Microsoft Flight Simulator

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a high-end combination that yields playable, and at times exceptionally high, frame rates across all tested settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The benchmark results reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial core count and high boost clock ensure the graphics card is well-fed at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the division of labor between the two components, and what the data means for a builder assembling a rig for this demanding simulator.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop significantly, confirming that the rendering load scales directly with pixel count. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 226.3 FPS, which is a massive 49.8% higher than the 4K Low result of 136.5 FPS. This delta highlights how much headroom the hardware has when the GPU is not working as hard, but it also signals that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates.

Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings yields a drop from 106.4 FPS to 76.7 FPS, a reduction of 27.9%. This is a more moderate decline than the 1080p to 1440p jump, where High settings fall from 135.7 FPS to 106.4 FPS (a 21.6% drop). The scaling is not linear; the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller in percentage terms than the gap between 1440p and 4K, suggesting that the game’s engine becomes more demanding per pixel as resolution climbs. At Ultra settings, the pattern is similar: 132.8 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 74.9 FPS at 4K.

These results indicate that at 4K, the system is firmly limited by the GPU’s rendering throughput. The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of VRAM and 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth are being taxed heavily, and the frame rate differences between settings at 4K are relatively small (74.9 FPS at Ultra versus 76.7 FPS at High). In contrast, the jump from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings shows a 22.9% increase (184.1 FPS to 226.3 FPS), which is a sign that the CPU is beginning to play a larger role at lower resolutions, though it never becomes the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align with the measured performance. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz are high for a large GPU, and the FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power needed for the simulator’s complex scenery rendering. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, is a critical asset for a game that loads large textures and terrain data.

The GPU’s role becomes more apparent when looking at the 4K Ultra result of 74.9 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but it is the lowest in the dataset, showing that even the most powerful consumer GPU available is challenged by the game’s highest settings at 4K. The data suggests that the RTX 4090 is the limiting factor at 4K, as changing CPU settings would not yield significant gains. In contrast, at 1080p Low, the 226.3 FPS result is so high that the GPU is likely not fully utilized, and the frame rate is more constrained by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls.

The RTX 4090’s position in the broader GPU landscape is also relevant. Its average benchmark score of 66473 places it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which scores 66733 (a delta of -0.4%). This means the 4090 sits at the very top of the performance hierarchy, which explains why it can push such high numbers in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this specific pairing of the i7-14700F and RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 30 out of 1795 tested combos. This places it in the top 1.7% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result. The fact that it ranks this high reflects both components working well together, but it also shows that there are a few faster configurations, likely those with more powerful CPUs or overclocked variants.

The CPU’s performance relative to its rivals helps explain this ranking. The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is only 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (score 54450) and 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (score 54681). This means the CPU is not holding the combo back significantly. The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking is also high, but the deltaPct values for its rivals show a tight cluster: the Tesla T4 is 0.4% faster, the Radeon Pro Vega 56 is 0.9% faster, and the Quadro P6000 is 1.3% faster. These are all workstation cards, not gaming GPUs, so in real gaming terms the RTX 4090 is effectively unmatched.

The rank of 30 suggests that the bottleneck is not the CPU, but rather the GPU’s cooling headroom or the specific game version tested. Since the data shows the CPU is within 1% of its closest rivals, the gap to the top combos is likely due to the GPU being pushed to its limits at 4K. For a builder, this ranking means the combo is a top-tier choice, but there is no need to seek a better CPU unless aiming for absolute records.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 226.3 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the i7-14700F compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X?

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X’s score of 54450.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 30th out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data indicates that at 3840x2160, the frame rates are closely grouped (74.9 to 136.5 FPS), confirming the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded?

A: The lowest average is 74.9 FPS at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low result compared to the 1440p Low result?

A: The 1080p Low result of 226.3 FPS is 22.9% higher than the 1440p Low result of 184.1 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured average frame rates for this combo.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 226.3 FPS
• Medium: 184 FPS
• High: 135.7 FPS
• Ultra: 132.8 FPS

The spread from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 93.5 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom and the CPU is the primary driver. The difference between High and Ultra is only 2.9 FPS, suggesting that Ultra settings at 1080p are not much more demanding than High.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 184.1 FPS
• Medium: 145.3 FPS
• High: 106.4 FPS
• Ultra: 102 FPS

Here, the delta between High and Ultra narrows to 4.4 FPS, while the gap from Low to Ultra is 82.1 FPS. The 1440p results show a more linear scaling than 1080p, indicating the GPU is starting to become more relevant.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 136.5 FPS
• Medium: 104.4 FPS
• High: 76.7 FPS
• Ultra: 74.9 FPS

The 4K data shows a compressed range: the difference between High and Ultra is a mere 1.8 FPS, and even Low to Ultra spans just 61.6 FPS. This is a clear sign that the GPU is fully saturated, and the frame rate is limited by the RTX 4090’s rendering capabilities. The Ultra result of 74.9 FPS is still playable, but it is the only setting in the entire dataset that dips below 75 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is to handle physics, AI traffic, and the game’s simulation logic, while the GPU handles visuals. The high boost clock is crucial for single-threaded performance, which this game relies on heavily.

Looking at the benchmark data, the i7-14700F achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and a single-core score of 5003. Its passmark single-thread score of 4261 is strong, and its percentile versus all CPUs is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of all processors. This explains why the combo can achieve 226.3 FPS at 1080p Low: the CPU is fast enough to feed the RTX 4090 at that resolution.

However, the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The nearest rival data shows the i7-14700F is only 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X in average score, and 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D. This small delta means that upgrading the CPU would not yield meaningful gains in this game, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory also contribute to its overall responsiveness, but the measured FPS data confirms that the RTX 4090 is the star of the show. The 65W TDP is modest for a 20-core chip, but the boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures it can sustain high performance when needed, making it a solid pairing with the RTX 4090 for this simulator.