Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers an average of 19 FPS on High settings, 26 FPS on Medium, 33 FPS on Low, and 19 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS, while the other presets at this resolution have no recorded minimum or maximum values. The gap between Low and Ultra is 14 FPS, which indicates that the graphics workload at 4K heavily saturates the GPU, leaving little headroom for higher quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same combination produces 26 FPS on High, 35 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on Low, and 25 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 20 FPS, a wider spread than at 4K, suggesting that the GPU has more room to respond to setting changes at this lower pixel count.

At 1920x1080, the results improve further: High averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS, Low averages 56 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra reaches 25 FPS, the largest spread among all three resolutions, which reflects the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor only at higher settings while the CPU still has capacity to feed frames at lower presets.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low is the highest-scoring preset, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra at the bottom. The recorded data shows no configuration reaching the 60 FPS threshold at any resolution or preset combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant constraint in this pairing. From 1920x1080 Low at 56 FPS to 2560x1440 Low at 45 FPS, the drop is 11 FPS, and further to 3840x2160 Low at 33 FPS, another 12 FPS loss. This steep decline as pixel count rises indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput, not the CPU's processing capacity, determines the frame rate.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck in this scenario. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 15476 and a single-core score of 1574.5, place it in the 81st percentile among all tested CPUs. The GPU, by contrast, sits in the 9th percentile among all tested GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This disparity in percentile rankings confirms that the graphics adapter is far below the processor in relative capability.

Preset scaling reinforces this interpretation. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra costs 25 FPS, while the same transition at 3840x2160 costs only 14 FPS. The diminishing penalty at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is already saturated at 4K, so additional quality settings have less incremental impact. In contrast, at 1080p the GPU has more available throughput, allowing preset changes to produce larger swings in performance.

The CPU's role becomes more visible at lower resolutions and lower presets, where the frame rate approaches the processor's ability to issue draw calls and manage the simulation's physics and flight model. However, even at 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches only 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The data shows no scenario where CPU limitation is the primary cause of sub-60 FPS performance; the GPU consistently holds the system back.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best achievable average FPS is 33 on Low settings. This falls far short of the 60 FPS playability threshold. No preset at this resolution reaches a playable level, so the recommended action is to reduce resolution rather than adjust settings.

At 2560x1440, the best average FPS is 45 on Low settings. This is closer to the threshold but still below it. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS, and High and Ultra average 26 and 25 FPS respectively. Again, no preset clears 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best average FPS is 56 on Low settings. This is the highest recorded result for this combination across all tests. Medium achieves 43 FPS, High achieves 33 FPS, and Ultra achieves 31 FPS. While 56 FPS is the closest to the 60 FPS target, it still does not meet it.

The database's verdict field confirms this: for every resolution, the list of playable settings is empty, and the best settings field is null. This means the system cannot sustain 60 FPS at any resolution and preset combination tested.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with a score of 29093 and a delta of 0.1 percent, the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 at 29245 with a delta of -0.4 percent, the Intel Core i5-13500HX at 29270 with a delta of -0.5 percent, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28940 with a delta of 0.6 percent. These processors deliver nearly identical multi-threaded performance to the Ryzen 7 5800X, which scores 29123 on average. In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would produce virtually indistinguishable frame rates, since the GPU remains the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals are all NVIDIA entries: the GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463 and a delta of 1.3 percent, the GeForce 800M at 1460 with a delta of 1.5 percent, the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 with a delta of 2.5 percent, and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 with a delta of 2.7 percent. The Arc B390 scores 1482. These GPUs are clustered in the same performance tier, meaning any of them would produce similar results in this game. A user with a GT 710 or GT 625 OEM would expect roughly the same sub-60 FPS experience at 1080p Low, with the Arc B390 holding a marginal 2 to 3 percent advantage.

The percentile data reinforces this: the GPU sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 81st percentile. Any upgrade path would need to address the GPU first, as the processor has ample headroom for more capable graphics hardware.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator depends on the definition of "run." The database's playability threshold is set at 60 FPS, and the recorded measurements show that this combination fails to reach that threshold at every resolution and preset.

At 3840x2160, the maximum average FPS is 33 on Low, which is 45 percent below the threshold. At 2560x1440, the maximum average is 45 on Low, which is 25 percent below. At 1920x1080, the maximum average is 56 on Low, which is 7 percent below. The verdict field lists no playable settings for any resolution, and the best settings field is null across the board.

For users who consider 30 FPS acceptable, the system can deliver playable frame rates at 4K Low (33 FPS) and 1440p Medium (35 FPS). For those who insist on 60 FPS, this combination is not viable for Microsoft Flight Simulator at any tested configuration. The GPU is the clear bottleneck, and the data suggests that even lowering resolution to 720p would likely not bridge the gap, though that resolution was not tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 56, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run the game at 60 FPS at any resolution?

A: No. The database lists no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080, meaning no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Which preset is best at 1440p?

A: Low settings produce the highest average FPS at 2560x1440, with 45 FPS. Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it 1.3 percent ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5 percent ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5 percent ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7 percent ahead of the GeForce GT 710.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 5800X sits in the 81st percentile among CPUs, while the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile among GPUs. Frame rates drop sharply as resolution increases, indicating GPU saturation.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 56 FPS and Ultra averages 31 FPS, a difference of 25 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3302nd. This places the combination in the bottom 11 percent of all tested systems for this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's severe performance deficit relative to the CPU, as the processor is competitive with other high-end desktop chips while the graphics adapter falls into the lowest performance tier.

The rank of 3302 indicates that the vast majority of tested configurations deliver higher frame rates in this title. The gap between this combo and the top performers is substantial, driven almost entirely by the GPU's inability to handle the game's demanding rendering workload. Users seeking a playable experience at 60 FPS would need to consider a different GPU, as the CPU is not the constraint in this pairing.