Microsoft Flight Simulator

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 lands at rank 1461 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places this configuration in the lower-middle tier of the database, meaning it trails a significant portion of the field but is far from the bottom. The ranking reflects a pairing where the CPU is clearly the stronger component: the i7-12700K sits in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, while the RTX 2060 manages only the 58th percentile against all GPUs. This asymmetry is the defining characteristic of the combo — the processor has ample headroom, but the graphics card caps what the system can deliver in a visually demanding title like this one.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals reinforces its standing. The i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35684 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802 — a delta of just -0.3%. The Intel Core i7-13700T trails by 0.6%, and the Intel Core i7-13800H is 0.8% behind. Only the Intel Core i5-14500HX edges ahead, by 0.7%. These are all sub-1% differences, so the processor is effectively trading blows with a cluster of modern mid-range and upper-mid-range parts. In practical terms, the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system for Flight Simulator.

The GPU's rival comparison tells a different story. The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 16074 puts it within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 both score 16351, putting them 1.7% ahead. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.8% behind. These are professional and mobile parts, but the margins are small enough that the RTX 2060 is clearly in a performance tier where it cannot push high frame rates in a simulation as demanding as this one. The combo rank of 1461 out of 1795 — roughly the 81st percentile from the bottom — reflects a system that will need settings adjustments to remain playable at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It carries 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. These specs are modest by modern standards, and the 6 GB frame buffer is a particular concern for Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz. With 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, the card is capable of 80.64 GPixel/s pixel fill rate and 201.6 GTexel/s texture rate. Floating-point performance is 6.451 TFLOPS in FP32, with FP16 reaching 12.90 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The card also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, though Flight Simulator's use of ray tracing is limited and not a primary factor in these measured results.

The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 53.7 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 29.7 FPS. The CPU's strong single-thread performance — a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043 and a passmark_single_thread score of 4013 — suggests it can feed the GPU adequately, but the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle as resolution increases. The GPU's percentile ranking of 58 against all GPUs places it just above the median, which aligns with the measured frame rates: playable at lower settings, but not a high-refresh or high-fidelity solution.

FAQ

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35684 is within 0.8% of all four nearest rivals. It is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T, 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-14500HX, and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13800H.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average is 90.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 29.7 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 58th percentile. The frame rate drops from 90.3 FPS at 1080p Low to 29.7 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 16074 is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, 1.7% behind both the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700, and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500.

Q: What settings are needed for a smooth experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield 59.3 FPS, while High produces 45.5 FPS. Low settings reach 71.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42.6 FPS. Medium is the practical ceiling for a 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the CPU's memory support affect performance here?

A: The i7-12700K supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The benchmark scores — such as 29241 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 13892 in Geekbench multicore — indicate strong throughput, but the measured FPS in this game is constrained by the GPU, not memory bandwidth.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 51.3 FPS on High, 71.9 FPS on Medium, 90.3 FPS on Low, and 53.7 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is a 18.4 FPS drop, while the gap from Medium to High is 20.6 FPS. Interestingly, High and Ultra are nearly identical in performance — only 2.4 FPS separates them — suggesting the Ultra preset adds visual features that cost little extra on the GPU at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down predictably. High produces 45.5 FPS, Medium 59.3 FPS, Low 71.4 FPS, and Ultra 42.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 28.8 FPS, a 40.3% reduction. At this resolution, High and Ultra remain close, with a gap of just 2.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle visibly. High averages 30.4 FPS, Medium 43.9 FPS, Low 53 FPS, and Ultra 29.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable, and even High sits at the edge of acceptable smoothness. The 6 GB VRAM is likely a factor here, as the higher resolution demands more texture storage and bandwidth than the 336.0 GB/s can comfortably provide.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Low settings always deliver a playable experience, Medium is viable up to 1440p, and High/Ultra are only reasonable at 1080p. The RTX 2060's 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus are the ceiling for this game's high-fidelity modes.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU's limitations clearly. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 90.3 at 1080p to 71.4 at 1440p and 53 at 4K. That is a 41.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the drop is from 71.9 to 59.3 to 43.9 — a 38.9% reduction. High settings fall from 51.3 to 45.5 to 30.4, a 40.7% reduction. Ultra settings go from 53.7 to 42.6 to 29.7, a 44.7% reduction.

The pattern is consistent: each step up in resolution costs roughly 20-25% of the previous frame rate, with 4K exacting the heaviest toll. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 2060's pixel fill rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s are overwhelmed by the sheer pixel count and texture loads.

The fact that the i7-12700K ranks in the 89th percentile while the GPU sits in the 58th percentile explains why resolution scaling is so steep. The CPU can handle the simulation's physics and AI calculations at any resolution, but the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus cannot keep pace. At 1080p, the combo achieves playable frame rates across all settings, but by 4K, even Low settings (53 FPS) are barely above the 30 FPS threshold, and Ultra (29.7 FPS) dips below it.

The data suggests that for this pairing, 1440p Medium is the sweet spot — it delivers 59.3 FPS, close to the 60 FPS target, while retaining enough visual fidelity to be enjoyable. Pushing to 4K requires dropping to Low settings, which negates the benefit of the higher resolution. The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU, and the measured FPS scaling confirms that the Intel Core i7-12700K has ample headroom to drive a more powerful graphics card in this title.