Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and Intel Arc B580 shows a clear pattern: playability degrades rapidly as resolution climbs, and the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens significantly at higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the combo averages 56.4 FPS on Low, which is the only preset that comes close to the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 42.6 FPS, High falls to 33.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 31.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 24.5 FPS, meaning the most demanding preset costs roughly 43% of the Low preset's performance. The data shows that 4K is largely out of reach for anything beyond minimal settings, and even Low sits below the 60 FPS line.

At 2560x1440, the picture improves substantially. Low settings deliver 79.2 FPS, clearing the threshold by a comfortable margin. Medium lands at 58.3 FPS, just shy of 60. High averages 45.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43.2 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 20.9 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 2.6 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end of the preset scale. This resolution is playable only on Low, with Medium agonizingly close but still below the line.

At 1920x1080, the combo finally finds its footing. Low averages 97.8 FPS, Medium hits 73.5 FPS, High manages 56 FPS, and Ultra sits at 53 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 24.3 FPS, while Medium to High costs 17.5 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is just 3 FPS, which indicates that the Ultra preset is not dramatically more punishing than High at this resolution. Two presets clear 60 FPS here, making 1080p the only resolution with meaningful headroom.

The database records only average FPS values for this title; no minimum or maximum frame times are available for any resolution or preset. That means the analysis must rely on averages alone, which can hide stutter or frame pacing issues that flight simulators are prone to exhibit over dense terrain or complex weather.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database's tested combinations, this pairing sits at rank 2837 out of 3714 combos. That places it in the lower third of all recorded systems, roughly the 23rd percentile of tested configurations. For a game as demanding as Microsoft Flight Simulator, that ranking is unsurprising given the measured results: the combo cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset, and at 1440p only the Low preset crosses the line.

The CPU itself, the Ryzen 7 3700X, ranks in the 84th percentile against all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 34260. The nearest rivals are closely bunched: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34222, a delta of 0.1% behind; the AMD EPYC 4244P scores 34220, also 0.1% behind; the Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333, which is 0.2% ahead; and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H scores 34083, 0.5% behind. These are all within a rounding error of each other, meaning the 3700X is essentially on par with a cluster of modern mid-range and workstation chips in synthetic workloads. The CPU is not the bottleneck here.

The GPU, the Intel Arc B580, ranks in the 68th percentile against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 23021. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP at 23061, 0.2% ahead; the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 at 22895, 0.6% behind; the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 at 23172, 0.7% ahead; and the NVIDIA P106-100 at 23249, 1% ahead. The fact that the B580 lands within 1% of an RTX 3080 in average GPU score is striking, though the measured game performance tells a more nuanced story. The combo rank of 2837 out of 3714 suggests that in this specific title, the pairing underperforms what the component-level averages might imply.

The percentile gap between CPU (84th) and GPU (68th) hints that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this system, which aligns with the measured FPS scaling across resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The verdict field in the database lists no playable settings and no best settings for this resolution. The closest result is Low at 56.4 FPS, which is 3.6 FPS short of the threshold. Even the lowest preset cannot push this combo to a smooth 4K experience.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Low, averaging 79.2 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that clears 60 FPS. Medium falls short at 58.3 FPS, a 20.9 FPS drop from Low. Players who want to stay above the threshold at 1440p must accept Low settings, which in a flight simulator typically means reduced draw distance, simplified shadows, and lower texture fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Medium, averaging 73.5 FPS. Low runs even faster at 97.8 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual balance while still clearing the line by 13.5 FPS. High sits at 56 FPS, below the threshold, and Ultra at 53 FPS is worse still. The data shows that 1080p Medium is the highest fidelity preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Arc B580's average score of 23021 places it within 1% of several very different cards. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, which is 0.2% higher, meaning a system with that GPU would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in this game. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, 0.6% lower, so it would trail the B580 by a small margin. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7% higher, putting it slightly ahead. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1% higher, the closest rival in average score. These deltas are all under 1.5%, so any of these cards would behave very similarly to the B580 in Microsoft Flight Simulator, assuming the CPU remains the same.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 7 3700X's average score of 34260 is bracketed by four rivals within 0.5%. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 at 34222 and the AMD EPYC 4244P at 34220 are effectively identical in performance. The Intel Core i5-13450HX at 34333 is 0.2% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H at 34083 is 0.5% slower. Swapping the 3700X for any of these chips would produce essentially the same CPU-bound behavior in this title. The bottleneck is the GPU, so CPU changes would have minimal impact on the measured FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals which component dominates. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 97.8 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 79.2 FPS, a reduction of 18.6 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 56.4 FPS, another 22.8 FPS lower. This steep decline as pixel count rises points to the GPU as the primary constraint. A CPU-bound system would show flatter FPS across resolutions, but the data shows a nearly linear drop with resolution.

The preset scaling reinforces this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 24.3 FPS, and Medium to High costs 17.5 FPS. At 1440p, Low to Medium costs 20.9 FPS, and Medium to High costs 12.5 FPS. At 4K, Low to Medium costs 13.8 FPS, and Medium to High costs 10.5 FPS. The absolute cost of each preset step shrinks as resolution rises, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited workload: at higher resolutions, the GPU is already saturated, so preset changes have less absolute impact.

The CPU's role is visible in the fact that the Ryzen 7 3700X sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the Arc B580 sits in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The database's combo rank of 2837 out of 3714 suggests the pair is not well balanced for this specific title. The 3700X has 8 cores and 16 threads, which is ample for flight simulation, but the B580's 12 GB of memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are not enough to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU, especially at 1440p and 4K where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best recorded result is 56.4 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 42.6 FPS, High averages 33.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 31.9 FPS. The database lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Low settings, which average 79.2 FPS. Medium falls to 58.3 FPS, just under the threshold, and High and Ultra average 45.8 and 43.2 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: In average GPU score, the B580 scores 23021 and the RTX 3080 scores 23172, a delta of 0.7% in favor of the RTX 3080. In practical terms, the two cards would produce nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator with the same CPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck for this game?

A: The GPU. The Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 3700X ranks in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The FPS drops sharply as resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What settings should be used at 1080p for a smooth experience?

A: Medium settings, which average 73.5 FPS. Low runs at 97.8 FPS, but Medium offers higher fidelity while still clearing the 60 FPS line by 13.5 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS at 56 and 53 FPS respectively.

Q: How many tested combos does this pairing outperform?

A: The combo ranks 2837 out of 3714 tested combinations, meaning it sits above 877 other systems in the database and below 2837 of them.

The Verdict

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the Intel Arc B580 can run Microsoft Flight Simulator, but only within strict limits. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS on Low and Medium presets, with Medium being the best playable setting at 73.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low crosses the threshold, averaging 79.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS, and the best result is 56.4 FPS on Low.

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: 4K is not playable by this standard, 1440p is playable only on Low, and 1080p is playable on Medium. Players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could tolerate 1080p High at 56 FPS or 1440p Medium at 58.3 FPS, but those fall short of the 60 FPS line. The data indicates this is a 1080p-oriented pairing for this title, with 1440p available only at minimal settings. The GPU is the limiting factor, and any upgrade path should focus there first.