Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a notoriously demanding title, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a fascinating dataset that reveals exactly where the bottlenecks lie. The measured results show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but which also exposes the CPU's limitations at 1080p. The data indicates that this combo provides a versatile experience, capable of high refresh rates at lower settings and smooth, detailed flight at 4K, though the path between these extremes is not perfectly linear.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly indicates that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 120 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 69.2 FPS—a reduction of roughly 42%. This scaling is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel count at 4K (3840x2160) demands significantly more from the RTX 4080 SUPER's shading units and memory bandwidth.

The trend is consistent across all settings. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 124.1 to 98.1, a decline of about 21%. The subsequent jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even more punishing, with FPS falling from 98.1 to 73.2, another 25% reduction. This pattern confirms that the RTX 4080 SUPER is working progressively harder at each resolution step, and the frame rate scales inversely with the number of pixels being rendered.

Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p narrows at lower settings. At Low settings, the difference is from 182.9 FPS at 1080p to 166.4 FPS at 1440p—a mere 9% drop. This suggests that at these lower fidelity settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role in limiting performance, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs even at 1440p. The 4K Low result of 119.8 FPS, however, shows that the GPU is still capable of massive throughput when the visual load is light, indicating that the silicon is far from maxed out at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1,795 tested combos for this game, this specific configuration holds the rank of 123. This places it firmly in the top 7% of all tested pairings, a strong showing that underscores the raw power of the RTX 4080 SUPER. The data suggests that this setup will handle Microsoft Flight Simulator with high fidelity and smooth frame rates, putting it ahead of the vast majority of systems that have been benchmarked.

The high rank confirms the GPU's dominance in this pairing. While the CPU is a capable mid-range part, the sheer graphical horsepower of the RTX 4080 SUPER is what propels this combo up the charts. A less powerful GPU would likely drop this combination significantly, as the frame rates at 4K Ultra would fall below the 60 FPS threshold, which is a common target for a smooth flight sim experience. The 123rd position indicates that users can expect a top-tier experience, though there is still headroom for higher-end CPUs to push even further in CPU-limited scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the undisputed workhorse of this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a substantial 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is critical for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and texture data. The 16 GB capacity ensures that at 4K with Ultra settings, the card does not run out of memory, allowing for consistent texture loading without stutter.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2550 MHz, are high out of the box. The benchmark results show the card's ability to maintain high utilization across all resolutions. The 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is a theoretical maximum, but the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (69.2 FPS) suggests that the card is being heavily utilized, with its 10,240 shading units and 112 ROPs working in tandem to render the complex geometry and lighting of the sim.

The performance delta to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, is a mere 0.2%, indicating that in synthetic benchmarks, they are nearly identical. However, in this specific game's measured data, the RTX 4080 SUPER's architectural advantages, such as its dedicated RT cores (80) and Tensor cores (320), may be leveraged for specific rendering features, though the raw FPS numbers are what ultimately define its role here. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs supports the notion that it is a top-tier part, and its performance in this sim is a clear reflection of that.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its CPU-limited side. On Low settings, it hits 182.9 FPS, but this drops to 166 FPS on Medium and 124.1 FPS on High. The jump to Ultra yields 120 FPS, which is a smaller drop from High than the drop from Medium to High. This non-linear scaling suggests that the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU at these high frame rates, and the settings are not the sole determinant of performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. Low settings produce 166.4 FPS, Medium drops to 131.3 FPS, and High sits at 98.1 FPS. Ultra at 1440p yields 95.6 FPS, which is a very playable and smooth experience for a flight sim. The GPU is still the main driver here, but the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are still managing to keep up with the demand.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes full control. Low settings still deliver a massive 119.8 FPS, showing the card's raw power. Medium settings drop to 92.7 FPS, High to 73.2 FPS, and Ultra to 69.2 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 4 FPS, which indicates that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not significantly more demanding on the GPU than High, or that the CPU is beginning to introduce a minor bottleneck even at this resolution. The data shows that 4K Ultra is still comfortably above the 60 FPS target, making this a viable setup for maxed-out visuals.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-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, it offers solid single-threaded performance, which is crucial for a simulation title like this. Its performance in the benchmarks shows a strong single-core score of 2332 in Cinebench R23, which is often more important than multi-core for flight sims due to their reliance on a main simulation thread.

The CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing the 1080p Low (182.9 FPS) and 1440p Low (166.4 FPS) results. The relatively small gap suggests that the CPU is preventing the GPU from achieving even higher frame rates at 1080p. The 3dmark single-thread score of 909 and the 3dmark 2-thread score of 1699 indicate that the processor has decent headroom, but the game's engine may not be able to fully utilize all 12 threads efficiently.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has a delta of just 0.1%, meaning they perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks. In this game, the i5-12400F's 18 MB of L3 cache is sufficient to handle the simulation's data, but it is not the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. At 4K, the CPU's role is diminished, as the GPU's rendering load dominates the frame time, a fact supported by the stable FPS figures that scale primarily with resolution rather than settings.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is a sweet spot. The data shows 131.3 FPS, which is high enough for a very smooth experience, and the visual improvement over Low is substantial. This setting avoids the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p and still provides a high frame rate headroom.

If the target is 4K, the High preset at 73.2 FPS is the recommended choice. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (92.7 FPS) with only a 19 FPS cost, while staying well above the 60 FPS line. The Ultra preset at 4K (69.2 FPS) is also viable, but the 4 FPS gain over High is minimal for the extra GPU load, making High the more efficient choice for consistent performance.

For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the High preset at 124.1 FPS is the best way to maximize visual quality without sacrificing the high frame rates that make the sim feel responsive. The Low preset (182.9 FPS) is unnecessary for most, as the visual compromise is significant, and the Medium preset (166 FPS) offers a better balance. The data indicates that the Ultra preset at 1080p (120 FPS) is also a strong option, providing near-maximum fidelity with a frame rate that is still high enough for a fluid experience.