, and the Ultra preset reaches 45.9 FPS. It is notable that the Ultra preset at 1440p performs slightly better than High, which may indicate a variance in the test scenario or that the Ultra preset offloads some work differently, but the difference is within a margin that suggests consistency.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset is the only option above 60 FPS, achieving 58.5 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 47.4 FPS. The High preset falls to 34.9 FPS, and the Ultra preset is nearly identical at 34.2 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, the difference between High and Ultra is negligible, which implies that the GPU is completely saturated by the resolution and the additional Ultra settings have minimal impact on the already low frame rate. For users with a 4K display, the Low preset is the only viable choice for a fluid experience, while Medium is acceptable for slower flight phases.