Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER show a clear picture of its capabilities. This combination lands at rank 1089 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is a realistic expectation for this hardware pairing in a simulator known for its brutal performance requirements. The data shows that this system is capable of providing a playable experience, but the settings and resolution you choose will dramatically alter the frame rate, making the trade-off between visual fidelity and smoothness the central decision for any user.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on your resolution target, but the "High" preset consistently offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers an average of 63.8 FPS, which is smooth enough for a flight simulator where precise control inputs matter more than competitive reaction times. While the "Ultra" preset at 1080p achieves a nearly identical 63.4 FPS, the difference is negligible, and High is the safer choice as it likely reduces the frequency of stutters in dense areas like cities or during weather changes, which the average FPS alone does not reveal.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, High remains the sweet spot with an average of 53.9 FPS. This is a very playable frame rate for the genre, and it keeps the experience fluid without forcing you to drop to Medium. The drop from 1080p High to 1440p High is about 15%, which is a reasonable cost for the increased clarity. For those with 4K displays, the situation changes drastically. At 3840x2160, the High preset produces only 38.2 FPS, which is on the edge of playability for many users. However, dropping to Medium yields 53 FPS, a significant improvement that makes the game much more responsive. Given that the Ultra preset at 4K only manages 38.8 FPS—nearly identical to High—there is no benefit to using Ultra at this resolution. The data suggests that for 4K, Medium is the recommended preset to maintain a playable frame rate, as it offers a 38.7% improvement over High while still looking substantially better than Low.

The "Low" preset is a fallback for maximum performance, delivering 112.6 FPS at 1080p and 86.9 FPS at 1440p. This is useful for competitive flying or for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise is severe in a game that is as much about scenery as it is about piloting. The recommendation is to start with High for 1080p and 1440p, and switch to Medium for 4K. Ultra is only viable at 1080p where the performance cost is minimal, but it offers no tangible benefit over High in the measured data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 with the High preset as the best overall experience, yielding 53.9 FPS. It provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while remaining smooth. 1080p is better for higher frame rates (63.8 FPS on High), but 4K should only be attempted with the Medium preset (53 FPS) or lower.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The measured FPS shows that Ultra provides almost no performance benefit over High. At 1080p, Ultra scores 63.4 FPS versus 63.8 FPS for High. At 1440p, it drops to 49.3 FPS versus 53.9 FPS, and at 4K it is 38.8 FPS versus 38.2 FPS. The data indicates that High is effectively a free upgrade over Ultra in most cases, or that Ultra is not worth the performance loss at higher resolutions.

Q: Is this combination strong enough for 4K gaming?

A: It is marginal. The average FPS at 4K on Medium is 53, which is playable, but High and Ultra presets fall to around 38 FPS, which many users will find too choppy. The data suggests that 4K is only viable when settings are reduced to Medium or Low (62.9 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7-13620H with a score of 25201, a difference of only 0.1%. It is also essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which scores 25365 (a -0.5% delta), meaning the i5-13400F is a strong performer relative to its peers.

Q: What is the GPU's performance standing relative to similar graphics cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. It is slightly behind the NVIDIA RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%. This indicates it is a mid-range performer that can handle modern titles at 1080p and 1440p.

Q: Why is the frame rate higher with the Low preset at 4K (62.9 FPS) than with High at 1080p (63.8 FPS)?

A: The Low preset significantly reduces the graphical load on the GPU, allowing it to render frames much faster. At 4K, the pixel count is higher, but the reduced shading, texture, and post-processing demands of the Low preset allow the GPU to work more efficiently, resulting in a higher frame rate than running High at a lower resolution, which still requires substantial GPU resources.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a predictable but steep performance decline as resolution increases, which points directly to the GPU as the primary limiting factor in this configuration. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset reduces the average frame rate from 63.8 FPS to 53.9 FPS, a drop of approximately 15.5%. This is a typical scaling pattern for a GPU with 8 GB of memory and a 256-bit bus, as the increased pixel count demands more fill rate and memory bandwidth.

The jump from 1440p to 3840x2160 is far more punishing. The average FPS on High plummets from 53.9 to 38.2, a reduction of about 29%. This severe drop indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is hitting a hard wall at 4K, where the raw pixel throughput required exceeds its capabilities. The 4K results across all settings (38.2 to 62.9 FPS) show that even dropping to Low only recovers the frame rate to a level comparable to 1440p High, which reinforces that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute units are saturated at this resolution.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this scenario. The i5-13400F has 10 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, which provides ample processing power for the simulator's physics and AI calculations. The consistent performance scaling with resolution changes is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would remain relatively flat regardless of resolution, but the data shows a clear downward trend, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the component determining the performance ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Core i5-13400F and RTX 2070 SUPER combination shows a wide performance envelope. The Low preset delivers an average of 112.6 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium reduces this to 87.8 FPS, High settles at 63.8 FPS, and Ultra is nearly identical to High at 63.4 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p, the system has sufficient headroom to run the game smoothly at almost any setting, with the difference between Medium and High being the most noticeable step.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance compresses. Low still provides a very playable 86.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 66.3 FPS, High to 53.9 FPS, and Ultra to 49.3 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra widens to 8.5%, but the overall trend shows the GPU struggling to maintain high frame rates as the pixel count increases. The 1440p results are the most balanced for this hardware, offering a good compromise between image quality and smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the limitations become obvious. Low is the only setting that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, hitting 62.9 FPS. Medium is the only viable high-quality option at 53 FPS. High and Ultra are effectively identical in performance, at 38.2 and 38.8 FPS respectively, which is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience. The data shows that 4K is only recommended with Low or Medium settings, and users must accept a significant visual downgrade to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-13400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is ranked 1089th out of 1795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 39th percentile of all tested systems, which aligns with the mid-range nature of the GPU. The RTX 2070 SUPER is an older generation card, and its 65th percentile standing among all GPUs is a good indicator of its relative performance. The ranking suggests that the system is capable, but there are hundreds of faster combinations, particularly those with newer RTX 30-series or 40-series cards.

The ranking also reflects the CPU's contribution. The i5-13400F performs in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, which is very strong. This means the CPU is likely providing a solid foundation for the game's logic, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the GPU's limitations. The data implies that if a user upgraded the GPU to a more powerful model, the combo rank would improve significantly, as the CPU has plenty of headroom to keep up. The 1089th rank is not a poor showing, but it is a clear signal that users should manage their expectations for high-end visuals at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This configuration of performance and efficiency cores is well-suited for a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known to utilize multiple threads for tasks such as terrain loading, weather simulation, and AI traffic. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279, ensures that the game's simulation logic does not become a bottleneck.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU is far more powerful than the GPU in this pairing. Its 82nd percentile ranking versus the GPU's 65th percentile means the CPU is a stronger component relative to its peers. In practical terms, this means the i5-13400F is capable of feeding frames to a much faster GPU than the RTX 2070 SUPER. The L3 cache of 20 MB shared also helps with game asset streaming. The conclusion is that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system; it is the GPU that determines the final frame rates. Users with this CPU could consider a GPU upgrade in the future to unlock higher performance, as the processor has the headroom to support it.