Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Microsoft Flight Simulator presents a demanding workload that stresses both the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's raw throughput. The benchmark data for this combination shows a system that delivers playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the RTX 3070 acting as the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. The Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 4 architecture, provides sufficient processing headroom, while the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and Ampere architecture handle the simulator's extensive scenery rendering. The measured FPS data reveals a clear progression from 1080p to 4K, with each resolution step producing predictable performance drops.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates classic GPU-bound behavior in Microsoft Flight Simulator. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system produces 79 FPS, which drops to 64 FPS at 2560x1440 — a reduction of approximately 19%. Moving to 3840x2160 High brings the average down to 47 FPS, which is roughly 41% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput requirements outpace the CPU's ability to feed the GPU.

The Low settings preset shows a similar trend but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 135 FPS, dropping to 109 FPS at 1440p and 80 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is about 41%, nearly identical to the High preset's drop. This consistency suggests that resolution scaling is independent of the settings preset, reinforcing that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the determining factors.

Medium settings reveal the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 and maximum of 121. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 85 FPS (min 72, max 98), and at 4K Medium, the average is 63 FPS (min 53, max 72). The spread between minimum and maximum FPS widens as resolution increases, going from a 32 FPS range at 1080p to a 19 FPS range at 4K, indicating more variable frame pacing at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates, with 75 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is exactly 30 FPS, or 40%, which aligns closely with the other presets. This uniform scaling across all settings presets confirms that the RTX 3070's computational resources are the bottleneck, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide the single-thread performance that Microsoft Flight Simulator requires for its simulation and physics calculations. The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core help maintain data locality, which is critical for the simulator's terrain streaming and flight model computations.

Synthetic benchmarks place this CPU in the 77th percentile among all tested processors. In Cinebench R23, it scores 20851 in multi-core and 2943 in single-core, while in 3DMark it achieves 6165 with maximum threads and 951 in single-thread. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is more relevant to Flight Simulator than raw multi-threaded throughput. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, has an average benchmark score of 24964, just 0.2% lower than the 8400F's 25005 average, confirming they are effectively performance equals.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate memory throughput for the simulator's large world data. The PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes ensures the RTX 3070 receives data without bottlenecking at the bus level. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and 8-thread score of 5275 show good scaling across cores, but the single-thread score of 951 is the more telling metric for this game, as Flight Simulator's main thread often limits performance in complex scenarios.

The PassMark single-thread score of 3685 and multithread score of 24389 further reinforce the processor's capability. The data encryption score of 16646 and integer math score of 74021 indicate strong general-purpose performance, though these are less relevant to gaming than the floating-point math score of 46217, which directly impacts physics calculations in the simulator.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for streaming the high-resolution textures and terrain data in Flight Simulator.

The RTX 3070 achieves a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. In PassMark G3D, it scores 22214, while in Geekbench OpenCL it reaches 112821. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162 demonstrates its DirectX 12 Ultimate capabilities. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores 17083, which is 0.7% lower, placing the two GPUs in the same performance tier.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s provide substantial computational power for the simulator's rendering pipeline. The pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s directly influences how quickly the GPU can fill the screen at higher resolutions, explaining the observed FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for the tested settings, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45, suggesting the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at the highest resolution and quality combination.

The RTX 3070's TDP of 220 W with a suggested 550 W PSU indicates it draws significant power, but the benchmark results show it delivers consistent performance across all tested configurations. The dual-slot design and 242 mm length make it a standard-sized card that fits most ATX cases, though the 1x 12-pin power connector requires an appropriate adapter for older power supplies.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1575 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. This ranking reflects a balanced system where neither component severely bottlenecks the other, though the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions as previously noted.

The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all processors is higher than the GPU's 61st percentile among all GPUs, suggesting the RTX 3070 is the weaker link in this pairing. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data, which shows the GPU limiting performance at 4K. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and Intel Core i7-13620H, have nearly identical average scores, meaning that swapping the CPU would yield minimal performance changes in this game.

The GPU's nearest rivals, particularly the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, are within 0.7% of its average score. This indicates that the RTX 3070 is closely matched with its direct competitors, and the measured FPS would likely be similar with a GPU swap. The rank of 1575 out of 3714 combos places this system in the 57th percentile of all tested combinations, which is respectable for a mid-range configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 135 FPS, providing a very smooth experience for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. Medium settings produce 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 and maximum of 121, offering a good balance between performance and visual quality. High settings reduce the average to 79 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 75 FPS. All 1080p configurations exceed 60 FPS, ensuring a playable experience regardless of chosen settings.

At 2560x1440, frame rates remain solid but show the expected reduction. Low settings achieve 109 FPS, maintaining a high refresh rate experience. Medium settings produce 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 and maximum of 98, which remains above 60 FPS for the majority of the time. High settings drop to 64 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 61 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium settings (72) indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains playable performance.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3070 is clearly challenged. Low settings produce 80 FPS, which is still respectable for 4K gaming. Medium settings achieve 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72, meaning there are moments where frame rates dip below 60 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 47 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS. These results indicate that 4K gaming requires reduced settings to maintain smooth performance.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only complete data with minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 89 to 121 FPS; at 1440p, it is 72 to 98 FPS; and at 4K, it is 53 to 72 FPS. The minimum FPS values show that even at 4K Medium, the system occasionally drops to 53 FPS, which may be noticeable in demanding scenarios such as dense urban areas or complex weather conditions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for this system. At 1080p, Medium provides 105 FPS with a minimum of 89, ensuring smooth gameplay with no noticeable frame drops. At 1440p, Medium achieves 85 FPS with a minimum of 72, which remains comfortably above 60 FPS. Even at 4K, Medium delivers 63 FPS with a minimum of 53, making it the only preset that approaches playable frame rates at that resolution.

For players targeting a locked 60 FPS experience, High settings are viable at 1080p (79 FPS) and 1440p (64 FPS), but not at 4K (47 FPS). Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p, where 75 FPS provides a playable experience, while at 1440p and 4K, the 61 FPS and 45 FPS averages respectively make it less suitable for smooth gameplay.

The Low preset is the best choice for players using high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, where 135 FPS can take advantage of displays with refresh rates up to 144 Hz. At 1440p, Low still provides 109 FPS, which is sufficient for most gaming monitors. The data suggests that players who prioritize visual fidelity should stick to Medium settings, as the jump from Medium to High produces only marginal visual improvements while causing a substantial FPS drop.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, the system achieves 79 FPS on High and 75 FPS on Ultra, making it the only resolution where Ultra settings are playable. At 2560x1440, High settings produce 64 FPS, which remains playable. At 3840x2160, only Low (80 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS) presets maintain frame rates near 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F's 24964. This places them as effectively equal in performance, with differences too small to produce measurable FPS differences in this game.

Q: Is the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The measured data shows playable frame rates at all tested settings and resolutions, indicating the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for the tested configurations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45, which may be influenced by memory bandwidth constraints.

Q: What settings provide the most consistent frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, it ranges from 89 to 121 FPS; at 1440p, from 72 to 98 FPS; and at 4K, from 53 to 72 FPS, showing the smallest frame time variance among tested presets.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1575 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking is higher than the GPU's 61st percentile, indicating the RTX 3070 is the performance limiting component.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 63 with a minimum of 53, meaning it averages above 60 but dips below at times. At 4K High, the average is 47 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is 45 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold.