Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, a combination that produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and preset. The data shows a system that is heavily influenced by both CPU and GPU limits, with the older six-core processor often capping performance at lower resolutions while the modern Blackwell GPU takes over at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 104 FPS. This is nearly identical to the 105 FPS recorded at 1080p High, suggesting a bottleneck that prevents the RTX 5080 from fully scaling with higher presets at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5080 compared to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 56083 places it marginally ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 55698 with a deltaPct of 0.7%. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, which scores 57367 and shows a deltaPct of -2.2%.

Q: Does the CPU hold back performance in this game?

A: Yes, particularly at 1080p. While the GPU ranks in the 87th percentile among all GPUs, the CPU only ranks in the 47th percentile. The frame rate difference between 1080p Low (128 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (104 FPS) is only 24 FPS, indicating a CPU limit at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset provides a solid balance with an average of 109 FPS and recorded minimum/maximum values of 92 and 125 FPS. High and Ultra presets are close behind at 98 and 96 FPS respectively, but Medium offers the highest average at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance gap between 1080p and 4K on the High preset?

A: The frame rate drops from 105 FPS at 1080p to 98 FPS at 1440p, and further to 76 FPS at 4K. The 4K result represents a 27.6% decrease compared to the 1080p result, showing that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this specific CPU and GPU combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: It ranks 763rd out of 3714 combos tested for this game, placing it in the top 21% of all pairings. This rank reflects the imbalance between the high-end GPU and the mid-range CPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is substantial for a flight simulator that loads large terrain and texture data. The core clock runs at a base of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2617 MHz, supported by 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs.

In synthetic tests, the RTX 5080 scores 8637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and achieves a Passmark G3D score of 36565, with an overall average benchmark score of 56083. This places it in the 87th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, outperforms it by 2.2%, while the AMD Radeon 8060S and AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB trail by 0.6% and 0.7% respectively.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the 4K results. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate scales from 72 FPS on Ultra to 108 FPS on Low, a range of 36 FPS. This wide spread indicates that the GPU is actively engaged and not starved for data. However, the differences between presets at 4K are not linear; the jump from Low to Medium costs 10 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs only 4 FPS. This suggests that the GPU handles the additional visual complexity of the High preset more efficiently than the transition from Low to Medium.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior. On the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 128 at 1920x1080 to 119 at 2560x1440, and then to 108 at 3840x2160. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 20 FPS, or 15.6%, which is relatively modest. This indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is still a significant limiter, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential even at 4K.

The High preset shows a more pronounced scaling effect. Starting at 105 FPS for 1080p, it falls to 98 FPS at 1440p and then to 76 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 29 FPS or 27.6%. This larger percentage drop demonstrates that as visual fidelity increases, the GPU begins to take over as the primary constraint. The Ultra preset follows a similar pattern, with 104 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K.

The Medium preset, which is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, shows a stable scaling pattern. At 1440p, the average is 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 125. At 1080p, the average rises to 117 FPS with a minimum of 99 and maximum of 134. The 4K Medium result averages 98 FPS, which is higher than the 4K High result of 76 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset allows the GPU to maintain better frame pacing without the overhead of High settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are tightly clustered. Low settings produce the highest average at 128 FPS, followed by Medium at 117 FPS. High and Ultra are nearly identical, with averages of 105 and 104 FPS respectively. The gap between Low and Ultra is only 24 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is the limiting factor. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 134 FPS, indicating a 35 FPS variance that is typical for a simulation with complex scenery loads.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages compress further. Low leads with 119 FPS, Medium follows at 109 FPS, and High and Ultra are close at 98 and 96 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 23 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p spread. The Medium preset at 1440p records a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 125 FPS, showing that the frame time variance remains consistent even as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low settings average 108 FPS, Medium averages 98 FPS, High averages 76 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra widens to 36 FPS, confirming that the RTX 5080 is now the primary bottleneck. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS, which is a 30 FPS variance, slightly narrower than at lower resolutions.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers the most balanced experience, with the only complete set of minimum and maximum data points. The data shows that Low settings do not provide a proportional performance increase over Medium, while Ultra settings offer diminishing returns over High.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The processor has no hyper-threading, which limits its ability to handle highly parallel workloads.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 2254. This places it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, which is a mid-range position. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 with a deltaPct of -0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 is essentially tied with it. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 with a deltaPct of -0.4%, again showing negligible difference.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p. The fact that Ultra settings (104 FPS) do not significantly outperform High (105 FPS) suggests that the CPU is saturating its threads on game logic and draw calls, leaving the GPU underutilized. The 128 FPS result at Low settings is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output for this game, as the GPU could theoretically push much higher at these settings given its 87th percentile ranking.

The CPU's lack of hyper-threading is a notable weakness for a simulation game that often uses multiple threads for AI, weather, and physics. The six physical cores are sufficient for basic operation, but the data suggests that frame rates at 1080p are capped by the CPU's single-thread performance and limited thread count. At 4K, however, the CPU's role diminishes, and the GPU's raw throughput becomes the deciding factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best overall experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides 117 FPS average with a minimum of 99 FPS, which is a high and stable frame rate for a flight simulator. The gap to Low (128 FPS) is only 11 FPS, but Medium delivers significantly better visual quality without a proportional performance cost.

At 1440p, Medium again leads with 109 FPS average and a 92 FPS minimum. This is the only preset at 1440p with complete frame data, and the 92 FPS minimum is above the 90 FPS threshold that many users consider smooth. High and Ultra are close at 98 and 96 FPS, but they lack the frame time data to confirm stability. The Medium preset's 33 FPS variance (92 to 125) is acceptable for a simulation where frame drops can occur during complex scenery loads.

At 4K, Medium outperforms High by 22 FPS (98 vs 76) and trails Low by only 10 FPS (98 vs 108). This makes Medium the clear choice for 4K gaming, as it provides a 98 FPS average with an 83 FPS minimum, which is well within playable range. Ultra at 72 FPS is the lowest average recorded, and the 26 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra is not worth the visual gain for most users.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings at 1080p (128 FPS) is the only option that exceeds 120 FPS. However, the visual compromise is significant for a game that relies on detailed terrain and cockpit displays. The Medium preset is the recommended starting point, with adjustments to specific settings like terrain detail and cloud density if higher frame rates are desired.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 763rd out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 21% of all pairings. This rank reflects a system that is capable of high frame rates at 4K but is held back by the CPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU and GPU are mismatched in terms of their percentile rankings. The GPU sits in the 87th percentile, while the CPU sits in the 47th percentile. This 40-point gap explains why the combo does not rank higher; a more balanced pairing with a higher-end CPU would likely achieve a better rank by removing the 1080p bottleneck.

The data shows that the combo's strength lies in 4K performance, where the GPU's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are fully utilized. At 4K Medium, the combo delivers 98 FPS, which is competitive with many higher-ranked systems. However, at 1080p, the combo's rank is likely dragged down by the CPU's inability to drive the GPU beyond 128 FPS on Low settings.

In terms of rival components, the CPU is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and Intel Core i3-10305, with deltaPct values under 1%. The GPU is similarly close to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, with a 0.7% deltaPct. This means the combo's rank is not due to any single component being particularly weak, but rather the interaction between a mid-range CPU and a high-end GPU.

The 763rd rank out of 3714 combos suggests that users with this pairing should focus on higher resolutions and Medium settings to maximize the system's potential. At 4K, the combo performs admirably, but at 1080p, the CPU becomes a limiting factor that prevents the RTX 5080 from showcasing its full capabilities.