Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the Intel Core i5-12400 with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT in a combination that ranks in the 56th percentile of tested systems, placing it at position 786 out of 1795 combos. The data shows a configuration that is consistently playable across all tested resolutions, though the performance curve reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to firmly GPU-bound at 4K, with the RX 7700 XT becoming the definitive bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of that drop tells a revealing story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low settings, the combo produces 136.1 FPS, which drops to 112 FPS at 1440p and then to 77.4 FPS at 4K. That represents an 18% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a much steeper 31% drop from 1440p to 4K.

This pattern intensifies at higher settings. With Ultra settings, the system delivers 75.9 FPS at 1080p, 62.1 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 18%, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 28%. The scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the i5-12400’s six cores and 12 threads are keeping pace with the GPU, but as resolution climbs, the RX 7700 XT’s workload increases disproportionately, making the GPU the limiting component at 4K.

The Low setting data confirms this interpretation. At Low, the 1080p result of 136.1 FPS is far above what the GPU can sustain at higher resolutions, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower graphical loads. However, the 4K Low result of 77.4 FPS is still 57% lower than the 1080p Low result, which shows that even with minimal graphical demands, the RX 7700 XT cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply not sufficient to push past this threshold in this flight simulator.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this combo?

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, 1440p yields 62.2 FPS, which is only 1 FPS lower than the 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is not comparable, but the 1440p High result of 62.2 FPS is 28% higher than the 4K High result of 48.4 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 86.9 FPS provides headroom for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 45 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the lowest result in the entire dataset, and while it is technically playable, it leaves no margin for demanding scenes. The 4K High setting improves this to 48.4 FPS, which is still below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for performance at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU plays a more significant role at 1080p. The 1080p Low result of 136.1 FPS is 28% higher than the 1080p High result of 80.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is being relieved at Low settings, but the CPU still delivers high frame rates. The i5-12400’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 6 cores appear sufficient for this resolution.

Q: What settings provide the largest FPS jump at 1440p?

A: Moving from High to Medium settings at 1440p increases the average FPS from 62.2 to 86.9, a 40% improvement. Dropping from Medium to Low yields a further increase to 112 FPS, which is a 29% gain. The largest single jump comes from switching from High to Medium.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 786 out of 1795 tested systems, placing it in the 56th percentile. This means 56% of tested combos perform worse, while 44% perform better. The data does not specify which specific combos are faster or slower.

Q: Does the GPU’s VRAM capacity affect performance at 4K?

A: The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is a substantial amount for a flight simulator. The data shows that at 4K, the Ultra setting produces 45 FPS, while Low produces 77.4 FPS, a 72% difference. This indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is not the primary constraint, but rather the GPU’s raw compute capability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a six-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core are modest by modern standards, but the CPU’s benchmark scores show it performs well above its class. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and single-core score of 2249 indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance.

In this game, the CPU’s role becomes apparent when examining the 1080p Low settings result of 136.1 FPS. This number is the highest in the entire measured dataset, which suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution and settings combination. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 are nearly identical, indicating that the CPU’s performance scales well with additional threads, which is relevant for a flight simulator that may utilize multiple cores for physics and AI calculations.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 77 against all CPUs means it outperforms 77% of tested processors. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has an average score of 19831, which is a 0.1% difference from the i5-12400’s 19850. This places the i5-12400 in the same performance tier as older i7 processors, but with a more modern architecture. The data shows that at 1080p High, the CPU can push the GPU to 80.9 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it reaches 105.3 FPS. These results suggest that the CPU is not the primary constraint until the GPU is fully loaded at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 1440p Medium result of 86.9 FPS is 40% higher than the High setting’s 62.2 FPS, and it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The difference between Medium and High may not justify the 40% performance loss in a flight simulator where frame pacing matters for a consistent experience.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity, the 1080p Ultra setting delivers 75.9 FPS, which is the highest Ultra result in the dataset. This is 67% higher than the 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS, making 1080p Ultra a more viable option for those who want the highest graphical settings without sacrificing frame rate. The 1440p Ultra result of 62.1 FPS is also playable, but it leaves less headroom for demanding scenarios such as dense urban areas or heavy weather effects.

The Low setting is not recommended for this combo, as it sacrifices too much visual quality for marginal gains. The 1080p Low result of 136.1 FPS is impressive, but the jump from Medium to Low at 1080p is only 29% (from 105.3 to 136.1 FPS), which may not be worth the graphical reduction. The 4K Low result of 77.4 FPS is the only way to achieve high frame rates at 4K, but the visual compromise is severe.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 786 out of 1795 tested systems places it in the 56th percentile of all combinations. This means it outperforms 56% of tested combos, which is a solid result for a mid-range pairing. The data does not provide specific rival combos for this game, but the individual components’ rankings provide context. The i5-12400 ranks in the 77th percentile among CPUs, while the RX 7700 XT ranks in the 73rd percentile among GPUs. This suggests the combo is well-balanced, with the CPU being slightly stronger relative to its peers than the GPU.

The GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has an average score of 30109, which is a 0% difference from the RX 7700 XT’s 30109. This indicates the two GPUs are essentially tied in synthetic benchmarks, but the measured FPS data shows how this specific game utilizes the GPU’s capabilities. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has an average score of 19831, which is a 0.1% difference, making the i5-12400 statistically identical in performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides 12 distinct data points across three resolutions and four settings. At 1080p, the results range from 75.9 FPS at Ultra to 136.1 FPS at Low, with High at 80.9 FPS and Medium at 105.3 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 60.2 FPS, or 79% higher performance at Low settings.

At 1440p, the results are 62.1 FPS at Ultra, 62.2 FPS at High, 86.9 FPS at Medium, and 112 FPS at Low. The Ultra and High settings produce nearly identical results, with a difference of only 0.1 FPS, which is within the margin of error. This suggests that the High and Ultra presets are not significantly different in their GPU demands at this resolution.

At 4K, the results are 45 FPS at Ultra, 48.4 FPS at High, 60.7 FPS at Medium, and 77.4 FPS at Low. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, and the 4K High result of 48.4 FPS is only 3.4 FPS higher. The 4K Medium result of 60.7 FPS is the first playable result at this resolution, and the 4K Low result of 77.4 FPS is the only result above 60 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units, with a boost clock of 2544 MHz and a game clock of 2171 MHz. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2250 MHz with an 18 Gbps effective data rate, providing 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU’s role in this game is clearly defined by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as evidenced by the 136.1 FPS result at Low settings, which is likely CPU-limited. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is 41% lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 75.9 FPS, and the 4K Low result of 77.4 FPS is 43% lower than the 1080p Low result of 136.1 FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3316 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 132758 indicate solid DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance. The Passmark G3D score of 22547 places it in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the RTX 5060 at a 0% difference. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS is substantial for this game, but the flight simulator’s heavy reliance on draw calls and scenery streaming appears to limit its effectiveness at 4K, where the 45 FPS Ultra result suggests the GPU is the definitive bottleneck.