Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 pairing delivers a strong showing in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with benchmark results indicating that the combination clears the 60 FPS playable threshold across all tested resolutions, though 4K Ultra remains a stretch target. Measured FPS data from the database shows this combo excels at 1440p and 1080p, where it can run the most demanding presets, while 4K users will need to dial settings back to Medium for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system produces an average of 58.5 FPS on High settings, which sits just below the 60 FPS playable line. Dropping to Medium brings the average up to 76.8 FPS, a comfortable margin above the threshold. Low settings push performance further to 94 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 50.7 FPS, making it the only preset at this resolution that falls significantly short of playable performance. The gap between Medium and Ultra is substantial — a 26.1 FPS difference — indicating that the RTX 4070’s 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for moderate settings but get taxed heavily by the full visual load at 4K.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture improves markedly. High settings deliver 74.6 FPS average, and Ultra comes in at 71.1 FPS, meaning even the maximum preset clears the 60 FPS bar. Medium runs at 101.6 FPS, while Low reaches 132.1 FPS, showing that this combo has considerable headroom at this resolution. The spread from Low to Ultra is 61 FPS, which demonstrates that the GPU scales predictably with settings load, and the CPU — with its 12 cores and 24 threads — is not bottlenecking at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the combo is thoroughly dominant. Ultra settings average 91.1 FPS, High achieves 98.2 FPS, Medium hits 125.3 FPS, and Low tops out at 163.3 FPS. Even the most demanding preset at 1080p leaves nearly 31 FPS of headroom above the playable threshold. The data indicates that the RTX 4070’s 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is more than adequate for this resolution, and the Ryzen 9 5900X’s single-thread score of 941 in 3DMark supports the strong frame pacing observed in the results.

Min and max FPS values are not provided in the benchmark data, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS figures. However, the consistency across settings and resolutions suggests stable performance characteristics for this flight simulator workload.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: Yes, but not at the highest preset. Measured data shows 4K Medium averages 76.8 FPS, and Low averages 94 FPS. High settings fall short at 58.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 50.7 FPS, so only Medium and Low are playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 71.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. This makes Ultra the best playable preset at this resolution, with High at 74.6 FPS as a close alternative if you prefer extra headroom.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 91.1 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS playable line. All four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at this resolution, with Low reaching 163.3 FPS for maximum refresh rate potential.

Q: Which component is more important for this game?

A: The data shows the GPU matters more at higher resolutions. At 4K, dropping from Ultra to Medium increases FPS by 26.1, while at 1080p the same preset change adds 34.2 FPS. The CPU’s role is comparatively smaller, as evidenced by the Ryzen 9 5900X’s 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs versus the RTX 4070’s 81st percentile among GPUs.

Q: Is the RTX 4070’s 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate yes. The combo achieves playable FPS at 4K Medium (76.8 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (71.1 FPS) with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s appears adequate for the game’s data streaming requirements at these settings.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 977th out of 3,714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 26.3% of all tested systems, which is a strong position given the game’s demanding simulation workload.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which averages 76.8 FPS. This configuration uses the RTX 4070’s 192-bit memory bus and 12 GB VRAM efficiently, keeping frame rates well above the playable line while maintaining visual fidelity. Low settings at 94 FPS offer a higher refresh rate option, but Medium represents the best balance of quality and performance at this resolution.

For 2560x1440, Ultra settings average 71.1 FPS, making it the best playable preset. This is the maximum quality option available in the game, and the combo handles it with over 11 FPS of headroom above the threshold. The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing, as even the highest preset remains comfortably playable.

At 1920x1080, Ultra again is the top choice, averaging 91.1 FPS. This leaves substantial margin for demanding flight scenarios, dense scenery, or background applications. The 1080p Ultra result is 20 FPS higher than the same preset at 1440p, showing the resolution scaling characteristics of this combo.

The Verdict

This PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the verdict data confirms playability at every resolution tested. At 1920x1080, all four presets — High at 98.2 FPS, Low at 163.3 FPS, Medium at 125.3 FPS, and Ultra at 91.1 FPS — clear the 60 FPS playable threshold. The 2560x1440 results are equally strong, with High at 74.6 FPS, Low at 132.1 FPS, Medium at 101.6 FPS, and Ultra at 71.1 FPS all exceeding 60 FPS.

The 3840x2160 results are more nuanced. Only Low (94 FPS) and Medium (76.8 FPS) are playable; High at 58.5 FPS falls just short, and Ultra at 50.7 FPS is not viable for smooth gameplay. Users with 4K displays should target Medium for the best experience, or consider lowering to Low if they prioritize frame rate stability. The best settings per resolution are Medium at 4K, Ultra at 1440p, and Ultra at 1080p, with average FPS of 76.8, 71.1, and 91.1 respectively.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals distinct scaling patterns that clarify which component matters more at each resolution. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor. The FPS progression from Low (94) to Medium (76.8) to High (58.5) to Ultra (50.7) shows a nearly linear drop as the RTX 4070’s rendering load increases. The 43.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K underscores the GPU-bound nature of this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU still leads, but the CPU begins to contribute more meaningfully. The spread from Low (132.1 FPS) to Ultra (71.1 FPS) is 61 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 4K spread but at higher absolute frame rates. The Ryzen 9 5900X’s 16,262 Cinebench R23 multicore score and 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,075 indicate the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution, preventing any significant bottleneck.

The 1920x1080 results show a balance shifting slightly toward the CPU. The Low preset hits 163.3 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s frame generation ceiling in this simulation-heavy game. The difference between High (98.2 FPS) and Ultra (91.1 FPS) at 1080p is only 7.1 FPS, suggesting the GPU is not the limiting factor at these settings — the CPU’s single-thread performance, indicated by its 941 3DMark single-thread score, becomes more relevant at higher frame rates. The CPU’s 87th percentile vs all CPUs ranking versus the GPU’s 81st percentile reinforces this interpretation.

How This Combo Ranks

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, this AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 977th out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the top 26.3% of all systems in the database. This is a solid position for a desktop pairing with a 12-core CPU and a mid-range-to-high-end GPU.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H at 41,263 avg score (0.3% delta), Intel Core Ultra 7 356H at 41,215 (0.4% delta), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 at 41,208 (0.4% delta), all of which are mobile processors scoring slightly below the 5900X’s 41,376 average. The Intel Core i7-14650HX is the only rival ahead, with a 41,576 avg score and a -0.5% delta, meaning it outperforms the 5900X by half a percent. These tight margins suggest the CPU is not a differentiator in this game — any of these processors would likely produce similar results.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070’s nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37,628 (0.1% delta), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37,157 (1.3% delta), all slightly below the RTX 4070’s 37,648 average. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile leads with 38,135 and a -1.3% delta, outperforming the desktop 4070 by 1.3%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4070 sits in a competitive performance band, and the game’s frame rates are more influenced by resolution and settings than by minor GPU benchmark differences.

The 977th rank out of 3,714 combos means this system outperforms roughly 73.7% of all tested configurations in this specific game. Given that Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for its heavy CPU simulation load and demanding GPU rendering, this ranking reflects a balanced system that handles both aspects well. The combo’s ability to run 1440p Ultra at 71.1 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 91.1 FPS confirms that it is well-suited for this title, with the 4K Medium result at 76.8 FPS representing the only compromise needed for ultra-high-resolution displays.