Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in the benchmark suite, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti produces a revealing performance profile. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution, but the relationship between CPU and GPU workload shifts dramatically depending on the settings preset. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, contextualizes them against the component specifications, and ranks this specific combination against the wider field of tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, but the shape of that curve varies heavily with the graphics preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 193.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 153.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 112.3 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a roughly 42% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit, yet the absolute numbers remain high enough for smooth gameplay. This indicates that at Low settings, the system is not entirely GPU-bound; the RTX 4070 Ti has enough headroom that the CPU still plays a role in determining final output.

Moving to High settings, the scaling becomes steeper, which is typical for a flight simulator that loads heavy scenery data. The transition from 116.1 FPS at 1080p to 90.5 FPS at 1440p is a 22% drop, but the jump to 64.8 FPS at 4K is a 28% reduction from 1440p. The total loss from 1080p to 4K here is about 44%, showing that the GPU is starting to become the bottleneck as pixel count rises. At Ultra settings, the pattern tightens further: 108.2 FPS at 1080p, 83.7 FPS at 1440p, and 63.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is only 58% of the 1080p figure, which strongly suggests that at this preset, the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary limiting factor, with the CPU having less influence on the final frame rate.

The Medium preset sits between these extremes. It delivers 149.5 FPS at 1080p, 117.3 FPS at 1440p, and 86 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K here is a 42% reduction, similar to Low settings, but the absolute values are lower. This data reveals that Flight Simulator's engine is sensitive to both resolution and preset complexity; the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is a notable 48.9 FPS (from 112.3 down to 63.4), which highlights how much the visual fidelity settings tax the GPU at high pixel densities.

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. Its 3DMark results show strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 7314 in the 16-thread test and 7307 in the max-thread test, with a single-thread score of 960. This dual nature is crucial for Flight Simulator, which relies on a single primary thread for core simulation logic but can offload some tasks to additional cores.

The benchmark data indicates that the CPU is not the main constraint at 1080p with Low settings, where the system hits 193.1 FPS. That high figure suggests the i5-13400F is feeding the GPU adequately. However, the gap between the single-thread score of 960 and the multi-thread score of 7314 shows that the processor has far more aggregate capability than it can bring to bear on a single-thread-heavy workload. In Flight Simulator, this means that while the CPU can handle the simulation logic, it may not be the bottleneck until the GPU load is reduced.

Comparing to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the i5-13400F is tightly clustered. It sits just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. The AMD EPYC 9474F is only 0.5% behind, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 is also 0.5% behind. This indicates that the i5-13400F's performance is well-balanced for its class, and in this game, the CPU delivers enough single-thread speed to avoid crippling frame rates. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 63.4 FPS, which is still playable, suggesting the CPU is not dragging the system down even at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (effectively 21 Gbps). These specifications are substantial, and the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5024 places it in the upper tier of tested graphics cards.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is a notable consideration for Flight Simulator, which can be memory-hungry at high resolutions with dense scenery. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 63.4, which is close to the 60 FPS target that many users consider the minimum for smooth flight. This suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is being pushed hard at this setting. At 4K Low, the GPU delivers 112.3 FPS, which indicates that when the visual load is reduced, the card has significant headroom.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 85 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44900, places it comfortably ahead of most cards. Its nearest rivals in the database show it is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A730M, while being 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT. This competitive positioning is reflected in the game's performance: the RTX 4070 Ti is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when moving to 4K. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push the GPU to 193.1 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's limits become apparent, capping the frame rate at 63.4 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the aggregate database of tested CPU-GPU combinations, this pairing of the i5-13400F and RTX 4070 Ti ranks 205th out of 1795 tested combos. That places it in the top 11.4% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the components; the CPU is not holding back the GPU significantly, and the GPU is not so powerful that the CPU becomes a severe bottleneck.

This ranking is particularly notable given that the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 82, while the GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 85. The slight difference in percentiles indicates that the GPU is marginally stronger relative to its own pool than the CPU is relative to its pool. However, the combo rank of 205 shows that the overall system performance is greater than the sum of its parts might suggest, likely because Flight Simulator's workload favors the GPU's strengths. The data shows that while the CPU is adequate, it is the RTX 4070 Ti that boosts this combination into the top tier of tested systems, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU's VRAM and bandwidth are fully utilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 193.1, which is exceptionally smooth and indicates the CPU is the limiting factor. Medium settings yield 149.5 FPS, still very fluid. High settings drop to 116.1 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 108.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 84.9 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution and that the CPU can drive high frame rates even with lower graphical loads.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 153.6 FPS, which is a 20% drop from 1080p. Medium settings hit 117.3 FPS, a 21.5% reduction. High settings produce 90.5 FPS, a 22% drop, and Ultra settings yield 83.7 FPS, a 22.6% reduction. The consistent percentage drops across all settings at 1440p indicate that the GPU is now becoming the primary constraint, as the relative penalty for increasing resolution is uniform regardless of preset.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly in charge. Low settings average 112.3 FPS, which is still playable but a 42% drop from 1080p. Medium settings produce 86 FPS, a 42.5% reduction. High settings drop to 64.8 FPS, a 44% reduction, and Ultra settings bottom out at 63.4 FPS, a 41.4% reduction. The fact that the Ultra setting at 4K produces nearly the same frame rate as High (a difference of just 1.4 FPS) suggests that the GPU is completely saturated at these settings, and the extra visual fidelity from Ultra is not costing much performance because the GPU is already maxed out. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component at 4K, while the i5-13400F provides sufficient headroom at lower resolutions to avoid being a bottleneck.