Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B580 combination presents a clear picture for Microsoft Flight Simulator: it is a pairing that can handle the skies at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted settings, but it will struggle to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The data shows a system that is highly capable in the CPU department but is consistently limited by the GPU's performance profile at higher resolutions. Benchmark results indicate that while the Ryzen 9 9900X provides a massive amount of processing headroom, the Intel Arc B580 becomes the primary constraint as resolution scales up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 98.8 FPS on Low settings, which is a strong result. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 75.5 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold. However, the High preset yields an average of 55.7 FPS, which falls below the playable mark. Pushing to Ultra settings at 1080p results in an average of 53.4 FPS, indicating that the most demanding preset is not viable for a smooth experience at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve shifts downward. The Low preset achieves an average of 74.5 FPS, which remains playable. The Medium preset produces an average of 59.8 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. The High preset delivers an average of 46.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to an average of 41.3 FPS. These numbers suggest a significant performance penalty from moving up to 1440p, with even the Medium preset failing to clear the playable threshold.

The 3840x2160 results are the most telling for this combination. At 4K, the Low preset reaches an average of 58.9 FPS, which is the only setting that comes close to the 60 FPS target, yet it still falls short. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, the High preset averages 32.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS. The data indicates that this combo cannot deliver a playable experience at 4K on any preset, as even the lowest settings fail to maintain an average above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this specific CPU-GPU combination holds a rank of 2838 out of 3714 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of the overall ranking, which is a notable observation given the CPU's high performance metrics. The Ryzen 9 9900X has a percentile ranking of 92 among all CPUs, indicating it is faster than a substantial majority of processors. In contrast, the Intel Arc B580 has a percentile ranking of 68 among all GPUs. The discrepancy between these two percentile scores explains why the combo ranks relatively low: the GPU is the limiting factor, dragging the overall system ranking down despite the CPU's strong standing.

The combo rank of 2838 out of 3714 means that roughly 76% of tested combinations perform better in this specific game. This is a significant finding for a system with a top-tier CPU. The data suggests that in a simulation-heavy title like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for its demanding graphics, the GPU choice has a outsized impact on the final ranking. The combination's position in the database reflects a mismatch between the CPU's high-end capabilities and the GPU's mid-range performance tier.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results clearly delineate the roles of the CPU and GPU in this system for Microsoft Flight Simulator. At 1920x1080, the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's physics and AI calculations, as evidenced by the Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at 1080p shows a drop from 98.8 FPS to 53.4 FPS, which is a 46% performance decrease. This indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by the increased graphical load, while the CPU maintains its performance headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The average FPS at Low settings is 74.5, but the High preset drops to 46.6 FPS. The scaling between the Low and Ultra presets shows a 45% reduction, similar to the 1080p trend. However, the absolute numbers are lower, suggesting that the GPU is nearing its limits as the pixel count increases. The CPU still has significant headroom, as the Ryzen 9 9900X's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172, show it can handle far more demanding workloads.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 58.9 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 42 FPS, a 29% drop. The Ultra preset averages 31 FPS, which is only 53% of the Low preset's performance. This sharp decline across presets at 4K demonstrates that the Intel Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are insufficient for the high resolution and texture demands. The CPU's role is diminished, as it is not the limiting factor at any resolution; the data shows that the GPU's performance scaling across resolutions is the primary driver of the system's overall frame rate.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination achieve 60 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 1080p with High settings is 55.7 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Medium preset, which averages 75.5 FPS, is the highest setting that clears the target at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The only playable preset at 1440p is Low, which averages 74.5 FPS. The Medium preset averages 59.8 FPS, just missing the 60 FPS mark, while High and Ultra are significantly lower at 46.6 and 41.3 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X or the Intel Arc B580 more responsible for frame rate differences between resolutions?

A: The Intel Arc B580 is the primary factor. The CPU has a percentile ranking of 92 among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at 68. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows substantially, and the measured FPS drops from 98.8 at 1080p Low to 58.9 at 4K Low, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems in this game?

A: This combination ranks 2838 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the lower 24th percentile. This is despite the CPU's strong performance metrics, suggesting that the GPU's mid-range standing has an outsized impact on the overall rank.

Q: Does the system have any playable settings at 3840x2160?

A: No, the data shows no playable settings at 4K. The Low preset averages 58.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, and all other presets are lower, with Ultra averaging 31 FPS.

Q: What does the data suggest about the CPU's performance in this game?

A: The CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The Ryzen 9 9900X's benchmark scores, including a Geekbench multicore score of 22174 and a Passmark multithread score of 54643, indicate it has ample processing power for the game's simulation aspects, which the FPS data confirms.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which achieves an average of 75.5 FPS. The High preset falls short at 55.7 FPS, so Medium is the recommended choice for a balance of visual quality and smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold is Low, with an average of 74.5 FPS. The Medium preset is just below the target at 59.8 FPS, making it a borderline option, but the data indicates that Low is the safest setting to maintain playability.

For 3840x2160, there is no preset that achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher. The Low preset comes closest at 58.9 FPS, but it still does not meet the playable threshold. As such, no best setting can be recommended for a 60 FPS experience at 4K.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator is answered by the verdictByResolution data. At 1920x1080, the system can run the game with Low and Medium presets, both of which clear the 60 FPS threshold. The best playable setting is Medium, with an average of 75.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, achieving an average of 74.5 FPS. The system cannot maintain 60 FPS on Medium or higher at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot run the game at a playable frame rate on any preset. The best average is 58.9 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS target. This means that for a 4K experience, this hardware combination is not sufficient. The verdict is clear: this PC is capable of running the game at 1080p and 1440p with specific settings, but it is not viable for 4K gaming at the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both components provides insight into what other hardware would behave similarly. For the CPU, the AMD EPYC 9015 has an average benchmark score of 57555, which is a 0.1% difference from the Ryzen 9 9900X's score. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, which is 1.1% higher, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, 1.4% higher. These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average score of 23061, a 0.2% difference from the Arc B580. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7% higher, and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1% higher. These GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in the game, meaning that swapping the Arc B580 for any of these cards would result in a comparable experience, with the RTX 3080 offering a marginal performance improvement based on the score delta.

The data indicates that the combination of a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU creates a system that is balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming but falls short at 4K. Users with a Ryzen 9 9900X who are considering a GPU upgrade would need to look beyond the Arc B580 and its immediate rivals to achieve 4K playability in Microsoft Flight Simulator.