Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 570 shows a steep performance decline as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound flight simulator. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 46.3 FPS, which drops to 37.2 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 29.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 37.1% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting component even at the lowest quality preset.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher quality settings. With High settings, the average FPS falls from 27.1 at 1080p to 25.2 at 1440p, and then to 15.8 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly severe, with a 37.3% performance loss, whereas the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs only 7.0% of frame rate. This nonlinear scaling suggests that the RX 570's 4 GB memory buffer and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated at 4K, causing a disproportionate penalty when pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the frame rates are 37.8 FPS at 1080p, 33.2 FPS at 1440p, and 22.9 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 31.0%, while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 12.2%. Ultra settings show the most dramatic degradation: 28.5 FPS at 1080p, 20.2 FPS at 1440p, and 16.9 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p transition at Ultra costs 29.1% performance, indicating that the combination of high detail settings and increased resolution overloads the Polaris 20 chip.

The data reveals that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo approaches playable frame rates across multiple presets. At 1440p, only Low settings exceed 30 FPS, and at 4K, no preset reaches 30 FPS. The RX 570's performance ceiling is clearly defined by its 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 32 ROPs, which struggle to handle the simulator's complex rendering workload at higher resolutions. The CPU's role appears secondary here, as the i5-12400 with 6 cores and 12 threads provides sufficient processing power for the simulator's main thread, but the GPU cannot keep pace with the increasing pixel workload.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, delivering 46.3 FPS. This is the only configuration that exceeds 45 FPS, providing the headroom needed for the simulator's occasional stutters when loading new scenery. Medium settings at 1080p produce 37.8 FPS, which is playable but leaves less margin for complex scenes with dense urban environments or heavy cloud coverage.

At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 37.2 FPS, which is nearly identical to Medium at 1080p. Users with 1440p monitors may prefer the resolution advantage, but the visual quality trade-off is significant. High settings at 1440p drop to 25.2 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth flight simulation, where maintaining situational awareness requires consistent frame delivery.

The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended for this hardware combination. Even at 1080p, Ultra produces only 28.5 FPS, and the additional visual fidelity does not compensate for the loss of smoothness. The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is small, just 1.4 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's extra effects tax the GPU without proportional visual benefit on the RX 570.

For 4K displays, the data shows that Low settings at 29.1 FPS are marginally playable, but any preset above Low results in frame rates below 23 FPS. The 4K Medium configuration at 22.9 FPS and High at 15.8 FPS are both below acceptable thresholds for a flight simulator, where precise control inputs require responsive visual feedback. The 4K Ultra setting at 16.9 FPS is the worst measured configuration, and no practical reason exists to use it with this combo.

The optimal balance appears to be 1080p with Medium settings, offering 37.8 FPS with improved visual quality over Low while maintaining a reasonable frame rate. Users prioritizing smoothness should select Low at 1080p, while those wanting better scenery detail can accept the 8.5 FPS penalty for Medium. The 1440p Low configuration at 37.2 FPS is a viable alternative for users with higher-resolution monitors who prioritize resolution over detail.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 1716 out of 1795 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the bottom 4.4% of all configurations. This low ranking reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's, as the i5-12400 performs competitively in general benchmarks. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 77, and its average benchmark score of 19850 places it within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-11600K and 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-9700.

The GPU tells a different story. The RX 570 has a percentile vs all GPUs of 74, but its average benchmark score of 30158 is surprisingly close to much newer cards: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 30109 (0.2% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097 (0.2% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile scores 29928 (0.8% lower). This benchmark parity does not translate to gaming performance, as the flight simulator's specific workload exposes the RX 570's architectural age.

The combo rank of 1716 out of 1795 suggests that most other tested combinations deliver better frame rates in this game. Given that the CPU is a capable mid-range part, the bottleneck is clearly the RX 570. The GPU's 4 GB GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the simulator's large texture sets and draw distances, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the combo achieves only 46.3 FPS, which is modest for a 2020 title.

The ranking implies that users with this CPU would see substantial improvements by pairing it with a stronger GPU. The CPU's headroom is evident from its benchmark scores, which rival the Core i7-8700 (within 0.2%) and exceed the Core i5-11600K by 0.4%. The simulator's performance is therefore limited by the GPU in nearly all configurations, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops with resolution increases.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where multiple settings presets achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p, Low produces 46.3 FPS, Medium produces 37.8 FPS, and High produces 27.1 FPS, while at 1440p only Low exceeds 30 FPS at 37.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 570's performance compare to its benchmark rivals?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 570 scores 30158, which is 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. However, in this game, the combo ranks 1716 out of 1795, indicating that synthetic parity does not translate to flight simulator performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 holding back the RX 570?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-11600K and 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-9700. The FPS drops with resolution increases indicate GPU limitation.

Q: What settings preset provides the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest measured average FPS at 46.3. At 3840x2160, Low drops to 29.1 FPS, and at 2560x1440, Low yields 37.2 FPS. No other preset at any resolution exceeds 37.8 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest frame rate achieved is 29.1 FPS with Low settings. Medium produces 22.9 FPS, Ultra produces 16.9 FPS, and High produces 15.8 FPS. None of these configurations provide smooth gameplay for a flight simulator.

Q: How does the combo's ranking compare to the CPU's general performance percentile?

A: The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the combo ranks 1716 out of 1795 in this game. This discrepancy highlights that the GPU's limitations dominate the gaming experience despite the CPU's solid performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570's specifications directly explain the measured performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The GPU features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is insufficient for the simulator's high-resolution textures and detailed terrain data, which becomes evident in the steep FPS drops at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's clocks are set to a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). These clock speeds, combined with 2048 shading units and 128 TMUs, produce a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s. The FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS represents the GPU's compute ceiling, which is modest by modern standards.

The memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is a critical constraint. At 4K resolution, the pixel workload increases fourfold compared to 1080p, and the simulator's draw calls for detailed scenery require substantial texture bandwidth. The data shows that 4K High settings produce 15.8 FPS, while 4K Low produces 29.1 FPS, indicating that reducing texture detail and effects significantly alleviates memory pressure.

The 14 nm Polaris 20 chip, with its 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, is a mature architecture from 2017. Its 32 ROPs limit fill-rate intensive operations, which explains why Ultra settings at 1080p only achieve 28.5 FPS. The GPU's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the performance characteristics are firmly mid-range for its era.

The RX 570's production status is end-of-life, and its successor was the Vega architecture. In the context of this game, the GPU's 4 GB memory capacity is the most limiting factor, as modern flight simulators can easily exceed this with high-resolution texture packs. The measured FPS across all resolutions and settings confirms that the GPU operates at its performance envelope, with no configuration achieving over 50 FPS.