Microsoft Flight Simulator

# FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers an average of 93.8 FPS. This is the lowest average among the four tested settings at this resolution, with Low reaching 163 FPS, Medium hitting 128.8 FPS, and High achieving 95.6 FPS.

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

A: The combo ranks 447th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the strong balance between the six-core processor and the RDNA 4.0 graphics card in this flight simulator.

Q: What is the performance difference between 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 77.9 FPS at 2560x1440 to 55.3 FPS at 3840x2160, a decrease of 22.6 FPS. This represents a roughly 29% reduction in performance when moving to 4K resolution, showing the significant load that higher pixel counts place on the GPU.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance matter for this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F scores 951 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2943 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. Microsoft Flight Simulator is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance, and these scores place the CPU at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong per-core capability that helps maintain frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the bottleneck.

Q: How much VRAM does the RX 9070 XT have, and does it affect performance at 4K?

A: The RX 9070 XT is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. At 3840x2160, the combo still achieves 53.7 FPS on Ultra settings, suggesting the memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient to handle the high-resolution textures and geometry typical of flight simulation.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU in this combo?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has a launch MSRP of $170. This processor, based on the Zen 4 Phoenix architecture, was released on March 31, 2024, and offers 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture with the Phoenix codename. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide the computational foundation for Microsoft Flight Simulator, a title that relies heavily on both single-thread responsiveness and multi-threaded background simulation tasks. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core help maintain data locality for the complex flight models and scenery generation routines.

Benchmark results show this processor achieving a 3dmark_max_threads score of 6165 and a 3dmark_single_thread score of 951. In cinebench_r23_multicore, it scores 20851, while the single-core test yields 2943. These figures place the CPU at the 82nd percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating solid overall capability. The passmark_multithread score of 24530 and passmark_single_thread score of 3684 further corroborate this balanced performance profile.

In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is particularly evident at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 163 FPS, compared to 96.1 FPS at 3840x2160 with Low settings. The smaller performance gap between resolutions at lower settings suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1874 and 3dmark_4_threads score of 3563 indicate that the processor handles lightly-threaded workloads efficiently, which is critical for a game that must process player input, aircraft systems, and world streaming in real-time.

The 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC contribute to efficient sustained operation, though the benchmark data does not include thermal throttling analysis. The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures adequate data throughput for the game's streaming-heavy architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT achieves a rank of 447 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This position places it in the top 25% of all tested systems, which is noteworthy given the game's reputation as one of the most demanding simulation titles available.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score provide context for its contribution to this ranking. The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X has an average score of 25057, representing a 0% delta from the 8400F's average of 25064. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 scores 25099, a -0.1% difference, while the AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, also -0.2% behind. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24993, placing it 0.3% ahead of the 8400F. These close margins indicate that the 8400F performs essentially on par with these alternatives, with differences well within measurement noise.

For the GPU side, the RX 9070 XT's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The AMD Radeon Pro 575 scores 39703, a -0.1% delta from the RX 9070 XT's average of 39647. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568, putting it 0.2% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro 575X scores 39836 and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 scores 39879, representing -0.5% and -0.6% deltas respectively. These comparisons show that the RX 9070 XT sits in a competitive performance band, though these are general benchmark averages rather than game-specific results.

The 447th rank out of 1795 combos suggests that while this system is not at the absolute top tier, it delivers strong performance that should satisfy most flight simulation enthusiasts. The gap between this combo and higher-ranked systems likely stems from both CPU and GPU choices, as Microsoft Flight Simulator benefits from high-end processors with strong single-thread performance and GPUs with ample memory bandwidth.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 163 FPS, providing a smooth experience for users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity. Medium settings yield 128.8 FPS, while High settings produce 95.6 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution deliver 93.8 FPS, showing that even at maximum graphical quality, the system maintains playable frame rates well above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. Low settings produce 129.8 FPS, maintaining high refresh rate capability. Medium settings achieve 103 FPS, while High settings drop to 77.9 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution yield 71.2 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings represents a reduction from 93.8 FPS to 71.2 FPS, a 22.6 FPS decrease that reflects the increased pixel workload.

At 3840x2160, the demands of 4K resolution become apparent. Low settings still produce 96.1 FPS, demonstrating the GPU's raw capability. Medium settings achieve 76.7 FPS, while High settings drop to 55.3 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K yield 53.7 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold but remains playable for a simulation genre where frame pacing consistency often matters more than raw frame rate.

The scaling pattern across resolutions shows diminishing returns as settings increase. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 69.2 FPS, while at 3840x2160, the same settings comparison shows only a 42.4 FPS difference. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes increasingly saturated, and the relative impact of graphical settings diminishes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT serves as the primary rendering engine in this combo, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. This substantial clock range allows the card to scale its performance based on workload demands, from lighter scenes to complex cockpit views with dense instrumentation.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for Microsoft Flight Simulator's streaming of high-resolution terrain textures and detailed aircraft models. The 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units handle the geometric and pixel workload, while the 64 ray tracing cores support any ray-traced effects the game may employ. The GPU's pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s indicate substantial fill rate capabilities.

The GPU's benchmark scores further illustrate its capability. In 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12, it scores 7260, while geekbench_opencl yields 160317 and geekbench_vulkan produces 184026. The passmark_g3d score of 26795 and passmark_gpu_compute score of 15864 place the GPU at the 82nd percentile among all tested GPUs. These metrics align with the measured FPS results, showing a card that can handle 4K Ultra at 53.7 FPS and 1080p Low at 163 FPS.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the difference between High and Ultra settings is only 1.6 FPS (55.3 vs 53.7), suggesting the GPU is nearing its limits at 4K with maximum settings. Conversely, at 1920x1080, the gap between High and Ultra is 1.8 FPS (95.6 vs 93.8), indicating that at lower resolutions, the CPU may be introducing a bottleneck that prevents the GPU from fully expressing its capabilities. The 304 W TDP and dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors indicate this is a high-power card that delivers substantial performance in demanding titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator.