Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B570 combination produces 86 FPS on Low settings, 67 FPS on Medium, 50 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, so Low and Medium both clear it.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, only Low settings reach 60 FPS, averaging 69 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High falls to 41 FPS, and Ultra delivers 39 FPS. So Low is the sole playable preset at this resolution.

Q: Is 4K viable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS recorded is 51 on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 40 FPS, High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. No preset at 4K reaches playable performance.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943, placing it at the 86th percentile among all CPUs. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, scores 37911, a difference of just 0.1%. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 37904 (also 0.1% behind), and the Intel Core 5 211E trails by 0.3% with a score of 37829.

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

A: The Intel Arc B570 averages 20556 in benchmark scores, sitting at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The Intel Arc A750 is essentially identical, scoring 20582 (0.1% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (0.1% lower). The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, which is 0.5% ahead.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck more in this game?

A: Based on the performance scaling across resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the system hits 86 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces performance to 69 FPS, and 4K Low falls to 51 FPS. This consistent decline with higher pixel counts indicates the Arc B570 is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 7 9700X's strong single-thread score of 1280 in 3DMark single-thread helps maintain playable framerates at 1080p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the Intel Arc B570 across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak capability, achieving 86 FPS on Low settings. This suggests the CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, can feed the GPU adequately at lower pixel counts. The Ryzen 7 9700X's 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and PassMark single-thread score of 4654 indicate strong per-core performance, which flight simulators often leverage for physics and AI calculations.

As resolution climbs to 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. Low settings drop from 86 FPS to 69 FPS, a 19.8% reduction that corresponds directly to the increased pixel workload. Medium settings fall from 67 FPS to 54 FPS, and High settings from 50 FPS to 41 FPS. The Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for 1440p, but the frame rates suggest the GPU is nearing its limits. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step up costs roughly 10-15 FPS across all presets, pointing to the GPU as the scaling bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the GPU constraint becomes severe. Low settings manage only 51 FPS, Medium averages 40 FPS, and High drops to 30 FPS. The Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K at playable framerates in this title. The CPU, by contrast, shows no signs of struggling — its 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 demonstrate ample headroom. The verdict is clear: the Ryzen 7 9700X handles the simulation logic at all resolutions, but the Arc B570 dictates playability, and that ceiling sits at 1440p Low and 1080p Medium.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 7 9700X's nearest rivals in benchmark performance are tightly clustered. The Intel Core i9-14901E matches it almost exactly, with an average score of 37911 versus the Ryzen's 37943, a delta of just 0.1%. Gamers coming from that Intel platform would see virtually identical frame pacing in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, despite being a mobile-oriented part, scores 37904, also 0.1% behind — this suggests the 9700X's desktop advantage is marginal in synthetic benchmarks, though the 9700X offers a 65W TDP that highlights efficiency. The Intel Core 5 211E trails by 0.3% with a score of 37829, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 rounds out the group at 37804 (0.4% behind).

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rival is the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582 versus the B570's 20556 — a 0.1% difference that means users upgrading between these two cards would see nearly identical performance in this simulator. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, just 0.1% lower, indicating that laptop owners with that GPU can expect similar flight sim experiences. More surprisingly, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 0.4% behind) and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, 0.5% ahead) fall in the same performance band, though these are older workstation and mobile parts respectively. For a desktop builder, the Arc A750 is the closest drop-in equivalent, while the RTX 3070 Mobile comparison helps set expectations for those comparing against gaming laptops.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: this PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator, but not at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold on Low (86 FPS) and Medium (67 FPS) settings. The Medium preset is the most demanding playable option at this resolution, delivering a 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS. High settings miss the threshold at 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS.

At 2560x1440, playability narrows to a single preset. Low settings average 69 FPS, just above the 60 FPS line. Medium drops below at 54 FPS, with a min of 46 FPS and max of 62 FPS — this fluctuates across the threshold, making it unreliable for consistent gameplay. High (41 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) are firmly unplayable.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 51 FPS, followed by Medium at 40 FPS, High at 30 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The verdictByResolution data confirms zero playable settings at 4K. For users targeting 4K, this combination is not viable without significant settings compromises that still fall short of playable.

The practical takeaway: this is a 1080p Medium and 1440p Low machine for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It delivers smooth, playable performance at those settings, and the 10 GB VRAM buffer on the Arc B570 helps avoid texture thrashing in the game's dense scenery.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings that maintain 60 FPS or higher are Medium, averaging 67 FPS. This preset delivers a minimum of 57 FPS and maximum of 77 FPS, meaning occasional dips below 60 FPS are possible, but the average comfortably clears the threshold. Low settings offer more headroom at 86 FPS, but Medium provides a better visual experience while still meeting the playability bar.

At 2560x1440, the only playable preset is Low, averaging 69 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium would be preferable visually, but its 54 FPS average falls short of the playable threshold, and the 46 FPS minimum makes frame pacing inconsistent.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable preset. The best average FPS across all settings is 51 on Low, which still misses the 60 FPS requirement. Users who insist on 4K would need to accept sub-60 FPS performance, with Medium offering 40 FPS, High 30 FPS, and Ultra 28 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2988 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the lower 19.5% of all tested systems, reflecting the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities. The Ryzen 7 9700X itself sits at the 86th percentile among CPUs, while the Arc B570 only reaches the 65th percentile among GPUs — the gap between these two positions explains the combo's middling rank.

The ranking suggests that pairing a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU creates an imbalance in this simulation. The CPU's strong benchmark scores (37943 average, with a 20485 Cinebench R23 multi-core result) do not translate into top-tier gaming performance because the Arc B570's 14195 PassMark G3D score caps frame rates. For comparison, the combo's 1080p Medium result of 67 FPS is respectable, but the 3714-combo pool includes many systems with stronger GPUs that push higher framerates at higher presets.

Users seeing this rank should interpret it as a warning: the system excels at CPU-bound tasks but is held back by GPU throughput in graphically intensive scenarios. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU alone would dramatically improve the in-game ranking, while upgrading the CPU would yield diminishing returns for this specific title. The 2988th position out of 3714 is not a failure — it represents a system that plays the game at 1080p Medium and 1440p Low — but it is a clear signal of where the bottleneck lives.