Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The benchmark data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination reveals a system that handles the flight sim's demanding rendering workload across a wide range of resolutions and settings. Measured frames per second (FPS) were recorded at three resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—each with four quality presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The overall ranking places this combo at position 1324 out of 2996 tested combinations, indicating a mid-tier standing in the database. The data shows a consistent pattern: performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU emerging as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions while the CPU's strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates viable at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, clearly identifying the Radeon RX 7700 as the limiting component as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 126 FPS at 1920x1080 to 102 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 75 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 40% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 98 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K, a drop of roughly 40% as well. High settings see the most dramatic absolute decline, from 74 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p and 44 FPS at 4K—a 41% loss from the lowest to highest resolution. Ultra settings follow suit, with 70 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K, a 40% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is telling. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the scaling from 1440p to 4K would typically show a smaller relative decline, as the GPU would already be saturated at lower resolutions. Instead, the near-uniform ~40% reduction from 1080p to 4K across settings indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput—its pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s—is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity and bandwidth, so memory pressure is not the issue; rather, the raw compute horsepower of the Navi 32 chip, with 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs, determines the ceiling. At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced, as the frame rates of 126 FPS at Low and 98 FPS at Medium suggest the Ryzen 5 9600X can feed the GPU sufficiently, though the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (126 to 70 FPS) still shows the GPU's influence.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1324 out of 2996 tested combinations places it just below the median in the database for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a mid-pack position that reflects the GPU's 58th percentile standing among all GPUs, while the CPU sits higher at the 81st percentile. The disparity between these two percentile scores explains the overall ranking: the Ryzen 5 9600X is a strong processor relative to the field, but the Radeon RX 7700 holds the combo back from higher placements in a game that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, the Radeon RX 7700 posts an average benchmark score of 15852, which is within 1.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (score 16129) and 1.0% below the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16014). It also sits just 0.1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (score 15862) and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (score 15679). These tight margins indicate that the RX 7700 is competitively positioned within a narrow performance band, and in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the measured FPS reflects this mid-tier standing. The CPU's rivals—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (avg score 29656, delta 0.2%), AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (avg score 29868, delta -0.5%), AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (avg score 29879, delta -0.6%), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (avg score 29955, delta -0.8%)—are all within 1% of the 9600X's average benchmark score of 29713. This clustering suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's ranking; the GPU's position among its peers matters more.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 28,100 million transistors across a 346 mm² die, with a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. Memory runs at 2438 MHz, providing 19.5 Gbps effective throughput across a 256-bit bus, yielding 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is generous for this class of GPU, and in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which can consume significant VRAM with high-resolution textures, this capacity helps maintain stable frame rates at Ultra settings.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 96 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. The FP32 throughput is rated at 25.18 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 25.18 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). In practice, the measured FPS data shows the GPU delivering playable frame rates at 1440p across all settings: 102 FPS at Low, 79 FPS at Medium, 60 FPS at High, and 57 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, only the Low preset (75 FPS) and Medium preset (59 FPS) exceed the 60 FPS threshold, while High (44 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) fall below. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852, places it in the middle of the pack; its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129 (1.7% higher), indicating the RX 7700 is competitive but not class-leading. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 and PassMark G3D score of 20974 corroborate the mid-range positioning, while the PassMark GPU Compute score of 10963 suggests adequate compute performance for simulation workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 126 FPS, providing a smooth experience for fast-paced action. Medium settings drop to 98 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS, showing good frame time consistency. High settings average 74 FPS, and Ultra settings average 70 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 56 FPS, or a 44% reduction, which is substantial but expected given the increased rendering load of higher quality presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 102 FPS at Low, 79 FPS at Medium (with min 67 FPS and max 91 FPS), 60 FPS at High, and 57 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 67 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains playable performance. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by 19-24% across settings, which is a more moderate drop than the 1440p-to-4K transition. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is still operating within its efficient range, while the CPU continues to provide sufficient headroom.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. Low settings average 75 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 59 FPS (with min 50 FPS and max 67 FPS), High to 44 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 50 FPS is approaching the threshold where stuttering can become noticeable in a flight simulator, where smooth panning is essential. The 4K results clearly show the GPU struggling to maintain high frame rates at higher quality settings, with the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K being 33 FPS (44% reduction), similar to the 1080p pattern but at lower absolute numbers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and the user's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate smoothness. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset (70 FPS average) provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the frame rate remains comfortably above 60 FPS. For users who prioritize higher refresh rates, the High preset (74 FPS) offers a marginal improvement with slightly lower visual quality, while Medium (98 FPS) is excellent for high-refresh displays.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (60 FPS average) is the recommended choice, as it achieves the 60 FPS target that is standard for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset (57 FPS) is close but falls just below the 60 FPS threshold, which could result in occasional dips below that level in dense scenery. The Medium preset (79 FPS) provides a significant frame rate buffer and is a strong alternative if the user prefers higher headroom for demanding areas. The Low preset (102 FPS) is unnecessary at this resolution unless the user has a 100+ Hz display and prioritizes raw frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset (75 FPS) is the only setting that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset (59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum) is borderline, with the minimum dipping below 60 FPS, which could cause noticeable frame drops. High (44 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) are not recommended for 4K unless the user is willing to accept sub-60 FPS performance. In summary, the data suggests that for the best experience, users should stick to Ultra at 1080p, High at 1440p, and Low at 4K, with Medium as a compromise at 1440p and 4K for those who tolerate slightly lower frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge codename), fabricated on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth and ECC memory support. The 65W TDP is modest for a desktop processor, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes provides ample connectivity.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is primarily to handle the simulation's physics, flight model, and AI traffic, which are single-threaded or lightly threaded workloads. The Ryzen 5 9600X's single-thread performance is exceptional, as shown by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1253, Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5, and Geekbench single-core score of 2923. These scores place the CPU in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. The nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29656, 0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, -0.5%), AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879, -0.6%), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, -0.8%)—are all within 1% in synthetic benchmarks, indicating that the 9600X is competitive with higher-core-count parts in these tests.

The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at most settings. At 1080p Low, the 126 FPS average indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent ~40% drop across all settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would show less variation across resolutions. However, at 1080p Ultra (70 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (57 FPS), the frame rates are close, suggesting that at these settings, the GPU's load is high enough that the CPU's advantage in single-thread performance becomes less impactful. The multi-threaded scores, such as Cinebench R23 multicore at 17528.5 and PassMark multithread at 30027, indicate the CPU can handle the simulation's background tasks, but the game's reliance on single-thread performance is well-served by the 9600X's 5.40 GHz boost clock.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the best resolution, as all settings average above 70 FPS, with Low reaching 126 FPS and Ultra at 70 FPS. At 2560x1440, High settings average 60 FPS, which is playable, while 4K only achieves 75 FPS at Low settings.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 7700 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852. It is 1.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1.0% below the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014), 0.1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 9600X a bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. At Low settings, the average FPS is 126, which is high and suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU. The consistent ~40% frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates the GPU is the primary limiter.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 84. At 2560x1440 Medium, it is 67. At 3840x2160 Medium, it is 50. These values show how the minimum frame rate drops with resolution, with the 4K minimum approaching the stutter threshold.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1324 out of 2996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it just below the median, reflecting the GPU's 58th percentile standing while the CPU sits at the 81st percentile.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 56 FPS (126 to 70). At 1440p, it is 45 FPS (102 to 57). At 4K, it is 33 FPS (75 to 42). The absolute difference shrinks as resolution increases, but the percentage reduction remains similar at around 40-44%.