Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 to deliver a high-refresh-capable experience across all tested resolutions, with the data showing that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at higher settings. The combo ranks in the top 6% of all tested configurations, and the measured results indicate that users can expect smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K remaining viable for most presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with average FPS ranging from 95 at Ultra to 170 at Low. At 1920x1080, the combo exceeds 117 FPS on all settings, while 3840x2160 drops to 70 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48,995 in the average benchmark, sitting within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618) and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228). It outperforms the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4% (49,196).

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for the high-resolution textures and large scenery data typical of flight simulation, as evidenced by the strong 4K performance at High settings (73 FPS).

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance, and why does it matter?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 scores 4,648 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4394 in Passmark single-thread. Flight simulators rely heavily on single-thread performance for physics and AI calculations, and these scores place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 stack up against its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54,247 in the average benchmark, which is 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). It outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: The combination of the Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 4080 ranks 215th out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 5.8% of all configurations tested.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the frame rate data confirms that its capabilities dictate the playable settings at each resolution. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory operating across a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for streaming the high-resolution terrain and aircraft models that Microsoft Flight Simulator loads continuously. The 2205 MHz base clock and 2505 MHz boost clock allow the Ada Lovelace architecture's 9728 shading units to process the complex rendering workload efficiently.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 produces 211 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 117 FPS on Ultra, showing that the GPU is still heavily taxed by the game's most demanding visual features. The 4K results are more revealing: the GPU manages 125 FPS on Low, but this falls to 70 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 55 FPS, highlighting how much work the additional rendering features require.

The GPU's performance percentile of 86 versus all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 54,247, places it in the upper tier of available hardware. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER with a delta of 0.1% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X with a delta of -1.1%. The RTX 4080's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate provide the raw computational power needed for the game's dense cockpit displays and expansive outdoor environments.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 215 out of 3,714 tested configurations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the top 5.8% of all combos, which is a strong result given the game's reputation for being demanding on both CPU and GPU resources. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU's 90th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 86th percentile among all graphics cards.

The data shows that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but it does not reach the very top tier. The 3,714 combos include configurations with higher-end CPUs and GPUs, and the 215th position indicates that while this pairing is excellent, there is headroom above it. The CPU's average benchmark score of 48,995 is closely matched by its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196) are within 0.5%, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698) and Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618) trail by 0.6% and 0.8% respectively.

This rank is particularly notable because Microsoft Flight Simulator is known to favor both high single-thread CPU performance and substantial GPU memory bandwidth. The RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s bandwidth and the Core Ultra 5 245's strong single-core scores (4,648 in Cinebench R23) combine to handle the game's dual demands. The combo's position in the rankings suggests that users would need to move to significantly more expensive hardware to achieve meaningfully better frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a consistent pattern across all three resolutions, with the RTX 4080 delivering playable performance even at the most demanding settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 211 FPS on Low, 164 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 139 and maximum of 188), 123 FPS on High, and 117 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 47 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 6 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional features are relatively lightweight at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong: 170 FPS on Low, 132 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 112 and maximum of 152), 99 FPS on High, and 95 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 40 FPS on each preset, which is expected given the 78% increase in pixel count. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum FPS of 112, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 begins to show its limits. The combo produces 125 FPS on Low, 97 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 83 and maximum of 112), 73 FPS on High, and 70 FPS on Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 3 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's incremental features are not the bottleneck at this resolution. The 4K Medium preset maintains a minimum of 83 FPS, which should provide a consistently smooth experience, while the High preset's 73 FPS average is still playable for most users.

The data shows a clear scaling trend: the RTX 4080 loses approximately 25-30% of its performance when moving from 1440p to 4K at each preset level. The Low preset at 4K (125 FPS) outperforms the Ultra preset at 1440p (95 FPS), highlighting how much headroom exists in the GPU for users who prioritize resolution over visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 provides the computational foundation for this combo, with 14 cores and 14 threads operating at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU's architecture, Arrow Lake-S built on a 3 nm process by TSMC, includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. This cache configuration is particularly relevant for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which frequently accesses small, frequently used data structures for flight physics and AI traffic.

The CPU's single-thread performance is a key strength, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,648 and Passmark single-thread score of 4,394. These results place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and they are critical for the game's main thread, which handles the simulation loop, input processing, and scene graph updates. The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 38,706.

The Core Ultra 5 245's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all within 1% of its score. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196) are slightly ahead, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698) and Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618) are slightly behind. This tight grouping suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's performance; instead, the RTX 4080's capabilities determine the frame rates.

The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is sufficient to feed the RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s bandwidth without becoming a bottleneck. The ECC memory support and PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 CPU lanes provide additional headroom for future upgrades, though the current configuration does not appear to be limited by these factors in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo at all three resolutions. At 3840x2160, High delivers 73 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth flight simulation. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 70 FPS, a mere 3 FPS difference that does not justify the additional visual load. For users who prioritize high refresh rates, the Medium preset at 4K provides 97 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS, which is a strong option for those with 120 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 99 FPS, making it the recommended choice for most users. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is also viable, and the 4 FPS difference between the two suggests that users can enable Ultra without significant penalty. The Medium preset at 132 FPS (minimum 112) is the best option for competitive or fast-paced play, though flight simulation typically does not require such high frame rates.

The 1920x1080 results show that the combo has substantial headroom, with the Ultra preset hitting 117 FPS and High reaching 123 FPS. Users at this resolution can enable Ultra without concern, as the minimum FPS is not reported but the average remains well above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 164 FPS (minimum 139) is ideal for users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors who want a consistent high-refresh experience.

For the best overall experience, the data recommends the High preset at 1440p, which offers 99 FPS and represents the sweet spot for visual fidelity and performance. Users with 4K displays should choose the High preset (73 FPS) or Medium preset (97 FPS) depending on their tolerance for visual compromises. The Low preset is only recommended for users targeting extremely high frame rates, as it sacrifices too much visual quality for the modest frame rate gains shown in the data.