Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator (released 2020-08-17) is measured here with an Intel Core i7-12700K and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER. The dataset is marked as measured, not estimated. This combination ranks 300th out of 1795 recorded combinations. The CPU sits in the 89th CPU percentile, and the GPU sits in the 84th GPU percentile. The measured FPS rows span three resolutions and four presets, from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 60.3. At 1440p Ultra it is 79.5, and at 1080p Ultra it is 101.1.

Q: Which measured row has the highest average FPS?

A: The highest measured average is 184.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next highest rows are 1440p Low at 143.6 FPS and 1080p Medium at 142.9 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 at 35802, the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 35940, the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35468, and the Intel Core i7-13800H at 35416, with deltaPct values of -0.3, -0.7, 0.6, and 0.8 respectively.

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

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA RTX A6000 at 42653, the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE at 42723, the AMD Radeon Pro 580X at 41991, and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 at 41897, with deltaPct values of -0.2, -0.3, 1.4, and 1.6 respectively.

Q: What are the release dates for the game, CPU, and GPU?

A: Microsoft Flight Simulator was released on 2020-08-17, the Intel Core i7-12700K on 2021-11-03, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER on 2024-01-07.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER uses 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz and 21 Gbps effective speed, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER (launch MSRP 599 USD) is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors and a die size of 294 mm². It has 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, 80 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The base clock is 1980 MHz and the boost clock is 2475 MHz. Memory is configured as 12 GB of GDDR6X across a 192-bit bus, running at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective throughput and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

These specifications correspond to measured results in the game. At 3840x2160, the GPU carries the Ultra preset to an average of 60.3 FPS, High to 64.9 FPS, Medium to 82.9 FPS, and Low to 104.3 FPS. The jump from 4K Ultra to 4K Medium is large in the measured rows, while the 4K Ultra average remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 29995, and its GPU compute score is 17108. Its average benchmark score of 42576 places it in the 84th GPU percentile, with nearest rivals as listed in the FAQ.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a consistent frame-rate decline as resolution rises. With the Low preset, the averages are 184.9 FPS at 1080p, 143.6 FPS at 1440p, and 104.3 FPS at 4K. With the Medium preset, the averages are 142.9 FPS at 1080p, 113.1 FPS at 1440p, and 82.9 FPS at 4K. With the High preset, the averages are 104.8 FPS at 1080p, 85.2 FPS at 1440p, and 64.9 FPS at 4K. With the Ultra preset, the averages are 101.1 FPS at 1080p, 79.5 FPS at 1440p, and 60.3 FPS at 4K.

In every preset, the 1440p row is lower than the 1080p row, and the 4K row is lower still. Because the CPU and GPU pairing is the same across these runs, the steady decline at higher resolutions points to the GPU as the component absorbing the added pixel load. The 1080p Low row reaching 184.9 FPS, while the 4K Low row drops to 104.3 FPS, shows that resolution changes alone can reduce the average substantially even when visual settings are left at Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

| Resolution | Settings | avgFps |

|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | High | 64.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 104.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 82.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 60.3 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 85.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 143.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 113.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 79.5 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 104.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 184.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 142.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 101.1 |

The table above contains all measured FPS rows in the dataset. At every resolution, the order from highest average to lowest average is Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is consistent across all three resolutions: 142.9 to 104.8 at 1080p, 113.1 to 85.2 at 1440p, and 82.9 to 64.9 at 4K. High and Ultra are closer to each other at every resolution, with 1080p High at 104.8 and Ultra at 101.1, 1440p High at 85.2 and Ultra at 79.5, and 4K High at 64.9 and Ultra at 60.3.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K (launch MSRP $409) is an Alder Lake-S desktop processor on Intel Socket 1700 with 12 cores and 20 threads. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz and its boost clock is 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel layout and provides PCIe Gen 4 with 20 CPU lanes. The integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 770.

Benchmark results show strong single-thread and multithread performance. The CPU scores 4128 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 29241 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. In 3DMark, it scores 1043 in single-thread and 9979 in max threads. Passmark results include 4013 in single-thread and 34404 in multithread. Its average benchmark score is 35684, placing it in the 89th CPU percentile. Nearest rivals, as described in the FAQ, have average scores from 35416 to 35940 with deltaPct values between -0.7 and 0.8.

For this game, the CPU's single-thread strength aligns with the high frame rates seen at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is relatively low. The measured 1080p Low average of 184.9 FPS and 1440p Low average of 143.6 FPS both rely on the same CPU and GPU, so the difference between those rows is driven by resolution. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads provide the processing foundation for the simulation workload across all measured presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that Medium is the strongest non-Low preset. At 1080p, Medium averages 142.9 FPS, while High averages 104.8 and Ultra averages 101.1. At 1440p, Medium averages 113.1 FPS, while High averages 85.2 and Ultra averages 79.5. At 4K, Medium averages 82.9 FPS, while High averages 64.9 and Ultra averages 60.3. In every resolution, Medium produces a higher average than both High and Ultra.

Low remains the highest-FPS option across all three resolutions, with averages of 184.9, 143.6, and 104.3. For the best measured experience without dropping to Low, Medium provides the largest frame-rate buffer above the 60 FPS mark at 4K. High and Ultra are close to each other in the measured rows, particularly at 1080p where High is 104.8 and Ultra is 101.1. The data shows that Medium is the preset that maximises average FPS while staying above Low in the visual quality ladder.