Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a uniquely demanding title, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 reveals a configuration that is heavily influenced by both resolution and graphics settings. The benchmark results show a system that delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but which requires careful settings management to maintain smooth performance at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested configurations, examines the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU, and contextualizes the combo's standing against the broader database of tested hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows a clear and predictable performance degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation offers critical insight into where the bottleneck lies. At the "Low" settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 126 FPS at 1920x1080 to 102 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 75 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 19% performance hit when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 26% drop when moving from 1440p to 4K. At this low visual fidelity, the GPU has less work to do per pixel, allowing the CPU to demonstrate its capability; the fact that the frame rate still falls significantly at 4K suggests the GPU is beginning to become the primary constraint even at these less demanding settings.

Moving to the "High" settings preset reveals a steeper curve. The average FPS is 74 at 1080p, which falls to 60 at 1440p, and then plummets to 44 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 19% reduction, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is a much more substantial 27% reduction. This indicates that the increased shading and texture work at 4K High is significantly taxing the GPU. The trend becomes even more pronounced when examining the "Ultra" preset, where the frame rate starts at 70 FPS at 1080p, drops to 57 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 42 FPS at 4K. The scaling pattern here suggests that while the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, the RX 7700's computational limits are fully exposed as the pixel count and visual complexity increase.

The data implies that this is a balanced pairing at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU and GPU are working in concert. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the definitive limiting component. The evidence for this is the consistent and large frame rate drops between 1440p and 4K across all settings, particularly at High and Ultra where the drop exceeds 25%. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to have sufficient headroom to keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms the Radeon RX 7700, making it the sole arbiter of performance in that scenario.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In the context of a flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for its complex physics and AI calculations, the number of cores and threads can be more critical than in other game genres. The 12 threads provide a solid foundation for handling the game's background simulation tasks, while the 4.40 GHz boost clock offers the single-thread performance that is often crucial for the main game logic. The benchmark data for this CPU shows a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 1680, indicating respectable single-core capability that helps maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU's influence on this specific pairing is secondary to the GPU. At 1080p with "Low" settings, the 126 FPS average is likely close to the limit of what this CPU can push in this simulation-heavy title, but it is still well above the 60 FPS target. The most telling observation is the relative performance consistency at 1080p across different settings. The frame rate only drops from 126 FPS at Low to 74 FPS at High, and then to 70 FPS at Ultra. This relatively small difference between High and Ultra (only 4 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in that transition; the GPU is simply struggling to render the additional visual effects.

In essence, the i5-12400F appears to be a capable partner that does not hold the GPU back until the GPU is fully saturated. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further, as the GPU becomes the clear performance limiter. The data indicates that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for this game, as the performance scaling is directly tied to GPU workload rather than CPU capability. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) provide the necessary data throughput to keep the game world streaming without causing stutter or frame-time spikes that would appear in the min FPS data.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The database places this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 at rank 1324 out of 2996 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that roughly 56% of the hardware combinations in the database achieve higher average frame rates in this game. This ranking is a useful indicator of where this system sits in the broader performance hierarchy, and it aligns with the measured FPS data that shows it is capable of good performance at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The rank is a composite measure that takes into account all the measured FPS rows, including the demanding 4K Ultra settings. When considering that the combo ranks near the middle of the pack, it suggests that while the individual components are not top-tier performers, they work well together to deliver a consistent experience. For example, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and the Intel Core 3 201E, with the i5-12400F’s average benchmark score being nearly identical to those parts. This indicates that the CPU is a solid mid-range performer. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which is a much older card, but the RX 7700's average benchmark score is only 0.1% higher, showing that it is not a high-flying GPU in terms of raw compute.

Given this ranking, the combo sits in a zone where users will need to make compromises. The 4K Ultra performance of 42 FPS is not ideal, but the 1440p High performance of 60 FPS is exactly at the threshold for smooth gameplay. The ranking suggests that this is not a system for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, but rather a solid 1080p and entry-level 1440p machine. It reflects the balance of the two components that they achieve a mid-pack ranking, but it also highlights that for a game as demanding as Microsoft Flight Simulator, this combo is firmly in the "mainstream" category, not the "enthusiast" category.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 126 FPS, which is achieved with the "Low" settings preset. This demonstrates the CPU's ability to drive high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the "Medium" preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with "Medium" settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 59, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that provides a minimum frame rate above the standard 60 FPS target, making it the most viable option for 4K play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 42. Given that the frame rate scales significantly with resolution and settings, the GPU is the clear limiting factor at this resolution. The CPU has enough power to maintain 70 FPS at 1080p Ultra, but the GPU cannot sustain that level when the pixel count quadruples.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score is 909, while its 3dmark_max_threads score is 5912. This shows that while it has strong multi-threaded capabilities, its single-thread performance is also robust, which is important for game logic in simulators.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between "High" and "Ultra" settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the "High" preset yields an average of 60 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset yields an average of 57 FPS. The difference is only 3 FPS, indicating that the visual quality gains from Ultra come at a very small performance cost at this resolution.

Q: Does this combo rank in the top half of all tested combos for this game?

A: No, the combo ranks 1324 out of 2996 combos, which places it slightly below the median. This indicates that while it is a capable system, a majority of tested hardware combinations perform better in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a significant contributor to this combo's performance profile, and its specifications help explain the measured FPS data. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This large VRAM pool is particularly relevant for a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and texture data. At 4K with "Ultra" settings, the game can easily consume more than 8 GB of VRAM, and the 16 GB allocation ensures that the card is not running out of memory, which would cause severe stuttering. The absence of min FPS data for the Ultra preset suggests that the frame times were stable enough not to warrant a separate minimum recording, which is a positive sign for memory management.

The GPU's clock speeds also play a role in the performance. The base clock is 1900 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs, provide the raw compute power to handle the game's rendering. The GPU's pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s is a key metric for understanding 4K performance. At 3840x2160, the number of pixels is over 8.3 million, and the data shows that the RX 7700 can only sustain 42 FPS at Ultra settings. This indicates that the pixel fill rate is a limiting factor at high resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. Its passmark_g3d score is 20974, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which has a nearly identical average benchmark score, but the RX 7700 is a much more modern architecture (RDNA 3.0) with features like DirectX 12 Ultimate. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU scales predictably with settings, but the absolute numbers are modest. For instance, the jump from "Low" to "Medium" at 1080p is a 28% drop in FPS (from 126 to 98), but the jump from "Medium" to "High" is a 24% drop (from 98 to 74). This suggests that the GPU's architecture handles moderate settings efficiently, but the higher presets introduce effects that are disproportionately taxing.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the user's target resolution and desired refresh rate. For a standard 60 FPS experience, the "Medium" preset is the clear winner across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, it delivers 98 FPS, well above the target. At 2560x1440, it provides 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay with no drops below 60. Even at 3840x2160, the "Medium" preset achieves 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS, making it the only 4K setting that comes close to a playable standard.

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the "Low" preset is the only option that can fully utilize such a display, delivering 126 FPS. However, the visual compromise may be significant. The "High" preset at 1080p offers 74 FPS, which is still smooth for most users, and it provides a substantial visual upgrade over "Low". At 1440p, "High" settings yield exactly 60 FPS average, which is playable but leaves no headroom for complex scenes that might cause dips. The "Ultra" preset is generally not recommended for this combo, as it only provides 70 FPS at 1080p and 57 FPS at 1440p, with the 4K result of 42 FPS being below the threshold for comfortable play.

The data suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, as it is the only preset that maintains a minimum FPS above 60 at 1440p and is the most viable option at 4K. The "High" preset is a viable alternative for 1080p and 1440p, but the lack of min FPS data for that preset at 1440p and 4K makes it a riskier choice for users who are sensitive to frame drops. Ultimately, the "Medium" preset is the recommended starting point, with adjustments made based on personal preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is a complete breakdown of the measured average FPS for the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 in Microsoft Flight Simulator. At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset achieves an average of 126 FPS, with no min or max recorded. The "Medium" preset at this resolution delivers 98 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS. The "High" preset yields an average of 74 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset produces 70 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the "Low" preset drops to an average of 102 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The "High" preset at this resolution averages 60 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 57 FPS. The performance scaling between 1080p and 1440p shows a consistent drop of roughly 19-24% across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the "Low" preset yields an average of 75 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. The "High" preset averages 44 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 42 FPS. The 4K data reveals a stark drop in performance, particularly at High and Ultra settings, where the frame rate falls below the 60 FPS threshold and approaches the low 40s. This detailed breakdown confirms that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the "Medium" preset being the most consistent performer across all three resolutions.