Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a robust flight simulation experience, though the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution and settings increase. This combination ranks in the 84th percentile of all tested combos, indicating strong overall performance that is primarily limited by the graphics card at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a predictable yet pronounced performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the system delivers 183 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 148 FPS at 2560x1440, and further drops to 109 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 40% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical preset, the resolution scaling has a significant impact on throughput.

At High settings, the scaling pattern becomes steeper. The system produces 107 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K alone is a 26% decrease, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases. The 4K High result of 64 FPS is notably close to the 4K Ultra result of 61 FPS, which implies that the graphics card is nearing its saturation point at this resolution regardless of the quality preset.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete min/max data across all resolutions, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 143 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 164 FPS, producing a variance of 43 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 115 FPS with a range from 98 to 132 FPS, while at 4K Medium, the average is 85 FPS with a spread from 72 to 98 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU, but the graphics card's rendering capacity is what constrains maximum output.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 40% performance loss, identical to the Low settings percentage. This consistency across presets suggests that resolution scaling in this flight simulator is largely independent of the quality level, with the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the RTX 4070 SUPER being the determining factors. The 4K Ultra result of 61 FPS versus the 4K High result of 64 FPS demonstrates that the Ultra preset adds only a marginal 5% performance cost over High at this resolution, further confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck rather than the CPU or memory subsystem.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is well-suited for flight simulation, which typically loads large terrain and texture datasets. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1980 MHz allow it to maintain high throughput across the measured scenarios, though the data suggests that the 12 GB capacity is adequate but not excessive for 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units. The 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate provide ample raw power for the simulator's rendering workload. The 80 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s, which directly influences the 4K performance where pixel fill becomes critical. The measured 4K results, ranging from 61 FPS at Ultra to 109 FPS at Low, show that the GPU can handle the resolution but with diminishing returns as quality increases.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present but are not directly utilized in the measured frame rate data. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility ensure it can run the simulator with modern rendering features enabled. The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power envelope that allows sustained boost clocks, which is reflected in the consistency between the 4K High and 4K Ultra results.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 43223. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, both showing negligible performance differences of less than 1%. This positioning confirms that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a strong performer for its class, though the flight simulator's specific workload may favor its 12 GB memory capacity over the raw compute of some competitors.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 587th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is severely underpowered relative to the other. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that this combo is slightly more GPU-limited, which aligns with the resolution scaling data.

The CPU itself, the Intel Core i5-12600KF, has an average benchmark score of 27799, placing it in the 79th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K with a score of 27872 and a delta of -0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE with a score of 27712 and a delta of 0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D with a score of 27896 and a delta of -0.3%. These sub-1% deltas indicate that the i5-12600KF performs essentially identically to these higher-tier or more specialized CPUs in synthetic benchmarks, though the flight simulator's single-threaded nature may favor its 4.90 GHz boost clock.

The GPU's ranking among its peers shows a similar pattern. The RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 43223 places it just below the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, delta -0.1%), and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43301, delta -0.2%). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43667 with a delta of -1%, showing that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER is within 1% of a top-tier mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks. This close grouping suggests that the measured flight simulator performance is representative of the GPU's overall capability rather than an outlier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 183 FPS on average, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate. Medium settings reduce this to 143 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS, providing smooth gameplay even during demanding flight scenes. High settings yield 107 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 102 FPS. The relatively small gap between High and Ultra at 1080p (only 5 FPS) indicates that the CPU is beginning to become a limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more frames if the processor could supply them.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear GPU influence. Low settings produce 148 FPS, which is a 19% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 115 FPS with a range of 98 to 132 FPS, High settings deliver 86 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 82 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 4 FPS at this resolution, further confirming that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck. The 1440p results are playable at all settings, with even Ultra maintaining above 80 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance becomes more constrained. Low settings produce 109 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a 26% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS, providing acceptable performance for most users. High settings produce 64 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 61 FPS. The 4K results show that the GPU is the clear limiting factor, as the difference between High and Ultra is just 3 FPS, and even Low settings cannot reach the frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with High settings delivering 86 FPS and Ultra settings reaching 82 FPS. At 1080p, the system exceeds 100 FPS on all presets, but the GPU is underutilized, while 4K drops below 65 FPS on High and Ultra presets.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 61 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold, and users seeking higher frame rates would need to lower the preset to Medium for 85 FPS or High for 64 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p, the difference between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor even at lower resolutions. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and close benchmark scores to rivals like the Intel Core i9-10900K support this interpretation.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The system averages 143 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with no visible frame drops based on the measured data.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this context?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 43223 is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 and M6000 24 GB, and within 1% of the RTX 4090 Mobile. This indicates that the flight simulator performance is representative of its overall capability relative to these competitors.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 587th out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This high ranking confirms that the pairing of the i5-12600KF and RTX 4070 SUPER is well-suited for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset at 102 FPS provides the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The 5 FPS difference between High and Ultra at this resolution makes the Ultra preset the obvious choice, as the GPU has sufficient headroom to handle the additional graphical features. Users prioritizing maximum frame rates can select Low for 183 FPS, but this sacrifices most of the simulator's visual detail for a marginal benefit.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 115 FPS offers the best value in terms of visual quality versus performance. The minimum of 98 FPS ensures no frame drops below the 60 FPS threshold, while the average of 115 FPS provides headroom for demanding flight scenarios. High settings at 86 FPS are also acceptable for users who prefer higher quality, but the 4 FPS gain from High to Ultra does not justify the additional visual load. Low settings at 148 FPS are only recommended for competitive or high-refresh-rate play.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 85 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains smooth performance while providing a significant visual upgrade over Low settings. The minimum of 72 FPS ensures playability even during complex scenes, and the average of 85 FPS leaves room for occasional dips. High settings at 64 FPS are playable but sit close to the 60 FPS boundary, while Ultra at 61 FPS risks dropping below acceptable thresholds during dense terrain or weather effects. Low settings at 109 FPS provide the smoothest 4K experience but lose most of the simulator's visual fidelity, making Medium the best overall compromise.