Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of an Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a playable but not exceptional experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with average frame rates that vary dramatically depending on resolution and settings. The data shows a system that is consistently GPU-limited at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-sensitive as resolution drops and settings are reduced. Across the twelve measured configurations, the combo achieves a rank of 1191 out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of all tested systems for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of resolution-dependent performance scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 100 FPS average, which drops to 81.9 FPS at 1440p and 60.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 39.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest quality preset, resolution scaling has a substantial impact on performance. The scaling is steeper at higher quality settings; at High settings, the frame rate falls from 60.3 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p (an 18.7% drop), then to 36.5 FPS at 4K (a further 25.5% drop from 1440p).

The Ultra preset shows the most severe degradation across the resolution ladder. Starting at 53.3 FPS in 1080p, it declines to 46.4 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 32.6 FPS at 4K. This is a total reduction of 38.8% across the three resolutions, demonstrating that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are increasingly strained as pixel count rises. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory, with 79.4 FPS at 1080p, 65.5 FPS at 1440p, and 48.5 FPS at 4K.

These results indicate that at 1080p, the system is likely balanced between CPU and GPU demands, but at 1440p and especially 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting component. The 4K High and Ultra results of 36.5 and 32.6 FPS respectively fall below the 40 FPS threshold that many users consider minimum acceptable for flight simulation, suggesting that 4K gaming is only viable at Medium or Low settings with this hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator that streams large amounts of terrain and scenery data.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (0.3% ahead), the RTX 2070 (0.5% ahead), and the Quadro K5200 (0.8% ahead). These close margins indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER sits in a competitive performance band where small architectural differences translate to minimal real-world deltas.

In the measured game results, the GPU's limitations become apparent at 4K resolution. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 28.3 FPS (60.9 vs 32.6), which shows that the GPU has significant headroom at lower settings but cannot maintain playable frame rates at maximum quality. The 4K Ultra result of 32.6 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests the 8 GB VRAM capacity and the 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability are insufficient for the highest quality textures and rendering features at this resolution. The GPU's 272 tensor cores and 34 RT cores are present but appear to provide limited benefit in this specific title at these settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this Intel Core i5-11400F + RTX 2060 SUPER pairing ranks 1191st. This places the system in the bottom third of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the hardware's age and market positioning. The CPU itself holds the 75th percentile among all processors, while the GPU sits at the 63rd percentile, so the combo ranks lower than either component's individual percentile would suggest.

The gap between component percentiles and combo rank indicates that Microsoft Flight Simulator's demanding nature penalizes mid-range hardware more severely than synthetic benchmarks might predict. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta), Intel Core i7-1260P (-0.2%), Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (-0.2%), and Intel Core i5-1240U (0.2%), all of which have nearly identical average scores. The GPU's nearest rivals are similarly close, with the GTX TITAN and RTX 2070 being within 0.5% of the RTX 2060 SUPER's average score.

This tight clustering suggests that the combo's low rank is not due to any single weak component but rather the combination's overall performance ceiling in this specific game. The 1191st rank out of 1795 means approximately two-thirds of tested systems outperform this configuration in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which aligns with the measured frame rates that hover near playability thresholds at common resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p provides the most consistent experience, with all four settings presets achieving at least 53.3 FPS average. At 1440p, Low and Medium settings are playable (81.9 and 65.5 FPS), but High drops to 49 FPS and Ultra to 46.4 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in this game?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 60.9 FPS average, and Medium reaches 48.5 FPS. However, 4K High and Ultra drop to 36.5 and 32.6 FPS respectively, which are below typical playability thresholds.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.3% lower than the GTX TITAN (19706), 0.5% lower than the RTX 2070 (19680), and 0.8% lower than the Quadro K5200 (19623). These differences are negligible in practice.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile and how does it compare to similar processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, has an identical score of 17189 (0% delta), while the Intel Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U are both 0.2% behind.

Q: What is the most demanding settings preset at each resolution?

A: Ultra is consistently the most demanding preset. At 1080p, Ultra produces 53.3 FPS compared to 100 FPS at Low; at 1440p, Ultra gives 46.4 FPS versus 81.9 FPS at Low; and at 4K, Ultra yields 32.6 FPS versus 60.9 FPS at Low.

Q: Does the combo rank reflect the individual component performance?

A: No. The combo ranks 1191st out of 1795 (bottom third), while the CPU is at the 75th percentile and the GPU at the 63rd percentile. This discrepancy indicates that the combination underperforms relative to what the individual component scores suggest.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best combination of visual quality and frame rate, delivering 79.4 FPS average. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves headroom for scenery-heavy areas where performance may dip. At 1440p, Medium also performs admirably at 65.5 FPS, making it the recommended resolution for this preset. The High preset at 1080p is viable at 60.3 FPS, but the drop to 49 FPS at 1440p makes it less attractive for higher resolutions.

For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p achieves a perfect 100 FPS average, while at 1440p it still delivers 81.9 FPS. The 4K Low preset at 60.9 FPS is the only 4K configuration that hits the 60 FPS target, making it the sole viable 4K option for competitive play. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p where 53.3 FPS is marginally acceptable; at 1440p and 4K, the 46.4 and 32.6 FPS results are too low for a smooth flight simulation experience.

Given that the measured data shows a consistent 15-20 FPS drop from Medium to High across all resolutions, and a further 6-8 FPS drop from High to Ultra, users should consider the Medium preset as the optimal balance point. This is particularly true for Microsoft Flight Simulator, where ground detail and weather effects are more impactful than the incremental quality gains from High to Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor's memory support is DDR4 on a dual-channel bus with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F demonstrates balanced performance across workloads. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 14372 in multi-core and 2029 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 7579 multi-core and 1979 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981 further confirm its mid-range positioning. The processor's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it outperforms three-quarters of tested processors, though its nearest rivals are all within 0.2% of its average score.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role becomes more evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is less burdened. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 100 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution. However, the fact that 1440p Low (81.9 FPS) and 4K Low (60.9 FPS) show such significant drops indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game's simulation workload, as evidenced by the relatively high frame rates at Low settings, but the 2.60 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. The 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node place this CPU in an efficiency class that is adequate for this title but not exceptional, as the 1191st combo rank suggests.