Instant compatibility check with FPS benchmarks and optimization tips
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Performance
1080p (Full HD)
1440p (2K / QHD)
4K (Ultra HD)
Requirements Check
Recommendations
Your hardware doesn't meet minimum requirements for this game.
Your GPU supports ray tracing.
Average FPS: resolution vs quality settings
| Ultra | High | Medium | Low | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4K Ultra HD | 40 | 42 | 55 | 71 |
| 1440p QHD | 54 | 56 | 75 | 96 |
| 1080p Full HD | 66 | 70 | 93 | 119 |
Cell color: green is 120+ FPS, teal is 60+, amber is 30+, red is below 30. Cards marked Estimated above have no measured row and are scaled from your GPU benchmark percentile.
Performance Analysis: Microsoft Flight Simulator on Your System
# Can the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Run Microsoft Flight Simulator?
The short answer is yes, but with a critical caveat: this combination delivers a smooth experience only if you are willing to dial down the graphical presets, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that is capable, but not one that can brute-force its way through every setting at 4K.
FAQ
Q: What is the expected performance at 3840x2160 (4K)?
A: The data shows a playable experience at 4K only on the Low preset, where the average frame rate is 71 FPS. Moving to "Medium" drops the average to 55 FPS (with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 64), while "High" and "Ultra" yield averages of 42 and 40 FPS respectively. For a strict 60 FPS experience, Low is the only viable option.
Q: How does the system perform at 2560x1440?
A: This resolution is much more forgiving. The Medium preset is the sweet spot, hitting 75 FPS on average (min 64, max 86). Pushing to High yields 56 FPS, and Low runs at 96 FPS. "Ultra" drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.
Q: What about the most common 1920x1080 resolution?
A: Here, the system has enough headroom to run the Ultra preset, which averages 66 FPS. The High preset delivers 70 FPS, Medium 93 FPS, and Low pushes to 119 FPS. All presets are comfortably above the 60 FPS line.
Q: Is the RTX 4060 the limiting factor?
A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 7 9700F's Passmark average score of 69,996 is roughly in line with the nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69,875, and Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70,163). The RTX 4060, however, scores 17,639 on average, which is about 0.2% below its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666), and about 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 780M (17,588). The GPU's architecture (Ada Lovelace) is the same generation as the CPU's Zen 5, but the CPU does not compensate for the GPU's lower relative standing.
Similar Performance Alternatives
The data places this CPU/GPU combination in a specific performance tier. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is high, but the GPU is a mid-range part that does not scale with the CPU’s capabilities.
CPU: A close CPU match is the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (avg score 69,515, only 0.7% off). The Ryzen 7 9700F uses the same AM5 platform and Zen 5 architecture, so the benchmark delta comes primarily from the CPU's core configuration. Another close match is the Intel Core i7-14700K (avg score 69,355, just 0.9% slower). This is a notable comparison because the Intel part is a 24-thread chip versus the 9700F's 16 threads, yet the average scores are nearly identical.
GPU: The nearest GPU results come from cards that are now older. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 averages 17,666 points, a 0.2% advantage over the RTX 4060. The AMD Radeon 780M (integrated) is 0.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 is 0.5% slower. The AMD Radeon Pro 460 rounds out the list at 0.7% behind. In all cases, the differences are within a rounding error, meaning the RTX 4060's performance is typical for its class, not a standout.
How This Combo Ranks
In the combo rank for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this specific pairing lands at #197 out of 3714 tested combinations. This places it in the lower half of tested systems — not a top-tier pairing, but not a failure. It's a pairing that will play, but with compromises.
The CPU's performance does not boost the combo: the Ryzen 7 9700F's Passmark score of 69,996 is at the 94th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it beats the vast majority of rivals. The GPU's score of 17,639 is at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, which is more modest.
The Verdict
Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator? Yes, but it is a nuanced pass.
- At 3840x2160: The Low preset is the only one that clears 60 FPS, averaging 71 FPS. Medium and High both fall below the line (57 and 42 FPS). Ultra is not playable at 40 FPS.
- At 2560x1440: The Medium preset is the best choice, hitting 75 FPS (minimum 64, max 86). High just misses the mark at 56 FPS, and Ultra is not viable at 54 FPS. Low is playable at 96 FPS.
- At 1920x1080: The Ultra preset is the most demanding that still passes, averaging 66 FPS. High (70 FPS), Medium (93 FPS), and Low (119 FPS) also all exceed the threshold.
The hardware is not a no-compromise 4K machine. The bottleneck is the GPU: at 4K, the system is nearly 30% slower than the 60 FPS line, and at 1440p, High settings fall just short. The Ryzen 7 9700F is a strong mid-range CPU, but the RTX 4060 is a mid-range GPU, and this combo is best suited for 1080p "Ultra" gaming—where it can fully flex—or 1440p "Medium" gaming.
CPU and GPU Roles
The data reveals a clear division of labor that changes as resolution scales.
CPU-Bound at 1080p: At 1920x1080, the GPU has enough headroom to handle the "Ultra" preset, and the CPU's 8 cores/16 threads are sufficient to feed it. The CPU's performance is more than adequate here; the game is GPU-bound.
Balanced at 1440p: At 2560x1440, the load shifts. The CPU is still strong, but the GPU starts to show its limits. The "Medium" preset (with its 75 FPS average) is the highest playable, while "High" drops to 56 FPS. The game is beginning to be more dependent on the graphics card.
GPU-Bound at 4K: At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The CPU's 94th percentile performance is wasted because the RTX 4060 cannot push the frames. Even "Low" only averages 71 FPS. The CPU would be idle, waiting on the GPU.
The scaling confirms this: from 1080p Medium to 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops by 24% from 93 to 70. The jump to 1440p High drops another 14 FPS (70 to 56). At 4K, the Low preset is 71 FPS, but it is below the threshold for a steady 60 FPS—it has high variance.
Best Settings per Resolution
These are the most demanding presets that stay above the 60 FPS playability threshold.
- 3840x2160: Low — 71 FPS
- 2560x1440: Medium — 75 FPS
- 1920x1080: Ultra — 66 FPS
Measured FPS Breakdown
| Resolution | Preset | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3840x2160 | High | 42 | — | — |
| 3840x2160 | Low | 71 | — | — |
| 3840x2160 | Medium | 57 | 47 | 64 |
| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 40 | — | — |
| 2560x1440 | High | 56 | — | — |
| 2560x1440 | Low | 96 | — | — |
| 2560x1440 | Medium | 75 | 64 | 86 |
| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 54 | — | — |
| 1920x1080 | High | 70 | — | — |
| 1920x1080 | Low | 119 | — | — |
| 1920x1080 | Medium | 93 | 79 | 107 |
| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 66 | — | — |
Similar Performance Alternatives
The nearest rivals all sit within a 1.0% band of the RTX 4060, which means the GPU is not a massive outlier—it is exactly where the silicon should be for this performance class. The same is true for the CPU; its closest rivals, the Ryzen 9 7950X and the Core i7-14700K, are within 2.5% of its average score.
Measured Performance Overview
The data reveals a consistent story: the AMD/NVIDIA pair is not a high-refresh-rate 4K machine. The CPU's Passmark average is 69,996, but the GPU's average sits at 17,639. The GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution above 1080p. The CPU has a 94th percentile rank, making it a very strong processor among all CPUs in the database; the GPU's 61st percentile rank means it's a middling part. The combo rank of 197 out of 3714 tested combinations puts this in the second quartile of tested systems, not a top-of-the-line pairing.