Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 1697th out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the pair in the 43rd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 57% of combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this specific flight simulator. The rank reflects a pairing of a newer, high-cache CPU with an older mid-range GPU, and the measured data suggests the graphics card is the primary constraint on overall performance. The 7500X3D ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, a gap that indicates the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for this workload.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1697 out of 2996 places this system slightly below the midpoint of all tested configurations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a demanding title that stresses both the CPU’s simulation logic and the GPU’s rendering pipeline, so the overall rank reflects a balance of those two factors. Given that the CPU is in the 89th percentile and the GPU is in the 65th percentile, the final ranking is dragged down by the graphics card’s relative position. In practical terms, the data shows that most combinations ranked higher than this one likely pair a comparable or better CPU with a stronger GPU, which is the expected bottleneck for this title.

The delta percentages against the GPU’s nearest rivals show how close the RTX 2070 SUPER is to other graphics cards in synthetic benchmarks. The average benchmark score of 20282 is within 1.5% of the Intel Arc A750's score of 20582, within 1.3% of the Intel Arc B570's score of 20556, within 1.2% of the RTX 3070 Mobile's score of 20534, and within 1% of the Quadro M4000M's score of 20480. These margins are small, indicating that swapping the GPU for any of these alternatives would produce similar frame rates in this game, all else being equal. The CPU’s nearest rivals show similarly tight margins, with the Ryzen 5 7500X3D’s average score of 44573 being just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H's 44466, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX's 44342, and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385's 44309, while being 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-14600's 44889.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The pixel rate is 113.3 GPixel/s, the texture rate is 283.2 GTexel/s, and the FP32 performance is 9.062 TFLOPS.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested settings, as the game’s scenery streaming benefits from fast memory bandwidth. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a strong asset for this title, which loads large textures for terrain and aircraft. The measured FPS data shows the GPU handling the load adequately at lower settings, but the frame rates drop significantly as settings increase, indicating the GPU’s compute and memory resources are being taxed. The boost clock of 1770 MHz provides the headroom for the GPU to push higher frame rates when the scene complexity is lower, such as at 1080p with Low settings, where it achieves 111 FPS. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s limitations become apparent, as the average FPS falls to 37, showing that the rendering workload at that resolution and quality level exceeds what this GPU can sustain smoothly.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 111 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 89 FPS, a 19.8% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 66 FPS, which is a 40.5% drop from the 1080p Low result. This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases, since the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant while the GPU must render more pixels.

For Medium settings, the scaling is similar. The average FPS at 1080p is 86, dropping to 70 at 1440p (an 18.6% decrease) and then to 51 at 4K (a 40.7% decrease from 1080p). The High preset shows an average of 65 FPS at 1080p, 52 at 1440p (a 20% decrease), and 39 at 4K (a 40% decrease from 1080p). The Ultra preset follows the same trend: 62 FPS at 1080p, 50 at 1440p (a 19.4% decrease), and 37 at 4K (a 40.3% decrease). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings suggests that the scaling is strictly resolution-driven, and the GPU’s rendering throughput is the bottleneck. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 3494 in Passmark indicates it has ample processing power to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions, so the frame rate differences are attributable to the GPU’s pixel and texture processing limits.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers an average of 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 99, which is a smooth and responsive frame rate for a flight simulator. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80, still playable but with occasional dips that could be noticeable during complex scenery. At 4K Medium, the average is 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 59, which is borderline for a title that benefits from smooth visuals.

The Low preset is the only option that provides consistently high frame rates at 4K, with an average of 66 FPS, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. The High and Ultra presets at 4K both fall below 40 FPS on average, which is likely too low for a smooth experience in this simulation. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p yields 89 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p, with a 70 FPS average, is a better compromise between quality and performance. At 1080p, the Ultra preset still delivers 62 FPS on average, which is acceptable, but the High preset at 65 FPS offers nearly identical performance with a slight reduction in quality. Overall, the measured rows indicate that Medium is the sweet spot for this GPU-CPU combo, as it maintains playable frame rates at all resolutions while providing a reasonable level of detail.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with an average of 111 FPS at Low settings, 86 FPS at Medium, 65 FPS at High, and 62 FPS at Ultra. 2560x1440 is also viable, with averages ranging from 89 FPS at Low to 50 FPS at Ultra. 3840x2160 is only playable at Low settings, where it averages 66 FPS, as all other presets fall below 52 FPS.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H's 44466, 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-13950HX's 44342, and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385's 44309. It trails the Intel Core i5-14600, which scores 44889, by 0.7%.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data indicates yes. The GPU’s percentile rank of 65 is significantly lower than the CPU’s percentile rank of 89. The resolution scaling analysis shows a consistent 40% drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 3494 suggests it has enough power to keep up with the GPU’s demands.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 70, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80. This is a playable range for most users, though the minimum FPS of 59 indicates occasional dips below 60 FPS during demanding scenes.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, which is 1.5% lower than the Intel Arc A750's score of 20582. This small difference implies that the two GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator when paired with the same CPU.

Q: Does the Low preset at 4K provide a smooth experience?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combo averages 66 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and would be considered smooth for this title. However, the visual quality is significantly reduced, and the Medium preset at 4K drops to an average of 51 FPS, which may be less desirable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture and manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and it features PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The CPU has an integrated Radeon Graphics unit, but the discrete GPU in this combo handles the rendering workload.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is significant due to the game’s complex simulation logic, which includes physics, weather systems, and AI traffic. The large 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial for this title, as it helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency and improving the simulation thread’s performance. The Passmark multithread score of 25047 and single-thread score of 3494 demonstrate strong performance in both multi-core and single-core workloads. The single-thread score is especially relevant for flight simulators, which often rely on a primary simulation thread that cannot be fully parallelized. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.50 GHz provides the raw speed needed for that thread, while the 6 cores handle the auxiliary tasks like terrain loading and AI updates.

The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 111 FPS, which is a high frame rate that a weaker CPU might not be able to feed. The fact that the frame rates scale linearly with resolution changes indicates that the GPU is the constraint, as the CPU’s workload remains constant across resolutions. The CPU’s percentile rank of 89 versus the GPU’s 65 further supports this conclusion. For users considering an upgrade, the data suggests that replacing the RTX 2070 SUPER with a faster GPU would yield larger performance gains in this game than upgrading the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets across three resolutions, providing a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average of 111 FPS, with no minimum or maximum values recorded. The Medium preset averages 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 99. The High preset averages 65 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS, with no min or max values recorded for either. The spread between Low and Ultra is 49 FPS, indicating that the GPU can scale its output significantly based on the quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 89 FPS, which is a 19.8% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80. The High preset averages 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 39 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p. The minimum FPS of 59 for Medium suggests that even at 1440p, the system can occasionally dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which could be noticeable during dense scenery or weather effects.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is a 40.5% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 and a maximum of 59. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29 FPS, showing that the GPU’s resources are heavily taxed at this resolution. The Ultra preset’s 37 FPS average is below the playable threshold for most users, while the Medium preset’s 51 FPS average is marginal. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves a frame rate above 60 FPS, making it the only viable option for 4K gaming with this combo.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all settings: the frame rate drops by approximately 20% from 1080p to 1440p and by another 25% from 1440p to 4K. This scaling is uniform, indicating that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is the sole determinant of performance in this title. The CPU’s contribution is stable across all resolutions, as evidenced by the lack of any anomalous dips that would suggest a CPU bottleneck. For users targeting 60 FPS, the combo achieves this at 1080p Medium and above, and at 1440p Low. At 4K, only the Low preset reaches the 60 FPS mark. The measured data provides a clear roadmap for users to tune their settings based on their resolution and performance preferences.