Microsoft Flight Simulator

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 881st out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places it in the top 24% of all tested configurations, a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The data indicates this pairing sits well above the median tested system, meaning most tested combos deliver worse frame rates in this flight simulator.

The CPU itself ranks in the 73rd percentile against all CPUs in the benchmark database, while the GPU ranks in the 81st percentile against all GPUs. The combination of a 73rd-percentile CPU and an 81st-percentile GPU produces a system that handles Microsoft Flight Simulator's demanding workload competently. The CPU's average benchmark score of 19,593 places it within 1% of several nearby rivals, including the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668, 0.4% faster), Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499, 0.5% slower), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (19,723, 0.7% faster). Meanwhile, the GPU's average benchmark score of 37,648 sits within 1.3% of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628, 0.1% faster), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507, 0.4% faster), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135, 1.3% faster), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37,157, 1.3% slower).

The rank of 881 out of 3,714 reflects the balanced nature of this configuration. Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for taxing both CPU and GPU heavily, and this combo delivers enough headroom in both areas to avoid severe bottlenecking. The 12-thread Ryzen 5 5500 provides solid multi-threaded performance, while the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and Ada Lovelace architecture handle the simulator's large texture loads efficiently.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear shift in component importance depending on resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role relative to the GPU. The frame rates at 1080p range from 162 FPS on Low settings to 92 FPS on Ultra, with the GPU having enough headroom that CPU limitations become more noticeable. The Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread score of 836 in 3DMark and 2,319 in Cinebench R23 indicates it can feed the RTX 4070 adequately at this resolution, though the 1080p Ultra result of 92 FPS suggests the CPU begins to constrain performance in the most demanding preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the balance shifts toward the GPU. Frame rates at 1440p range from 133 FPS on Low to 74 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 17-19% performance drop across presets, which aligns with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU's 5,888 shading units and 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth. The RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute becomes more heavily utilized at this resolution, while the CPU's role diminishes slightly.

At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates entirely. The 4K results range from 98 FPS on Low to 55 FPS on Ultra, with Medium hitting 76 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial: 38-41% across presets. This is a pure GPU workload, as the RTX 4070's memory bandwidth and rasterization throughput become the limiting factors. The CPU's influence at 4K is minimal, as evidenced by the fact that even the Low preset at 4K (98 FPS) falls well short of the 1080p Low result (162 FPS), a gap driven almost entirely by GPU pixel throughput rather than CPU capability.

The scaling between presets also tells a story. At every resolution, the jump from Low to Medium costs roughly 20-25% of frame rate, Medium to High costs another 15-20%, and High to Ultra costs 10-15%. This consistent scaling pattern indicates that neither component is wildly out of balance with the other; the system degrades gracefully as settings increase, without any sudden cliff that would indicate a severe bottleneck at any particular stage.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU side, the nearest rivals to the Ryzen 5 5500 are all within 1% of its average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617 average score, 0.1% faster) would behave nearly identically in Microsoft Flight Simulator, as would the Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668 average score, 0.4% faster). The Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499 average score, 0.5% slower) and Intel Core i5-11600KF (19,723 average score, 0.7% faster) also fall within the same performance envelope. Any of these CPUs paired with an RTX 4070 would produce frame rates within a couple of percent of this combo's results in the simulator.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals to the RTX 4070 are more varied in character. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628 average score, 0.1% faster) is a professional-grade card but would deliver nearly identical gaming performance in this title. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507 average score, 0.4% faster) is an older architecture but benchmarks almost exactly the same. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135 average score, 1.3% faster) represents a laptop part that outperforms the desktop RTX 4070 slightly in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37,157 average score, 1.3% slower) sits marginally behind. In practical terms, any of these GPUs paired with the Ryzen 5 5500 would generate frame rates within 1-2 FPS of the measured results at each resolution and preset combination.

The deltaPct values across both component categories are remarkably tight, all within ±1.3%. This means the performance class of this combo is well-defined: if you were to swap in any of these nearby alternatives for either component, the Microsoft Flight Simulator experience would be virtually indistinguishable from what this configuration delivers.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it does so with room to spare at most settings. The verdict data shows clear playability at 60 FPS across multiple resolutions. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low (162 FPS), Medium (128 FPS), High (96 FPS), and Ultra (92 FPS). The best settings at 1080p are Ultra, with an average of 92 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the story is equally positive. All four presets exceed 60 FPS: Low (133 FPS), Medium (103 FPS), High (78 FPS), and Ultra (74 FPS). The best settings at 1440p are Ultra, averaging 74 FPS. This means the combo delivers a fully maxed-out experience at 1440p without dropping below the playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more nuanced. The playable settings are Low (98 FPS) and Medium (76 FPS). The Medium preset at 4K is the recommended maximum, delivering an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 88 FPS. The High preset drops to 57 FPS and Ultra falls to 55 FPS, both below the 60 FPS playable threshold. So 4K gaming is possible but requires settling for Medium settings to maintain smooth performance.

The verdict is clear: this combo runs the game excellently at 1080p and 1440p across all settings, and at 4K with Medium settings or lower. For users targeting 60 FPS as the minimum acceptable frame rate, this system provides a comfortable margin at mainstream resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates come directly from benchmark testing and are presented below by resolution and settings.

1920x1080:

• Low: 162 FPS average
• Medium: 128 FPS average, 109 FPS minimum, 147 FPS maximum
• High: 96 FPS average
• Ultra: 92 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 133 FPS average
• Medium: 103 FPS average, 88 FPS minimum, 119 FPS maximum
• High: 78 FPS average
• Ultra: 74 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 98 FPS average
• Medium: 76 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• High: 57 FPS average
• Ultra: 55 FPS average

The minimum and maximum figures available only for Medium settings at each resolution provide insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the spread from 109 to 147 FPS shows a 38 FPS range, indicating some frame pacing variation but nothing severe. At 1440p Medium, the 88 to 119 FPS spread is tighter at 31 FPS. At 4K Medium, the 65 to 88 FPS range spans 23 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the lower resolutions. The fact that even the minimum at 4K Medium (65 FPS) stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold reinforces the verdict that this setting is playable.

The step-down pattern is consistent: Low to Medium costs roughly 20-25%, Medium to High costs another 15-20%, and High to Ultra costs another 5-15%. The largest absolute drop occurs between Low and Medium at 1080p (34 FPS) and 1440p (30 FPS), while the smallest drop is between High and Ultra at 1080p (4 FPS) and 1440p (4 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset at 1080p and 1440p is relatively efficient, adding only marginal visual gains for a modest frame rate cost.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the average frame rate is 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS, which stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold. High and Ultra presets at 4K drop below 60 FPS, averaging 57 FPS and 55 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best visual quality setting this system can handle at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset is fully playable at 2560x1440, averaging 74 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold with a 14 FPS margin.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its closest CPU rivals in overall benchmark performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 19,593 is within 1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668, 0.4% faster), Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499, 0.5% slower), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (19,723, 0.7% faster). All five CPUs perform essentially identically in general benchmarks.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a larger role than at higher resolutions. The 1080p Ultra result of 92 FPS and High result of 96 FPS are relatively close together, suggesting the CPU begins to constrain the GPU at these settings. The RTX 4070 has enough raw throughput that the Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread performance becomes the more relevant factor at this resolution.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the measured average is 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 147 FPS. This provides a very smooth experience well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's benchmark performance compare to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,648 is 0.4% slower than the Radeon RX Vega 56's 37,507 score. Despite being different architectures from different generations, the two GPUs benchmark nearly identically, though the RTX 4070 offers more modern features like 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and ray tracing acceleration.