Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and Radeon RX 5700 XT combination places at rank 1356 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This puts it in the 76th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly a quarter of the configurations tested deliver lower performance in this title. The ranking is not catastrophic, but it places this pairing firmly in the lower-middle tier for a game that is notoriously demanding on both CPU and GPU resources. Given the data, this combo is positioned for playable, not elite, performance, and the measured frames per second confirm that the experience is heavily dependent on the chosen settings and resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1356 out of 1795 indicates that a substantial number of systems can outperform it in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but it also means it is not at the very bottom of the pile. The percentile placement suggests that this pairing is capable of running the game, but it will struggle to maintain high frame rates at higher quality presets. The CPU's standing relative to its rivals is telling: the Ryzen 7 3700X sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12600, the Intel Core i5-12600H, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, and the AMD EPYC 7203P in average benchmark scores. This indicates that the processor is not a bottleneck that is uniquely holding back the system; it is performing as expected for its class. The GPU, with a percentile of 68, is a more moderate performer, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and the Intel Arc A350M, with deltas of -0.1% and 0.3% respectively. This suggests the graphics card is the more likely limiting factor in this pairing, as its relative performance is lower than the CPU's.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a Navi 10 chip, and it carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1905 MHz and a game clock of 1755 MHz. These specifications are relevant because Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for its heavy reliance on memory bandwidth and raw pixel throughput, especially when rendering dense scenery and weather effects. The GPU's 64 ROPs and a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s suggest it can handle fill-rate demands, but the 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is moderate by modern standards. In the measured data, the GPU's influence is clear when looking at the frame rates: the difference between Low and Ultra settings at any resolution is substantial, which is a classic sign of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits by the game's rendering load. The card's 8 GB VRAM is adequate for this game's textures, but the data shows that the card's compute power, not the memory capacity, is the primary factor in the FPS variance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which strongly suggests the rendering pipeline is GPU-bound. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 97.4 FPS, but at 4K with Low settings, it falls to 58.5 FPS, a reduction of roughly 40%. The trend continues through the presets: at Medium, the drop is from 74.4 FPS at 1080p to 45.6 FPS at 4K; at High, it goes from 56.5 FPS to 35.2 FPS; and at Ultra, it drops from 52.3 FPS to 33.4 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload does not scale as dramatically with pixel count. The data implies that the Ryzen 7 3700X has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RX 5700 XT simply cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K. The scaling is not linear, but the percentage losses are significant, reinforcing that this combo is best suited for 1080p or possibly 1440p gaming, where the GPU is not as overburdened.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings offer the best experience. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 97.4 FPS, which is excellent for a smooth experience, but the visual quality may be too compromised for a simulation game where detail matters. The Medium preset at 74.4 FPS offers a good balance, providing a solid frame rate that should be fluid enough for most players. High at 56.5 FPS is still playable, but it is approaching the threshold where stutters might become noticeable in complex scenes. Ultra at 52.3 FPS is the most demanding, and while it is technically playable, it leaves little headroom for dips in busy areas. At 1440p, the Low preset at 81.6 FPS is the only one that guarantees a high-refresh-rate experience. Medium at 64.4 FPS is a strong choice, while High at 47.6 FPS and Ultra at 45.9 FPS are borderline for smooth play, likely causing occasional frame drops. For 4K, the data is less forgiving: Low at 58.5 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, while Medium at 45.6 FPS, High at 35.2 FPS, and Ultra at 33.4 FPS all fall below the 60 FPS target. The recommendation is to prioritize the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p to get a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data clearly shows a 1080p preference. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 97.4 FPS, while 4K Ultra only manages 33.4 FPS. The performance drop is substantial, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its closest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, which is within 0.1% of the Intel Core i5-12600's score of 28654. This is a negligible difference, meaning the CPU is not a major differentiator in this pairing.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a target of 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Based on the data, the Low preset is the only option that exceeds 60 FPS at 1440p, achieving 81.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 64.4 FPS is also above 60 FPS, making it the highest quality preset that can hit that target.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The Radeon RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured FPS data does not indicate a VRAM limitation, but the GPU's compute performance is more likely the bottleneck, given the significant FPS drops at higher settings.

Q: How does the combo's rank in this game compare to its overall hardware percentile?

A: The combo ranks 1356 out of 1795, which is in the 76th percentile. This is higher than the GPU's individual percentile of 68, but lower than the CPU's percentile of 85, suggesting the GPU drags down the overall gaming performance.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is 45.1 FPS, with Low at 97.4 FPS and Ultra at 52.3 FPS. This shows a significant performance cost for maximum visual fidelity, which may not be worth the frame rate loss in a simulation game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has a 32 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU is responsible for handling the complex flight physics, AI traffic, and world simulation, which can be heavily threaded. The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this pairing, as its benchmark scores are competitive with its nearest rivals. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087, is robust, and its single-core score of 2694 is adequate for the game's engine. The fact that the FPS scales so heavily with resolution and settings points to the GPU being the limiting factor, but the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads do provide enough headroom to avoid major stutters in CPU-intensive scenarios. The CPU's performance is solid, but it does not boost the combo beyond its mid-tier rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a detailed look at performance across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset delivers 33.4 FPS, High delivers 35.2 FPS, Medium delivers 45.6 FPS, and Low delivers 58.5 FPS. At 2560x1440 (1440p), the Ultra preset reaches 45.9 FPS, High reaches 47.6 FPS, Medium reaches 64.4 FPS, and Low reaches 81.6 FPS. At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset hits 52.3 FPS, High hits 56.5 FPS, Medium hits 74.4 FPS, and Low hits 97.4 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each resolution drop yields a significant FPS increase, and each settings drop also yields a significant FPS increase. The most notable jumps are from High to Medium and from Medium to Low, which suggest that the game's engine has a non-linear relationship with these settings, potentially tied to specific rendering features that are toggled. The data also shows that the gap between High and Ultra is relatively small, at only 3.1 FPS at 1080p, meaning the visual difference may not justify the performance loss. The 4K numbers are the most telling, as even the Low preset cannot maintain a solid 60 FPS, confirming that this combo is not designed for 4K gaming in this title.