Microsoft Flight Simulator

The benchmark results for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT reveal a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher settings. This pairing, ranking in the 66th percentile of tested combinations, demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy that favors lower resolutions and lower graphical presets. The data indicates a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but one that becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution and visual fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 91.6 FPS at 1080p to 73.0 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 18.6 FPS, and then further down to 51.9 FPS at 4K. This pattern suggests that the rendering load on the GPU grows substantially with each pixel count increase, which is typical for a flight simulator that renders vast, detailed landscapes.

The scaling behavior is even more evident at the Low settings tier. Here, the 1080p result of 150.4 FPS drops to 124.2 FPS at 1440p, and then to 91.5 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 39%, which is a significant hit but still leaves the game playable. At Ultra settings, the decline is more severe in absolute terms, going from 82.4 FPS at 1080p to 69.7 FPS at 1440p and finally to 47.0 FPS at 4K. This last figure, below 50 FPS, indicates a point where the GPU’s compute and memory resources are heavily taxed.

The difference between 1080p and 1440p is consistent across all settings, with a drop of approximately 20% in average FPS. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is larger, often exceeding 25%. This nonlinear scaling suggests that the RX 6800 XT’s 16 GB frame buffer and 512.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but begin to feel the pressure of the 4K pixel workload, particularly with higher-detail settings that increase shader complexity and draw distance. The data clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component at 4K Ultra, where the CPU’s high single-thread performance cannot compensate for the graphics card’s inability to maintain higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a substantial foundation for this game. The memory configuration yields a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s, which is critical for streaming the high-resolution textures and terrain data that Microsoft Flight Simulator demands. The GPU’s 4608 shading units and 128 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput, which is rated at 288.0 GPixel/s, and its boost clock of 2250 MHz helps sustain performance under load.

The GPU’s role becomes clearer when examining the FPS deltas between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (150.4 FPS) and Ultra (82.4 FPS) is 68 FPS, indicating that the graphics card is responsive to settings changes. At 4K, the same comparison shows a smaller absolute gap: 91.5 FPS on Low versus 47.0 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 44.5 FPS. This narrowing gap suggests that at 4K, even the Low preset is pushing the GPU hard, and the additional work required for Ultra settings yields diminishing returns in frame rate because the card is closer to its saturation point.

The GPU’s compute capabilities, rated at 20.74 TFLOPS for FP32, are fully utilized in this scenario. The data shows that the RX 6800 XT is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, as the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor given its strong benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309. The fact that the 4K Ultra average is 47.0 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p Low result, underscores that the GPU’s raw throughput and memory subsystem are the primary determinants of performance in this specific configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination holds a combo rank of 607 out of 1795 tested pairings. This places it in the upper third of all combinations, indicating a solidly performing system. The CPU itself ranks in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 87th percentile, which helps contextualize the overall combo performance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide insight into its positioning. The Intel Core i9-10900K has an average score of 27829, which is 0% different from the i5-12600KF’s 27827 average. Similarly, the Core i5-12600K scores 27851, a mere 0.1% higher. This indicates that the i5-12600KF is effectively on par with these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks, meaning the choice of CPU among these models would have minimal impact on the FPS results. The data suggests that the combo’s rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU’s performance tier, which is competitive with cards like the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, which has a 2.6% higher average score.

Given that the GPU’s percentile is slightly higher than the CPU’s, the combo rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component severely bottlenecks the other, but the GPU performance is the dominant factor in determining the final FPS. The 607th rank out of 1795 combos is a reasonable outcome for this hardware, which is not top-tier but offers a strong experience for this flight simulator.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers strong performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 150.4 FPS, Medium hits 117.3 FPS, High reaches 91.6 FPS, and Ultra maintains 82.4 FPS. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the system has ample headroom for high refresh rate monitors, with even the most demanding Ultra preset staying well above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 124.2 FPS on Low, 97.3 FPS on Medium, 73.0 FPS on High, and 69.7 FPS on Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 20-30 FPS depending on the preset, but the results remain playable. The Ultra setting at 1440p is just below the 70 FPS mark, which is a solid result for a flight simulator with complex scenery.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 91.5 FPS, which is still smooth, while Medium yields 71.2 FPS. High settings produce 51.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.0 FPS. The latter two figures indicate that for a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to select Medium or lower settings. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is only 4.9 FPS, suggesting that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra comes at a minimal frame rate cost, but both are below the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest recorded average is 150.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings, which average 91.5 FPS and 71.2 FPS respectively. At High and Ultra settings, the averages fall to 51.9 FPS and 47.0 FPS, both below the 60 FPS mark.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is exactly 0% different from the Intel Core i9-10900K’s score of 27829, indicating they perform essentially identically in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings average 73.0 FPS, while Ultra settings average 69.7 FPS. The difference is 3.3 FPS, meaning the visual upgrade to Ultra costs very little performance at this resolution.

Q: Is the combo more limited by the CPU or GPU at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data shows a 150.4 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is high enough to suggest the GPU is still the primary limiting factor, though the CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 score of 3309, ensures it is not a bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in the database?

A: This combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 607th out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the upper 34% of all configurations.