Microsoft Flight Simulator

The data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 shows a configuration that scales predictably with resolution, but the relationship between settings and frame rate is not always linear. This pairing places the system in the 576th position out of 1795 tested combinations, indicating a solidly mid-to-upper-tier performer for this specific flight simulator. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal distinct bottlenecks depending on whether the workload is more dependent on the GPU or the CPU, with the RTX 4070 clearly dominating the graphical load while the i5-9400 manages the simulation’s heavy single-threaded tasks.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, but the pattern varies by settings preset, providing insight into which component limits performance at each step. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 128.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 95.0 FPS at 3840x2160, a decrease of 33.9 FPS (26.3%). This relatively modest drop suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at lower resolutions, as the RTX 4070 has ample headroom to render frames quickly, leaving the i5-9400’s six threads to handle the simulation logic. Moving to 1440p, the same preset yields 119.0 FPS, which is only 9.9 FPS lower than 1080p, reinforcing that the GPU is not yet saturated.

At the High preset, the scaling becomes steeper. The average FPS goes from 94.5 at 1080p to 79.5 at 1440p (a 15.0 FPS drop), then to 54.1 at 4K (a further 25.4 FPS drop). This indicates that as graphical complexity increases, the RTX 4070 begins to take on more of the workload, but the CPU still exerts influence at 1080p where the frame rate is only 0.9 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s 93.6 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most consistent scaling: 93.6 FPS at 1080p, 75.8 FPS at 1440p, and 51.3 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 17.8 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 24.5 FPS, suggesting the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 115.9 FPS at 1080p, 100.5 FPS at 1440p, and 73.1 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15.4 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 27.4 FPS. This pattern, where the 1080p-to-1440p drop is smaller than the 1440p-to-4K drop, points to the RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient for 1440p but stressed at 4K. The data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is only 35.3 FPS (128.9 vs 93.6), which is smaller than the 73.1 FPS gap at 4K between Low and Ultra (95.0 vs 51.3). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s rendering capabilities, particularly its 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are the limiting factor, while at 1080p, the CPU’s 4.10 GHz boost clock becomes more relevant.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest average frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset hitting 128.9 FPS and the Ultra preset at 93.6 FPS. While 2560x1440 is playable, with the High preset at 79.5 FPS, the 4K resolution drops to 54.1 FPS on High, indicating that 1080p is the most comfortable for consistent performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, which places it 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008). It is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371). This shows the 4070 is competitive with these cards, though not a clear leader.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Yes, the data suggests this occurs at 1080p with lower settings. For example, the Low preset at 1080p yields 128.9 FPS, which is only 9.9 FPS higher than at 1440p (119.0 FPS). This small difference indicates the i5-9400’s six cores and six threads limit the FPS, as the GPU could likely render more frames if not constrained by the CPU’s 2.90 GHz base clock.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95.0 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 51.3 FPS. This 43.7 FPS difference highlights the significant impact of graphical settings on the RTX 4070, which has to handle more complex shading and effects at Ultra.

Q: How does the i5-9400’s single-core performance affect the game?

A: The i5-9400 scores 1125 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is low compared to its multicore score of 7969. Since Microsoft Flight Simulator relies heavily on single-threaded performance for simulation logic, this score suggests the CPU may limit frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, such as at 1080p with low graphical loads.

Q: Is the RTX 4070’s memory configuration sufficient for 4K?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 51.3, which is playable but not high. This indicates the memory bandwidth is adequate, but the GPU’s 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs may be the limiting factors at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this configuration, responsible for the majority of the graphical rendering in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, running at 1313 MHz with a 21 Gbps effective rate, provides a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth that is essential for loading high-resolution textures, especially at 4K. The GPU’s 5888 shading units and 184 tensor cores handle the complex shader workloads, while its 46 RT cores assist with any ray-traced effects, though the game’s primary load is on the traditional rasterization pipeline.

The benchmark data shows the GPU’s performance is strong but not exceptional compared to its peers. With an average benchmark score of 37283, the RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms most but faces stiff competition from the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which is 0.6% faster. The GPU’s 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance is a key metric, as it directly correlates with the frame rates seen in the measured data. For instance, at 4K High, the average FPS is 54.1, which is just above the 51.3 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s becomes a bottleneck when settings are maximized.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 1920 MHz and a boost of 2475 MHz, are moderate for the 40-series, but they allow for consistent performance without thermal throttling given the 200 W TDP. The measured FPS at 1440p Ultra (75.8 FPS) versus 4K Ultra (51.3 FPS) shows a 32.4% reduction, which aligns with the increased pixel count (from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels) that the GPU must fill. This suggests that while the RTX 4070 is capable of 1440p gaming, 4K requires dropping to Medium settings (73.1 FPS) to maintain a smooth experience. The GPU’s 16-pin power connector and suggested 550 W PSU indicate it is a power-hungry component, but the data shows it delivers consistent frame rates across all measured settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this configuration depend on the target resolution and frame rate. For 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best balance, with an average of 94.5 FPS, which is only 0.9 FPS lower than Ultra (93.6 FPS) but provides a significant visual improvement over Medium (115.9 FPS). The Low preset at 1080p yields 128.9 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. Given that the game is a flight simulator where scenery detail matters, the High preset is the recommended choice for 1080p, as it provides near-Ultra visuals with a 0.9% FPS gain.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, averaging 100.5 FPS, which is 21.0 FPS higher than High (79.5 FPS) and 24.7 FPS higher than Ultra (75.8 FPS). The visual difference between Medium and High is noticeable in aircraft cockpit details and ground textures, but the frame rate boost makes Medium the safer choice for consistent gameplay. The High preset at 1440p (79.5 FPS) is still playable, but it may dip during complex scenes with heavy cloud coverage. The Low preset at 1440p (119.0 FPS) is unnecessary for most users, as the CPU’s limitation becomes apparent at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only one that provides a high frame rate, averaging 95.0 FPS. The Medium preset (73.1 FPS) is acceptable for most players, while the High preset (54.1 FPS) and Ultra preset (51.3 FPS) are borderline, with potential stutters during dense urban flyovers. The data suggests that 4K users should prioritize the Medium preset, as it offers a 19.4 FPS improvement over High (73.1 vs 54.1) with only a modest reduction in visual quality. The Ultra preset at 4K (51.3 FPS) is not recommended, as the 2.8 FPS gain over High (54.1) is negligible and the performance is too close to the 50 FPS threshold for comfort.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset leads with 128.9 FPS, followed by Medium at 115.9 FPS, High at 94.5 FPS, and Ultra at 93.6 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is minimal (0.9 FPS), while the gap between Medium and High is 21.4 FPS, indicating that the High preset requires significantly more GPU resources without a proportional FPS gain.

At 2560x1440, the order remains the same, but the differences shrink. The Low preset averages 119.0 FPS, which is only 9.9 FPS lower than 1080p. The Medium preset drops to 100.5 FPS, a 15.4 FPS decrease from 1080p. The High preset falls to 79.5 FPS, a 15.0 FPS decrease, and the Ultra preset drops to 75.8 FPS, a 17.8 FPS decrease. This shows that the RTX 4070 handles the 1440p resolution well, with the CPU’s impact becoming less pronounced as the GPU takes on more work.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 95.0 FPS, which is 24.0 FPS lower than 1440p. The Medium preset falls to 73.1 FPS, a 27.4 FPS drop. The High preset drops to 54.1 FPS, a 25.4 FPS decrease, and the Ultra preset reaches 51.3 FPS, a 24.5 FPS decrease. The consistency of these drops (24-27 FPS) suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate are the primary constraints at 4K, rather than the CPU. The overall trend shows that the configuration is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring lower settings to achieve playable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 plays a critical role in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for its heavy reliance on CPU performance for simulation calculations. The CPU has six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 7969, while its single-core score is 1125, highlighting a significant imbalance. The single-core score is particularly important because the game’s main thread handles much of the flight model and weather simulation, making it the primary bottleneck in CPU-bound scenarios.

The benchmark data shows that the i5-9400 sits at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, 0.2% faster), while the Intel Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% slower (2295). The Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% faster (2319). These tight margins indicate that the i5-9400 is a mid-range processor, and its performance in this game reflects that.

The CPU’s impact on FPS is most evident at 1080p with lower settings. For example, at 1080p Low, the FPS is 128.9, but at 1440p Low, it is 119.0, a drop of only 9.9 FPS. This small difference suggests the CPU is limiting the frame rate at 1080p, as the GPU could likely render more frames if the CPU could keep up with the simulation updates. Similarly, at 1080p Medium (115.9 FPS) and 1080p High (94.5 FPS), the differences are more pronounced, indicating that the GPU takes over as the setting increases. The CPU’s 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for the game, but its lack of hyper-threading (6 threads) means it struggles with tasks that require more concurrent threads. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU’s rendering capabilities dominate, but it does cap performance at lower resolutions, preventing the RTX 4070 from reaching its full potential.