Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D reveals a surprisingly modest performance drop as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 134 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 125 FPS — a decline of just 9 FPS or approximately 6.7% — and at 4K Low, the average sits at 113 FPS, another 12 FPS lower. This pattern suggests that even at 4K, the system is not being pushed to its limits on the GPU side at lower settings.

The scaling story becomes more interesting when examining higher settings presets. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (110 FPS) to 1440p (103 FPS) costs only 7 FPS, while the jump from 1440p to 4K (88 FPS) costs 15 FPS. This steeper decline at the 4K resolution indicates that the RTX 5090 D's immense compute resources are finally being exercised more substantially, though the absolute numbers remain high. The Ultra preset tells a similar tale: 109 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K.

What does this resolution scaling imply about the limiting component? The relatively small FPS deltas between resolutions — especially at Low and Medium settings — point toward a CPU-bound scenario. Microsoft Flight Simulator is notorious for its heavy single-threaded simulation workloads, and the i5-10400F with its 6 cores and 12 threads may be constraining overall throughput. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, is clearly capable of rendering this game at high frame rates across all tested resolutions; the data shows the GPU is not the primary bottleneck until 4K Ultra, where the 84 FPS figure still remains playable.

The Medium preset with its recorded minimum and maximum FPS values offers additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the range spans from 104 to 141 FPS, a 37 FPS spread that indicates frame time variance. At 1440p Medium, that range narrows to 97-131 FPS, and at 4K Medium it becomes 88-119 FPS. This tightening of the frame envelope at higher resolutions further supports the interpretation that CPU-side limitations dominate at lower resolutions, while the GPU's workload becomes more evenly balanced as pixel count rises.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a combo rank of 410 out of 2,996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the top 13.7% of all tested combos, a strong showing that reflects the GPU's raw horsepower compensating for the CPU's more modest standing in general benchmarks.

The CPU itself ranks at the 68th percentile against all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 14,185. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E (avg score 14,163, delta +0.2%), the Intel Core 7 160UL (avg score 14,232, delta -0.3%), the AMD EPYC 7552 (avg score 14,115, delta +0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (avg score 14,277, delta -0.6%). These delta percentages are remarkably tight — all within 0.6% of each other — indicating that the i5-10400F's general processing capability sits in a crowded, closely-matched band of CPUs.

For the GPU, the RTX 5090 D holds the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals paint a different picture: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904 (delta +1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940 (delta -1.6%), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (delta -2.1%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 (delta -2.4%). The GPU's nearest competitors are mobile and data-center parts, which suggests the RTX 5090 D occupies a unique position in the desktop consumer landscape — its nearestRivals do not include other high-end desktop GeForce cards, implying it sits above most conventional comparisons.

The combo rank of 410 out of 2,996 is notable because it is lower than what the GPU's 92nd percentile might suggest. This gap between GPU percentile and combo rank underscores the CPU's role as a limiting factor — the i5-10400F, while respectable at the 68th percentile, cannot fully unlock the RTX 5090 D's potential in this simulation-heavy title. The data implies that pairing this GPU with a higher-ranked CPU would likely push the combo rank substantially higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings formidable specifications to this pairing: 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units provide the computational foundation for the high frame rates observed.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's massive memory allocation proves relevant. Flight simulation scenes often involve vast, detailed terrain and numerous assets, and the 32 GB frame buffer ensures that texture loading and geometry streaming do not become bottlenecks at any tested resolution. The measured FPS data supports this: even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 84 FPS average, a figure that would be unattainable if VRAM capacity were being exceeded.

The benchmark scores for the RTX 5090 D illustrate its compute prowess: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326, Geekbench OpenCL score of 310,674, and Vulkan score of 376,915. In DirectX-specific tests, the card scores 231 in DirectX 10, 371 in DirectX 11, and 219 in DirectX 12 on Passmark, alongside a G3D score of 44,065 and GPU compute score of 28,396. These numbers indicate a GPU that excels at both traditional rasterization and compute-heavy workloads — qualities that should theoretically benefit a simulator with complex physics and rendering demands.

However, the resolution scaling data reveals that the GPU's capabilities are not fully utilized across all settings. At 1080p Low, the 134 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to feed the rendering pipeline. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance would suggest headroom for even higher frame rates if the CPU could keep pace. The fact that 4K Low (113 FPS) is only 21 FPS lower than 1080p Low (134 FPS) — a 15.7% drop — while 4K Ultra (84 FPS) is 25 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra (109 FPS) — a 22.9% drop — illustrates that the GPU becomes progressively more engaged as resolution and settings increase.

Settings Recommendations

Based solely on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and performance priorities. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 84 FPS average, while High provides 88 FPS, Medium offers 103 FPS, and Low reaches 113 FPS. The jump from Ultra to Medium represents a 22.6% increase in average FPS (from 84 to 103), a substantial gain that likely comes with minimal visual sacrifice given the game's demanding nature.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts slightly. Ultra delivers 101 FPS, High provides 103 FPS, Medium reaches 114 FPS, and Low hits 125 FPS. The difference between Ultra and High is minimal (only 2 FPS), suggesting that High preset offers nearly identical performance to Ultra at this resolution. Medium adds another 11 FPS over High, making it an attractive option for users seeking smoother frame pacing.

For 1080p, the data shows Ultra at 109 FPS, High at 110 FPS, Medium at 123 FPS, and Low at 134 FPS. The Ultra-to-High delta is negligible (1 FPS), while Medium provides a 13 FPS improvement over High. Given that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions — 104-141 at 1080p, 97-131 at 1440p, and 88-119 at 4K — it offers the most predictable frame delivery.

The recommendation that emerges from the data is clear: Medium settings provide the best balance between visual quality and performance across all three tested resolutions. The average FPS at Medium (123 at 1080p, 114 at 1440p, 103 at 4K) remains comfortably high, and the recorded minimum FPS values (104 at 1080p, 97 at 1440p, 88 at 4K) suggest that even the worst-case frame drops stay within playable territory. High settings are a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity, especially at 1440p where the performance penalty over Medium is only 11 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows the following average FPS values: Low settings deliver 134 FPS, Medium delivers 123 FPS with a recorded range of 104 to 141 FPS, High delivers 110 FPS, and Ultra delivers 109 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a total reduction of 25 FPS, or 18.7% of the Low preset's performance. Notably, the High-to-Ultra transition costs only 1 FPS, while the Medium-to-High transition costs 13 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 125 FPS, Medium at 114 FPS (range 97-131), High at 103 FPS, and Ultra at 101 FPS. The total drop from Low to Ultra is 24 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p delta. However, the relative percentage decline is slightly steeper at 19.2%. The Medium-to-High cost here is 11 FPS, and High-to-Ultra costs only 2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 113 FPS, Medium at 103 FPS (range 88-119), High at 88 FPS, and Ultra at 84 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra delta expands to 29 FPS, a 25.7% reduction. The Medium-to-High transition now costs 15 FPS, more than at lower resolutions, while High-to-Ultra remains modest at 4 FPS.

Cross-resolution analysis reveals interesting consistency: the Medium preset's minimum FPS values — 104 at 1080p, 97 at 1440p, and 88 at 4K — show a predictable degradation pattern of roughly 7-9 FPS per resolution step. The maximum FPS values — 141 at 1080p, 131 at 1440p, and 119 at 4K — follow a similar trajectory. This consistency suggests that the Medium preset provides stable, scalable performance across all tested scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts to 4.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 42.7 GB/s bandwidth, connected via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is critical due to the game's simulation nature. The measured FPS data provides indirect evidence of CPU involvement: the relatively small frame rate differences between 1080p and 4K at Low settings (134 vs 113 FPS, a 15.7% drop) suggest that the CPU is the primary limiter at lower resolutions. If the GPU were the bottleneck, the resolution scaling would show a more dramatic decline.

The CPU's benchmark scores offer context for its performance ceiling. In Cinebench R23, it scores 10,283 multi-core and 1,451 single-core; in Geekbench, 6,257 multi-core and 1,420 single-core. The 3DMark tests show 4,748 for 16 threads, 1,350 for 2 threads, 2,560 for 4 threads, 3,929 for 8 threads, 4,735 for max threads, and 688 for single thread. These scores indicate a CPU that is competent for multi-threaded workloads but whose single-thread performance — critical for flight simulation's core logic — is modest relative to modern alternatives.

The CPU's percentile ranking at 68th among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 14,185, places it in the upper-midrange tier. Its nearest rivals' delta percentages (all within 0.6%) suggest that the i5-10400F is neither a standout nor a laggard in general computing tasks. However, the combo rank of 410 out of 2,996 in this specific game indicates that the CPU's performance characteristics — particularly its single-thread capabilities — may be holding back the RTX 5090 D more than the GPU's own capabilities would suggest.

The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s are relatively modest figures for a modern gaming system, and in a simulator that processes extensive world data, these could contribute to frame pacing inconsistencies. The data cannot directly prove this, but the gap between the GPU's 92nd percentile and the combo's 86.3rd percentile ranking hints at untapped GPU potential waiting for a stronger CPU partner.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings with this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 84 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 1,451 single-core and 10,283 multi-core; in Geekbench, it scores 1,420 single-core and 6,257 multi-core, indicating a roughly 7x multi-thread advantage in Cinebench and 4.4x in Geekbench.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Microsoft Flight Simulator among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 410 out of 2,996 tested combinations in the game.

Q: Which settings preset shows the smallest FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p?

A: At High settings, the difference is 7 FPS (110 at 1080p vs 103 at 1440p), while at Ultra it is 8 FPS (109 vs 101), making High the smallest absolute delta.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use, and how much bandwidth does it provide?

A: The RTX 5090 D uses 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth.

Q: How does the GPU's percentile ranking compare to its nearest rival's average score?

A: The RTX 5090 D ranks at the 92nd percentile with an average benchmark score of 77,712; its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904, placing it 1.1% lower.