Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding flight simulation title that stresses both the processor and the graphics solution. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the AMD Radeon 760M integrated graphics provides a clear picture of its capabilities. This combination ranks 3703 out of 3714 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom percentile of all systems evaluated, with performance that is primarily constrained by the integrated GPU. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, settings behavior, and the respective roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping the experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved by this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 34, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches a playable frame rate, while all other settings and resolutions yield lower averages.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to the Ultra preset at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 34 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. This represents a performance difference of 15 FPS, or approximately 79% higher average FPS on Low compared to Ultra.

Q: Does the combo ever achieve a playable frame rate at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 20, achieved on the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to an 11 FPS average, indicating that 4K resolution is not viable for this hardware configuration in this title.

Q: What is the frame time variance like at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: The data includes min and max FPS only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the range is 23 to 31 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 18 to 25 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 13 to 18 FPS. The spread between min and max FPS grows from 8 FPS at 1080p to 5 FPS at both 1440p and 4K, showing a tighter but lower overall range at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark percentile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon 760M sits in the 35th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 6019 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6400, which scores 6001 (a 0.3% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, which scores 6000 (a 0.3% delta). It is slightly behind the NVIDIA Quadro P2000, which scores 6049 (a -0.5% delta).

Q: What is the CPU's average benchmark score and how does it rank among all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670 and ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, which is a negligible 0.1% difference.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly indicates that the Low settings preset is the only viable option for achieving a smoother experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator with this hardware. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 34 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations. Moving to the Medium preset at the same resolution drops the average to 27 FPS, a reduction of 7 FPS, while High and Ultra presets fall to 20 and 19 FPS respectively.

The pattern is consistent at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 28 FPS, which is the only playable average above 30 FPS territory, though still below it. Medium drops to 22 FPS, High to 16 FPS, and Ultra to 15 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low settings yield 20 FPS, Medium 16 FPS, High 12 FPS, and Ultra 11 FPS. The trend shows that each step up in settings costs roughly 5-7 FPS at 1080p, with diminishing absolute differences at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the overwhelming bottleneck.

Given the data, the recommended preset is Low across all resolutions. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 7 FPS, a 21% reduction in average frame rate, which is a significant trade-off for visual fidelity that may not be worthwhile given the already low performance ceiling. For users who prioritize visual quality over smoothness, Medium is the next step, but the data shows it still leaves the average below 30 FPS at 1080p. The Ultra preset offers no playable advantage, with averages of 19 FPS at 1080p and 11 FPS at 4K, making it a poor choice for any resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a system heavily limited by the graphics processor. At Low settings, the average FPS declines from 34 at 1920x1080 to 28 at 2560x1440, a drop of 6 FPS, and then to 20 at 3840x2160, a further drop of 8 FPS. This represents a total reduction of 14 FPS, or about 41%, when moving from the lowest to the highest tested resolution.

The pattern is similar for Medium settings, where averages go from 27 FPS at 1080p to 22 FPS at 1440p and 16 FPS at 4K. The total loss from 1080p to 4K is 11 FPS, a 41% decrease. At High settings, the decline is from 20 FPS at 1080p to 16 FPS at 1440p and 12 FPS at 4K, a 40% reduction. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 19 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K, a 42% drop.

The consistency of the percentage drop across all settings, roughly 40-42% from 1080p to 4K, is a classic indicator that the rendering pipeline is saturated by the GPU. The resolution scaling is nearly linear, meaning the integrated Radeon 760M is the primary limiting component. The CPU, despite its high core count and strong benchmark scores, is not able to compensate for the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel count. The data shows that even at the lowest settings, the system cannot maintain 30 FPS at 4K, confirming that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon 760M combination ranks 3703 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 0.3% of all systems tested, indicating that this hardware pairing is one of the least capable for this specific title. The rank is a direct consequence of the integrated GPU's low performance ceiling, as the CPU is a high-end mobile part.

The combo rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, but rather the GPU's. The Core Ultra 9 185H ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average score of 35670, placing it near the top of the mobile processor market. However, the Radeon 760M ranks in the 35th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 6019, which is a mediocre result for a discrete graphics card and below average for any gaming-focused solution. The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile explains the poor overall combo ranking.

The data suggests that this combo is fundamentally unbalanced for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into playable frame rates. The ranking of 3703 out of 3714 is a clear verdict: this is not a configuration suited for this game, and users would need to rely on the integrated graphics' limitations or consider external GPU solutions to improve performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process node. It features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output pipelines, along with 8 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 800 MHz and boosts up to 2599 MHz, with a pixel rate of 41.58 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 83.17 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 5.323 TFLOPS.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which, in practice, means the GPU's performance is tied to the CPU's memory subsystem. The Core Ultra 9 185H supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, but this shared bandwidth is a limiting factor for the integrated GPU.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is critical. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions and settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 400 is very low, and the Passmark G3D score of 5310 places it in the 35th percentile. The GPU's closest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, both of which are older or lower-end discrete parts. This context explains why the combo struggles to exceed 34 FPS even at 1080p Low: the integrated GPU simply does not have the raw fill rate or shading power to handle the game's complex scenery and lighting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is presented across three resolutions and four settings presets, with averages for all and min/max for Medium settings only.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 34 FPS. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. The High preset averages 20 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. This is the only resolution where any preset approaches a playable threshold, with Low being the clear best performer.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 22 FPS, with a min of 18 FPS and a max of 25 FPS. The High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 15 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable, with Low losing 6 FPS and Medium losing 5 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 20 FPS. The Medium preset averages 16 FPS, with a min of 13 FPS and a max of 18 FPS. The High preset averages 12 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 11 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with no preset exceeding 20 FPS, confirming that this resolution is outside the hardware's capabilities.

The Medium settings data provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the range from 23 to 31 FPS shows a variance of 8 FPS, which can lead to noticeable stutter. At 1440p, the range is 18 to 25 FPS (7 FPS variance), and at 4K, it is 13 to 18 FPS (5 FPS variance). The tighter range at higher resolutions is likely due to the GPU being fully saturated, resulting in more consistent but lower frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a high-end mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, based on the Meteor Lake architecture built on a 7 nm process node. It features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache, with 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 112 KB of L1 cache per core. Its TDP is 45 W, and it supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, reflecting its high core count and clock speeds. It scores 17984.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1810.5 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 11657 multi-core and 1794 single-core. The Passmark multi-thread score is 29376, and single-thread is 3697. These scores place the CPU in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35670. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, a negligible 0.1% difference.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. Given the CPU's high benchmark scores, it is unlikely to be a bottleneck in this configuration. However, the measured FPS data shows that the system is still limited to sub-30 FPS averages at most settings, which suggests the CPU's performance is not being fully utilized because the GPU cannot keep up. The CPU's high single-thread score of 1810.5 in Cinebench R23 indicates it can handle the game's single-threaded simulation tasks, but the integrated GPU's 5.323 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient to render the complex scenes at acceptable frame rates. The data confirms that the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU is.