Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding flight sim that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT produces a distinctive performance profile. This combination ranks at 1258 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested for this title. The data indicates a system capable of smooth gameplay at high resolutions, though the CPU becomes a notable constraint at lower settings where the GPU is not fully utilized.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1258 out of 3714 tested combinations places it in the 66th percentile of all tested systems for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a strong showing, indicating that the hardware pairing is well-suited for this specific workload. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s position in its own market and the GPU’s formidable compute capabilities. The Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, while the Radeon RX 6800 XT is at the 85th percentile among all GPUs, suggesting that the graphics card is carrying more of the performance weight in this pairing.

When examining the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, deltaPct -0.2) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, deltaPct 0.3). It also trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, deltaPct 0.4) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, deltaPct -0.4). This indicates that the processor is performing exactly as expected for its class, providing a solid foundation without being a standout performer. The GPU, however, is a different story; its average benchmark score of 48477 puts it just ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (47743, deltaPct 1.5) and slightly behind the Intel Arc A550M (49737, deltaPct -2.5) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49957, deltaPct -3). This high GPU standing is what propels the combo to its respectable overall rank.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why it performs so well in Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, featuring 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The GPU has 72 ray accelerators, which can assist with the game's lighting and shadow effects. Its processing power is rated at 20.74 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, a figure that directly contributes to the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions.

Memory is a key strength for this card, especially for a flight simulator that loads vast landscapes and detailed aircraft models. The RX 6800 XT comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This large memory pool ensures that texture streaming and geometry data do not become bottlenecks, even at 4K resolution. The card's clock speeds are also substantial, with a base clock of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. These clocks allow the GPU to maintain high utilization rates, which is evident in the scaling of frame rates from 1080p to 4K. The GPU also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for modern game features.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of how the system scales across resolutions. At 1080p, the system delivers high average frame rates, but the scaling to 1440p and 4K shows a predictable decline that is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The data shows that the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

For example, at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 90 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p, a 20% decrease. Moving to 4K, the average falls further to 53 FPS, which is a 26% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern suggests that while the GPU is powerful, the demands of 4K resolution in Microsoft Flight Simulator are significant enough to halve the performance compared to 1080p. At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic, with the average frame rate falling from 128 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 4K. This larger percentage drop at lower settings indicates that the CPU is becoming a bottleneck at 1080p, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the system's performance across all three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of very high frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 128, which is the highest figure recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 117 FPS, with a minimum of 99 and a maximum of 134, showing good consistency. High settings yield an average of 90 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 85 FPS. This shows that even at the highest quality preset, the system maintains playable frame rates at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 119 FPS, which is only a slight drop from the 1080p figure. Medium settings average 96 FPS, with a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 110. High settings drop to an average of 72 FPS, while Ultra settings average 69 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra at 1440p is small, suggesting that the game is becoming more reliant on the CPU at these settings. At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 91 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings average 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81, which is a playable range. High settings drop to a 53 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce a 51 FPS average. The data shows that for a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, users would need to stick to Low or Medium settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The CPU has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. These specifications position it as a capable mid-range processor, but its performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator is clearly secondary to the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a modest performer. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 6629, and its single-core score is 935. In Geekbench, it scores 5141 multicore and 1389 single-core. These numbers place it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which means it is an average processor. The data suggests that in this game, the CPU is sufficient to feed the GPU at higher resolutions, but it can become a limiting factor at 1080p with lower graphics settings. This is evident in the frame rate scaling: at 1080p Low, the system hits 128 FPS, but the GPU is capable of much more, as evidenced by the 1440p Low score of 119 FPS. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings indicates that the CPU is holding the system back at the lower resolution.

The CPU's 6 threads without hyper-threading can struggle with the complex simulation calculations that Microsoft Flight Simulator performs, particularly when rendering detailed scenery or flying over dense urban areas. The data indicates that while the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck at 4K, it does prevent the system from achieving its maximum potential at lower resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 1258 out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its closest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. It is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, deltaPct -0.2) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, deltaPct 0.3). It also trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, deltaPct 0.4) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, deltaPct -0.4).

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth 60+ FPS experience?

A: According to the data, 1440p Low settings produce an average of 119 FPS, and 4K Low settings produce an average of 91 FPS. For a 60+ FPS experience, 4K Medium settings also work, with an average of 71 FPS and a minimum of 60 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or the GPU act as a bigger bottleneck for this system in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution, as frame rates drop significantly from 1440p. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU becomes a limiting factor, as the frame rate of 128 FPS does not scale proportionally to the GPU's capabilities.

Q: How much VRAM does the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT have, and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s.

Q: What are the boost clock speeds for the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has a boost clock of 2250 MHz.