Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound scaling curve, but with a notable twist at the lower end. At 1080p, the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an average of 233.3 FPS on Low settings. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 184.0 FPS, a decrease of roughly 21%. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a steeper decline, with the Low preset falling to 137.4 FPS, representing another 25% reduction.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, the progression is 137.9 FPS at 1080p, 108.0 FPS at 1440p, and 79.7 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K for High is a 42% drop, while for Low it is 41%. These consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the RTX 4090 is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller delta between 1080p and 1440p, as the load shifts more heavily onto the graphics card.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is still largely GPU-bound, but the gap narrows. The 1080p to 1440p drop for Ultra is 21.4% (from 129.6 to 101.9 FPS), while the 1440p to 4K drop for Ultra is 23.8% (from 101.9 to 77.6 FPS). This relatively uniform scaling implies that the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads provide sufficient headroom to feed the GPU even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is typically higher. The game appears to scale predictably with pixel count, a sign of a well-balanced pairing for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest recorded average is 233.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 4K Low?

A: At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 77.6 FPS, while the Low preset delivers 137.4 FPS. This represents a 43.5% performance advantage for Low settings over Ultra at the same resolution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a top-tier performer relative to other CPUs?

A: The processor holds a 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 70104 places it within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which has an average score of 70420.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1440p High and 4K High?

A: The 1440p High preset produces 108.0 FPS, while 4K High produces 79.7 FPS. The drop to 4K results in a 26.2% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 lead its nearest rivals by a wide margin in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66473. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, scores 67097, which is 0.9% higher. The NVIDIA Quadro P6000 scores 67320, a 1.3% difference. The margins are narrow, but the RTX 4090 holds its own.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This specific pairing ranks 18th out of 1795 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 1% of all configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 18th out of 1795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the 99th percentile of all configurations in the database, indicating that it is among the most capable setups for this specific title.

This high ranking is supported by the component-level data. The CPU's average benchmark score of 70104 places it just 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420) and 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887). The GPU, while scoring 66473 on average, sits slightly below its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733), by 0.4%. Despite the GPU not being the absolute top scorer in its own category, the combination yields a top-20 result, suggesting that the synergy between the 20-core CPU and the 24 GB GDDR6X GPU is particularly effective in this flight simulator.

The rank of 18 out of 1795 is a strong indicator that users of this hardware pairing will experience near-top-tier performance. The data shows that the system is capable of high frame rates even at demanding 4K resolutions with Ultra settings, which aligns with its top-1% ranking.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired smoothness. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields 129.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a fluid experience. The High preset at 1080p offers 137.9 FPS, a marginal 6.4% improvement over Ultra, making the visual fidelity of Ultra the better choice if the monitor supports high refresh rates.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 101.9 FPS. This remains highly playable, but the High preset at 108.0 FPS provides a 6% uplift. Given the modest performance gain, sticking with Ultra at 1440p is recommended for users prioritizing visual quality, as the frame rate is still comfortably high.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset delivers 77.6 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenarios. The High preset at 79.7 FPS offers only a 2.7% improvement, which is negligible. However, the Medium preset jumps to 108.9 FPS, a 40.3% increase over Ultra. For 4K displays, the Medium preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, ensuring a smoother experience without a significant drop in fidelity. The Low preset at 137.4 FPS is an option for maximum smoothness, but the visual compromises are substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 233.3 for Low, 181.7 for Medium, 137.9 for High, and 129.6 for Ultra. The progression shows a steep drop from Low to Medium (22.1%), followed by a more gradual decline to High (24.1% lower than Low) and a smaller gap between High and Ultra (6.0%).

For 2560x1440, the averages are 184.0 for Low, 146.2 for Medium, 108.0 for High, and 101.9 for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 20.5%, and from Medium to High it is 26.1%. The High to Ultra difference is 5.6%.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 137.4 for Low, 108.9 for Medium, 79.7 for High, and 77.6 for Ultra. The Low to Medium reduction is 20.7%, while Medium to High drops by 26.8%. The High to Ultra delta is only 2.6%, indicating diminishing returns at the highest preset.

The data shows that the largest performance gains come from moving from High to Medium, particularly at higher resolutions. The difference between High and Ultra is consistently small across all resolutions, ranging from 2.6% to 6.0%. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds significant graphical complexity for a relatively minor FPS cost, making it a viable choice for users with high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p or 1440p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features a 33 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to manage the simulation's complex physics, flight models, and world-streaming logic, while the GPU handles the rendering.

The benchmark data shows that the i7-14700KF is a very strong performer. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44557 and single-core score of 6290 indicate substantial headroom for both multithreaded and single-threaded workloads. The Passmark multithread score of 52425 further confirms its capability. This processing power ensures that the CPU does not become a bottleneck, allowing the RTX 4090 to operate near its full potential.

The 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70104, places it in the same performance tier as the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420). The 0.3% delta with the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887) shows that the i7-14700KF is competitive with workstation-class processors in synthetic tests. For this game, the high single-core performance is particularly relevant, as flight simulators often have significant single-threaded components. The boost clock of 5.60 GHz provides the necessary speed for these tasks, while the 20 cores handle background simulation and streaming data efficiently.