Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured data for Microsoft Flight Simulator shows that the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile combination is a solid 1080p performer, a reasonable 1440p option, and a mostly 4K-limited pairing. The CPU is the stronger half of this duo, ranking in the 88th percentile among all tested CPUs with an average benchmark score of 44466, while the GPU ranks in the 67th percentile with an average benchmark score of 22435. In-game, the combo lands at rank 2454 out of 3714 tested combinations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread mobile processor built on Intel’s 3 nm Panther Lake architecture. Its base clock is 2.10 GHz, its boost clock is 5.10 GHz, and it carries 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It is a 25 W part with LPDDR5X memory support over a dual-channel interface and 153.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU also includes Arc B390 integrated graphics, though the measured Flight Simulator results in this page come from the discrete GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile.

The CPU’s benchmark profile is strong. Cinebench R23 multicore returns 18911, while the single-core result is 2200.5. PassMark multithread is 36811 and PassMark singlethread is 4280. These results place the chip at an 88th-percentile standing among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 44466.

Looking at nearest rivals, the Core Ultra X9 388H is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which scores 44573 and sits 0.2% ahead of the Intel part. The Intel chip is 0.3% ahead of the Core i9-13950HX at 44342, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 at 44309, and 0.5% ahead of the Core i5-13600 at 44240. That cluster of results shows the X9 388H is not dramatically faster or slower than its direct aggregate rivals; it is in the same general performance neighborhood.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU side of this combo shows enough headroom at low rendering load. The 1920x1080 Low preset produces 103 FPS, which is the highest measured average for this configuration. That result is consistent with strong single-thread performance, and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2200.5 plus PassMark singlethread score of 4280 are the numbers that stand out. As the preset climbs, the average at 1080p falls from 103 FPS on Low to 80 FPS on Medium, 60 FPS on High, and 58 FPS on Ultra. That pattern indicates the burden shifts from the processor to the graphics pipeline as visual detail increases, and the CPU is not the primary ceiling at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile is a Blackwell 2.0 GPU built on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It uses the GB206 chip with 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its base clock is 952 MHz, boost clock is 1455 MHz, and the memory clock is 1500 MHz, listed as 24 Gbps effective. The GPU contains 3328 shading units, 104 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 26 RT cores, and 104 tensor cores, with FP32 performance of 9.684 TFLOPS. It is a 45 W part with a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface.

The GPU’s benchmark results place it above the middle of the pack. 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 returns 3013.5, Geekbench OpenCL returns 96969, Geekbench Vulkan returns 96451, PassMark G3D returns 18852, and PassMark GPU Compute returns 7607. The average benchmark score is 22435, which puts the GPU in the 67th percentile of all GPUs.

In aggregate benchmarks, the RTX 5060 Mobile trails the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT by 0.5%, with the AMD card scoring 22549. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile by 1.3%, with the older card scoring 22729. On the other side of the comparison, the RTX 5060 Mobile is 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 at 22170 and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 22154. These rival comparisons are aggregate benchmark scores, not Flight Simulator-specific frame rates, but they frame where the GPU sits in the broader hardware landscape.

In this game, the GPU’s limits appear when resolution rises. At 4K, the Low preset averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 48 FPS, High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 34 FPS. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM capacity, 128-bit interface, and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are the relevant hardware characteristics for the high-resolution texture and scenery workloads that Microsoft Flight Simulator produces. The measured frame-rate collapse at 4K High and Ultra points to the GPU as the limiting component in this pairing once the resolution and preset load increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS rows show a clear and consistent resolution penalty from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. On the Low preset, the average starts at 103 FPS at 1080p, drops to 83 FPS at 1440p, and reaches 61 FPS at 4K. On Medium, the average is 80 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. High falls from 60 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p and 36 FPS at 4K. Ultra falls from 58 FPS at 1080p to 46 FPS at 1440p and 34 FPS at 4K.

The Medium preset includes the only min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the measured range is 68 to 92 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 55 to 74 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range shrinks to 41 to 55 FPS. That narrowing range, combined with the falling average, suggests frame delivery becomes less consistent as the render resolution increases.

This scaling pattern points to the GPU as the limiting component at high resolution. On Low, where the CPU and simulation logic have less rendering overhead, the resolution change from 1080p to 4K produces the largest absolute drop in average FPS. On Ultra, the drop is smaller because the preset is already heavy enough at 1080p to hold the average to 58 FPS before resolution scaling begins. The data therefore indicates a GPU-bound system at 1440p and especially at 4K, while the CPU has enough single-thread and multicore performance to keep 1080p frame rates high.

How This Combo Ranks

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, this CPU and GPU pairing ranks 2454 out of 3714 tested combinations. Since lower rank numbers represent better positions, this puts the combo in the lower half of the database. The CPU’s own standing is much stronger: the 88th-percentile ranking among all CPUs contrasts with the GPU’s 67th-percentile ranking among all GPUs. The in-game rank reflects that mismatch, with the GPU more likely to hold the combo back in a visually demanding sim at higher resolutions.

The aggregate benchmark rivals help explain the component-level context. The Core Ultra X9 388H is within a 0.5% band of all four nearest rivals, with scores of 44573, 44342, 44309, and 44240. The RTX 5060 Mobile is similarly tightly grouped against its nearest rivals, with scores of 22549, 22729, 22170, and 22154. This is not a combo with one dominant component; the CPU sits near the top of its comparison group, and the GPU sits just above the midpoint of its own. The rank of 2454 out of 3714 is the in-game consequence of that middle-tier GPU pairing when placed against a much stronger-than-average CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average is 103 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. At the same resolution, Medium averages 80 FPS, High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 58 FPS.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only on Low. The 4K Low preset averages 61 FPS. 4K Medium averages 48 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS, while 4K High averages 36 FPS and 4K Ultra averages 34 FPS.

Q: Which measured preset offers the most stable frame delivery?

A: Based on the available min/max data, 1920x1080 Medium is the most stable measured row: 80 FPS average, 68 FPS minimum, and 92 FPS maximum. At 1440p Medium, the average is 65 FPS with a 55 to 74 FPS range, and at 4K Medium the average is 48 FPS with a 41 to 55 FPS range.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest aggregate rivals?

A: The Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466. It is 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D at 44573, and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX at 44342, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 at 44309, and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600 at 44240.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest aggregate rivals?

A: The GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22435. It is 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 22549 and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile at 22729. It is 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 at 22170 and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700S at 22154.

Q: Where does this combo rank in the full benchmark database for this game?

A: It ranks 2454 out of 3714 tested combinations. The CPU sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 67th percentile of all GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows support different recommendations depending on the priority. For the best balance of resolution and frame rate, 2560x1440 Medium is the strongest measured option. It delivers 65 FPS average with a 55 FPS minimum and a 74 FPS maximum. That is a higher resolution than 1080p Medium while still keeping the average above 60 FPS.

For users who want maximum smoothness at 1080p, the Medium preset is the clear choice: 80 FPS average, 68 FPS minimum, and 92 FPS maximum. The High preset at 1080p averages exactly 60 FPS, and Ultra drops slightly to 58 FPS. So if the goal is to stay at 1080p and avoid dropping below a smooth frame rate, Medium offers the most headroom.

At 4K, the data is less forgiving. Low is the only 4K preset that averages above 60 FPS, at 61 FPS. 4K Medium averages 48 FPS with a 41 FPS minimum, which may be acceptable in less demanding scenes but leaves little margin. 4K High and 4K Ultra average 36 FPS and 34 FPS, respectively, making them the weakest measured settings for this sim. Overall, the benchmark results point to 1440p Medium as the best experience per measured row: it keeps the average above 60 FPS, maintains a minimum in the mid-50s, and still offers a meaningful resolution step above 1080p.