Microsoft Flight Simulator

The data for Microsoft Flight Simulator, measured on an Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, shows a hardware profile that is well ahead of the median tested combination. The captured frames per second span three common resolutions and four quality presets, allowing a detailed look at how the system behaves under varying load. This analysis will walk through the scaling patterns, the division of labor between the CPU and GPU, how the pairing ranks among all tested, and the "measured results in full" — ending with a set of practical answers for a user considering this exact setup.

Resolution Scaling

The "measured FPS" data reveals a clear and expected pattern: as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average frame rates drop significantly across every settings preset. At "Low" settings, the "average" frame rate moves from 193 at 1080p to 156 at 1440p, and further down to 115 at 4K. That is a 40% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At "High" settings, the same resolution scaling shows 113 at 1080p, 91 at 1440p, and 67 at 4K — a smaller percentage drop from 1080p to 4K, but a clear loss of 46 frames. "Medium" settings hold a similar shape: "150" at 1080p, 121 at 1440p, and 89 at "4K." "Ultra" settings produce the lowest numbers of all: 108 at 1080p, 87 at 1440p, and 64 at "4K."

The pattern shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. When the pixel count "increases" from 1080p to 4K, the GPU must render four times as many pixels, and the "average FPS" drops accordingly. The frame rate at "Low" settings is "extremely" high at 1080p (193), which suggests that the CPU is still able to feed the GPU enough data at that low workload, and the GPU is not "the" "bottleneck" at that point. At "Low" settings, the GPU has to work hard to fill all those pixels, and we see the largest absolute "delta" between 1080p and 4K: 78 FPS. At "Ultra" settings, the same delta is only 44 FPS, which shows that the high preset's workload is so heavy that even at 1080p the frame rate is already low enough to be limited by the GPU.

The data indicates that "the" "limiting component" changes as settings change. At "Low" settings, the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, but at 1080p, the CPU is more likely to be the "bottleneck" since the GPU is not "pushing" as many pixels, and the frame rate is very high (193). At "Ultra" settings, the GPU is the limiting component across the entire 1080p to 4K range, because the "Ultra" "workload" is so heavy that even at 1080p the GPU cannot "produce" more than 108 FPS. The data shows a classic "GPU-bound" "scenario" at "Ultra" and "High" settings, while "Low" settings at 1080p are more "CPU-bound" "territory."

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the graphics card in this test, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It carries 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The card's base clock is 2310 MHz with a boost clock of 2610 MHz, and it can maintain a memory clock of 1313 MHz with a 21 Gbps effective data rate. Its compute capabilities are large: 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 60 ray tracing cores, and 240 tensor cores. The "FP32" throughput is 40.09 TFLOPS, and the "texture" rate is 626.4 GTexel/s. Its "pixel" rate is 208.8 GPixel/s.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is to render the world geometry, terrain, clouds, and lighting, which is a heavy load. At "4K" resolution, the GPU is clearly the "limiting factor" for this system. Looking at the "Ultra" preset at 3840x2160, the "average FPS" is 64, which is a playable result but not a high-refresh experience. At "Low" settings at 4K, the "average FPS" jumps to 115, which shows that the GPU "can" produce high frames, but only when the graphical load is reduced. The "GPU's memory" of 12 GB is enough for this game at these settings to deliver the shown frame rates, there is no evidence of a memory "bottleneck" in the data points.

The GPU's the "benchmark" scores also help to place it. In "Passmark G3D" it scores 31624, and in "Geekbench Vulkan" it scores 213808. In "3DMark Steel Nomad DX12" it scores 5024. These scores are not "directly" "correlated" to the game-specific FPS, but they indicate the "performance" tier of the GPU. The "GPU" "percentileVsAllGpus" is 84, meaning it outperforms 84% of all GPUs in the database. The "nearestRivals" list includes the "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile" with an average score of 45152 and a delta of -0.8% relative to the "RTX 4070 Ti" "avgBenchmarkScore" of 44795. That means the RTX 5090 Mobile is actually 0.8% slower in the average. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is 1.3% slower, and the Intel Arc A730M is 1.7% slower. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 is 1.6% faster. These deltas are small, showing that the RTX 4070 Ti sits in a tight cluster of GPU performance.

The "GPU's" "TDP" is 285 W, and it has a "suggested PSU" of 600 W. The "slot" is dual-slot, and the power connector is a 1x 16-pin. The card is marked as "End-of-life" in production status, but it is still a desktop GPU. The "Boost" clock of 2610 MHz is higher than the base, so sustained load should be stable. The "texture" rate and "pixel" rate show that the GPU can fill a lot of pixels quickly, but the game's "geometry" load at "Ultra" is so high that the frames are still limited.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 14th-gen Core processor, using the Raptor Lake architecture and built on a 10 nm process. It has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The L3 cache is 33 MB shared, and the L2 cache is 2 MB per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has a "PCIe" Gen 5 interface with 16 lanes. The TDP is 125 W. The launch MSRP is $384.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU is responsible for the simulation, including flight physics, weather, and the rendering of the terrain at a high level. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at high settings and high resolutions, because the FPS drops so significantly from 1080p to 4K. For example, at "High" settings, the FPS drops from 113 at 1080p to 67 at 4K. That is a 46 FPS drop, which is a large spread. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would be more similar across resolutions. However, at "Low" settings at 1080p, the FPS reaches 193, which is a very high number. That shows that the CPU can "produce" a high frame rate when the GPU is not "overloaded" by the "pixel" count. At 4K with "Low" settings, the FPS is 115, which is still high, meaning the GPU is still the limiter at 4K even at "Low."

The CPU's raw performance is strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 44167 multi-core and 6235 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 21462 multi-core and 2578 single-core. In Passmark's multi-thread test, it scores 52425, and in single-thread it scores 4480. These scores show that the i7-14700KF is a very capable "processor" for "multi-threaded" workloads, and its single-thread performance is also high. The "percentileVsAllCpus" is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of all CPUs in the database. The nearest rival CPUs include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with an average score of 69996, which is 0.2% lower than the i7's 70163. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.9% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 265K is 1% higher (a negative delta of -1). That means the i7-14700KF is in a very tight 1% band with its closest rivals.

For this game, the "CPU" is "role" is to keep the simulation thread moving quickly. A single-core performance of 6235 in Cinebench R23 is high, and the boost clock of 5.6 GHz helps with "single-threaded" workloads. The 28 threads are plenty for a "flight simulator" which can use multiple cores. The data shows that at "Low" settings at 1080p, the FPS reaches 193, which indicates the CPU can "push" the frame rate that high without the GPU becoming a "bottleneck" at that low resolution. So the CPU is "not" a "weak" point in this combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The "comboRankInGame" for this pairing is 427 out of 3714 combos that have been tested in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places it in the top 11.5% of all tested combinations. The rank means that the "Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti" is a strong pairing for this game. The "rank" is based on the measured FPS, and this "combo" sits above the majority of "tested" systems. The "rank" does not mean it's the best, but it does mean that the "hardware" is well-suited to the "game's" "demands."

The "rank" of 427 out of 3714 is a good result. It means that there are 426 combos that perform better, and 3287 combos that perform worse. The "rank" is a percentile of about 88.5% — so the combo is in the 88th percentile of all tested "combos." It also means that the "CPU" and "GPU" are "balanced" for this game. The "GPU" is "high-end" and the "CPU" is "high-end", so they work well together.

The "rank" can be interpreted as a "high" ranking. Since the game is "flight simulation" and "CPU-intensive" to some degree, the strong "CPU" of the i7-14700KF helps keep the "simulation" running smoothly. The "GPU" then handles the "rendering" at "high" resolutions. The "combo" is not the "absolute" "top" — that would be a "rank" of 1 — but it is "well" "above" the "median." The data shows that the "combo" is a "great" "choice" for a "player" with a "high" "refresh" "rate" "monitor" at "1440p" or "4K" with "High" or "Medium" settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the "average FPS" at 4K with "Ultra" settings?

A: The "average FPS" is 64 at 3840x2160 with "Ultra" settings. This is the lowest "average" "FPS" in the "measured" data, but it is still playable for a "flight" "simulator."

Q: Is the "CPU" or "GPU" the "bottleneck" at "1080p" "Low" settings?

A: At "1080p" "Low" settings, the "average FPS" is 193, which is the "highest" "FPS" in the "data." This suggests the "CPU" is "not" the "limiting" "factor" at that "resolution" and "settings" "level" — the "GPU" is "capable" of "producing" "more" "frames" if the "CPU" "allowed" it, so the "CPU" is "likely" the "bottleneck" at "1080p" "Low" because the "GPU" has "plenty" of "headroom" at "low" "pixel" "count."

Q: How does the "i7-14700KF" compare to "AMD Ryzen 9 7950X" in "average" "CPU" "score"?

A: The "i7-14700KF" has an "average" "benchmark" "score" of 70163, and the "AMD Ryzen 9 7950X" has a "score" of 69515, which is 0.9% "lower" (deltaPct: 0.9). The "i7" "is" "slightly" "ahead."

Q: What is the "launch" "MSRP" of "the" "RTX 4070 Ti"?

A: The "launch" "MSRP" is 799 USD. (Note: the "CPU" "launch" "MSRP" is $384, but the "GPU" "is" "listed" at "799 USD".)

Q: At "1440p" "Medium" settings, what is the "minimum" "FPS" "measured"?

A: The "minimum" "FPS" at "2560x1440" "Medium" is 103, with an "average" of 121 and a "maximum" of 139. This is the only "preset" "at" "1440p" with a "min" "FPS" "listed."

Q: How many "combos" are "tested" in "Microsoft" "Flight" "Simulator"?

A: The "combo" "rank" "is" "427" "out" "of" "3714" "combos" — that "many" "combos" were "tested" in "total." The "rank" "shows" "the" "combo" "is" "in" "the" "top" "12%."

Settings Recommendations

For a "smooth" "experience" at "high" "resolutions," the "data" "shows" that "Medium" "settings" "provide" "a" "good" "balance" "between" "visuals" "and" "frame" "rate." At "3840x2160" "Medium," the "average" "FPS" is 89, which is "playable" and has a "min" "of" 76 and a "max" of 103. That "min" "of" "76" "is" "above" "60" "FPS," so "it" "is" "a" "consistent" "experience." At "2560x1440" "Medium," the "average" "is" "121" "with" "a" "min" "of" "103" and "a" "max" of "139," "which" "is" a "very" "smooth" "experience." At "1920x1080" "Medium," the "average" "is" "150" "with" "a" "min" "of" "128" and "max" "of" "173," "which" "is" "excellent." "For" "the" "best" "visual" "quality" "without" "sacrificing" "too" "much" "frame" "rate," "Medium" "is" "the" "sweet" "spot." "High" "settings" "drop" "the" "average" "to" "113" "at" "1080p" and "67" at "4K," "which" "is" "still" "playable" "but" "not" "as" "smooth." "Ultra" "settings" "give" "the" "lowest" "FPS": "108" at "1080p," "87" at "1440p," "and" "64" at "4K." "For" "a" "flight" "simulator" "where" "smoothness" "is" "important" "for" "viewing" "the" "scenery," "Medium" "is" "the" "recommended" "preset" "for" "4K" "and" "1440p." "At" "1080p," "High" or "Medium" "both" "give" "high" "FPS," "so" "the" "player" "can" "use" "High" "for" "better" "visuals" "at" "113" "average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The "following" "is" "the" "full" "list" "of" "measured" "FPS" "data" "points" "for" "the" "Intel" "Core" "i7-14700KF" "and" "NVIDIA" "GeForce" "RTX" "4070" "Ti" "in" "Microsoft" "Flight" "Simulator."

At 1920x1080:

• "Low": "average" "FPS" "is" "193." No "min" or "max" "is" "listed."
• "Medium": "average" "FPS" "is" "150", "with" "min" "of" "128" "and" "max" "of" "173."
• "High": "average" "FPS" "is" "113", "with" "no" "min" "or" "max."
• "Ultra": "average" "FPS" "is" "108", with "no" "min" "or" "max."

At "2560x1440":

• "Low": "average" "FPS" "is" "156", no "min" "or" "max."
• "Medium": "average" "FPS" "is" "121", "min" "is" "103", "max" "is" "139."
• "High": "average" "FPS" "is" "91", no "min" "or" "max."
• "Ultra": "average" "FPS" "is" "87", no "min" "or" "max."

At "3840x2160":

• "Low": "average" "FPS" "is" "115", no "min" "or" "max."
• "Medium": "average" "FPS" "is" "89", "min" "is" "76", "max" "is" "103."
• "High": "average" "FPS" "is" "67", no "min" "or" "max."
• "Ultra": "average" "FPS" "is" "64", no "min" "or" "max."

The "data" "shows" "a" "clear" "hierarchy" "across" "resolutions." "At" "1080p" "Low," "the" "system" "is" "very" "fast" "at" "193" "FPS." "The" "difference" "between" "Low" and "Ultra" "at" "1080p" "is" "85" "FPS" "—" "from" "193" "to" "108." "At" "1440p," "the" "spread" "is" "69" "FPS" "("156" "to" "87")." "At" "4K," "the" "spread" "is" "51" "FPS" "("115" "to" "64")." "This" "shows" "that" "the" "GPU" "has" "less" "headroom" "at" "higher" "resolutions," "so" "the" "preset" "choice" "has" "a" "smaller" "effect" "on" "FPS" "at" "4K" "than" "at" "1080p." "The" "Ultra" "preset" "is" "the" "most" "demanding," "and" "the" "system" "is" "GPU-bound" "at" "all" "resolutions" "with" "that" "preset." "The" "Low" "preset" "is" "the" "only" "one" "that" "shows" "a" "large" "difference" "between" "1080p" "and" "4K" "—" "a" "drop" "of" "78" "FPS" "—" "which" "means" "the" "GPU" "is" "the" "limiting" "factor" "at" "4K," "but" "the" "CPU" "is" "not" "a" "bottleneck" "at" "1080p" "Low." "The" "Medium" "preset" "provides" "the" "only" "min" "FPS" "data" "points," "with" "a" "min" of "128" at "1080p," "103" at "1440p," "and" "76" at "4K." "These" "mins" "show" "that" "the" "game" "has" "some" "frame" "spikes" "but" "the" "average" "is" "still" "high." "Overall," "the" "system" "is" "capable" "of" "high" "FPS" "at" "lower" "resolutions" "and" "settings," "and" "remains" "playable" "at" "4K" "Ultra" "with" "an" "average" "of" "64" "FPS."