Microsoft Flight Simulator

Similar Performance Alternatives

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT sits in a well-populated performance tier. The database shows its average benchmark score at 29,879, which places it at the 81st percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close in aggregate performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29,868, a difference of only 0.0 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS both score 29,955, which puts them 0.3 percent ahead of the 5800XT. The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X scores 29,713, trailing by 0.6 percent. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame pacing in a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator. The 5800XT has 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, while the rivals listed are mobile and desktop parts from newer generations, yet the aggregate scores align closely enough that the user experience would be indistinguishable in most scenarios.

The Intel Arc B390 tells a very different story. Its average benchmark score is 1,482, which places it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs tested. That is a low position, and the nearest rivals confirm the company it keeps. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1,463, which is 1.3 percent behind. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1,460, a 1.5 percent deficit. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1,446, trailing by 2.5 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1,443, a 2.7 percent gap. These are all older, low-end graphics solutions. The Arc B390 is an integrated graphics part based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units. It has 12 ray tracing cores and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS. The data indicates this GPU is not in the same league as discrete gaming graphics cards, and the measured frame rates in Flight Simulator will reflect that reality.

For users considering this combination, the CPU is clearly the stronger component. The 5800XT ranks in the top fifth of all CPUs, while the Arc B390 ranks in the bottom tenth of all GPUs. The bottleneck in this system is overwhelmingly the graphics side. Any of the CPU rivals listed would perform similarly in this game because the frame rates are limited by the integrated GPU, not the processor.

CPU and GPU Roles

Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for being demanding on both the processor and the graphics card, but the measured data for this specific combination shows a clear pattern. The Arc B390 is the limiting factor at every resolution and preset. The CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates.

Examining the scaling across resolutions clarifies the situation. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate is 56 FPS. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average drops to 45 FPS, a decline of 11 FPS or roughly 19.6 percent. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average falls to 33 FPS, another 12 FPS drop. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, because the processor workload stays similar while pixel count rises. Instead, the frame rate drops significantly with each resolution step, indicating the graphics hardware is saturated.

The preset scaling reinforces this conclusion. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate moves from 56 FPS at Low to 43 FPS at Medium, a 13 FPS reduction. High settings produce 33 FPS, and Ultra produces 31 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is larger than the gap between High and Ultra, which suggests the Medium preset introduces a substantial increase in graphics workload. At 2560x1440, the same pattern appears: 45 FPS at Low, 35 FPS at Medium, 26 FPS at High, and 25 FPS at Ultra. At 3840x2160, the numbers compress further: 33 FPS at Low, 26 FPS at Medium, 19 FPS at High, and 19 FPS at Ultra.

The CPU role is still relevant, though. The 5800XT's single-threaded performance, as measured by the 3dmark single thread test at 959 and Cinebench R23 single core at 3,359, is sufficient to feed the GPU in most scenarios. The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 16 threads provide solid headroom for the simulation logic, AI traffic, and physics calculations that Flight Simulator runs on the CPU. However, the frame rates never approach the 60 FPS playable threshold, so the CPU's potential is never fully realized. The GPU is the component that determines the experience, and it cannot deliver playable performance at any resolution in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1920x1080?

A: The measured data shows the highest average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 56 FPS on Low settings. Medium produces 43 FPS, High produces 33 FPS, and Ultra produces 31 FPS. Since the playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS, no preset at this resolution clears the threshold. The system cannot run the game at a playable frame rate at 1080p.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440?

A: None of the presets at 2560x1440 reach 60 FPS. Low settings average 45 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The best result is Low at 45 FPS, which falls short of the playable threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1,482 in the database's average benchmark. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1,463, which is 1.3 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1,460, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1,446, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1,443. The Arc B390 is slightly ahead of these older parts, but the differences are small.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT a strong processor?

A: The 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29,879, placing it at the 81st percentile of all CPUs. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, and it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS by only 0.3 percent. It edges out the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X by 0.6 percent. This is a capable desktop processor with 8 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 3840x2160?

A: The measured averages at 3840x2160 are 33 FPS on Low, 26 FPS on Medium, 19 FPS on High, and 19 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset also shows a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. None of these results approach the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3,302 out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places it in the bottom portion of the database, consistent with the low GPU performance tier.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. This PC cannot run Microsoft Flight Simulator at a playable frame rate at any resolution or preset. The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and the measured results fall short across the board. At 1920x1080, the best average is 56 FPS on Low settings, which is 4 FPS below the threshold. At 2560x1440, the best average is 45 FPS on Low. At 3840x2160, the best average is 33 FPS on Low. The verdict by resolution lists no playable settings at 3840x2160, no playable settings at 2560x1440, and no playable settings at 1920x1080.

The bottleneck is the Intel Arc B390. Its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its measured performance in this game make it unsuitable for this title. The 5800XT is a solid processor, but it cannot compensate for the graphics limitation. Users seeking playable performance would need a much stronger discrete GPU. The integrated graphics solution, even with 12 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support, is not sufficient for a simulation of this complexity.

Best Settings per Resolution

No resolution has a preset that maintains 60 FPS or higher. The verdict by resolution confirms that playable settings are empty for all three resolutions. The closest result is 1920x1080 Low with an average of 56 FPS, but that still misses the threshold. The database does not assign a best settings recommendation when no preset clears 60 FPS. Users would have to accept sub-60 FPS performance or consider lower internal resolution scaling, which is not captured in these measurements.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 3,302 out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That places it in the 11th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly 89 percent of tested combinations deliver higher performance in this game. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU. The 5800XT's 81st percentile CPU ranking does little to lift the overall position because the game's frame rates are limited by the graphics hardware. This is a case where a strong processor is paired with a weak graphics solution, and the measured results reflect the lower-performing component.

The rank also indicates that the system sits below the median in the database. For a flight simulator that demands substantial graphics throughput, the integrated Arc B390 is a severe constraint. Even at the lowest settings and lowest resolution, the system cannot reach the playable threshold. The combination is better suited for less demanding titles or for tasks that do not rely heavily on 3D rendering.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measurements show Low settings averaging 33 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. High settings average 19 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Ultra settings average 19 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset is the only one at this resolution with full min/max data, showing a narrow band between 22 and 30 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 45 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings average 26 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Ultra settings average 25 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset again shows the only complete min/max range at this resolution, from 30 to 40 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Low settings average 56 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS. High settings average 33 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. Ultra settings average 31 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset at 1080p shows the widest recorded range among all Medium presets, from 37 to 50 FPS.

The trend across all resolutions is consistent. Each step down in resolution or settings improves the average frame rate by a modest amount, but never enough to reach 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p comes closest at 56 FPS, but the gap of 4 FPS remains. The data suggests that even reducing the resolution further or dropping below Low settings would be required to approach the playable threshold, and those scenarios are not covered in the recorded measurements. The system is firmly in sub-playable territory for this title.