Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

This combination of a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers playable performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the data clearly shows that the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution climbs. The sweet spot is 1440p Medium or 1080p High, where the combo maintains smooth frame rates without sacrificing the visual fidelity that makes this flight sim compelling.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that Medium settings provide the best balance between visual quality and frame rate across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 85.4 FPS, which is 21 FPS higher than High settings (64.4 FPS) and only 26 FPS below Low (111.4 FPS). The jump from Medium to High costs 21 FPS at 1080p, while the jump from Low to Medium costs 26 FPS—so Medium captures most of the visual uplift with a manageable performance penalty.

At 1440p, Medium produces 68.1 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth simulation play. High settings at this resolution drop to exactly 50 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's strain. For users prioritizing frame consistency, Medium at 1440p is the recommended preset. Ultra settings at any resolution are difficult to justify: 60 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 33.7 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that Low settings are only necessary for 4K play at 66.7 FPS, though this sacrifices the detailed terrain and aircraft models that define the experience. For 1080p and 1440p, Medium is the clear choice, delivering 85.4 and 68.1 FPS respectively. The 4K High preset (35.4 FPS) falls below playable thresholds, making Medium the highest viable setting at that resolution.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units, place it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database. The card's average benchmark score of 22206 puts it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 2.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729).

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the VRAM capacity proves sufficient for the tested presets. The GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate handle the game's demanding scenery rendering, but the frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K reveals the card's limits. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves exactly 60 FPS, suggesting the GPU is working near its ceiling. The 4K Ultra result of 33.7 FPS indicates that the 8 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are insufficient for maximum settings at high resolutions.

The GPU's 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate supports the detailed ground textures, but the card trails the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5% in average benchmark score (21670 vs 22206). This places the RTX 2070 SUPER in a competitive mid-range position, capable of strong 1080p and 1440p performance but not designed for 4K Ultra in this simulation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1113 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 62nd percentile overall. This mid-pack ranking reflects the GPU's position (65th percentile) and the CPU's similar standing (79th percentile of all CPUs). The combo sits above the median, meaning it outperforms more than 1,000 other configurations tested in this game.

The ranking suggests that while neither component is a top-tier performer, their pairing produces a balanced system for flight simulation. The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20897 (a 0.1% difference) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900 (also 0.1% higher). This CPU performance parity means the GPU is the differentiating factor in this combo's ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 111.4 FPS, Medium 85.4 FPS, High 64.4 FPS, and Ultra exactly 60 FPS. This progression shows a 51.4 FPS spread from Low to Ultra, with each settings tier costing roughly 15-25 FPS.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop predictably: Low 89 FPS, Medium 68.1 FPS, High 50 FPS, and Ultra 47 FPS. The High-to-Ultra gap narrows to just 3 FPS, suggesting the GPU is becoming the limiting factor. The 1080p-to-1440p transition costs 22.4 FPS at Low, 17.3 FPS at Medium, 14.4 FPS at High, and 13 FPS at Ultra.

At 4K, the results show significant degradation: Low 66.7 FPS, Medium 51.8 FPS, High 35.4 FPS, and Ultra 33.7 FPS. The 4K Low result remains playable, but the Medium preset (51.8 FPS) and above fall short of smooth gameplay. The 4K Ultra result of 33.7 FPS is nearly half the 1080p Ultra result, indicating the GPU cannot sustain high settings at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial at every settings tier. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 111.4 FPS at 1080p to 66.7 FPS at 4K—a 40.1% reduction. Medium settings drop from 85.4 to 51.8 FPS, a 39.3% reduction. High settings decline from 64.4 to 35.4 FPS (45% reduction), and Ultra from 60 to 33.7 FPS (43.8% reduction).

This scaling pattern reveals that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload is resolution-independent. Instead, the consistent 39-45% FPS drop across all settings indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering capabilities—specifically its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM—are being saturated at higher resolutions.

The 1440p-to-4K transition is particularly punishing. At Medium settings, the drop from 68.1 to 51.8 FPS (24% reduction) shows the GPU struggling with the pixel count increase. The 4K Ultra result of 33.7 FPS, compared to 47 FPS at 1440p Ultra, reinforces that this card is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth support the flight sim's terrain streaming and physics calculations. The CPU's single-thread performance, measured at 836 in 3DMark single-thread and 2319 in Cinebench R23 single-core, is adequate for the game's primary simulation thread.

The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20875, places it slightly below the Intel Core i5-12500 (20897, 0.1% lower) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (20900, 0.1% lower), while matching the AMD EPYC 7J13 (20845, 0.1% higher). The multi-threaded performance, shown by 3DMark max threads score of 5411 and Cinebench R23 multicore of 16429, provides ample headroom for the game's background tasks.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow for efficient operation, though the game's frame rate results suggest the CPU is not the primary constraint. The consistent frame rate reductions as resolution increases point to the GPU as the limiting factor, meaning the Ryzen 5 5500 has sufficient processing power for this workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 deliver 68.1 FPS, which is the highest preset above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings drop to exactly 50 FPS, making Medium the optimal choice for smooth 1440p play.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only Low settings (66.7 FPS) achieve smooth gameplay. Medium drops to 51.8 FPS, High to 35.4 FPS, and Ultra to 33.7 FPS, making 4K play viable only at Low or Medium presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. The frame rate drops by 39-45% from 1080p to 4K across all settings, a pattern consistent with GPU saturation rather than CPU bottlenecking.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 scores 20875 on average, nearly matching the Intel Core i5-12500 (20897, 0.1% higher) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (20900, 0.1% higher), while slightly edging the AMD EPYC 7J13 (20845, 0.1% lower).

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This combination ranks 1113 out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle range of all configurations tested in this game.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 111.4 FPS while Ultra produces exactly 60 FPS, a difference of 51.4 FPS. Medium (85.4 FPS) and High (64.4 FPS) sit between these extremes.