Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a strictly mid-range experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with playability heavily dependent on resolution and preset selection. The measured data shows this combo is capable of smooth performance at 1080p and 1440p with medium settings, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K across all tested presets. The Arc B580, sitting at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the 9700X’s strong single-thread performance (2211 in Cinebench R23) helps maintain frame pacing at lower settings where the CPU load is relatively higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its most usable results. The Low preset yields an average of 98.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Moving to Medium drops the average to 74 FPS, still a solid margin above the threshold. High settings average 57.3 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line, indicating that the jump from Medium to High imposes a significant cost. Ultra is the most demanding at this resolution, averaging 51.9 FPS, which is roughly 30% below the Low preset’s performance.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low averages 78.7 FPS, still well above the threshold. Medium averages exactly 61 FPS, making it the highest preset that clears the 60 FPS bar. High drops to 43.3 FPS, a 29% reduction from Medium, while Ultra averages 44.8 FPS—interestingly, Ultra is slightly faster than High at this resolution, suggesting a non-linear scaling or measurement variance. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo if the user insists on maintaining 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles across the board. Low averages 58 FPS, just 2 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 45.9 FPS, High averages 34.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 28.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is over 50%, showing that the Arc B580’s memory bandwidth (456.0 GB/s) and 12 GB VRAM are insufficient for the higher preset demands at 4K. None of these averages reach the playable threshold, so 4K is effectively out of reach for this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2815 out of 3714 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the 76th percentile of all tested systems. This is a below-average position, indicating that most other hardware pairings deliver better frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations more than the CPU’s, as the 9700X is a high-end processor (86th percentile among all CPUs) while the Arc B580 is mid-range (68th percentile). The gap between the CPU’s percentile and the GPU’s percentile suggests that the B580 is the bottleneck in most scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions where pixel throughput dominates. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push the GPU to its limits, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed, as evidenced by the 28.8 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only with Low or Medium settings. Low averages 98.9 FPS and Medium averages 74 FPS. High falls short at 57.3 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p to stay above 60 FPS?

A: Medium is the highest playable preset at 1440p, averaging exactly 61 FPS. Low averages 78.7 FPS, but High and Ultra both fall below the threshold at 43.3 FPS and 44.8 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combo?

A: No. Even at Low settings, the average is 58 FPS, which is 2 FPS below the playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra average 45.9, 34.6, and 28.8 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to nearby GPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The B580’s average benchmark score is 23021, placing it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895) and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172). It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061).

Q: Why does the combo rank so low despite having a strong CPU?

A: The CPU is in the 86th percentile of all processors, but the GPU is only in the 68th percentile. The game’s rendering load at higher presets and resolutions shifts the bottleneck to the GPU, which drags the overall combo rank to 2815 out of 3714.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU’s single-thread strength (2211 in Cinebench R23) allows the GPU to reach 98.9 FPS, suggesting minimal CPU bottleneck. At 4K Low, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the same CPU produces only 58 FPS.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows that this combo can run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS, but only at 1080p and 1440p with Low or Medium settings. At 1920x1080, Medium is the best playable preset, averaging 74 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium is also the best playable preset, averaging exactly 61 FPS—a marginal pass. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the closest is Low at 58 FPS, which is a near miss but still not playable by the defined threshold. For users targeting 4K, this hardware is insufficient, and even at 1080p, High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS, meaning visual fidelity must be sacrificed for smoothness.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is essentially tied with the Intel Core i9-14901E (0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (0.1% delta). These processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, so swapping the 9700X for either would not meaningfully change the outcome at 1080p Low. The Intel Core 5 211E (0.3% delta) and AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (0.4% delta) are also within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the CPU tier is not a differentiator here.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B580’s closest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% faster), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.7% faster). The RTX 3080 is the most notable alternative, as it would provide a slight edge in GPU-bound scenarios, potentially pushing 4K Low above 60 FPS. The RTX 2080 and RX 580 2048SP would behave almost identically to the B580, meaning users with those GPUs should expect the same 4K limitations and similar 1080p/1440p performance.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 74 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin over the threshold while allowing higher visual quality than Low. At 2560x1440, Medium is again the best choice, averaging exactly 61 FPS—this is a tight margin, so users should consider Low (78.7 FPS) if they prefer a buffer against frame dips. At 3840x2160, there is no playable preset, but Low comes closest at 58 FPS; users who accept sub-60 FPS could use it, though the data does not classify it as playable. The recommendation is to avoid High and Ultra at 1440p and above, as they all fall below 50 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 7 9700X and the Arc B580 shifts noticeably across resolutions and presets. At 1080p, the CPU’s role is more prominent: the difference between Low and Ultra is 47 FPS (98.9 vs 51.9), which suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at Low, but the GPU’s limitations emerge as settings increase. The 9700X’s single-thread score of 2211 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient for the simulation’s physics and AI workloads, but the B580’s 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor at Medium and above.

At 1440p, the GPU’s dominance grows. The scaling from Low (78.7 FPS) to Medium (61 FPS) is a 22% drop, while the drop from Medium to High (43.3 FPS) is 29%. This non-linear behavior indicates that the B580’s memory bandwidth (456.0 GB/s) is strained as texture and shading demands increase. The CPU still matters, as evidenced by the fact that Ultra (44.8 FPS) is slightly faster than High (43.3 FPS), which could be due to driver-level optimizations or measurement variance rather than a clear CPU bottleneck.

At 4K, the GPU is almost entirely the limiting factor. The CPU’s performance is effectively irrelevant beyond ensuring the GPU is fed, as seen by the narrow gap between Low (58 FPS) and Medium (45.9 FPS) compared to the larger jumps at lower resolutions. The B580’s 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are insufficient for the high-resolution textures and draw distances at Medium and above, causing the frame rate to collapse to 34.6 FPS at High and 28.8 FPS at Ultra. In summary, the 9700X is more than adequate for this game at any resolution, but the Arc B580 caps the experience at 1080p/1440p Medium, making the GPU the decisive component for playability.