Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator presents one of the most demanding rendering workloads in the benchmark database, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 produces a dataset that reveals clear scaling patterns across resolutions and presets. The measured frames per second (FPS) rows show a system that is capable of smooth gameplay at lower settings and resolutions, but which encounters predictable bottlenecks as graphical load increases. This analysis walks through the FAQ, the specific roles of the GPU and CPU, the optimal settings for different scenarios, and the raw FPS breakdown, before contextualizing the combo’s rank against all other tested pairings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a high refresh rate experience?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 136.2 FPS, and at 2560x1440 with Low settings, it maintains 109.7 FPS. These are the only measured rows that exceed the 100 FPS threshold, indicating that lower resolutions and low preset are required for very high frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 perform at 4K Ultra settings in this game?

A: The measured data shows an average FPS of 43.1 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo, suggesting that 4K Ultra is not a playable configuration for smooth flight simulation.

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

A: At 2560x1440, switching from Low to Ultra settings results in a drop from 109.7 FPS to 57.7 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of 52 FPS, highlighting the significant cost of higher visual fidelity on this hardware.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor for this GPU in this game?

A: The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. While the data does not isolate CPU-bound scenarios, the GPU shows a massive performance swing from 136.2 FPS at 1080p Low to 43.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the graphics card is the primary driver of performance changes across settings.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combo among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 813 out of 1795 tested combinations. This places it in the upper-middle range of the database, indicating it outperforms the majority of tested systems but is not at the top tier for this specific title.

Q: Which preset provides the highest average FPS at 1080p that is still above 60 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 104.1 FPS, and the High preset achieves 81.7 FPS. Both are well above 60 FPS, but the Low preset at 136.2 FPS is the only one that exceeds 120 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the central component in determining the visual ceiling for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Its memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is critical for streaming the vast terrain and texture data that the game demands, and the data suggests it is sufficient for the measured presets, though the frame rate drops indicate that the GPU’s compute capabilities are heavily taxed at higher settings.

The GPU’s clock speeds are set at a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz. The boost clock is the operative speed under load, and the benchmark results show that the GPU scales its performance output across the resolution spectrum. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 79.7 on Low to 43.1 on Ultra. This 36.6 FPS spread at 4K demonstrates that the GPU’s raw shading power, rated at 20.31 TFLOPS FP32, is the limiting factor when pixel count increases.

The RTX 3070’s position relative to its nearest rivals, based on the average benchmark score, shows a delta of 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1.0% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. The data indicates that the 3070 sits at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. In practical terms for this game, the measured FPS at 2560x1440 High (60.7 FPS) and Ultra (57.7 FPS) suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck for achieving high refresh rates at higher resolutions, as the frame rates converge near 60 FPS regardless of the preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear path for optimizing the experience. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual detail, the Low preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, delivering 109.7 FPS. This is a significant jump from the Medium preset at the same resolution, which yields 87 FPS. The data shows that the Low preset avoids the most demanding effects, allowing the GPU to render frames much faster.

For a balanced experience that maintains high visual quality without sacrificing playability, the High preset at 1920x1080 is recommended, achieving 81.7 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a richer visual environment than Medium (104.1 FPS) or Low (136.2 FPS) at the same resolution. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 60.7 FPS, which is marginal for flight simulation where frame time consistency matters.

The Ultra preset is only viable at 1920x1080, where it produces 78.9 FPS. At higher resolutions, the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS (57.7 FPS at 1440p and 43.1 FPS at 4K), making it unsuitable for a consistently smooth experience. Therefore, the best experience per the measured rows is either the Low preset at 1440p for maximum fluidity or the High preset at 1080p for a mix of fidelity and performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Breaking down the data by resolution, the 1920x1080 results show the highest performance ceiling. The Low preset reaches 136.2 FPS, which is the peak for the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows at 104.1 FPS, then High at 81.7 FPS, and finally Ultra at 78.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 57.3 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has substantial headroom at 1080p but is sensitive to preset changes.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down noticeably. The Low preset maintains 109.7 FPS, which is still excellent for a 1440p panel. The Medium preset drops to 87 FPS, High to 60.7 FPS, and Ultra to 57.7 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra is small (3 FPS difference), suggesting diminishing returns in visual quality for the performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is under maximum stress. The Low preset yields 79.7 FPS, which is surprisingly playable for 4K. The Medium preset drops to 59.9 FPS, High to 44.3 FPS, and Ultra to 43.1 FPS. The data shows that the step from Low to Medium costs 19.8 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 1.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated at this resolution and preset changes have minimal impact on the final frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 813 out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the 55th percentile of all systems. This position is notable because it places the combo in the upper half of the database, but not among the elite performers. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s mid-range capabilities and the GPU’s high-end performance.

In the context of the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, delta 0%). This suggests that the CPU’s raw computational power is on par with that mobile chip, but the desktop i5’s higher boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 65W TDP may provide more sustained performance in a desktop environment. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, is 0.9% slower in average benchmark score, meaning the RTX 3070 holds a slight edge in raw GPU compute.

The rank of 813 suggests that while the combo is not a top-tier performer for Microsoft Flight Simulator, it is far from a weak pairing. The measured FPS data confirms that it can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming very well, but struggles at 4K Ultra, which is consistent with its mid-pack ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it has a 12 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is to handle the simulation logic, physics, and AI, which are heavily single-threaded. The single-thread performance, as measured by Passmark at 2981, is crucial for this game.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show a 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029. These scores indicate solid single-thread performance, which is vital for avoiding CPU bottlenecks when the GPU is not fully taxed. The data supports this, as the FPS at 1080p Low (136.2 FPS) is high enough that the CPU might be a limiting factor, but the more demanding settings show a clear GPU bottleneck.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s with dual-channel DDR4 support. This is sufficient for feeding the GPU’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, but the disparity suggests that the CPU is not the primary data source. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a capable mid-range processor, but its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, have similar average scores, meaning the i5-11400F is not exceptional in compute tasks. For this game, the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate, but the data shows that the GPU’s performance is the deciding factor in the measured FPS outcomes.