Microsoft Flight Simulator

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 lands at rank 957 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places this configuration in the top 26% of all tested pairings, a respectable position for a system built around a six-core CPU from 2018 and a current-generation GPU. The RTX 5070 carries most of the weight here, as its percentile ranking of 82 among all GPUs is far stronger than the i5-9400's 47th percentile among all CPUs. This is a classic lopsided pairing: the GPU is the star, while the CPU is competent but unremarkable by modern standards.

The combo's position in the broader ranking reflects what the measured frames show: this system can run the game smoothly at high settings across all resolutions, but it does not dominate at the top end. With 3714 combos in the database, being inside the top 1000 means this pairing outperforms roughly three-quarters of tested alternatives. For a flight simulator that is notoriously demanding on both processors and graphics cards, that is a solid result, but it also signals that enthusiasts chasing maximum fidelity at 4K Ultra will want more CPU headroom.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why. It carries 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That memory configuration is well-suited to Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast terrain and scenery data continuously. The 12 GB capacity is sufficient for the game's high-resolution textures at 4K, though the measured data shows that Ultra settings at 4K push the system to its limits regardless of VRAM headroom.

Clock speeds are equally important. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2325 MHz and boosts to 2512 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective transfer. These clocks translate into substantial compute throughput: 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 482.3 GTexel/s of texture fill rate, and 201.0 GPixel/s of pixel fill rate. The 6144 shading units and 192 tensor cores provide the raw horsepower the game needs for its complex lighting and shadow calculations. The 48 RT cores are present but less critical here, as Microsoft Flight Simulator does not rely heavily on ray-traced effects.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. It posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077, a Passmark G3D score of 29137, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 178923. These numbers place it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher average score) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher). The RTX 5070 sits just 1.2% above the Radeon Pro 5300 in average benchmark score, indicating that its performance class is well-established.

In practice, the GPU's role is clear from the frame rates. At 1080p Low, it delivers 128 FPS, and at 4K Low it still manages 105 FPS. The RTX 5070 is never the bottleneck at lower settings; the CPU takes over that role as resolution drops.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable pattern: performance declines as resolution increases, but the rate of decline is telling. At Ultra settings, the system delivers 98 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. That is a 20% drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 27% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not perfectly linear, which indicates that the CPU begins to matter more at lower resolutions where the GPU has spare capacity.

At High settings, the pattern is steeper: 103 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. The 4K result at High is notably lower than the 1440p result, showing that the GPU is working harder at 4K and the CPU has less impact. At Medium settings, the system hits 117 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K, with min/max ranges of 99-134 at 1080p, 92-125 at 1440p, and 69-94 at 4K. The Medium 4K result of 81 FPS is actually higher than the High 1440p result of 83 FPS, which seems counterintuitive but reflects how different settings affect CPU and GPU loads differently.

Low settings tell the clearest story about the CPU's role. At Low, the system delivers 128 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 105 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K is only 23 FPS, or 18%. This narrow spread indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads simply cannot push frame rates much beyond 128 FPS, regardless of how much GPU headroom exists. This is typical of flight simulators, which rely heavily on single-threaded performance for flight model calculations and scenery loading.

The data shows that the RTX 5070 has plenty of headroom at 1080p and 1440p, while the CPU holds the system back at those resolutions. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, especially at High and Ultra settings where the 61 FPS and 58 FPS results respectively indicate the GPU is nearing its limit with this CPU.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured results, the best experience depends on your resolution target. At 4K, High settings at 61 FPS is the sweet spot: it maintains a playable frame rate while preserving visual quality. Ultra at 4K drops to 58 FPS, which is a marginal gain in fidelity for a noticeable loss in smoothness. Medium at 4K at 81 FPS is a strong alternative if you prefer higher frame rates over maximum detail, and the min FPS of 69 suggests it remains stable during demanding scenes.

At 1440p, Medium at 109 FPS is the standout choice. It delivers a smooth experience with a min FPS of 92, meaning the frame rate rarely dips below the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors. High at 1440p at 83 FPS is also viable if you prioritize visual fidelity, but Ultra at 79 FPS offers only a small improvement over High while costing 4 FPS. Low at 1440p at 119 FPS is unnecessary unless you are chasing maximum frame rates for competitive play, which is not a typical concern in a flight simulator.

At 1080p, the recommendation is Medium at 117 FPS, with a min FPS of 99 and max of 134. This provides excellent smoothness and a good balance between visuals and performance. High at 103 FPS is acceptable, and Ultra at 98 FPS is playable, but the gains over Medium are modest. Low at 128 FPS is overkill for this genre; the extra frames provide no practical benefit in a simulation where precision and stability matter more than raw speed.

For most users, the data suggests running Medium settings at any resolution. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 81 FPS, which is more than adequate for a flight simulator, and the min FPS of 69 ensures the experience remains fluid even in complex scenery. If you have a 4K display and want the best visuals possible, High at 61 FPS is the ceiling for this pairing.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo good enough for 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At High settings, the system averages 61 FPS at 4K, and at Ultra it averages 58 FPS. These are playable frame rates, though they are not high-refresh territory. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 4K textures, but the CPU limits performance in CPU-bound scenes.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck in this pairing?

A: It depends on the resolution and settings. At 1080p and 1440p, the Intel Core i5-9400 is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the small FPS gap between Low settings at 1080p (128 FPS) and 4K (105 FPS). At 4K with High or Ultra settings, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint, with frame rates dropping to 61 FPS and 58 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377, placing it 0.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro 580, 0.8% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, and 2% above the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. It sits 1.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300. These are all very close scores, indicating the RTX 5070 is competitively positioned.

Q: Does the CPU's six-core, six-thread configuration hold the system back?

A: In this game, yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The i5-9400 has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 6629. The measured data shows that at Low settings, frame rates cap out around 128 FPS at 1080p, suggesting the CPU cannot push beyond that in this title regardless of GPU capability.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience?

A: Medium settings provide the best balance. At 4K, Medium averages 81 FPS with a min of 69 FPS. At 1440p, Medium averages 109 FPS with a min of 92 FPS. At 1080p, Medium averages 117 FPS with a min of 99 FPS. These results are consistently smooth across all resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank overall in the benchmark database?

A: This pairing ranks 957 out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 26% of all tested configurations. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this position, while the CPU's 47th percentile ranking holds the combo back from higher placement.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake generation, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU's benchmark scores are modest: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935, a Geekbench multi-core score of 5141, and a single-core score of 1389. These numbers place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% lower).

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is evident from the measured frame rates at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 128 FPS; at 1440p Low, 119 FPS; and at 4K Low, 105 FPS. The relatively small spread between these resolutions — just 23 FPS from 1080p to 4K — indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor even at 4K when the graphics load is light. The i5-9400's six threads are adequate for the game's threading model, but they do not provide the headroom that a higher-core-count or newer CPU would offer.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node are dated by current standards, and its end-of-life production status reflects its age. It uses PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes, which is sufficient for the RTX 5070's PCIe 5.0 interface, though the older standard may slightly limit data transfer rates in edge cases. The processor's integrated UHD 630 graphics are present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU.

The data shows that the CPU's impact is most pronounced at Medium settings, where the frame rates at 1080p (117 FPS) and 1440p (109 FPS) are much closer than at High settings (103 FPS and 83 FPS). This suggests that Medium settings shift more of the workload onto the GPU, while High and Ultra settings increase CPU overhead from physics and AI calculations. For this pairing, the i5-9400 is a capable but not exceptional partner for the RTX 5070, and its age shows in CPU-bound scenarios. If you are building this combination, expect the CPU to cap your frame rates at roughly 128 FPS in this game, while the GPU delivers excellent visual quality at playable frame rates across all resolutions.