Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a robust Microsoft Flight Simulator experience, with measured frame rates ranging from 69.8 FPS at 4K Ultra to 207.2 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination ranks 94th out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the upper tier of systems. The data reveals a configuration where the CPU provides substantial headroom for the GPU to operate, with the RTX 4080 SUPER consistently being the primary performance driver across most resolution and settings combinations. The 20-core, 20-thread processor with a 3.90 GHz base and 5.50 GHz boost clock demonstrates that modern flight simulators can leverage high-core-count architectures effectively, while the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on the GPU proves adequate for the texture-heavy environments this game presents.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K features 20 cores and 20 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture processor sits on the Intel Socket 1851 platform and is built on a 3 nm process node at TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors packed into a 243 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache, providing ample on-die storage for flight simulation workloads that frequently access terrain and aircraft model data.

Benchmark data shows this processor achieving a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 50,009 and a single-core score of 7,060, indicating strong performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded scenarios. Its PassMark multithread score of 58,838 and single-thread score of 4,904 reinforce this assessment. The CPU's percentile ranking of 97 against all CPUs places it among the top performers, while its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, scores a near-identical average benchmark score of 79,240, just 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i9-14900K trails by 0.9% in average score, showing that the 265K competes effectively with previous-generation flagship processors.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is particularly critical for physics calculations, weather simulation, and AI traffic management. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 207.2 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with sufficient draw calls and simulation data even at lower graphical loads. The 20-core configuration with 20 threads (no hyperthreading) provides a balanced approach for this workload, as the game's simulation threads can be distributed across physical cores without contention. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures that single-thread performance remains high for the game's primary simulation thread, which is often the bottleneck in flight simulators. The 125 W TDP indicates a power envelope that allows sustained boost clocks without excessive thermal throttling, which is beneficial for extended flight sessions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with the AD103 chip containing 45,900 million transistors across a 379 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2,295 MHz and a boost clock of 2,550 MHz, with memory clocked at 1,438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units provide substantial raw compute capability, with FP32 performance rated at 52.22 TFLOPS. The GPU also includes 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, which can accelerate certain rendering features if enabled.

The GPU's benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 34,245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,600, with a percentile ranking of 88 against all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 0.2% higher in average benchmark score, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti trails by 2.9%. This places the RTX 4080 SUPER in a competitive position within the GPU hierarchy, with performance that remains relevant for demanding titles.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is primarily in rendering the vast outdoor environments, including terrain textures, cloud formations, and aircraft models. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant, as the game's high-resolution texture packs can consume significant memory at 4K resolution. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system achieves 69.8 FPS, which is the most demanding configuration tested. The drop from 124.6 FPS at 4K Low to 69.8 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 44% reduction) indicates that the GPU is heavily utilized at higher settings, with the memory bandwidth and shading capability becoming limiting factors. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming from VRAM to the render pipeline does not become a bottleneck, even during rapid camera movements over dense urban areas.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality settings reveals clear scaling patterns that indicate the system's performance characteristics. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 207.2 FPS at Low to 119.6 FPS at Ultra, with High settings achieving 124.3 FPS and Medium at 163.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the range shifts to 168.7 FPS at Low, 130.1 FPS at Medium, 100.9 FPS at High, and 94.2 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the frame rates are 124.6 FPS at Low, 96.1 FPS at Medium, 71.3 FPS at High, and 69.8 FPS at Ultra.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings shows a reduction from 119.6 FPS to 69.8 FPS, a 41.6% decrease. This relatively moderate drop suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting component at 4K, but the CPU still provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. Conversely, at Low settings, the 1080p to 4K scaling shows a drop from 207.2 FPS to 124.6 FPS, a 39.9% reduction, which is only slightly smaller, indicating that even at low graphical loads, the GPU remains the dominant constraint.

The most telling comparison is between Medium and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1440p, Medium achieves 130.1 FPS while Ultra achieves 94.2 FPS, a 27.6% difference. At 4K, the same settings comparison shows 96.1 FPS versus 69.8 FPS, a 27.4% difference. This consistency across resolutions suggests that the settings-based performance scaling is uniform, with the GPU's shading and memory resources being the determining factors. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p Low, where 207.2 FPS indicates that the processor can support high frame rates without limiting the GPU's output. The data shows that the limiting component shifts from GPU-bound at 4K Ultra to CPU-bound only at the lowest settings and resolution, where the GPU's rendering workload is minimal.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 207.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 69.8 FPS, showing the significant impact of resolution and quality on performance.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 265K has an average benchmark score of 79,102, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (79,240) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79,245). It trails the Intel Core i9-14900K (79,824) by 0.9% and the AMD EPYC 7413 (80,041) by 1.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking and how does it compare to nearby rivals?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER ranks in the 88th percentile against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 53,610 is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489) and 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53,414). It outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 7700S by 2.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2.9%.

Q: How does performance scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system achieves 124.3 FPS at 1080p, 100.9 FPS at 1440p, and 71.3 FPS at 4K. The reduction from 1080p to 4K is 42.6%, indicating substantial GPU load at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting in this game at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra, where the system achieves 69.8 FPS. The CPU's 20-core configuration and high boost clock provide sufficient simulation throughput, as evidenced by the 207.2 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is far above typical display refresh rates.

Q: What overall rank does this CPU+GPU combo achieve among tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 94th out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 5.2% of all tested systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination achieves a rank of 94 out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 94.8th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 97th percentile performance and the GPU's 88th percentile performance, with the overall system benefiting from both components being above the average tested configuration.

This rank is notable because it places the combo ahead of the vast majority of tested systems while not being the absolute top performer. The top 93 combos likely feature higher-tier GPUs or CPUs that push frame rates beyond what this configuration achieves. The 0.2% difference in average score between the 265K and its nearest rival, the 265KF, suggests that the CPU choice has minimal impact on the overall ranking, with the GPU being the more significant differentiator. Similarly, the RTX 4080 SUPER's position relative to the RX 6900 XT (0.2% higher) and RTX 5070 Ti (2.9% higher) indicates that small GPU performance differences can shift the ranking meaningfully when considering 1,795 total systems.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking by showing that the system can achieve playable frame rates at all tested settings and resolutions, with 4K Ultra at 69.8 FPS being the most demanding scenario. The 1440p Ultra result of 94.2 FPS and 1080p Ultra result of 119.6 FPS demonstrate that the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays at lower resolutions while remaining capable at 4K. The rank of 94 out of 1,795 represents a strong showing, with only a small fraction of tested systems exceeding this performance level. For users seeking a high-end flight simulation experience, this combination provides a solid foundation, though the data suggests that systems ranked higher likely feature GPUs with even greater shading and memory capabilities to handle the most demanding 4K Ultra scenarios with higher frame rates.