Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator presents one of the most demanding workloads in PC gaming, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D creates a fascinating study in component balance. The measured data reveals a system that is brutally fast at lower resolutions but begins to show its character as the pixel count climbs. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets, interpreting what the numbers mean for the limiting factors in this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts in this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 194 FPS, which drops to 181 FPS at 1440p and then falls more sharply to 151 FPS at 4K. This represents a 22% reduction from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical load, the resolution increase still impacts performance noticeably.

Moving to High settings, the scaling pattern changes. The 1080p result of 149 FPS drops to 120 FPS at 1440p (a 19% decrease) and then to 88 FPS at 4K (a further 27% decrease from 1440p). The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper than from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that at High settings, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility as the pixel shader workload expands exponentially.

The Medium preset offers the most complete data with min and max FPS recorded, showing a 177 FPS average at 1080p, 159 FPS at 1440p, and 118 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a modest 10% drop, while 1440p to 4K sees a more substantial 26% reduction. This pattern implies that the CPU can keep feeding the GPU at 1440p, but the 4K resolution introduces enough pixel processing demand that the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario, with 142 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. The scaling here is remarkably consistent, with each resolution step costing roughly 20% performance. This consistency suggests that at Ultra, the workload is more balanced between CPU and GPU, with neither component fully dominating the performance curve.

The data implies that at 1080p, particularly on Low and Medium settings, the CPU is likely the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 7400F's six cores and twelve threads must process the simulation logic, and the frame rates plateau in the 177-194 FPS range regardless of settings increases. At 4K, however, the RTX 5090 D's massive shading power becomes the star, and the FPS differences between Low (151 FPS) and Ultra (84 FPS) show a 44% spread that reflects pure GPU workload scaling.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 37 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the top 1.2% of all configurations tested, an elite standing that reflects the raw power of both components working together.

The rank is particularly impressive given that the CPU itself sits at the 83rd percentile against all CPUs in general benchmark scores. The GPU, meanwhile, ranks at the 92nd percentile against all GPUs. The combination of a strong but not top-tier CPU with an exceptionally powerful GPU yields a result that outperforms what either component's individual percentile might suggest, indicating that the RTX 5090 D is doing substantial heavy lifting in this title.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 5 7400F's average benchmark score of 32750 places it just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707) and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H by 0.2% (32812) and beats the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 by 0.3% (32662). These are extremely tight margins, suggesting that the CPU is not the differentiator in this game's performance.

For the GPU, the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77712 places it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) but 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). It also trails the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 2.1% (79396) and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 2.4% (79605). These rival deltas are surprisingly small for a top-tier GPU, suggesting that raw compute benchmarks may not fully capture the RTX 5090 D's specialized capabilities in flight simulation workloads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the simulation, built on the Zen 4 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts up to 4.70 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications place it in a mid-range position for modern desktop CPUs, yet the benchmark results in this game show it performing admirably.

The CPU's Cinebench scores paint a picture of its capabilities: a single-core score of 3072 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-core score of 21765. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for flight simulation, which often relies on a primary thread for physics and flight model calculations. The PassMark single-thread score of 3689 and physics score of 1660 further indicate strong per-core performance that can drive high frame rates at lower resolutions.

At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 194 FPS, which is remarkably high and suggests the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's output. The fact that increasing from Low to Ultra at 1080p only drops performance from 194 FPS to 142 FPS (a 27% reduction) indicates that the CPU has headroom to handle the additional draw calls and object updates that come with higher settings, but the GPU workload increases significantly.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and active production status suggest it is a power-efficient choice, and its 83rd percentile ranking against all CPUs places it above the majority of processors on the market. The nearest rivals all score within 0.3% of each other, indicating that the Ryzen 5 7400F is competitive with a broad range of mid-to-high-end CPUs in general workloads.

The data suggests that in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to maintain a solid frame rate floor at lower resolutions, but it is not the primary driver of performance at higher settings. The 4K results show a clear GPU dependency, with the CPU providing enough simulation throughput to support the GPU's rendering output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 194 FPS on Low settings, 177 FPS on Medium, 149 FPS on High, and 142 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS, showing a 53 FPS variance that indicates frame time inconsistency even at this relatively modest resolution. The spread from Low to Ultra is 52 FPS, representing a 27% performance penalty for the highest quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 181 FPS on Low, 159 FPS on Medium, 120 FPS on High, and 114 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 183 FPS, a 47 FPS variance. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 67 FPS, a 37% penalty, which is steeper than at 1080p and reflects the increased GPU load from additional pixels.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 151 FPS on Low, 118 FPS on Medium, 88 FPS on High, and 84 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS, a 35 FPS variance that shows the frame pacing challenges at 4K. The spread from Low to Ultra is 67 FPS, a 44% penalty, demonstrating that Ultra settings at 4K nearly halve the performance compared to Low.

The trend across all resolutions is consistent: Low settings always deliver the highest frame rates, with Medium offering a reasonable compromise and Ultra providing the most visually demanding experience. The gap between High and Ultra is relatively small at each resolution (7 FPS at 1080p, 6 FPS at 1440p, 4 FPS at 4K), suggesting that the visual difference between these presets may not justify the performance cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB202 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and its 21760 shading units produce 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking against all GPUs and average benchmark score of 77712 place it among the most powerful graphics processors available. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376915 confirm its raw rendering capabilities, while the PassMark G3D score of 44065 and GPU compute score of 28396 show strong general-purpose performance.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the RTX 5090 D's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 67 FPS (151 vs 84), a massive gap that clearly demonstrates the GPU's workload scaling. The 32 GB VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for even the most demanding flight simulation scenarios, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and geometry processing keep pace with the rendering pipeline.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are surprisingly close, with the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT just 1.1% behind and the RX 6850M XT 1.6% ahead. These are mobile GPUs, which makes the comparison interesting but not directly applicable to desktop gaming performance. The Tesla P100 variants are data center parts with different driver optimizations, further complicating direct comparisons.

The measured FPS data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is not being fully utilized at 1080p, where the CPU likely limits performance. At 4K, however, the GPU's massive compute resources shine, delivering 151 FPS on Low and 84 FPS on Ultra, both of which are exceptional for a flight simulator at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F sufficient for Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows the combo achieving 84-151 FPS at 3840x2160 depending on settings, with the CPU's six cores and twelve threads providing enough simulation throughput to support these frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution offers a strong balance, with 114-181 FPS across settings. At 1440p Medium, the system delivers 159 FPS average with a minimum of 136 FPS, providing smooth gameplay with good visual quality.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 37th out of 2996 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.2% of all systems tested for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D bottleneck the Ryzen 5 7400F at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests the CPU may limit performance at 1080p, where the FPS ranges from 142-194 across settings. The GPU's full potential appears to be more fully realized at 1440p and 4K resolutions.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High settings deliver 88 FPS while Ultra delivers 84 FPS, a difference of only 4 FPS. This suggests Ultra offers minimal performance penalty over High at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM affect performance?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution or settings preset, allowing the GPU to focus on compute and rendering tasks.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for the optimal gaming experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset (149 FPS) offers a significant visual improvement over Medium (177 FPS) with only a 16% performance penalty, while Ultra (142 FPS) provides diminishing returns over High. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, Medium at 177 FPS is the sweet spot, but High offers the best balance of quality and speed.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings (159 FPS) deliver excellent frame rates with good visual fidelity, while High (120 FPS) remains perfectly playable and offers superior graphics. Ultra at 114 FPS is also viable, with the 6 FPS difference between High and Ultra making the higher preset a reasonable choice for visual purists. The minimum frame rate of 136 FPS at Medium ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes.

For 3840x2160, the choice depends on personal preference. Medium settings (118 FPS) provide a high-refresh-rate experience with solid visuals, while High (88 FPS) offers better image quality at the cost of 25% performance. Ultra (84 FPS) delivers the best visual experience but with only a 4 FPS advantage over High, making High the more sensible choice. Low settings at 151 FPS are available for players who prioritize frame rate above all else.

The overall recommendation is to use Medium settings at 1440p for the best balance of performance and quality, or High settings at 4K for a visually impressive experience with acceptable frame rates. The data shows that Medium provides the most consistent frame pacing with recorded minimum and maximum values at each resolution, suggesting it is the most stable preset for this combination.