Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS curve for Microsoft Flight Simulator reveals a pronounced sensitivity to resolution, but the shape of that curve tells a nuanced story about where the bottleneck sits. At 1080p Low, the combo of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces 194.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 184.4 FPS — a modest reduction of roughly 5%. Pushing further to 4K Low yields 132.5 FPS, which is a 32% drop from the 1080p figure. That scaling pattern is typical of a system that remains partially CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU only becoming the clear limiter as pixel count climbs.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 131.3 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it falls to 105.8 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it reaches 73.9 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K Ultra is about 44%, which is substantial but still not the steep cliff seen in fully GPU-bound scenarios. This suggests that even at maximum settings, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are contributing meaningfully to frame generation, particularly in a simulation title where world physics, AI traffic, and weather systems demand constant CPU attention.

What is most telling is the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (194.5 FPS) and Ultra (131.3 FPS) is 63.2 FPS — a 32% reduction. At 4K, that same Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 58.6 FPS (132.5 down to 73.9), which is a 44% reduction. The widening percentage gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is taking on increasing responsibility for the frame rate, yet the absolute FPS loss remains similar, implying that the CPU is still keeping pace even under heavy simulation load. This is a balanced pairing for this title, though the data hints that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 4090's immense 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being partially held back by the processor's single-thread performance, which sits at 3,093 in Cinebench R23 single-core.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 42nd out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.3% of all recorded configurations for this game.

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate play?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 194.5 FPS, and at 1440p Low it still hits 184.4 FPS. For those prioritizing frame rate, 1440p Low offers a strong balance, as it retains nearly 95% of the 1080p Low performance while delivering sharper imagery.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The 73.9 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests the RTX 4090 is the primary constraint, but the CPU's single-core score of 3,093 (Cinebench R23) indicates it is not fully out of the picture. The 44% drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is less severe than a pure GPU-bound scenario would show.

Q: How does the i5-14400F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32,508, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32,446, 0.2% delta). It sits just 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32,584) and Intel Core i7-13705H (32,586).

Q: What kind of VRAM headroom does the RTX 4090 offer for this simulation?

A: With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, the RTX 4090 provides ample memory capacity. Microsoft Flight Simulator's expansive scenery streaming at 4K Ultra is unlikely to approach this limit, leaving significant headroom for add-ons or future content.

Q: Is there a meaningful difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, but it is not dramatic. Medium delivers 144.2 FPS while High produces 109.2 FPS at 1440p — a 35 FPS gap that favors Medium for smoother motion, though High still exceeds 100 FPS comfortably. At 4K, the difference narrows to 29.4 FPS (108.2 vs 78.8).

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1,795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this pairing of a Core i5-14400F and RTX 4090 secures the 42nd position. That top-2.3% placement is notable given the CPU's mid-range positioning — the processor's 88th percentile ranking against all CPUs suggests it outperforms most desktop chips, but the RTX 4090's 91st percentile GPU ranking is even higher. The combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, yet the 42nd rank implies there are 41 configurations with better in-game results, likely built around higher-end CPUs like the Core i7-13705H or Ryzen 7 250, which edge out the i5-14400F by 0.2% in synthetic averages.

The rank is particularly impressive because Microsoft Flight Simulator is known to be demanding on both CPU and GPU. The data shows this combo achieves 73.9 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is well above playable thresholds for a flight sim where smooth panning is critical. The rank of 42 also indicates that the i5-14400F does not hold back the RTX 4090 as much as one might expect from a 10-core, 16-thread processor. The synthetic benchmark delta between the i5-14400F and its nearest rival, the Core i7-12800H, is exactly 0%, suggesting that in CPU-bound sections of the game, this combo performs on par with laptops using that higher-tier mobile chip.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest raw throughput. Low settings produce 194.5 FPS, Medium yields 177 FPS, High drops to 135.4 FPS, and Ultra settles at 131.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 17.5 FPS reduction, while Medium to High is a steeper 41.6 FPS loss, indicating that High introduces significantly more GPU work than Medium. The High-to-Ultra gap is a modest 4.1 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns beyond High at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low achieves 184.4 FPS, which is only 10.1 FPS below the 1080p Low figure. Medium hits 144.2 FPS, a 32.8 FPS drop from 1080p Medium. High produces 109.2 FPS, and Ultra reaches 105.8 FPS. The Medium-to-High gap at 1440p is 35 FPS, similar in absolute terms to the 1080p gap, but the percentage loss grows from 23.5% to 24.3%. This suggests the GPU is becoming more of a factor, yet the CPU still holds its ground.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates demonstrate the heavier pixel load. Low yields 132.5 FPS, Medium 108.2 FPS, High 78.8 FPS, and Ultra 73.9 FPS. Notably, the gap between Medium and High at 4K is 29.4 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 4.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure of 73.9 FPS is 44% lower than the 1080p Ultra figure of 131.3 FPS, confirming that resolution scaling exacts a heavy toll at the top end. Across all resolutions, Low settings consistently deliver over 130 FPS, even at 4K, highlighting the RTX 4090's raw strength.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts to 4.70 GHz, and it carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 1.25 MB of L2 per core. The 65 W TDP is modest for a desktop chip, but benchmark results show the architecture punches above its thermal class: Cinebench R23 multicore hits 21,914, while single-core reaches 3,093. That single-core figure is critical for flight simulation, which often runs a primary simulation thread that cannot be fully parallelized.

The synthetic data positions the i5-14400F at the 88th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32,508. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores 32,513 — a 0% delta that places them on equal footing. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 is 0.2% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H are 0.2% ahead. These razor-thin margins suggest that the i5-14400F's 10 cores are sufficient for this game's multithreaded workloads, which include physics, AI, and scenery loading.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where 194.5 FPS is achieved. This high frame rate indicates that the processor can feed the RTX 4090 enough data to prevent a severe bottleneck, even at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter. The 16 threads handle the game's background tasks while the 4.70 GHz boost clock addresses single-thread demands. The lack of a 0.2% delta against the i7-13705H in synthetic tests implies that in-game performance differences would be minimal, though the combo's 42nd rank shows there is still headroom for improvement with a stronger CPU.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting the highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 194.5 FPS, which is ideal for competitive or very fast-paced flying. However, flight simulation benefits from visual fidelity to read terrain and instruments, so the Medium preset at 1440p offers a compelling middle ground at 144.2 FPS — this is 74% higher than High at the same resolution, making it the best balance of smoothness and detail for most players.

At 4K, the data suggests that Medium (108.2 FPS) is the sweet spot, as it provides a 37% improvement over High (78.8 FPS) while still maintaining a high level of visual quality. The Ultra preset at 4K yields 73.9 FPS, which is playable but approaches the threshold where panning over dense scenery might feel less fluid. For users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, sticking to Medium is advisable, as the step to High costs 29.4 FPS (27%) for what is likely a marginal visual gain in a simulation where the camera often moves slowly.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset (131.3 FPS) is surprisingly close to High (135.4 FPS), differing by only 4.1 FPS. This makes Ultra a viable choice for 1080p users who want maximum fidelity without sacrificing much speed. The data across all resolutions shows that the Medium preset consistently offers the best FPS-per-visual-quality ratio, with High and Ultra providing diminishing returns that are more pronounced at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 76,300 million transistors into a 609 mm² die. Its 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver a theoretical FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS. The memory subsystem is equally formidable: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, with memory clocks running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The base clock of 2235 MHz boosts to 2520 MHz, and the card's 450 W TDP reflects its high-performance positioning.

In this game, the GPU's role is evident in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 194.5 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for frame generation. But at 4K Ultra, the GPU's workload increases dramatically, and the frame rate drops to 73.9 FPS — a figure that still exceeds what most GPUs could manage in this title. The RTX 4090's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473, places it just 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733) and 0.5% behind the Tesla P40 (66,127), though these are compute-oriented cards rather than gaming counterparts.

The 24 GB VRAM capacity is noteworthy for a flight sim that streams extensive scenery and weather data. At 4K Ultra, the memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s ensures that texture streaming does not become a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to maintain 73.9 FPS without stutter from asset loading. The RTX 4090's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility align well with the game's modern rendering requirements, and its pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s provides ample fill rate for high-resolution rendering. The GPU's strength is such that at 1080p Low, the frame rate is more likely constrained by the CPU's 4.70 GHz boost clock than by the graphics card's capabilities.