Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings is 41.6 frames per second. This drops to 23.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing a steep scaling penalty as resolution increases.

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

A: The Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27,827, which is essentially identical to the i9-10900K’s score of 27,829 — a 0% delta. The i5-12600KF also sits 0.1% below the i5-12600K and 0.2% below the Core Ultra 5 125H, while edging the i7-13700H by 0.4%.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER more aligned with integrated graphics or discrete GPUs?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 14,286, placing it just 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Vega 11. It is also 0.2% behind the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, indicating it ranks near entry-level discrete and premium integrated solutions.

Q: What is the best performance this combo achieves in any measured setting?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 78.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 65 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls further to 45.9 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank overall in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1,603 out of 1,795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower percentile of tested systems.

Q: What VRAM capacity does the GPU have, and does it affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 25, while 4K High yields 23.4 FPS — suggesting the memory capacity and bandwidth are limiting factors at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor built on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, with a 125 W TDP. This configuration places it in the 84th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 27,827.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, CPU performance matters most for physics calculations, flight model updates, and world-streaming logic. The benchmark data shows the i5-12600KF’s multithreaded capability is strong: it scores 7,956 in 3DMark 16-thread tests and 7,952 in max-thread tests, while single-thread performance reaches 1,016 in 3DMark single-thread. Cinebench R23 results reinforce this, with a multicore score of 23,444 and single-core score of 3,309.

The nearest rival comparison reveals that this CPU is essentially tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K (delta 0%). It is also within 0.2% of the Core i5-12600K and Core Ultra 5 125H, and 0.4% ahead of the i7-13700H. For a flight simulator, where frame pacing and consistent physics updates matter, this CPU provides a robust foundation — but the measured FPS at higher resolutions shows the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

PassMark multithread score of 27,575 and integer math score of 87,830 indicate strong general processing capability. The data compression score of 343,231 and floating-point math score of 67,074 further suggest that the CPU can handle complex simulation workloads without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU on a 12 nm process, featuring 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It operates with a base clock of 1530 MHz and boost clock of 1785 MHz, paired with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 14,286, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs.

This GPU’s nearest rivals underscore its position: it is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and Intel Iris XE MAX Graphics, and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon Vega 11. The RX 5500 XT leads it by 0.7%. These are tight margins, meaning the GTX 1660 SUPER performs at a level comparable to entry-level discrete and premium integrated solutions, despite having dedicated GDDR6 memory.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU role is critical for rendering terrain, weather effects, and cockpit instrumentation. The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78.2 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 41.6 FPS. At 1440p, Low yields 65 FPS while Ultra yields 33.4 FPS. At 4K, Low yields 45.9 FPS and Ultra drops to 25 FPS.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely a limiting factor at 4K with High or Ultra settings, where texture streaming demands exceed what the memory can efficiently handle. The pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s provide adequate throughput for 1080p gaming, but the data shows diminishing returns as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 78.2, which is the highest figure across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings yield 58.6 FPS, High settings yield 45.6 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 41.6 FPS. This progression shows a 47% drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 65 FPS, Medium averages 50.2 FPS, High averages 34.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 33.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 0.9 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the graphics settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 45.9 FPS, Medium averages 32.8 FPS, High averages 23.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. Notably, Ultra outperforms High by 1.6 FPS at 4K, which may indicate inconsistent scaling or measurement variance rather than a true performance inversion.

The overall pattern indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can maintain above 40 FPS even at Ultra settings. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings provide comfortable frame rates above 50 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings approach the 60 FPS threshold, and even then it falls short at 45.9 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This particular combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1,603 out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, reflecting the GPU’s modest performance tier relative to the demanding nature of the simulator.

The CPU’s strong benchmark standing (84th percentile) does not translate to a high combo ranking because the GPU holds the system back. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 55th percentile GPU score, combined with its 6 GB VRAM limitation, means the overall system is constrained by graphics throughput rather than processing power.

For context, the CPU alone rivals the Intel Core i9-10900K with a 0% delta, and the GPU sits within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT. However, the combination’s rank of 1,603 indicates that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver superior frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The data suggests that this combo is viable for 1080p Low-to-Medium settings, where it achieves 58.6 to 78.2 FPS. At 1440p, it remains usable at Low settings (65 FPS) but becomes marginal at Medium (50.2 FPS). At 4K, it is only suitable for Low settings (45.9 FPS), and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS target.

Given the rank of 1,603 out of 1,795, this combo represents a lower-tier configuration for this specific game. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions confirms that users should expect playable performance only at 1080p, with acceptable results at 1440p Low, and limited usability at 4K.