Microsoft Flight Simulator

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture and codenamed Cezanne. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. The chip's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth position it as a solid mid-range desktop part, though its PCIe Gen 3 interface is a notable limitation for a 2022 release. The processor scores in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20875.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining performance across settings at 1080p. At Low settings, the combo achieves 147.7 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded in the entire measured FPS set. This suggests that when the GPU is not heavily stressed by visual effects, the processor's 6-core/12-thread configuration can feed frames at a rate that approaches the upper limits of what this pairing can deliver. However, the delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial: 147.7 FPS drops to 79.3 FPS, a 68.4 FPS gap that indicates the game's escalating CPU workload—particularly in flight simulation's complex world-loading and physics calculations—begins to tax the Ryzen 5 5500's multi-threaded throughput.

The 3DMark multi-threaded scores provide context: the processor delivers 5386 in the 16-thread test and 5411 at max threads, but only 836 in single-thread. This indicates that while the chip has adequate multi-core capability for handling flight sim's background tasks, its single-thread performance is comparatively modest. In a game where draw-call processing and simulation updates often rely on single-core strength, this can create a bottleneck that manifests at higher settings. The Cinebench R23 results—16429 multi-core and 2319 single-core—reinforce this profile: the CPU is far better at distributing work across its 12 threads than excelling at any one task.

The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-12500 with an average score of 20897 (a delta of -0.1% from the Ryzen) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE at 20900 (also -0.1%). This places the Ryzen 5 5500 in a tightly contested performance band where small differences in clock behavior can tip the balance in gaming workloads.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU based on the Navi 32 chip, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1295 MHz with a boost clock of 2430 MHz and a game clock of 2124 MHz. The card's 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units provide substantial raw compute, reflected in its 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 performance. The GPU scores in the 76th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32619.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's influence is most visible when isolating resolution scaling effects. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 50.3 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 79.3 FPS. The difference between these two points—29 FPS—demonstrates the GPU's workload scaling with pixel count. The 16 GB VRAM buffer is generous for this title, which is known for streaming large textures of terrain and aircraft; at 4K High settings, the combo maintains 50.8 FPS, suggesting that VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

The RX 7800 XT's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 with an average score of 32540 (a delta of 0.2%) and the NVIDIA P104-100 at 32747 (-0.4%). These comparisons show that the GPU sits in a performance tier where its 16 GB memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are competitive, but the card's raw compute scores do not place it at the top of the heap. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4157 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 143060 indicate solid DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance, which are relevant for a game like Flight Simulator that leverages modern graphics APIs.

The GPU's 263 W TDP and dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors suggest it draws significant power, but the measured FPS data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the pairing stays above 50 FPS—a playable threshold for a flight sim where smoothness often matters more than raw frame rates.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four settings tiers reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 4K sees a drop from 147.7 FPS to 85.5 FPS—a 42.1% reduction. This is the smallest percentage drop among all settings, which is expected: at Low, the GPU has less work to do per pixel, so the scaling penalty is more about fill-rate and memory bandwidth than compute.

At Medium settings, the drop is from 112.7 FPS at 1080p to 67.8 FPS at 4K—a 39.8% reduction. High settings show a steeper decline: 84.1 FPS at 1080p down to 50.8 FPS at 4K, a 39.6% drop. Ultra settings display the most severe scaling: 79.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 50.3 FPS at 4K, a 36.6% reduction.

The pattern is telling: the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K actually narrows as settings increase. At Low, the 4K frame rate (85.5 FPS) is 57.9% of the 1080p figure (147.7 FPS). At Ultra, the 4K frame rate (50.3 FPS) is 63.4% of the 1080p figure (79.3 FPS). This suggests that at higher settings, the game becomes more uniformly bound by both CPU and GPU, rather than being disproportionately limited by one component. The fact that 4K Ultra (50.3 FPS) is only slightly below 4K High (50.8 FPS) indicates that the CPU is beginning to cap the frame rate at 4K, preventing the GPU from fully expressing its capability.

The 1440p data reinforces this interpretation. At 1440p Ultra, the combo hits 68.9 FPS, which is 87% of the 1080p Ultra figure—a much smaller drop than the 1080p-to-4K transition. This shows that the GPU has ample headroom at 1440p, and the CPU can keep pace with the GPU's output. The 1440p Low figure of 116.1 FPS versus 1080p Low of 147.7 FPS further confirms that the GPU becomes more of a constraint as resolution climbs, but the CPU is not entirely free of responsibility.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high frame rates?

A: At 1440p, the combo delivers 116.1 FPS at Low settings and 92 FPS at Medium. Even at 1440p Ultra, it maintains 68.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. For a balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, 1440p Medium or High represents the sweet spot, with 92 and 66.5 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows that 4K Ultra (50.3 FPS) and 4K High (50.8 FPS) produce nearly identical frame rates, despite the GPU having more work at Ultra. This near-parity indicates the CPU is limiting the frame rate at 4K, preventing the GPU from showing a larger performance gap between settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 scores 20875 on average. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20897, a delta of -0.1%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900, also -0.1%. The AMD EPYC 7J13 scores 20845, a delta of 0.1%. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. At 4K, the GPU maintains 50.8 FPS at High settings, indicating that this bandwidth is sufficient for the game's texture streaming demands at that resolution.

Q: Does the combo exceed 60 FPS at 4K under any settings?

A: Yes, at 4K Low settings, the combo achieves 85.5 FPS. At 4K Medium, it reaches 67.8 FPS, which is above 60. High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS at 50.8 and 50.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the combo's 1080p Ultra performance compare to its 4K Ultra performance?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 79.3 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 50.3 FPS. This represents a 36.6% reduction, which is less than the percentage drop at Low settings (42.1%), indicating that the CPU is capping the frame rate at 4K Ultra.

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 664th out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the pairing in the 63rd percentile of all combinations in the database, meaning it outperforms roughly 63% of tested systems. Given that the CPU scores in the 79th percentile among all CPUs and the GPU in the 76th percentile among all GPUs, the combo's ranking is slightly below what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This discrepancy points to a mild bottleneck, likely from the CPU's single-thread performance limiting the GPU in certain scenarios.

The rank of 664 out of 1795 indicates that while this is a capable pairing, it is not at the top of the heap. The CPU's nearest rivals—such as the Intel Core i5-12500—are within 0.1% of its synthetic score, meaning that swapping the processor would yield minimal change in ranking. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are clustered around its average score with deltas of less than 1%. This suggests that the combo occupies a stable performance tier where small variations in component selection would not dramatically alter its position in the rankings.

The measured FPS data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it routinely exceeds 60 FPS even at Ultra settings. At 4K, the combo is playable but requires dropping to Medium settings to stay above 60 FPS, or accepting frame rates in the 50 FPS range at High or Ultra. The 16 GB VRAM and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth provide future-proofing for texture-heavy titles, but the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration with a 3.60 GHz base clock may become a limiting factor as flight simulators continue to push simulation complexity. Overall, the combo ranks solidly in the upper-middle tier of tested configurations, with the GPU offering more headroom than the CPU in this particular game.