Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for this CPU/GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows the Medium preset delivers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS, while High drops to 58 FPS and Ultra falls to 55 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 62 FPS, which is the only setting above 60 FPS at that resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2745 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid portion of the database. This rank reflects the pairing's overall capability in Flight Simulator specifically, not aggregate CPU or GPU scores.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the RX 5700 XT in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads with a 4.70 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU. The measured FPS scaling from Low to Ultra across resolutions shows GPU-bound behavior — at 1080p Low, the combo hits 98 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 33 FPS, consistent with GPU limitations rather than CPU stalls.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the measured averages are 59 FPS on Low, 46 FPS on Medium, 34 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset reaches playable territory above 60 FPS, while Medium and below fall into the 30-46 FPS range.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RX 5700 XT's average benchmark score of 16361 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, +0.1%), slightly behind the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16408, -0.3%), and within 0.9% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (16504). These deltas are negligible in real-world terms.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance matter for Flight Simulator?

A: Yes. The i5-14400F scores 3055 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3701 in PassMark single-thread, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Flight Simulator relies heavily on single-threaded simulation logic, and this CPU's strong single-core showing supports the measured FPS at lower resolutions where CPU load is higher.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process from TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1605 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz, translating to 14 Gbps effective.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is most evident at higher resolutions. The measured FPS drops sharply as resolution increases: at 1080p Low the combo averages 98 FPS, at 1440p Low it falls to 79 FPS, and at 4K Low it reaches 59 FPS. This scaling pattern aligns with the GPU's 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 304.8 GTexel/s texture rate. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested presets, as the game's asset streaming at 4K Ultra still yields 33 FPS without min FPS data indicating memory spillover.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 16277 and percentile of 59 versus all GPUs place it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, AMD Radeon PRO W7500, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 — all score within 0.9% of each other, suggesting that at this performance level, Flight Simulator's frame rates are more sensitive to settings and resolution than to minor GPU benchmark deltas.

The RX 5700 XT's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs handle the game's terrain and lighting at Medium settings reasonably well. At 1440p Medium, the combo achieves 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS, which is a playable experience. Pushing to High at the same resolution drops the average to 46 FPS, while Ultra falls to 44 FPS. The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant for Flight Simulator's rendering pipeline.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-R architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a 2.50 GHz base clock and a 4.70 GHz boost clock, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode.

For Flight Simulator, the CPU's single-threaded performance is critical. The processor scores 3055 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3701 in PassMark single-thread, both strong figures that place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. This explains why the combo maintains 98 FPS at 1080p Low — at lower resolutions and simpler graphics settings, the CPU has headroom to drive the simulation logic without bottlenecking the GPU.

Multi-threaded performance is also robust. The i5-14400F scores 21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 25470 in PassMark multithread. Flight Simulator uses multiple threads for AI traffic, weather simulation, and scenery loading, so the 16 threads help maintain consistent frame pacing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, +0.1%), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, +0.2%), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, -0.2%), and Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, +0.5%) — indicating that the CPU is well-matched to its peer group.

The launch MSRP of the i5-14400F is $196. Its PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes ensures the GPU receives full bandwidth, although the RX 5700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The CPU's 65 W TDP suggests efficient power delivery, which is relevant for sustained performance in long simulation sessions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 2745 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the pairing in the 26th percentile of all tested configurations — meaning roughly 74% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates in this game.

This rank is notably lower than what either component's individual percentile might suggest. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The gap between component rankings and combo ranking indicates that Flight Simulator's demanding rendering load at higher presets drags the overall score down, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The combo's measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the average is 77 FPS, which is solid. But at 1440p Medium, it drops to 62 FPS, and at 4K Medium it falls to 46 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs about 19% performance, while the step from 1440p to 4K costs about 26% — both consistent with GPU-bound scaling.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits in the lower half but not the bottom. The rank of 2745 out of 3714 suggests that many modern GPUs with larger VRAM pools or higher compute throughput achieve better results in Flight Simulator, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM and 9.754 TFLOPS become limiting.

Settings Recommendations

The data clearly points to Medium as the optimal preset for this combo. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 77 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS — a smooth, playable experience. High drops to 58 FPS, and Ultra to 55 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold that many users prefer for flight simulation.

At 2560x1440, Medium is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS (62 FPS, with minimum 52 FPS and maximum 71 FPS). High averages 46 FPS and Ultra 44 FPS, which are playable but noticeably less fluid. Low at 1440p yields 79 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is significant.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Medium averages 46 FPS (min 39, max 52), High 34 FPS, Ultra 33 FPS, and Low 59 FPS. For 4K users, Low is the only option approaching playable frame rates, but the visual compromise may not be worth it. Medium at 4K offers a better visual-to-performance trade-off at 46 FPS.

The recommendation is to use Medium for the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate. For users with 1080p displays, Medium provides excellent performance with headroom. For 1440p users, Medium is the sweet spot. For 4K users, Medium is acceptable if 46 FPS is tolerable, but Low is the only preset that reaches near-60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 98 FPS average
• Medium: 77 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 55 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy. Low offers nearly 100 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium provides 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS, which is still very smooth. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS, with Ultra only 3 FPS behind High — suggesting diminishing returns from High to Ultra.

2560x1440:

• Low: 79 FPS average
• Medium: 62 FPS average, 52 FPS minimum, 71 FPS maximum
• High: 46 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

At 1440p, the performance drop from 1080p is significant. Low loses 19 FPS, Medium loses 15 FPS, High loses 12 FPS, and Ultra loses 11 FPS. Medium remains the only preset above 60 FPS, and its 52 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips but no stutter-inducing drops. High and Ultra converge at 44-46 FPS, making High the better choice if Ultra's visual gains are minor.

3840x2160:

• Low: 59 FPS average
• Medium: 46 FPS average, 39 FPS minimum, 52 FPS maximum
• High: 34 FPS average
• Ultra: 33 FPS average

4K results show the GPU's limits. Low just misses 60 FPS at 59 FPS. Medium's 46 FPS average with a 39 FPS minimum is borderline playable. High and Ultra both sit in the low 30s, which is marginal for a flight simulator where smooth panning is important. The gap between Low and Medium is 13 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 1 FPS — the Ultra preset offers negligible benefit over High at this resolution.