Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the Intel Core i5-13400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, a combination that yields a measured frame rate profile heavily influenced by resolution and graphics preset. The data indicates a system capable of high average framerates across all tested configurations, with the CPU providing a robust foundation for the demanding simulation workload. The RTX 4080’s performance characteristics dominate at higher resolutions, while the i5-13400F’s multi-threaded capabilities become increasingly relevant as resolution drops and frame rates climb.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 123 FPS at 1080p to 99 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 73 FPS at 4K. This represents a 40.7% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RTX 4080’s rendering workload becomes significantly more demanding at higher pixel counts. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 24 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 26 FPS, showing a nearly linear degradation per step.

At the Low preset, the scaling is even more pronounced. The system achieves 192 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K. The absolute drop from 1080p to 4K is 67 FPS, or 34.9%, which is proportionally similar to the High preset but with a larger absolute difference. This suggests that at lower settings, the GPU is less constrained by shading and texture work, allowing the CPU to push higher frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU still becomes the primary limiter as resolution increases.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 164 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K. The 4K result includes a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS, providing a frame time range that indicates some variation but generally smooth performance. The scaling from 1080p to 4K for Medium is a 40.9% reduction, nearly identical to the High preset’s percentage, which implies that the ratio of GPU-bound work at each resolution remains consistent across these two settings levels.

Ultra settings produce the lowest average frame rates, with 117 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, and the 1080p Ultra score is still 13 FPS below the 1080p Medium score, highlighting the substantial cost of the Ultra preset. The scaling from 1080p to 4K for Ultra is 40.2%, again consistent with the other presets, confirming that resolution scaling is the dominant factor.

The data indicates that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes more apparent, as the GPU can render frames quickly enough to expose any CPU bottlenecks. At 4K, the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the clear constraint, as the frame rate drops are substantial across all presets. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the higher resolution assets without a memory capacity bottleneck, but the raw compute load still reduces performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 70 FPS. This is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the dataset, indicating that Ultra settings at 4K are the most demanding configuration tested.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta). It is slightly behind the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3%) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.3%), but ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201, 0.4%).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 123 FPS at 1920x1080 to 73 FPS at 3840x2160, a difference of 50 FPS. This represents a 40.7% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Does the GPU’s performance exceed that of its nearest rival?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, which is a 0.1% difference, making the two effectively equivalent in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 192, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is followed by 170 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 132, with a minimum of 112 and a maximum of 152. The relatively high frame rate and the fact that the CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this setting, but the GPU is still handling a significant load.

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 L3 cache is 20 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for its heavy reliance on CPU performance for flight model calculations and terrain processing, this processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are crucial.

The benchmark data for the i5-13400F shows strong multi-threaded performance: it scores 22604 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 7314 in 3DMark with 16 threads. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 960. These scores place the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it outperforms a majority of processors in general workloads.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the combination of the 10 cores and 16 threads allows the CPU to handle the simulation’s background tasks, such as AI traffic and dynamic weather, while still maintaining high frame rates. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 192 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU’s limit for this title. The fact that the 1080p Low result is 22 FPS higher than the 1440p Low result (192 vs 170) suggests that the CPU is able to push more frames at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes a bottleneck as resolution increases.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides sufficient single-thread speed for the game’s main simulation thread, which is often a limiting factor in flight simulators. The 20 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency for frequently accessed data. The i5-13400F’s performance is closely matched by the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, which has a nearly identical average benchmark score, indicating that the CPU is not an outlier in its class.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 3840x2160, the High preset yields an average of 73 FPS, which is playable but close to the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset drops to 70 FPS, a marginal 3 FPS difference, while Medium offers 97 FPS and Low offers 125 FPS. At 4K, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it provides a 3 FPS improvement over Ultra with presumably minimal visual degradation.

For 2560x1440, the High preset produces 99 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target and offers good visual fidelity. The Medium preset provides 132 FPS, which is significantly higher and may be preferable for users with high refresh rate monitors, as the 1440p Medium result includes a minimum of 112 FPS, suggesting consistent performance. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 95 FPS, which is 4 FPS lower than High, making High the better choice for most users.

At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves 123 FPS, which is excellent for a flight simulator. The Ultra preset drops to 117 FPS, still above 60 FPS, but the Medium preset provides 164 FPS with a minimum of 139 FPS, offering a smoother experience for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 192 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is likely too significant for most users.

The data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions, as it provides a consistent frame rate that is either at or above 70 FPS. The Ultra preset offers only marginal improvements over High, as evidenced by the 3 FPS difference at 4K and 4 FPS at 1440p. Therefore, the recommendation is to use the High preset for the best balance of visual quality and performance, with Medium as a viable alternative for higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 277th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 7.5% of all tested configurations. This high ranking indicates that the combo is well-suited for the game, delivering frame rates that are significantly above average. The rank is determined by the measured FPS data, which shows the system’s ability to maintain high average frame rates across all resolutions and settings.

The rank of 277 out of 3714 means that the combo outperforms 3437 other combinations, demonstrating that the i5-13400F and RTX 4080 are a strong pairing for this title. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs contribute to this strong performance. The combo’s rank suggests that it is capable of handling the game’s demanding requirements without significant bottlenecks.

The RTX 4080’s performance is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a 0.1% difference in average benchmark score, indicating that the combo would likely rank similarly with the SUPER variant. The CPU’s closest rivals also have nearly identical scores, meaning that the combo’s rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s strong performance. The 277th rank reflects the balance between the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities and the GPU’s high-end rendering power.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 192, which is the highest recorded in the dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 164 FPS, with a minimum of 139 and a maximum of 188. High settings yield 123 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 117 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 75 FPS drop, indicating the significant impact of settings on performance at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease but remain high. Low settings produce 170 FPS, Medium settings yield 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 and a maximum of 152, High settings provide 99 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 95 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 75 FPS, consistent with the 1080p spread.

At 3840x2160, the system’s performance is lower but still playable. Low settings average 125 FPS, Medium settings average 97 FPS with a minimum of 83 and a maximum of 112, High settings average 73 FPS, and Ultra settings average 70 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 55 FPS, which is smaller than at lower resolutions, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 139 to 188 FPS, at 1440p it is 112 to 152 FPS, and at 4K it is 83 to 112 FPS. These ranges show that the frame pacing is relatively consistent, with the minimum values staying above 60 FPS in all cases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It features 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, which are crucial for ray tracing and DLSS, though the measured data does not include ray tracing performance. The GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 54247, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6567, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 263779. These scores indicate that the RTX 4080 is a top-tier performer, and its role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is to handle the game’s intensive rendering tasks, including terrain tessellation and cloud rendering.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s influence is evident at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates are significantly lower than at 1080p, with the Ultra preset producing 70 FPS compared to 117 FPS at 1080p. This 40% reduction highlights the GPU’s workload at 4K. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM ensures that texture data does not exceed memory capacity, even at 4K Ultra, where the game’s high-resolution textures would be most demanding.

The RTX 4080’s performance is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER, which has a 0.1% higher average score, and it outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1% and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%. This indicates that the GPU is well-matched with the CPU, and the combo’s strong ranking is largely due to the GPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates across the tested settings.