Creating Professional Benchmark Reports

Creating Professional Benchmark Reports

Estimated Lesson Time: 40 Minutes

Lesson Overview

In the previous lessons, you learned how to create a repeatable benchmark flight and measure performance using professional benchmarking techniques.

Now it’s time to organise that information.

One of the biggest differences between casual users and professional system optimisers is documentation.

Many users spend hours optimising their simulator but never record what they changed or how it affected performance.

Weeks later they can’t remember:

  • Which graphics driver worked best.
  • Which graphics settings improved FPS.
  • Which simulator update reduced performance.
  • Which hardware upgrade made the biggest difference.

Professional benchmark reports solve this problem.

They create a permanent history of your simulator’s performance, allowing you to compare results over weeks, months and even years.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll know how to create and maintain your own benchmark database just like a professional reviewer or performance engineer.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will understand:

How to create professional benchmark reports.

Why documentation is essential.

What information should always be recorded.

How spreadsheets simplify benchmarking.

Why screenshots are valuable.

How to maintain a long-term benchmark history.

How benchmark reports help diagnose future performance problems.

Why Keep Benchmark Reports?

Imagine you optimise your simulator today.

Six months later:

  • Microsoft Flight Simulator receives a major update.
  • NVIDIA releases several new drivers.
  • Windows receives feature updates.

Your simulator suddenly performs differently.

Without historical records, you have no reliable way to compare your current performance with previous results.

A benchmark report allows you to answer questions such as:

  • Was performance actually better before?
  • Which graphics driver gave the best results?
  • Did a Windows update reduce FPS?
  • Has VRAM usage increased over time?
  • Have temperatures changed?
  • Did your hardware upgrade deliver the expected improvement?

A benchmark report turns optimisation into measurable evidence rather than guesswork.

1. Creating a Benchmark Spreadsheet

The easiest way to organise benchmark data is with a spreadsheet.

Applications such as:

  • Microsoft Excel.
  • Google Sheets.
  • LibreOffice Calc.

allow you to record and compare performance over time.

Each benchmark should occupy its own row in the spreadsheet.

This creates a timeline of your simulator’s performance.

2. Recording Your Hardware

Every benchmark should begin by recording your system specifications.

Include:

CPU

Example:

Ryzen 7 7800X3D

GPU

Example:

RTX 5080

RAM

Example:

32GB DDR5 6000MHz

Storage

Example:

2TB NVMe SSD

Monitor

Record:

  • Resolution.
  • Refresh Rate.
  • HDR status (if used).

Why?

Hardware changes dramatically affect benchmark results.

Without this information, comparisons become unreliable.

3. Recording Graphics Settings

Your benchmark should include the exact graphics settings used.

Record:

  • Resolution.
  • Render Scaling.
  • Anti-Aliasing method.
  • DLSS or FSR mode.
  • Frame Generation.
  • Terrain LOD.
  • Object LOD.
  • Texture Resolution.
  • Cloud Quality.
  • Shadow Quality.
  • Ambient Occlusion.
  • Reflections.
  • Traffic settings.

If these settings change, your benchmark results are no longer directly comparable.

4. Recording Weather

Weather significantly influences simulator performance.

Record:

  • Weather preset.
  • Cloud coverage.
  • Wind conditions (if relevant).
  • Live Weather or Preset.

Using a preset ensures repeatability.

Always note exactly which preset was used.

5. Recording Driver Version

Your graphics driver should always be documented.

Examples:

  • NVIDIA Driver Version.
  • AMD Driver Version.

Driver updates can influence:

  • FPS.
  • Frame pacing.
  • Stability.
  • VRAM management.

Keeping a record allows you to identify which driver version performs best on your system.

6. Recording Simulator Version

Microsoft Flight Simulator changes frequently.

Simulator updates may:

  • Improve performance.
  • Reduce performance.
  • Change CPU workload.
  • Alter GPU workload.
  • Modify rendering techniques.

Record:

  • Simulator version.
  • Sim Update number (if known).
  • Beta or Stable version.

This makes it much easier to compare results after future updates.

7. Taking Screenshots

Screenshots provide visual evidence of your benchmark.

Capture:

  • Developer Mode FPS Display.
  • Graphics Settings page.
  • NVIDIA App, MSI Afterburner or HWiNFO overlays (if used).
  • Cockpit view during the benchmark.
  • GPU monitoring graphs (if available).

Why?

A screenshot preserves the exact conditions under which the benchmark was performed and makes it easier to spot differences later.

8. Keeping Benchmark History

One benchmark is useful.

Ten benchmarks are powerful.

A year of benchmark history is invaluable.

Your benchmark history becomes a performance diary.

Over time, you’ll be able to identify trends such as:

  • Performance improvements after hardware upgrades.
  • Driver versions that perform best.
  • Simulator updates that reduce FPS.
  • Increasing VRAM usage.
  • Temperature changes.
  • Long-term system stability.

This historical data makes future troubleshooting significantly easier.

9. What Should Every Benchmark Report Include?

Every benchmark report should record:

Hardware

  • CPU.
  • GPU.
  • RAM.
  • Storage.
  • Monitor.
  • Resolution.

Software

  • Windows Version.
  • Simulator Version.
  • Graphics Driver Version.

Simulator

  • Airport.
  • Aircraft.
  • Parking Stand.
  • Weather.
  • Time of Day.
  • Route.

Graphics Settings

  • DLSS or FSR.
  • Frame Generation.
  • Terrain LOD.
  • Object LOD.
  • Texture Resolution.
  • Graphics Preset.

Performance

  • Average FPS.
  • Minimum FPS.
  • Maximum FPS.
  • 1% Lows.
  • 0.1% Lows.
  • GPU Utilisation.
  • VRAM Usage.
  • GPU Temperature.
  • MainThread Status.
  • GPU Limited Status.
  • Frame Times.
  • Frame Pacing.

Notes

Include anything unusual.

Examples:

  • Small shader stutters during taxi.
  • Heavy AI traffic.
  • Background download running.
  • Windows update installed.
  • New scenery package installed.

Small notes often explain unexpected benchmark results.

Why Good Documentation Matters

Imagine you upgrade your GPU next year.

Because you’ve kept benchmark reports, you can immediately compare:

Old GPU

↓

New GPU

Same flight.

Same airport.

Same settings.

You’ll know exactly how much performance you’ve gained.

Professional reviewers don’t rely on memory.

They rely on records.

Common Mistakes

Not recording graphics settings.

Forgetting the driver version.

Using different benchmark flights.

Forgetting the simulator version.

Not taking screenshots.

Only recording FPS.

Never reviewing historical results.

Student Exercise

Today you’re going to build your own benchmark database.

Step 1

Open your preferred spreadsheet software.

Create a new workbook titled:

Performance Academy Benchmark Database

Step 2

Create columns for:

Hardware

  • CPU.
  • GPU.
  • RAM.
  • Storage.
  • Monitor.

Software

  • Windows Version.
  • Simulator Version.
  • Driver Version.

Flight

  • Airport.
  • Aircraft.
  • Parking Stand.
  • Weather.
  • Time.
  • Route.

Performance

  • Average FPS.
  • Minimum FPS.
  • Maximum FPS.
  • 1% Lows.
  • 0.1% Lows.
  • GPU Utilisation.
  • VRAM Usage.
  • GPU Temperature.
  • MainThread Status.
  • GPU Limited Status.

Notes

Record any observations.

Step 3

Run your permanent benchmark flight and complete your first entry.

Step 4

Take screenshots of:

  • Graphics Settings.
  • Developer Mode FPS Counter.
  • GPU Monitoring Software.

Store them in a dedicated Benchmark Archive folder.

Step 5

Repeat this process every time you make a significant hardware, software or graphics change.

Over time, your benchmark database will become one of your most valuable optimisation tools.

Student Checklist

Benchmark spreadsheet created.

Hardware recorded.

Graphics settings documented.

Weather documented.

Driver version recorded.

Simulator version recorded.

Screenshots captured.

Benchmark history started.

Lesson Summary

Congratulations.

You have now learned how to document Microsoft Flight Simulator performance like a professional.

Remember:

  • Benchmark reports turn isolated tests into meaningful long-term data.
  • Recording hardware, software, graphics settings and benchmark results ensures every comparison is fair and repeatable.
  • Screenshots provide visual confirmation of benchmark conditions.
  • A well-maintained benchmark history helps you identify trends, evaluate updates and troubleshoot performance problems with confidence.
  • The most valuable optimisation isn’t the one you remember—it’s the one you can prove with data.

Knowledge Check

  1. Why should benchmark results be recorded in a spreadsheet rather than relying on memory?
  2. Which hardware specifications should always be documented?
  3. Why is it important to record the graphics driver version and simulator version?
  4. How can weather influence benchmark results?
  5. Why are screenshots a valuable part of a benchmark report?
  6. What information should be included in the notes section of a benchmark?
  7. How can benchmark history help diagnose future performance problems?
  8. Why is maintaining a benchmark database an essential habit for long-term optimisation?
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