Microsoft Flight Simulator

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a formidable experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, a title known for its demanding rendering of photogrammetry, weather systems, and dense scenery. The measured FPS data reveals a configuration that scales cleanly across resolutions and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary throughput driver at higher quality presets while the CPU maintains a robust baseline. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes it against the hardware's benchmark profiles, and offers actionable guidance for optimizing the experience.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset is 130 FPS. This is the lowest average among the 1080p settings tested, indicating that Ultra still maintains high headroom above typical 60 Hz and 144 Hz displays.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 compared to its nearest rival in synthetic GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 60347, while its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60326. This represents a delta of 0 percent, meaning the two are statistically tied in aggregate performance metrics, though the RTX 4090 has a much higher percentile rank among all GPUs (88th percentile).

Q: Does the i7-12700K outperform its closest competitor in multi-threaded workloads?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287, which is 0.1 percent lower than the Intel Core i5-13600T's score of 35305. In contrast, it is 0.2 percent ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700KF (35365 score). The differences are marginal, placing these processors in the same performance tier for multi-threaded tasks.

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS across all settings and resolutions?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 212, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This result highlights the headroom available when graphical load is minimized, shifting the bottleneck almost entirely to the CPU.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's memory bandwidth contribute to performance?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This substantial bandwidth is critical for feeding the high-resolution textures and complex geometry in Microsoft Flight Simulator, particularly at 4K resolutions where frame rates remain above 77 FPS even on Ultra.

Q: Which preset offers the largest performance jump from Ultra to High?

A: At 2560x1440, moving from Ultra (105 FPS) to High (110 FPS) yields only a 5 FPS increase. However, dropping from High to Medium (146 FPS) provides a 36 FPS jump, showing that the Medium preset significantly reduces GPU load while keeping visual quality reasonable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear hierarchy of performance across presets, with the most pronounced gains occurring when stepping down from High to Medium. At 4K, the average FPS rises from 81 on High to 108 on Medium, a 33 percent improvement that makes Medium the sweet spot for maintaining smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate displays without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. Conversely, the jump from Medium to Low at 4K (108 to 138 FPS) is smaller in relative terms (28 percent), but it produces the highest 4K average in the dataset.

For users prioritizing frame rate over ultimate visual quality, the Low preset at 1440p delivers 188 FPS, which is more than sufficient for competitive or fast-paced flying. However, given the game's simulation nature, the Medium preset at 1440p (146 FPS) offers an excellent balance, with measured minimums of 124 FPS ensuring minimal stutter during complex scenery loads. At 1080p, the Ultra preset (130 FPS) is fully playable, but the Medium preset (181 FPS) provides a 39 percent uplift, making it the recommended choice for users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors who want headroom for demanding add-ons or live weather.

The data indicates that Ultra settings are best reserved for screenshots or cinematic slow-flight scenarios, as they only yield a marginal visual improvement over High while costing 15-20 percent of the frame rate. For most users, High at 1080p (136 FPS) or 1440p (110 FPS) is the highest quality setting that still sustains a smooth 60+ FPS experience, especially when considering that Microsoft Flight Simulator's frame pacing can be affected by CPU-bound simulation threads.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, but with some nuance from the CPU's capabilities. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 212 at 1080p to 188 at 1440p (an 11 percent decrease) and then to 138 at 4K (a further 27 percent decrease). This steep drop at 4K Low suggests that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU's rendering pipeline is becoming the limiting factor, as the CPU is capable of feeding frames at higher rates.

With the Medium preset, the scaling is more linear: 181 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p (down 19 percent), and 108 FPS at 4K (down 26 percent from 1440p). This consistent reduction indicates that the RTX 4090's compute resources are being progressively utilized, with memory bandwidth not yet a bottleneck. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (136 FPS) to 1440p (110 FPS) is 19 percent, and from 1440p to 4K (81 FPS) is 26 percent, mirroring the Medium preset's scaling.

The Ultra preset shows the smallest absolute frame rates but the most stable scaling: 130 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p (down 19 percent), and 77 FPS at 4K (down 27 percent). This pattern implies that the RTX 4090 is the limiting component across all resolutions, as the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and multi-thread score of 9979 are sufficient to keep the GPU fed, even at 1080p where the CPU might be expected to bottleneck. The data suggests that users with 4K displays can expect playable frame rates on Ultra, but those seeking higher refresh rates should consider Medium or High to leverage the GPU's headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 108th out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 2.9 percent of all configurations, indicating exceptional performance that outperforms the vast majority of systems. The high rank is attributable to the RTX 4090's position in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, which offsets the CPU's more modest 84th percentile ranking.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing excels because the RTX 4090's massive 24 GB memory buffer and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are well-suited to the game's high-resolution texture streaming. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for the simulation's background processes, though the synthetic benchmark scores show that the i7-12700K is not the absolute fastest processor available. Still, the combo's rank of 108 suggests that very few configurations deliver higher frame rates, and those that do likely feature even newer CPUs or specialized overclocking.

The rank also implies that this combo is more GPU-limited than CPU-limited, as the RTX 4090's performance percentile (88) is higher than the CPU's (84). This is corroborated by the resolution scaling data, which shows consistent frame rate drops as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in this title. Users seeking to improve this rank would need to upgrade the CPU to a model with a higher average benchmark score, but the gains would be marginal given the current balance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this combo, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance. With 16,384 shading units and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, the GPU delivers 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is more than sufficient for the game's complex lighting and shadow calculations. The 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores further enhance features like ray-traced shadows and DLSS, though the measured data does not isolate these effects.

The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is a critical asset for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams high-resolution satellite imagery and terrain data. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that textures can be loaded quickly, preventing pop-in and stuttering, especially at 4K where the frame buffer demands are highest. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (77 FPS) shows that the GPU can maintain high-quality rendering without dropping below playable thresholds, thanks to this memory configuration.

The RTX 4090's power envelope of 450 W and triple-slot cooler suggest that thermal throttling is unlikely in well-ventilated cases, allowing the boost clock of 2520 MHz to be sustained during long sessions. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 38194 and percentile rank of 88 confirm its top-tier status, and the measured FPS data shows that it scales efficiently with resolution, providing a 66 percent increase in frame rate when moving from 4K Ultra to 4K Low (77 to 138 FPS). This indicates that the GPU is not bottlenecked by the CPU at any resolution, making it the ideal partner for this simulation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across 12 combinations of resolution and settings. At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS ranges from 77 on Ultra to 138 on Low, with Medium at 108 FPS (minimum 92, maximum 124) and High at 81 FPS. This represents a 79 percent improvement from Ultra to Low, showing that the RTX 4090 has significant headroom even at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 105 FPS on Ultra, 110 FPS on High, 146 FPS on Medium (minimum 124, maximum 168), and 188 FPS on Low. The jump from High to Medium is 33 percent, making Medium the most efficient preset at this resolution for maintaining frame rates above 144 Hz. The minimum FPS of 124 on Medium indicates good frame pacing, with only occasional dips during complex scenes.

At 1920x1080, the averages are 130 FPS on Ultra, 136 FPS on High, 181 FPS on Medium (minimum 154, maximum 208), and 212 FPS on Low. The 1080p data shows that even the Ultra preset exceeds 120 FPS, making this resolution the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors who want maximum visual quality. The Low preset's 212 FPS average approaches the CPU's frame generation limit, suggesting that further frame rate increases would require a faster processor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores (8 performance and 4 efficiency) and 20 threads, serves as a capable partner to the RTX 4090 in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz and base clock of 3.60 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle the game's primary simulation thread, which is critical for maintaining consistent frame rates.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and Geekbench multicore score of 15790, ensure that background tasks like terrain loading and AI traffic do not interfere with frame rendering. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce latency when accessing frequently used data, while the 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes provide ample bandwidth for the GPU and storage devices. The CPU's 125 W TDP is modest compared to the GPU's 450 W, indicating that the total system power draw is manageable with a suitable PSU.

The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 212 FPS average suggests the CPU is approaching its limits, but the RTX 4090 is still delivering frames faster than most displays can show. The CPU's percentile rank of 84 among all processors means it outperforms the majority of CPUs, but its nearest rivals show that it is not the absolute fastest, with the i5-13600T being 0.1 percent faster in synthetic benchmarks. This balance ensures that the combo's rank of 108 is achieved without wasted GPU potential, making the i7-12700K a prudent choice for this GPU.