Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER

This combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers strong performance across all tested resolutions in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the GPU clearly acting as the primary bottleneck at higher settings. The measured frame rates show a system that can comfortably handle 4K Ultra at 65 FPS average, while 1080p Low reaches 182.6 FPS, placing this combo in the 87th percentile of all 1,795 tested combinations.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 106.9 FPS. This is only slightly lower than the 1080p High result of 112.1 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the Ultra preset at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: The combination ranks 235th out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 13% of all configurations. This rank reflects the strong balance between the six-core CPU and the 16 GB GPU.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 154.2 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 87.2 FPS. The delta of 67 FPS between presets indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by the higher visual fidelity settings.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at any resolution?

A: Benchmark data suggests CPU limitation is minimal at 4K, where even Low settings yield 113.2 FPS. The i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads appear sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at all tested settings, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution.

Q: What is the best measured result in the entire dataset?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 182.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator under the tested conditions.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score of 19,850 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-9700 at 19,831 (0.1% ahead) and the Intel Core i7-8700 at 19,894 (0.2% behind). It also edges out the Intel Core i5-11600K by 0.4%.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is particularly relevant for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams large scenery tiles and high-resolution textures. The GPU's 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 66 RT cores handle the game's rendering workload, while the 264 TMUs and 96 ROPs manage texture filtering and pixel output.

The clock behavior shows a base frequency of 2340 MHz with a boost up to 2610 MHz, and memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These clocks translate directly into the measured frame rates: at 4K Ultra, the GPU sustains 65.2 FPS average, which is only 1.2 FPS higher than the 4K High result of 64 FPS. This near-identical performance between High and Ultra at 4K suggests the GPU is reaching a rendering ceiling where additional settings have minimal impact.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs (average benchmark score of 48,704) aligns with the in-game results. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, scores 49,071 (0.7% higher), while the NVIDIA RTX A2000 trails by 1.6%. The 285 W TDP and triple-slot cooler indicate this is a high-power part, but the data shows it delivers commensurate performance in this flight simulator.

At 1440p, the GPU's role becomes clearer: High settings yield 88.6 FPS, but dropping to Low jumps to 154.2 FPS. This 65.6 FPS spread demonstrates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's raw compute is the limiting factor when visual effects are enabled, rather than the CPU or memory subsystem.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of frame rate scaling across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 112.1 at 1080p to 88.6 at 1440p, then to 64 at 4K. This represents a 42.9% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is less than the theoretical 4x pixel count increase, indicating the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions.

The Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 182.6 FPS at 1080p, 154.2 at 1440p, and 113.2 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 28.4 FPS (15.6%) suggests the CPU or memory bandwidth begins to factor in at lower graphical loads. However, the 1440p to 4K drop of 41 FPS (26.6%) is more consistent with GPU-bound scaling.

Ultra settings exhibit the tightest spread: 106.9 FPS at 1080p, 87.2 at 1440p, and 65.2 at 4K. The 1080p to 4K reduction of 41.7 FPS (39%) indicates that at maximum visual fidelity, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant constraint across all resolutions. The fact that 1080p Ultra (106.9 FPS) is only 5.7 FPS higher than 1440p High (88.6 FPS) further confirms the GPU-bound nature of this workload.

The Medium preset shows intermediate scaling: 149.4 FPS at 1080p, 119.4 at 1440p, and 86.1 at 4K. The consistent ~25% reduction from 1080p to 1440p across all presets (except Low at 15.6%) points to a well-balanced system where neither the i5-12400 nor the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER creates a disproportionate bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 235 out of 1,795 tested combinations places this system in the top 13.1% of all configurations tested in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This ranking reflects the synergy between the i5-12400's 6-core/12-thread design and the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB frame buffer.

The CPU's benchmark data supports this ranking: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,935 and single-core score of 2,249 indicate sufficient processing headroom for the game's simulation logic. The 3DMark max threads score of 5,890 shows the CPU can sustain high throughput when all 12 threads are engaged. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,850, is nearly identical to its nearest rivals — the i7-9700 at 19,831 and i7-8700 at 19,894 — which confirms the i5-12400 is a solid mid-range performer.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking (average score 48,704) is notably higher than the CPU's 77th percentile, indicating the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the stronger component in this pairing. This asymmetry is reflected in the game results: at 4K Ultra, the system achieves 65.2 FPS, which is 38.4% higher than the 1080p Low result would suggest if the CPU were the limiting factor.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system's rank of 235 means it outperforms 1,560 tested configurations. The nearest GPU rival, the NVIDIA RTX A2000, scores 47,915 (1.6% lower), while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49,737 (2.1% higher) — yet the in-game results show the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivering playable frame rates at all tested resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gaming, the data shows High and Ultra settings produce nearly identical results: 64 FPS and 65.2 FPS respectively. The Medium preset at 86.1 FPS offers a substantial 34.5% improvement over Ultra while still providing enhanced visual quality over Low. Given the marginal difference between High and Ultra, the High preset is the recommended choice for 4K, as it delivers 64 FPS without the extra visual overhead of Ultra.

At 1440p, the High preset at 88.6 FPS provides a smooth experience, but the Ultra preset at 87.2 FPS is only 1.4 FPS lower. This makes Ultra the better choice for 1440p displays, as the visual fidelity gain comes at negligible performance cost. The Medium preset at 119.4 FPS is suitable for players prioritizing higher refresh rates, though the jump from Medium to High costs 30.8 FPS (25.8%) for modest visual improvements.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 106.9 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, especially for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 112.1 FPS offers a 4.9% FPS increase, but the visual differences between High and Ultra are less apparent at this resolution. The Medium preset at 149.4 FPS is an option for competitive play or simulators with heavy add-on scenery, while Low at 182.6 FPS serves as the maximum-frame-rate fallback.

The data indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution or preset, as even 4K Ultra stays within memory capacity. The recommended configuration for most users is 1440p Ultra (87.2 FPS) for the best combination of visual fidelity and smoothness, or 4K High (64 FPS) for those prioritizing native 4K resolution over preset quality.