Microsoft Flight Simulator

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER occupies the 1094th position out of 1795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the lower-middle tier of the database, suggesting that while the hardware is far from obsolete, it is not positioned to deliver top-tier performance in this specific simulation. The rank implies that a significant portion of tested systems—roughly 61%—achieve higher average frame rates in this title. This is a notable observation given the individual components' standings; the CPU sits in the 83rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 65th percentile among all graphics cards. The disparity between component-level percentiles and the final in-game rank highlights how Flight Simulator's unique demands can reorder hardware hierarchies.

The data indicates a system that is balanced in its mediocrity for this workload. It is neither a bottleneck-limited outlier nor a particularly strong performer. The rank is a direct consequence of the measured FPS across various settings and resolutions, which consistently show playable but not exceptional results. For a flight simulation that heavily stresses both the CPU for physics and weather calculations and the GPU for terrain rendering, this combo delivers a baseline experience. The 1094th rank suggests that users with this setup will need to make careful settings choices to achieve a smooth experience, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU's age becomes more apparent. The performance gap to the top of the chart is substantial, but the system is firmly within the range of capable hardware for this genre.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is rated at 1750 MHz, with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps. The GPU's base clock is 1605 MHz, which can boost up to 1770 MHz. These specifications are crucial for Flight Simulator, a game that streams vast amounts of terrain and texture data. The 8 GB frame buffer proves to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions; the data shows that at 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 37.7, indicating the GPU is struggling to maintain fluid motion. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the demands of 4K texture streaming expose the memory subsystem's limitations.

The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 9.062 TFLOPS for FP32, are moderate by today's standards. Its performance in the database places it in the 65th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 22206. Comparing it to near rivals, it is 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700, but it trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3%. This suggests the 2070 SUPER is a solid, if aging, performer. In Flight Simulator specifically, the GPU's role becomes more dominant as resolution increases. The measured FPS data shows a clear trend: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 109.5 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 37.7 FPS. This 65.6% drop in performance across the resolution and settings spectrum is primarily attributed to the GPU hitting its pixel and texture processing limits, rather than a CPU constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Microsoft Flight Simulator with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the most viable resolution for high frame rates. At 1080p with Medium settings, the system averages 88.3 FPS, and even at High settings, it maintains 66.5 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 sees a significant drop, with High settings yielding 50.7 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 has an average benchmark score of 26617, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which scores 26574. The delta between them is a negligible 0.2%. It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 8024P and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900K.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 2070 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: The data suggests it is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but it becomes a constraint at 4K. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 37.7, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s appears to be a bottleneck at this resolution, preventing higher frame rates.

Q: What is the single-threaded performance of the Ryzen 5 7600?

A: The CPU scores 999 in the 3dmark_single_thread test and 3246 in the cinebench_r23_singlecore test. These scores indicate strong single-core capability, which is important for Flight Simulator's main thread logic. Its boost clock of 5.10 GHz contributes to this performance.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the difference is substantial. The system averages 89.9 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 51.3 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 43% decrease in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably, with average FPS ranging from 109.5 at Low to 64.1 at Ultra. The Medium preset delivers 88.3 FPS, and High achieves 66.5 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this combo, as even the most demanding preset stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable. Low settings yield 89.9 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium averages 69.5 FPS, providing a good balance. However, High drops to 50.7 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 51.3 FPS. The similarity between High and Ultra scores at this resolution is interesting, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, unable to differentiate between the two presets efficiently. At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 61.5 FPS, which is just above playable. Medium drops to 47.9 FPS, while High and Ultra average 38.2 and 37.7 FPS, respectively. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 22.1%, while the gap between High and Ultra is a mere 1.3%, indicating the GPU is saturated.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU's cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache hierarchy is robust for a flight simulator, which often requires rapid access to terrain and aircraft data. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22992 and a single-core score of 3246. Its single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Flight Simulator, which has a significant single-threaded component.

The CPU is ranked in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26617. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, scores 26574, a difference of only 0.2%. This indicates that for CPU-bound tasks, the 7600 is on par with a previous-generation flagship gaming CPU. However, in Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle simulation logic. The data suggests that at lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU is capable of pushing high frame rates, as seen with 109.5 FPS on Low settings. The 5.10 GHz boost clock and 12 threads provide ample headroom for the game's complex calculations, though the 6-core configuration may limit performance in scenarios with heavy AI traffic or complex weather systems.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point, delivering 88.3 FPS. This provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for responsive controls. If a higher visual fidelity is desired, the High preset at 1080p yields 66.5 FPS, which is still playable, but the drop from Medium is noticeable. For users with 1440p monitors, the Low preset at 89.9 FPS is the only option that guarantees a consistently high frame rate. The Medium preset at 1440p, with 69.5 FPS, is also viable for those willing to accept slightly lower visual detail.

At 4K, the data suggests that the system is not well-suited for this game at high settings. The Low preset at 61.5 FPS is the only playable option, and even then, it is close to the edge. The Ultra preset at 4K, with 37.7 FPS, is not recommended for any serious gameplay, as the low frame rate will hinder the simulation experience. The data implies that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, and users should either lower the resolution or accept lower settings. The overall recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings: 1080p with Medium or High settings provides the best experience, while 1440p requires dropping to Low or Medium for acceptable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck clearly. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 66.5 at 1080p to 50.7 at 1440p, a 23.8% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops further to 38.2, a 24.7% decrease. This consistent drop of roughly a quarter per resolution step indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain more stable across resolutions, as the CPU workload would be similar regardless of pixel count. The data shows a linear scaling pattern that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The system achieves 109.5 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 89.9 FPS at 1440p (a 17.9% decrease) and then to 61.5 FPS at 4K (a 31.6% decrease from 1440p). The larger drop at 4K on Low settings suggests that even when the GPU is not heavily burdened by visual effects, the sheer pixel count overwhelms the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB memory buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The pattern across all settings presets is consistent: the frame rate drops are more severe when moving from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. This indicates that 4K is beyond the comfortable operating range for this GPU in this title, and the limiting factor is the graphics card's raw throughput and memory capacity.