Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a punishing test of both CPU and GPU, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 place this combo at rank 540 out of 1,795 tested configurations. The data shows a system that can handle the sim’s heavy draw calls and terrain streaming, with frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and quality presets. This pairing sits in the upper tier of tested combos, driven by a CPU that ranks in the 82nd percentile of all processors and a GPU in the 80th percentile of all graphics cards.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 540 out of 1,795 tested combinations places it comfortably ahead of the median, though not at the very top of the leaderboard. The Intel Core i5-13400F achieves an average benchmark score of 25,236, which puts it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201) and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365). The CPU also edges out the AMD EPYC 9474F and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340, both by 0.5%. This near-tie means the i5-13400F delivers essentially the same synthetic performance as those alternatives, making the choice between them a matter of platform and feature set rather than raw compute.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 posts an average benchmark score of 35,787, placing it 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35,860) and 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101). It is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon 880M and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. These margins are small, indicating that the RTX 3080 remains a competitive high-end card even as newer parts enter the market. The combo’s overall rank reflects a balanced pairing: the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,279) and the GPU’s high memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s) work together to keep frame rates playable across the board.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 89.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to the Ryzen 5 5600X3D in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-13400F scores 25,236 on average, which is 0.5% lower than the Ryzen 5 5600X3D’s 25,365.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 540th out of 1,795 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: What is the CPU’s launch MSRP?

A: The launch MSRP is $196.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor built on Intel’s Raptor Lake architecture, using a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz, combined with a 20 MB shared L3 cache, give it strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 21,279 in multi-core and 3,004 in single-core, while Geekbench reports 10,971 multi-core and 2,301 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 82nd percentile of all processors, meaning it outperforms the majority of desktop chips.

For a flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which relies heavily on CPU-bound simulation logic and terrain streaming, the i5-13400F’s high boost clock and 16 threads are directly relevant. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and 2-thread score of 1,880 indicate strong responsiveness in lightly threaded workloads, which is typical for the sim’s main loop. The CPU’s nearest rivals—the i7-13620H and Ryzen 5 5600X3D—are within 0.5% in average score, so the i5-13400F offers essentially identical compute headroom. The 65 W TDP also suggests efficient operation, though the data does not include power draw measurements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates span three resolutions and four quality presets. The following table lists all average FPS values from the data:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 55.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 92.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 69.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 50.7 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 75.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 128.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 97.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 70.7 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 91.1 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 155.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 122.1 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 89.4 |

At 1080p, the system delivers a wide range: 155.8 FPS on Low, 122.1 on Medium, 91.1 on High, and 89.4 on Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra is only 1.7 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little extra load at this resolution. At 1440p, the same pattern holds: Low hits 128.4 FPS, Medium 97.4, High 75.2, and Ultra 70.7. The drop from High to Ultra is 4.5 FPS, still modest. At 4K, the numbers fall further: Low 92.8, Medium 69.4, High 55.2, and Ultra 50.7. Here, the High-to-Ultra gap widens to 4.5 FPS, and the overall frame rates approach the edge of smoothness for a flight sim, where 50.7 FPS at 4K Ultra is playable but not silky.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear trend as resolution increases. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 155.8 at 1080p to 128.4 at 1440p, then to 92.8 at 4K. That is a reduction of 27.4 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, and another 35.6 FPS from 1440p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the progression is 89.4 → 70.7 → 50.7, a drop of 18.7 FPS and then 20.0 FPS. The percentage decline is steeper at higher resolutions, which indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. The RTX 3080’s 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the frame rates show that the card is working hard.

Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 155.8 FPS result suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond what the sim demands at that setting. The i5-13400F’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 3,004) and high boost clock help maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not the bottleneck. The scaling pattern—where the FPS gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases—confirms that the CPU’s influence diminishes at 4K, while the GPU’s load dominates. For users targeting 4K Ultra, the 50.7 FPS average is the floor, and for 1080p competitive play, the 155.8 FPS ceiling shows headroom. The measured data indicates a balanced combo that shifts from CPU-bound at 1080p to GPU-bound at 4K, with the RTX 3080 providing the necessary bandwidth and the i5-13400F supplying the compute to keep the sim responsive.