Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a playable but not luxurious experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The data shows a configuration that is consistently capable at mainstream resolutions, but it struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K Ultra settings. This combo ranks in the 1030th position out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it just above the middle of the pack for this specific title. The benchmark results reveal a system where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate changes across resolutions, with the CPU providing a solid foundation that rarely becomes the main constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep performance curve as resolution increases, which is typical for a flight simulator that renders vast, detailed landscapes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 120.3 FPS, but this drops to 70.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with the same settings—a 41.5% reduction in frame rate. This indicates that even at lower graphical presets, the pixel throughput demands of 4K significantly tax the RTX 4060.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher settings. Moving from 1080p to 4K with High settings reduces the average FPS from 69.3 to 39.3, a 43.3% drop. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 67 FPS at 1080p falls to 39.9 FPS at 4K, a 40.4% decrease. These consistent reductions across presets suggest that the GPU's rendering pipeline, not the CPU, is the limiting factor when resolution climbs. The i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads appear sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RTX 4060's 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth create a bottleneck as pixel count rises.

At 2560x1440, the combo finds a middle ground. High settings produce 55.2 FPS, which is 20.3% lower than the 1080p result but 28.8% higher than the 4K figure. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for demanding presets, as Ultra dips to 51.1 FPS—still playable but below the 60 FPS threshold many simmers prefer. Low settings at 1440p hit 94.3 FPS, showing that the hardware has headroom when graphical load is reduced.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 3,072 shading units and 24 RT cores. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz are relatively high, but the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus is modest by modern standards. The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a clear constraint in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams terrain and airport data continuously.

The GPU's performance percentile of 66 against all tested GPUs reflects its mid-range positioning. In the nearest rival comparisons, the RTX 4060 scores 0.7% lower than the Intel Arc B580 and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M, showing it sits in a tightly contested segment. The deltaPct values against the RX 6600M (-0.6%) and GTX 780 Ti (-0.7%) further confirm that this GPU is competitive with older high-end parts but not a clear winner in its class.

The frame rate data reinforces this analysis. At 1080p Low, the 120.3 FPS result shows the GPU can push high frame rates when the load is light. However, at 4K Ultra, the 39.9 FPS average indicates the GPU is saturated, with the 8 GB VRAM likely struggling with high-resolution textures. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K (70.3 to 51.4 FPS) is a 26.9% penalty, which is substantial and points to memory bandwidth as a key limitation. The 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 compute is adequate, but it cannot compensate for the narrow memory interface.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides six cores and twelve threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache are sufficient for the simulation's single-threaded rendering tasks. The CPU's percentile of 77 against all CPUs is notably higher than the GPU's 66, suggesting the processor is the stronger component in this pairing.

Benchmark results show the i5-12400 achieving a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. In nearest rival comparisons, it is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% higher) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (-0.2% lower), while edging out the Core i5-11600K by 0.4%. This places the CPU in a strong position for gaming, where single-thread performance often matters more than raw core counts.

The measured FPS data shows minimal CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the 120.3 FPS result is a high ceiling that suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. The consistent frame rates across settings at each resolution—for example, 69.3 FPS at 1080p High versus 67 FPS at 1080p Ultra—show that the i5-12400 maintains stable performance even as the GPU load varies. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and 2-thread score of 1692 indicate strong per-core capability, which is critical for Microsoft Flight Simulator's complex flight models and AI traffic.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS on 1440p?

A: Yes, but only with lower settings. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS is 94.3, while Medium produces 74.3 FPS. High settings drop to 55.2 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 51.1 FPS. For a steady 60 FPS, Medium settings are the viable option.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware?

A: 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. The combo achieves 120.3 FPS at Low, 94.2 FPS at Medium, 69.3 FPS at High, and 67 FPS at Ultra. All presets remain above 60 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where Ultra is fully playable.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 4060 scores 0.7% lower than the Intel Arc B580 and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M in average benchmark scores. It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 6600M by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti by 0.7%. These differences are minor, indicating close performance parity.

Q: Is the i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4060?

A: The data suggests no significant bottleneck. The CPU's benchmark scores are competitive with the i7-9700 and i7-8700, and the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a GPU-bound pattern. The i5-12400's single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark indicates enough capability for the simulation's primary thread.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured average is 39.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This is playable for a flight simulator but not smooth. Lowering to Medium raises it to 51.4 FPS, while Low achieves 70.3 FPS, showing that settings adjustments have a significant impact at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1030th out of 1795 combos, placing it in the 57th percentile of tested systems. This indicates it outperforms the majority of configurations but is not a top-tier setup for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1030 out of 1795 tested combinations places this system firmly in the upper-middle tier for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This position reflects a balance where the CPU's strength (77th percentile) compensates for the GPU's more modest standing (66th percentile). The i5-12400's performance against rivals—0.1% above the i7-9700 and 0.4% above the i5-11600K—shows it holds its own against older flagship processors, which helps maintain frame rates in CPU-intensive flight scenarios.

The RTX 4060's rank is less favorable, with a 66th percentile placing it below many previous-generation high-end cards. However, the GPU's 0.8% advantage over the AMD Radeon 760M and 0.7% deficit against the Intel Arc B580 show it is not a weak link. The overall combo rank suggests that this system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it will require settings adjustments to maintain smooth performance at 4K. The 1795 total combos include many with more powerful GPUs, which explains why this pairing sits below the top quartile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 120.3 FPS, which is the highest measured in the entire dataset. Medium settings achieve 94.2 FPS, High settings reach 69.3 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 67 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 3.3%, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have a minimal impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but manageable. Low settings average 94.3 FPS, which is 21.6% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 74.3 FPS, a 21.1% reduction from 1080p Medium. High settings fall to 55.2 FPS, a 20.3% decrease, while Ultra settings reach 51.1 FPS, down 23.7% from 1080p Ultra. These consistent drops indicate that the 1440p resolution increases pixel load by roughly 78%, and the FPS reductions align with that scaling.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 70.3 FPS, which is still playable but 41.6% lower than 1080p Low. Medium settings drop to 51.4 FPS, a 45.4% reduction from 1080p Medium. High settings produce 39.3 FPS, down 43.3%, and Ultra settings hit 39.9 FPS, a 40.4% decrease from 1080p Ultra. The Ultra result being slightly higher than High at 4K is an anomaly in the data, but both are below the 40 FPS threshold for smooth simulation play. The data confirms that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo at demanding settings, with only Low preset offering a comfortable frame rate above 60 FPS.