Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the best-case average frame rate for this CPU and GPU pairing in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded in the measured data is 56 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. This is the only tested configuration that crosses the 60 FPS threshold on average.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which puts the Arc B390 1.3% ahead. It is also 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460) and 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446).

Q: What is the CPU's multithreaded performance relative to its immediate competitors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D scores 25047 in the Passmark multithread test. This puts it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466 average) and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342). It trails the Intel Core i5-14600 by 0.7%, which scores 44889.

Q: Does the combo's ranking in Microsoft Flight Simulator reflect its overall hardware percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 2665 out of 2996 tested combinations. This is in the bottom 11% of all tested combos. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 9, which is very low, while the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 89, which is quite high. The ranking suggests the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 2560x1440 with the Medium preset?

A: At 2560x1440 Medium, the average frame rate is 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The spread of 10 FPS between the minimum and maximum indicates moderate frame pacing variability.

Q: What is the maximum boost clock and L3 cache size for the Ryzen 5 7500X3D?

A: The CPU has a boost clock of 4.50 GHz and a shared L3 cache of 96 MB. The base clock is 4.00 GHz, and the CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a mobile-class integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. The data shows its role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is strictly limiting. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low score, and the nearest rivals — the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710 — are all legacy entry-level parts.

The memory configuration is "System Shared" across size, type, and bus width. Bandwidth is listed as system dependent, and the clock speed for memory is also listed as system shared. This means the GPU relies on the system's main memory, and the 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth of the CPU's DDR5 support is the theoretical ceiling for the shared memory pool. The GPU's base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, a flight sim that streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data, the Arc B390's low compute throughput (7.680 TFLOPS FP32) and shared memory architecture make it ill-suited for high-fidelity visuals. The measured data confirms this: at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 19 FPS. Even at 1080p Low, the best-case scenario, the average is 56 FPS. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but the bottleneck appears to be the overall fill rate and memory subsystem, not the raw texture filtering capacity.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combo is clearly at the Low preset. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 56 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches playable smoothness in the data. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 43 FPS, and High drops to 33 FPS. Ultra at 1080p is 31 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 45 FPS, which is borderline playable for a flight simulator where precise control inputs matter. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. High and Ultra at 1440p are 26 and 25 FPS, respectively, which are likely too choppy for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS, and both High and Ultra average 19 FPS. None of these 4K configurations are recommended for actual gameplay. The data suggests that the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, resolution should be kept to 1080p or 1440p. The step from Low to Medium costs 13 FPS at 1080p (from 56 to 43), which is a 23% performance drop for what is likely a modest visual improvement given the GPU's limitations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of the Arc B390's capabilities across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 56 FPS. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 and a maximum of 50. The High preset averages 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 25 FPS drop, representing a 45% reduction in average frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 45 FPS. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 20 FPS, a 44% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 33 FPS. The Medium preset averages 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. The High preset averages 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset also averages 19 FPS. Notably, High and Ultra produce identical average results at 4K, suggesting that the GPU is completely saturated and the additional settings have no measurable impact.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data recorded. At 1080p, the range is 37-50 FPS; at 1440p, 30-40 FPS; and at 4K, 22-30 FPS. The consistent 13 FPS spread between min and max at each resolution indicates that the frame pacing issues are consistent regardless of resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2665 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 11th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning roughly 89% of tested systems perform better in this specific game.

This ranking is heavily skewed by the GPU. The CPU is a strong performer — the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5% faster), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (0.6% faster). The Intel Core i5-14600 is 0.7% faster.

The GPU, in contrast, sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 1482, and the nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA parts from a decade ago. The delta between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile creates a massive imbalance that the in-game ranking reflects. A combo with such a strong CPU and such a weak GPU will be bound by the GPU in nearly every graphical scenario, which is exactly what the measured FPS data shows.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Raphael codename and Zen 4 architecture. It uses a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 11,270 million transistors on a 71 mm² die. The base clock is 4.00 GHz, and the boost clock is 4.50 GHz. The L3 cache is 96 MB shared, which is substantial and typically beneficial for gaming workloads that rely on large datasets.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 25047 in Passmark multithread, 3494 in Passmark single-thread, and 2779 in Passmark physics. It scores 70774 in integer math and 43594 in floating point math. The data compression score is 271649, and the encryption score is 15797. The extended instructions score is 20455, and random string sorting is 32999. The find prime numbers score is 221.

The CPU's role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is likely to provide the underlying simulation logic, physics calculations, and draw call generation. The physics score of 2779 and the high multithread score of 25047 suggest the CPU can handle the game's simulation overhead. However, the measured data shows that increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K at the same settings causes a consistent FPS drop, which implies that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that points directly at the GPU as the limiting component.

At the Low preset, the average FPS goes from 56 at 1080p, to 45 at 1440p, to 33 at 4K. This is a drop of 11 FPS going to 1440p (a 20% reduction) and another 12 FPS going to 4K (a 27% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 23 FPS, which is a 41% reduction.

At the Medium preset, the average FPS goes from 43 at 1080p, to 35 at 1440p, to 26 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 8 FPS (19%), and from 1440p to 4K is 9 FPS (26%). Total drop is 17 FPS (40%).

At the High preset, the average FPS goes from 33 at 1080p, to 26 at 1440p, to 19 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 7 FPS (21%), and from 1440p to 4K is 7 FPS (27%). Total drop is 14 FPS (42%).

At the Ultra preset, the average FPS goes from 31 at 1080p, to 25 at 1440p, to 19 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 6 FPS (19%), and from 1440p to 4K is 6 FPS (24%). Total drop is 12 FPS (39%).

The consistent ~20% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~25% drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would be less sensitive to resolution changes. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical whether the preset is Low or Ultra further confirms that the GPU is saturated at all settings. The 4K results for High and Ultra being identical (19 FPS) reinforces this — the GPU has hit a hard performance ceiling that additional settings changes cannot overcome.