Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a notoriously demanding title, and the data for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 confirms that this combination sits in the lower percentile of tested hardware. With a combo rank of 2,665 out of 2,996, this system is positioned for the very bottom of the performance spectrum, primarily due to the integrated graphics solution. The benchmark results show a configuration that can run the simulation, but only under specific conditions, making it a subject of interest for understanding the absolute minimum hardware requirements for this flight sim.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the primary bottleneck of this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination achieves an average of 56 FPS. Scaling up to 1440p reduces this to 45 FPS, a 19.6% decrease, and at 4K, the average plummets to 33 FPS, a 41% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep scaling curve is a clear indicator that the Intel Arc B390, with its integrated design and shared system memory, is the limiting component. The GPU is unable to keep up with the increasing pixel count, causing a significant performance penalty as resolution rises.

The pattern continues across all settings presets. With Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 43 FPS at 1080p to 35 FPS at 1440p and then to 26 FPS at 4K. High settings show a similar trajectory: 33 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with averages of 31 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The consistent and rapid decline in frame rates as resolution increases across all presets strongly suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated, making the processor’s role secondary in these scenarios. The data indicates that this system is not suited for high-resolution flight simulation.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 56 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F performance competitive with other CPUs?

A: Yes, the CPU's average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. It is nearly identical in performance to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, with a delta of 0.1% and 0.2% respectively, and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H by 0.5%.

Q: What are the lowest and highest frame rates recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 35 FPS, with a minimum recorded of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 56 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields an average of 31 FPS, representing a 44.6% reduction in average frame rate.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, part of the Panther Lake chip. Its role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is pivotal, as it is the sole component responsible for rendering the complex 3D environments. The GPU has a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. These specifications, while present in the data, are not sufficient to prevent the system from ranking in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

The most critical constraint is its memory configuration, which is "System Shared". This means the GPU does not have dedicated VRAM; instead, it relies on the system's main memory. The memory bus width and type are also "System Shared", and the bandwidth is "System Dependent". This architecture is a major disadvantage for a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data. The shared memory interface likely creates a significant bottleneck, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for system memory bandwidth, which is reflected in the low average frame rates observed across all tested resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad is 1482, which places it alongside older, low-end discrete graphics cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GT 710. The data shows that this GPU is not designed for demanding gaming workloads. In this configuration, it cannot maintain a fluid frame rate in Microsoft Flight Simulator, even at lower resolutions and settings. The system's overall rank of 2,665 out of 2,996 combos in this game is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the system's performance across different resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results. With Low settings, it averages 56 FPS. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 and a maximum of 50. The High preset averages 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the system can approach playability, but only at the cost of visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance degradation is clear. Low settings produce an average of 45 FPS, but this is a significant drop from the 1080p result. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. High settings average 26 FPS, and Ultra settings average 25 FPS. None of these results provide a consistently smooth experience, indicating that 1440p is too demanding for this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The Low preset averages 33 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. Both the High and Ultra presets average just 19 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K resolution is not a viable option for this combination. The frame rates are consistently low, reinforcing that the Intel Arc B390's integrated architecture is overburdened by the pixel count, and the system is firmly in the field of low-resolution, low-detail gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B390 in Microsoft Flight Simulator is ranked 2,665 out of 2,996 tested combinations. This places the system in the bottom 11% of all tested hardware configurations for this specific game. This low ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance, as the CPU is a relatively strong component. The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279 and sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, demonstrating that the processor is not the primary cause of the system's poor game performance.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low rank underscores the GPU's limiting role. The Intel Arc B390, with an average benchmark score of 1482, falls into the 9th percentile of all GPUs, making it one of the weakest graphics solutions in the database. The combination of a high-performing CPU and a very low-performing GPU results in a heavily imbalanced system for gaming. The data shows that the i5-14400F is capable of feeding frames much faster than the Arc B390 can render them, but the GPU's limitations cap the overall performance, dragging the entire system to the bottom of the rankings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data suggests that the only viable way to play Microsoft Flight Simulator with this hardware is to prioritize frame rate over visual quality. The best average frame rate of 56 FPS is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that comes close to providing a smooth, playable experience. Any increase in settings at this resolution results in a significant drop in frame rate, with the Medium preset at 43 FPS being the next best option.

For users who wish to attempt higher resolutions, the data shows that 1440p is marginal at best. The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 45 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the minimum frame rate is not recorded, and the average is still 19.6% lower than the 1080p Low result. Playing at 4K is not recommended, as even the Low preset only averages 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth simulation experience. The analysis of the measured rows indicates that the optimal experience is 1080p with Low settings, as it provides the highest average frame rate and the least risk of stuttering. The High and Ultra presets should be avoided entirely, as they result in average frame rates below 34 FPS at all resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. In this system, the CPU’s role is to handle the simulation’s complex physics, AI, and game logic, which it does effectively. Its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, indicate a robust processor capable of handling the demanding computational tasks of a flight simulator.

The CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor in this configuration. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, have nearly identical average scores, showing that the i5-14400F is a competitive mid-range processor. With 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory, the CPU has the resources to feed data to the GPU. However, the benchmark results show that the system's overall performance is bottlenecked by the Intel Arc B390's inability to process the graphical workload at a sufficient pace. The CPU is ready to deliver more frames, but the GPU’s integrated nature and shared memory configuration prevent it from doing so, making the processor a secondary factor in the system's low frame rates.