Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in PC gaming, and this specific pairing—AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D with the AMD Radeon RX 580—creates a significant bottleneck that shapes every result in the data. The measured frames per second (FPS) across all resolutions and settings tell a clear story: this is a configuration where the GPU is the primary limiting factor, and the CPU's strengths are largely left untapped. The data indicates a system that can achieve playable frame rates only at 1080p with lower settings, while higher resolutions and quality presets push it into slideshow territory. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of each component, and what settings offer the most practical experience based strictly on the provided benchmark figures.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the 5 nm process and based on the Raphael codename (Zen 4 architecture). It operates with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is typically beneficial for gaming workloads, but the measured results in Microsoft Flight Simulator suggest it is not the deciding factor here.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573. In single-threaded performance, it scores 3494, and in multithreaded performance, it scores 25047. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (avg score 44466, delta 0.2%), the Intel Core i9-13950HX (avg score 44342, delta 0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (avg score 44309, delta 0.6%). It is also within 0.7% of the Intel Core i5-14600 (avg score 44889). These figures indicate the CPU is a strong performer in general computing tasks, but its role in this specific game is hampered by the GPU.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 54. When the resolution is increased to 1440p, the average drops to 43 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 32 FPS. This pattern—a significant drop in FPS as resolution increases—is a classic sign of GPU limitation, not CPU limitation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions because the CPU's workload (simulation, physics, and game logic) does not scale with resolution. The fact that FPS decreases by roughly 20 FPS from 1080p to 4K at Low settings indicates the RX 580 is struggling to keep up with the rendering load, leaving the 7500X3D with headroom to spare. This is further supported by the fact that the CPU's percentile rank (89th) is much higher than the GPU's percentile rank (53rd), confirming the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is an older graphics card based on the Polaris 20 chip (GCN 4.0 architecture) and manufactured on a 14 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1257 MHz, with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and memory clocked at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, and it has a TDP of 185 W, requiring a 450 W PSU.

The RX 580's benchmark scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (avg score 12940, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (avg score 12986, delta -0.4%), and the AMD Radeon 740M (avg score 12870, delta 0.5%). This places it in the mid-range of GPU performance, but for a demanding game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, it is clearly underpowered.

The measured FPS data confirms this. At 1080p with Low settings, the RX 580 achieves 54 FPS, but this drops to 43 FPS at 1440p and 32 FPS at 4K. At higher settings, the situation worsens dramatically. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 30, which is borderline playable but not smooth. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 24 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is a mere 18 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is also a concern at higher resolutions, though the data does not explicitly show VRAM-related stutters. The low FPS at 4K, even at Low settings (32 FPS), indicates that the GPU's processing power, not just its memory capacity, is the limiting factor. The GPU's low percentile rank relative to the CPU means that in this configuration, the RX 580 is the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's advanced features are not being fully utilized.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the measured data, the most practical experience for this configuration is at 1080p resolution. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 54, which is the highest measured average across all resolution and settings combinations. This is the only setting that approaches a comfortable playable frame rate. The Medium preset at 1080p yields an average of 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48, which is still playable but with more frequent dips. High and Ultra at 1080p drop to 31 and 30 FPS respectively, which are noticeably less smooth.

At 1440p, the data shows only the Low preset achieves a playable average of 43 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 34 FPS (min 29, max 39), which is borderline, while High and Ultra fall to 25 and 24 FPS, respectively. These are not recommended for a smooth experience. At 4K, all settings result in averages below 32 FPS, with Low at 32 FPS, Medium at 25 FPS, High at 19 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. None of these are playable for a flight simulator, where precise control is required.

Based on this data, the best experience per the measured rows is to run the game at 1080p with the Low preset. This provides the highest average FPS (54) and avoids the frame rate dips seen at Medium (36 min) and the lower averages at High and Ultra. If visual fidelity is a priority, the Medium preset at 1080p is a reasonable compromise, offering an average of 42 FPS, but the user must accept occasional drops to 36 FPS. The data suggests that pushing to higher resolutions or settings will result in a sub-30 FPS experience, which is not recommended for a game that requires smooth camera movement and precise inputs.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this CPU and GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average FPS is 54, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this system capable of running the game at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 18 (Ultra) to 32 (Low). None of these averages are above 32 FPS, which is generally considered too low for a smooth experience in a flight simulator.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, 0.5% faster than the Intel Core i9-13950HX, and 0.6% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385. It is 0.7% slower than the Intel Core i5-14600.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking, and what does it indicate?

A: The RX 580 is in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. This indicates it is a mid-range GPU, and when paired with a high-end CPU like the 7500X3D, it becomes the performance bottleneck in gaming workloads.

Q: At 1080p Medium settings, what are the minimum and maximum FPS?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 42, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the FPS drops significantly at the same settings, which is a hallmark of GPU limitation. The CPU's percentile rank (89th) is much higher than the GPU's (53rd), reinforcing this conclusion.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 54 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p (a 20% decrease) and then to 32 at 4K (a further 26% decrease). This linear scaling with pixel count is the signature of a GPU that is maxed out. The CPU, which handles simulation and game logic, does not see a significant increase in workload with resolution, so its performance remains constant. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain stable across resolutions, but that is not the case.

The same pattern is observed at Medium settings, where the FPS drops from 42 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p and 25 at 4K. At High settings, the drop goes from 31 at 1080p to 25 at 1440p and 19 at 4K. At Ultra, it goes from 30 at 1080p to 24 at 1440p and 18 at 4K. In all cases, the FPS at 4K is roughly 60-70% of the FPS at 1080p, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count (4K has 4 times the pixels of 1080p). This indicates that the RX 580's compute units and memory bandwidth are saturated, and the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is not the limiting factor. The CPU’s high L3 cache and strong single-thread performance (3494 in Passmark) are effectively idle, waiting for the GPU to catch up.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following data is directly from the measured FPS table.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average FPS 54.
• Medium: Average FPS 42, Minimum FPS 36, Maximum FPS 48.
• High: Average FPS 31.
• Ultra: Average FPS 30.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average FPS 43.
• Medium: Average FPS 34, Minimum FPS 29, Maximum FPS 39.
• High: Average FPS 25.
• Ultra: Average FPS 24.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average FPS 32.
• Medium: Average FPS 25, Minimum FPS 21, Maximum FPS 29.
• High: Average FPS 19.
• Ultra: Average FPS 18.

This breakdown reveals that the playable threshold is only crossed at 1080p Low (54 FPS) and 1080p Medium (42 FPS). At 1440p, only Low (43 FPS) is acceptable, and at 4K, all settings are below 32 FPS. The minimum FPS data points at Medium settings (36 at 1080p, 29 at 1440p, 21 at 4K) show that even the mid-range preset suffers from noticeable framerate dips, which can be disruptive in a game that requires smooth panning and landing approaches. The combo rank of 2733 out of 2996 combos in this game further confirms that this is a low-performing configuration for Microsoft Flight Simulator, primarily due to the GPU's age and performance class relative to the demanding nature of the title.