Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Settings Recommendations

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the measured data clearly indicates that the Medium preset delivers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS, which represents a substantial improvement over High (113 FPS average) while remaining only slightly behind Low (162 FPS). The gap between Medium and Low narrows at lower resolutions, but Medium's visual fidelity gains over Low far outweigh the modest 14 FPS difference at 1080p.

The Ultra preset, despite being the highest quality option, offers diminishing returns. At 1080p, Ultra averages 108 FPS, which is only 5 FPS lower than High but 40 FPS below Medium. The data suggests that the performance cost of Ultra is not justified by the incremental quality improvement, particularly when Medium maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS at every resolution tested.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot with an average of 121 FPS (minimum 103 FPS, maximum 139 FPS). This represents a 30 FPS advantage over High (91 FPS) and a 34 FPS advantage over Ultra (87 FPS). The Low preset at 1440p reaches 151 FPS, but the visual compromise in a flight simulator—where terrain detail and cockpit readability matter—makes Low less appealing than Medium.

For 4K (3840x2160), Medium again proves optimal with an average of 89 FPS, a minimum of 76 FPS, and a maximum of 103 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenarios. High at 4K averages 67 FPS, Ultra drops to 64 FPS, and Low reaches 115 FPS—but the latter sacrifices too much visual quality for a simulator that relies heavily on scenery immersion.

Benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset consistently provides the best experience-to-performance ratio. It avoids the stutter-prone minimums seen at higher settings while preserving enough graphical detail to make the simulation visually engaging. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates above all, Low is viable, but Medium represents the recommended default.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) position it as a mid-range desktop part. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,429 and a single-core score of 2,319, while Geekbench reports 7,976 multicore and 1,730 single-core.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is significant but secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The game is known for heavy single-threaded simulation logic, and the Ryzen 5 5500's single-core performance—reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 836—sets the baseline for frame pacing. At 1080p with Low settings (162 FPS average), the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom. The 6-core/12-thread configuration handles the game's background threads (weather, AI traffic, physics) adequately, as evidenced by the 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,386.

The CPU's percentile rank of 73 among all processors places it above the median, and its average benchmark score of 19,593 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617, -0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668, -0.4% delta). Compared to the Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499, +0.5% delta), the Ryzen 5 5500 is essentially tied. This indicates that the CPU delivers competitive multithreaded performance for its class, though it is not a top-tier part.

As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck, and the CPU's influence on frame rates diminishes. The data shows that at 4K Medium, the average FPS (89) is 59 FPS lower than at 1080p Medium (148), a drop that is primarily attributable to the RTX 4070 Ti's rendering load rather than CPU limitations. However, at 1080p Low (162 FPS), the CPU's single-thread performance caps the frame rate, preventing the system from reaching the GPU's full potential.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best overall balance, achieving an average of 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 FPS. This resolution offers a 30 FPS advantage over 4K Medium (89 FPS) while maintaining visual quality superior to 1080p.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever justify its performance cost?

A: No. At every resolution, Ultra delivers the lowest average FPS among the four settings tested (108 at 1080p, 87 at 1440p, 64 at 4K). The performance penalty compared to Medium is 40 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K, with no corresponding benefit in measured frame consistency.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 19,593 is within 0.7% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617), Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668), and Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499). This places it in a dead heat with these processors, indicating comparable multithreaded capabilities.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes. The data shows a significant FPS drop when moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings. At Medium, 1440p averages 121 FPS while 4K averages 89 FPS—a 32 FPS reduction. This pattern, combined with the GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs, confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

Q: What minimum FPS can I expect with Medium settings?

A: The measured minimums are 126 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K. These are the only settings where minimums are reported, and they all remain comfortably above 60 FPS, indicating smooth gameplay without significant frame drops.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 562nd out of 3,714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations.

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti achieves a combo rank of 562 out of 3,714 tested configurations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the upper tier of all tested combos, though not at the absolute top. The ranking reflects the synergy between a mid-range CPU (73rd percentile) and a high-end GPU (84th percentile).

The RTX 4070 Ti's performance tier is well established by its average benchmark score of 44,795, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152, -0.8% delta) and within 1.7% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384) and Intel Arc A730M (45,592). This indicates that the GPU is performing at expected levels for its class, with no notable pairing inefficiencies with the Ryzen 5 5500.

The combo's rank of 562 suggests that while the system is capable of high frame rates, there are 561 configurations that outperform it—likely those pairing higher-end CPUs (e.g., Ryzen 7/9 or Core i7/i9) with similar or better GPUs. The Ryzen 5 5500's 6-core/12-thread design, while adequate, may hold back the RTX 4070 Ti in CPU-bound scenarios, particularly at 1080p with Low settings where the system reaches 162 FPS.

Interestingly, the combo's rank is better than what the CPU's 73rd percentile might suggest, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti compensates for CPU limitations in most scenarios. At 4K, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, the system performs comparably to configurations with more powerful CPUs, as the rank is determined by overall game performance across all tested settings and resolutions.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti as the dominant performance limiter at higher resolutions. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 148 to 121—a 27 FPS decrease (18.2%). The subsequent step from 1440p to 3840x2160 at Medium brings the average down to 89 FPS—a 32 FPS decrease (26.4%). This accelerating decline with resolution is characteristic of GPU-bound performance, as pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by another 125% from 1440p to 4K.

The Low settings preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with averages of 162 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (11 FPS, 6.8%) suggests that at Low settings, the CPU begins to limit performance at 1080p, preventing the GPU from reaching higher frame rates. This is consistent with the Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread score of 836 and its mid-range classification.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest relative decline, from 108 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 1440p (19.4% drop) and then to 64 FPS at 4K (26.4% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the GPU's computational load at Ultra settings scales nearly linearly with pixel count, with no CPU bottleneck evident even at 1080p.

The High preset shows similar behavior to Medium, with 113 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p (19.5% drop), and 67 FPS at 4K (26.4% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across Medium, High, and Ultra settings confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti is the limiting component at all resolutions above 1080p. At 1080p Low, the CPU's influence becomes apparent, capping performance at 162 FPS, which is only 14 FPS higher than Medium (148 FPS) despite the substantial reduction in graphics workload.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes all measured frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination in Microsoft Flight Simulator:

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Minimum FPS | Maximum FPS |

|------------|----------|-------------|-------------|-------------|

| 1920x1080 | Low | 162 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 148 | 126 | 170 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 113 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 108 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 151 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 121 | 103 | 139 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 91 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 87 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 115 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 89 | 76 | 103 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 67 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 64 | — | — |

At 1080p, the Medium preset provides the most complete data, with a minimum of 126 FPS and maximum of 170 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with a 44 FPS spread. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 162 FPS, while High (113) and Ultra (108) show only a 5 FPS difference—suggesting that High and Ultra have similar GPU workloads at this resolution.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again offers the only reported minimum (103 FPS) and maximum (139 FPS), with a 36 FPS spread. Low maintains a high 151 FPS average, while High (91) and Ultra (87) cluster together, echoing the 1080p pattern. The 4 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1440p indicates that the Ultra preset's additional effects have minimal impact at this resolution.

At 4K, Medium remains the standout, with a 76 FPS minimum that ensures smooth gameplay, while High (67) and Ultra (64) both fall below the 70 FPS threshold. Low reaches 115 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's capability when graphical load is minimized. The 3 FPS gap between High and Ultra at 4K is the smallest across all resolutions, suggesting that Ultra's marginal quality gains come at nearly no additional cost in this resolution range, though the absolute frame rates are still lower than Medium.