Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator presents a unique hybrid workload, blending heavy CPU-bound simulation logic with demanding GPU rendering. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the balance between these two components across different resolutions and settings. This analysis examines the measured performance metrics to determine where the bottleneck lies and how the hardware responds to the game's varying demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern, but with nuances specific to Flight Simulator's engine. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 162 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 151 FPS, a modest 6.8% drop, while 4K Low sees a more significant decline to 125 FPS, representing a 22.8% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This relatively gentle slope at low settings suggests the CPU is playing a substantial role in limiting performance, as the GPU has ample headroom at these lower resolutions and graphical loads.

The scaling becomes more pronounced as settings increase. At High settings, the progression from 1080p (123 FPS) to 1440p (99 FPS) is a 19.5% drop, and then to 4K (73 FPS) is another 26.3% reduction. The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern, with 1080p at 117 FPS, 1440p at 94 FPS, and 4K at 69 FPS. These steeper declines at higher settings indicate that the GPU's rendering workload becomes more dominant, shifting the bottleneck away from the CPU. The data suggests that at 1080p, especially with lower settings, the Ryzen 5 5500's six-core, twelve-thread configuration is a limiting factor, preventing the RTX 4080 SUPER from fully stretching its legs. As resolution and settings increase, the GPU's capabilities are more thoroughly exercised, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 45 FPS (162 vs 117). At 1440p, it's 57 FPS (151 vs 94). At 4K, the gap expands to 56 FPS (125 vs 69). This growing delta reinforces that higher resolutions amplify the GPU's role, making it the primary determinant of performance in the most demanding scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This substantial memory pool is crucial for Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data. The 16 GB capacity ensures that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is unlikely to be constrained by VRAM limits, allowing the data to show that the card can maintain an average of 69 FPS even at the highest settings tested.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2550 MHz, contribute to its raw compute throughput. The data shows that this card can push frame rates well above 100 FPS at 1440p High (99 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (117 FPS), indicating that its processing power is more than sufficient for these conditions. The limiting factor at those lower resolutions is more likely the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with simulation data.

However, the GPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the 4K results. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 97, with a minimum of 82 and maximum of 111. The variance here highlights the demanding nature of the rendering load at this resolution. The RTX 4080 SUPER's performance in this benchmark places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54209. This positions it significantly ahead of its nearest rivals, such as the RTX 4080, which has an average score of 54247 (a -0.1% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 55698 (a -2.7% delta). This demonstrates that within this game's context, the GPU is a high-end performer, and its capabilities are best utilized when the resolution and settings are raised to match its power.

FAQ

Q: Why is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K so much larger at High settings than at Low settings?

A: At Low settings, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, limiting performance to 162 FPS at 1080p and 125 FPS at 4K. When settings are raised to High, the GPU's rendering workload increases significantly, making it the limiting component. This is evident in the larger FPS drop from 123 FPS at 1080p to 73 FPS at 4K, demonstrating that the GPU is now more heavily tasked.

Q: Can this system achieve a playable frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 69 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. While not as high as lower resolutions, this is a playable frame rate for a flight simulator, which often prioritizes visual fidelity over high refresh rates.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest competitor in this game?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 54209. Its nearest rival, the standard RTX 4080, has an average score of 54247, which is a -0.1% delta. This indicates that the two cards perform nearly identically on average, with the SUPER variant holding a negligible edge.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The data suggests that at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is a limiting factor, as the FPS is capped at 162. Since the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates in less CPU-intensive games, this cap indicates a CPU bottleneck. At higher resolutions and settings, the bottleneck shifts to the GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 131 FPS, while High averages 99 FPS. This is a 32 FPS difference, or roughly a 24.4% reduction in frame rate, showing that the jump from Medium to High has a significant impact on the GPU's workload.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a high refresh rate?

A: To consistently stay above 120 FPS, 1080p with High or Ultra settings is the best choice, averaging 123 and 117 FPS respectively. At 1440p, only the Low preset averages above 120 FPS (151 FPS), while Medium is closer at 131 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average is 162 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 148 FPS, with a minimum of 126 and a maximum of 170. High settings yield an average of 123 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset still manages an average of 117 FPS, indicating that even at maximum settings, the system remains highly responsive at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's increased workload. Low settings average 151 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. Medium settings average 131 FPS, with a minimum of 112 and a maximum of 151. High settings drop to an average of 99 FPS, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 94 FPS. The data shows that for a 1440p experience, the Medium preset offers the best balance, maintaining an average above 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is pushed harder, and the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings average 125 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium settings average 97 FPS, with a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 111. High settings average 73 FPS, and Ultra settings average 69 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 56 FPS drop, highlighting the substantial cost of the highest visual quality settings. The minimum FPS recorded across all tests is 82, which occurred at 4K Medium, suggesting that even in demanding scenes, the system avoids severe stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 374th out of 3714 total combos. This places it in the top 10% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing setup for this game. The rank reflects the balanced capabilities of the CPU and GPU, allowing for strong performance across a range of resolutions and settings.

The CPU's overall percentile is 73, meaning it performs better than 73% of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 19593, which is very close to its nearest rivals. For example, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 has an average score of 19617, a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668, a delta of -0.4%. This tight grouping indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 is competitively positioned within its performance class.

The GPU's percentile is higher, at 86, reflecting its status as a premium component. Its average benchmark score of 54209 is only slightly below that of the RTX 4080 (54247, -0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, -1.1% delta). This high GPU percentile, combined with the decent CPU percentile, justifies the overall strong combo rank for this game, as the GPU's power is effectively leveraged in a title that scales well with graphics hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's priority for resolution and frame rate. For a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it provides an average of 117 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This allows the user to experience the game's maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability.

For 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best overall experience. Averaging 131 FPS with a minimum of 112, it provides a high refresh rate experience that is both smooth and visually detailed. The High preset, at 99 FPS, is also viable for users who prefer more visual polish, but the frame rate does dip closer to the 90 FPS mark, which may be noticeable to some. The Low preset is unnecessary at this resolution, as Medium already achieves such a high frame rate.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. For users with a 60 Hz display, the High preset, averaging 73 FPS, offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (97 FPS) with a relatively smaller performance cost. The Ultra preset, at 69 FPS, is also playable for those who want the absolute best image quality. For users with a high refresh rate 4K monitor, the Medium preset is the only option that gets close to 100 FPS, providing the smoothest experience at this resolution. The data suggests that the system is capable of handling 4K, but the settings must be tuned to match the user's frame rate targets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is critical for handling the complex simulation logic, including flight physics, weather systems, and AI traffic. The data suggests that the CPU's performance is a limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU is not fully engaged.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 162 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for this workload. The fact that increasing the resolution to 4K Low only drops the frame rate to 125 FPS (a 22.8% decrease) while the GPU has to render four times the pixels, indicates that the CPU is still a significant contributor to the frame time at these settings. The CPU's single-thread performance is crucial here, as Flight Simulator is known to be sensitive to single-core speed.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its mid-range positioning. It scores 2319 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 16429 in multi-core. Its nearest rivals, like the Intel Core i5-12500 (avg score 19668), show that it is well-matched with other mainstream processors. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for feeding the GPU, but the data implies that a more powerful CPU would allow the RTX 4080 SUPER to achieve higher frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The performance gain from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is only 11 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is still the bottleneck in both scenarios, and the GPU has plenty of headroom that is left unused.