Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT produces a clear pattern: the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's capability becomes more apparent at 1080p. The measured data shows that this pairing ranks 978th out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack for this specific flight simulator, a result that reflects a balanced but not top-tier hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, confirming that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the limiting factor as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 73.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 55.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 41.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 24% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 25% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent, indicating that the GPU is being saturated with work at each step up in resolution.

The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the frame rate drops from 64.5 FPS at 1080p to 55.7 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 39.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely playable, showing that this setting is beyond the comfortable range for this GPU. In contrast, the Low preset shows a much larger absolute range, from 121.1 FPS at 1080p down to 71.9 FPS at 4K. This wide spread suggests that when the graphical load is light, the frame rate is high, but the GPU still governs the ceiling.

The data indicates that resolution scaling is not linear, and the gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly punishing. For example, going from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings costs 16.4 FPS (from 91.9 to 74.9), while going from 1440p to 4K costs 16.8 FPS (from 74.9 to 58.1). This near-identical drop between resolution tiers suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are being taxed evenly, with no single architectural feature causing a cliff. The conclusion is straightforward: this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant factor in these results, and its specifications explain the observed scaling. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s, which is adequate for the high-resolution textures used in flight simulation. The GPU's boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz are high for its class, and the 40 ray accelerators and 2560 shading units contribute to its compute throughput of 13.21 TFLOPS.

The benchmark results show that the GPU sits in the 77th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 33721. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800, which scores 33493 and is 0.7% slower, and the NVIDIA RTX A5000, which scores 33294 and is 1.3% slower. This places the RX 6700 XT in a competitive position, but the measured FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator reveals a more nuanced story. At 4K Ultra, the 39.8 FPS result indicates that the 12 GB VRAM buffer is likely being filled, and the GPU's compute resources are maxed out.

The performance at lower settings reinforces the GPU's role as the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the 121.1 FPS result shows the GPU can push high frame rates when the scene complexity is reduced. However, the drop to 64.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra demonstrates that the gap between the lowest and highest presets is nearly 2x, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's shading units and texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s being fully utilized. The data suggests that while the CPU is not holding the system back at higher resolutions, the GPU's 192-bit memory interface and 64 ROPs are the limiting factors for achieving higher frame rates in this simulator.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most playable experience, with High settings achieving 73.6 FPS and Low reaching 121.1 FPS. At 2560x1440, High drops to 55.9 FPS, which is still playable, but 3840x2160 at High yields only 41.7 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT strong enough for 4K gaming in this title?

A: At 4K, the measured results show 71.9 FPS on Low and 39.8 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that 4K is only viable with lower presets, as the Ultra preset falls below 40 FPS, which is not smooth for a flight simulator.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-11400F compare to its nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it in the 75th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores 17189, showing a 0% delta, while the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17212, which is -0.2% different.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves 74.9 FPS, while High achieves 55.9 FPS. This is a difference of 19 FPS, showing a significant cost for the visual upgrade from Medium to High.

Q: Does the combo rank higher or lower than the middle of all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 978th out of 1795 tested combos, which places it slightly above the median. This indicates that it is a mid-tier performer for this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT sits at rank 978 out of 1795, meaning it outperforms roughly 45% of all tested combos. This is a middling result, reflecting a balanced system that does not excel in any single area. The CPU's percentile of 75 against all CPUs suggests it is a solid processor, but the GPU's percentile of 77 is similar, indicating neither component dramatically boosts the other.

The ranking is likely influenced by the game's heavy reliance on both single-thread and multi-thread performance, as well as GPU throughput. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and single-core score of 2029 are respectable, but the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2435 shows it is not a top-tier card. The combination of a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with a 12 GB GPU results in a system that is balanced but not exceptional. Benchmarks show the GPU is 0.7% faster than the RX 6800 and 1.3% faster than the RTX A5000, yet the overall combo rank suggests that in this specific simulator, the pairing does not break into the top half of results.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended starting point. The data shows 74.9 FPS at this setting, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for playability. If the user prefers higher visual quality, the High preset at 1920x1080 achieves 73.6 FPS, providing a similar frame rate with better graphics. At 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, yielding 71.9 FPS, while Medium drops to 58.1 FPS and High to 41.7 FPS.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p. At 1920x1080, it achieves 64.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a simulator that benefits from high frame rates. At 1440p and 4K, the Ultra preset yields 55.7 FPS and 39.8 FPS respectively, which are too low for a smooth experience. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot, as it offers a 74.9 FPS average, which is 18% faster than High at the same resolution. For users with 1080p monitors, High is the best choice, as it provides a 73.6 FPS average while preserving more detail than Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low achieves 121.1 FPS, Medium achieves 91.9 FPS, High achieves 73.6 FPS, and Ultra achieves 64.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 46.8% drop, with the largest single-step decrease occurring between Medium and High, where the frame rate falls by 18.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low achieves 94.6 FPS, Medium achieves 74.9 FPS, High achieves 55.9 FPS, and Ultra achieves 55.7 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is negligible, with only a 0.2 FPS gap, suggesting that Ultra offers no benefit over High at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low achieves 71.9 FPS, Medium achieves 58.1 FPS, High achieves 41.7 FPS, and Ultra achieves 39.8 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 16.4 FPS, which is the largest reduction across all settings at this resolution, indicating a steep cost for the High preset’s additional effects.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, plays a supporting role in this combo, particularly at lower resolutions. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide a strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029. This is crucial for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and physics. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data throughput, and its 14 nm process node is older but still effective.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show it is a capable processor, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a 3DMark max threads score of 5652. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel Core i7-1260P, have nearly identical average scores, with deltas of 0% and -0.2% respectively. In this game, the CPU’s role becomes more evident at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed. For instance, at 1080p Low, the 121.1 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively, but at 4K Low, the 71.9 FPS is more indicative of GPU limits. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, but at 1080p with lower presets, it may be the limiting factor, as the 121.1 FPS is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame output for this simulation.