Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a notoriously demanding title, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER produces a highly capable system that scales predictably with resolution and settings. The measured data shows a configuration that can handle the game at high frame rates in most scenarios, though the heaviest settings at 4K will push it to its limits. This pairing places the combo at rank 311 out of 1795 tested combinations, putting it in the top 17% of all tested systems. The following analysis breaks down exactly what these numbers mean, how the components interact, and where the best performance-per-frame lies in the measured data.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the pattern reveals a shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers 164.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings, the frame rate drops to 148.8 FPS, a modest decline of about 9%. This relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor at these lower resolutions—the RTX 4070 SUPER has headroom to spare, but the Ryzen 5 5500 cannot feed it frames fast enough to scale further. However, at 4K Low, the FPS falls to 107.3, a much larger 28% drop from the 1440p figure, indicating the GPU is now taking over as the main constraint as pixel count explodes.

This transition is even clearer when looking at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system hits 102.8 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 80.6 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 58.6 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 22%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 27%. This consistent, heavy scaling at Ultra settings points to a GPU-bound scenario across all resolutions—the RTX 4070 SUPER is doing the heavy lifting, and its performance degrades predictably as resolution increases. The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are both viable for high-refresh monitors, but 4K is only suitable for a steady 60 FPS experience at High settings, where it hits 60.6 FPS, or by dropping to Medium for 84.9 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 60.6, which is just at the threshold for smooth gameplay. For a more comfortable margin, dropping to Medium yields 84.9 FPS at 4K, or you can push to Ultra and accept 58.6 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I have a 144Hz monitor?

A: To fully utilize a 144Hz display, 1080p is the only resolution that consistently exceeds that mark. At 1080p Low, the system hits 164.3 FPS, and even at Medium it achieves 142.9 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings (148.8 FPS) break past 144 FPS; Medium and High sit at 111.3 and 85.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How much of a performance hit does going from High to Ultra settings cost?

A: The penalty is significant but varies by resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is 6.5 FPS slower than High (102.8 vs 109.3). At 1440p, the gap widens to 4.7 FPS (80.6 vs 85.3). At 4K, the difference is only 2 FPS (58.6 vs 60.6), suggesting the game is already heavily GPU-bound at that resolution, so the extra settings cost less relative performance.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests it can be at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system only gains 15.5 FPS over 1440p Low (164.3 vs 148.8), which indicates the CPU is limiting performance before the GPU can be fully utilized. However, at higher settings like Ultra, the scaling between resolutions is more consistent, showing the GPU becomes the primary limiter.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings deliver 148.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 80.6 FPS. That is a difference of 68.2 FPS, or roughly a 46% reduction. Medium sits in the middle at 111.3 FPS, making it a strong middle-ground choice.

Q: How does this system compare to other tested combos?

A: This specific pairing ranks 311 out of 1795 tested combinations. The CPU itself sits at the 79th percentile versus all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 84th percentile versus all GPUs. The GPU is the stronger component in this pairing, which aligns with the resolution scaling data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the star of this system, and the data shows it is clearly the dominant component. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for a game like Flight Simulator that streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data. The 80 ROPs and 224 texture mapping units handle the pixel and texture throughput required at higher resolutions, and the 56 RT cores are available for any ray-traced effects, though the measured data does not specify whether they are enabled.

The GPU's clock behavior is also telling. With a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the card can push itself hard when thermal and power headroom allow. The measured FPS numbers at 4K Ultra (58.6 FPS) suggest the card is running near its maximum potential in the most demanding scenes. The fact that the 4070 SUPER sits at the 84th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576, places it well above average. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, has an average score of 42653, a delta of just -0.2%, meaning the 4070 SUPER is essentially performance-equivalent to that workstation-class card in synthetic tests. This GPU is clearly not the limiting factor in most scenarios; the CPU or the game's engine is more likely to hold it back at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured data set provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 164.3 FPS on Low, 142.9 FPS on Medium, 109.3 FPS on High, and 102.8 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 21.4 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 33.6 FPS, showing that High settings are a significant step up in demand. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 6.5 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers are 148.8 FPS on Low, 111.3 FPS on Medium, 85.3 FPS on High, and 80.6 FPS on Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra shrinks to only 4.7 FPS, reinforcing that Ultra offers marginal visual gains for a noticeable performance cost. At this resolution, the system is still very playable across all settings, but the CPU bottleneck at Low settings becomes apparent—the drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is only 15.5 FPS, whereas the drop from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium is 31.6 FPS, indicating the GPU is more engaged at Medium and above.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 107.3 FPS on Low, 84.9 FPS on Medium, 60.6 FPS on High, and 58.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 22.4 FPS, and from Medium to High is 24.3 FPS, but High to Ultra is only 2 FPS. This compression at the top end is a classic sign of a GPU that is fully saturated; the extra settings in Ultra do not cost much because the card is already maxed out. The 4K Low result of 107.3 FPS is impressive, though it suggests the CPU is still keeping up, but the extreme resolution is where the GPU's limits are most visible.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the data points to High settings as the sweet spot for this system. At 1080p, High delivers 109.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and close to the 144 Hz range. At 1440p, High produces 85.3 FPS, which is smooth for most players, and at 4K, it hits 60.6 FPS, making it the only preset that achieves a locked 60 at that resolution. Medium settings are a strong fallback if you need extra headroom—at 1440p, Medium gives 111.3 FPS, and at 4K, it gives 84.9 FPS, both of which are excellent.

Ultra settings are not recommended for competitive or high-refresh play. The performance cost over High is minor at 4K (2 FPS) but more significant at 1080p (6.5 FPS) and 1440p (4.7 FPS). Given that Ultra typically adds subtle visual improvements like increased draw distances and more detailed shadows, the data suggests that High is the pragmatic choice. Low settings, while offering the highest frame rates (164.3 FPS at 1080p), will likely produce a visually sparse experience that detracts from the simulation aspect of the game. For a 60 Hz monitor at 4K, High is the clear winner; for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p, Medium or High both work, with Medium providing the extra margin of safety.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture and codenamed Cezanne. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts up to 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has 16 MB of L3 cache, which is modest for a gaming chip, and supports DDR4 memory on the AM4 socket. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 16429 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2319 in single-core, placing it at the 79th percentile versus all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897 (a delta of -0.1%), showing these two chips are virtually tied in overall performance.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is evident in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 164.3 FPS, which is likely near the engine's single-thread limit. The fact that 1440p Low only drops to 148.8 FPS—a 9% reduction despite a 78% increase in pixel count—indicates the CPU is the bottleneck at this settings level. The 12 threads allow the game to distribute simulation tasks, but the single-thread performance (836 in 3DMark single-thread) is what ultimately limits maximum frame rates. This is a common trait in flight simulators, which rely heavily on a few primary threads for physics and AI. At higher settings, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor, but the CPU still determines the ceiling for frame rates at any resolution. The 5500 is a capable partner for the RTX 4070 SUPER, but users chasing the absolute highest FPS at 1080p may find the CPU holding the GPU back, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains when dropping from High to Low at that resolution.