Microsoft Flight Simulator

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti lands at rank 487 out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the top 27% of all tested systems, a strong result that reflects the balance between a capable six-core processor and a high-end Ampere GPU. The CPU's percentile ranking against all tested CPUs is 82, while the GPU sits at the 83rd percentile, meaning both components are performing near the top of their respective categories. The near-equal percentile scores suggest neither part is dramatically outclassing the other in this title, which is notable for a flight simulator that can be sensitive to both single-thread performance and raw GPU throughput.

The benchmark data shows that this combo's average FPS at 1080p Ultra reaches 88.7, which is respectable but not class-leading. The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41224 is only 0.5% below the RTX 3090's 41441, indicating the GPU is performing essentially at parity with its next-tier sibling. On the CPU side, the Ryzen 5 7500F's average score of 24993 puts it within 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-11850H and 0.3% of both the Ryzen 7 2700X and Ryzen 5 8400F. This tight clustering around the 25000 mark suggests that processor choice within this performance band has minimal impact on this game's outcomes, making the GPU the more influential variable in the measured results.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 487th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27.1% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 53. This is the lowest measured average across all tested resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to the RTX 3090 in average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti scores 41224, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3090's 41441. The deltaPct of -0.5 indicates they are virtually tied in average performance.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F scores 3218 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which helps explain its strong showing in a game that benefits from high clock speeds.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 163.5 FPS average, the highest measured result across all configurations. This suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower settings, as the frame rate scales significantly with reduced GPU load.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is sufficient for the highest texture presets in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution-dependent scaling that highlights the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 94.1 to 74.4, a reduction of 19.7 FPS or roughly 21%. The same resolution step at Ultra settings shows a similar trend, with 88.7 FPS at 1080p falling to 71.3 FPS at 1440p, a decline of 17.4 FPS. This consistent drop indicates that pixel throughput is becoming a constraint as resolution increases.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the scaling becomes more pronounced. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 74.4 at 1440p to 55.5 at 4K, a 25.4% reduction. The Ultra preset shows even sharper degradation, dropping from 71.3 to 53 FPS, a 25.7% decrease. These percentages are nearly identical across presets, suggesting that the GPU's rendering pipeline is hitting a hard limit at 4K regardless of quality settings. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases, with the Ryzen 5 7500F's six cores providing sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but becoming less relevant once the pixel count dominates.

Data from the Low preset reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 163.5 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 95 FPS. The 68.5 FPS gap between these resolutions is the largest measured for any preset, indicating that even at minimal quality settings, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the determining factors. The 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and 186.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are the specifications driving this behavior, and the results show that 4K remains a demanding target for this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results across all presets. With Low settings, the average FPS reaches 163.5, which is the highest number in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 130.5 FPS, High settings produce 94.1 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 88.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 74.8 FPS difference, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium at 33 FPS. This suggests that Medium settings introduce significant rendering effects that impact performance, while the jump from High to Ultra is comparatively modest at 5.4 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 130.7 FPS, Medium settings reach 103.7 FPS, High settings hit 74.4 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 71.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 27 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra shrinks to just 3.1 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that the GPU can still achieve high frame rates at lower presets, but the Ultra preset dips below the 75 FPS threshold that many users consider optimal for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings average 95 FPS, Medium settings reach 76 FPS, High settings produce 55.5 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 53 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 42 FPS, which is smaller than the 74.8 FPS gap seen at 1080p. This compression of the performance range indicates that at 4K, even Low settings place substantial load on the GPU, reducing the headroom for quality improvements. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS in the dataset, and it does so at both 4K and 1440p, where it averages 71.3 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator. At 1080p High, the average FPS of 94.1 provides smooth gameplay while maintaining the visual fidelity that flight simulation enthusiasts expect. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 88.7 FPS, which is only 5.4 FPS lower, but the additional rendering effects may not justify the performance cost for most users. At 1440p, High settings produce 74.4 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for playable performance, while Ultra drops to 71.3 FPS — still playable but approaching the boundary.

For 4K displays, the High preset at 55.5 FPS is borderline, and the Medium preset at 76 FPS is the recommended choice. The Medium preset at 4K offers a 20.5 FPS improvement over High while still providing acceptable visual quality. The Low preset at 4K reaches 95 FPS, but the reduction in rendering quality is substantial and likely to diminish the immersion that is central to this game. The data shows that Medium at 4K is the sweet spot, offering frame rates comparable to High at 1440p while providing the higher resolution.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently delivers frame rates that are 40-50% higher than Ultra. At 1080p, Medium achieves 130.5 FPS versus 88.7 FPS for Ultra, a 47.1% improvement. At 1440p, Medium hits 103.7 FPS compared to 71.3 FPS for Ultra, a 45.4% gain. At 4K, Medium reaches 76 FPS versus 53 FPS for Ultra, a 43.4% improvement. These consistent percentages suggest that Medium provides the most efficient use of the GPU's capabilities, making it the recommended preset for users who prioritize frame rate stability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide the single-thread performance necessary for Microsoft Flight Simulator's complex flight dynamics and scenery processing. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3218 and multi-core score of 22799 indicate strong performance for both lightly threaded and fully threaded workloads. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, which is beneficial for the game's streaming world data.

The CPU's 3DMark scores show a scaling pattern that is relevant to this game. The single-thread score of 974 and 2-thread score of 1902 suggest that the processor's per-core efficiency is high. The 16-thread score of 6376 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 6379, indicating that the 12 threads are fully utilized without significant contention. The PassMark multithread score of 26825 and single-thread score of 3841 further confirm that this CPU can handle the varied workloads that flight simulation presents, from aircraft systems modeling to terrain rendering calculations.

The CPU's nearest rivals are clustered within a narrow performance band. The Intel Core i7-11850H scores 24974, just 0.1% below the 7500F's 24993 average. The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X scores 25057, 0.3% higher, and the Ryzen 5 8400F scores 25064, also 0.3% higher. This clustering indicates that the 7500F is not a performance outlier in either direction. For Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically, the measured FPS data shows that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of driving frame rates well above 100 FPS, meaning it is not the limiting component in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip using an 8 nm process from Samsung. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for streaming the high-resolution textures and terrain data that Microsoft Flight Simulator loads continuously. The GPU's base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz, combined with 10240 shading units, deliver the raw compute throughput needed for the game's rendering engine.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 41224 places it at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, scores 41441, just 0.5% higher, confirming that the 3080 Ti is performing at the top of its class. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 41610 (0.9% higher), and the RTX 5070 scores 41687 (1.1% higher), but these differences are within the margin of measurement noise. The PassMark G3D score of 26896 and DirectX 12 score of 110 provide additional context for the GPU's capabilities in modern DirectX 12 workloads.

In this game, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 53, while the same preset at 1080p reaches 88.7 FPS. This 35.7 FPS difference demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to pixel count. The 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 532.8 GTexel/s texture rate are the specifications that determine how quickly the GPU can process the game's visual effects. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are available for the game's optional ray-traced effects, though the measured data does not include ray tracing scenarios. The 350 W TDP and suggested 750 W PSU indicate the power requirements for sustaining this level of performance.