Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a broad range of performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with results that scale predictably across resolutions and presets. The data set shows this combination is capable of smooth gameplay at lower settings, but demanding presets at high resolutions will test its limits. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second to determine the optimal settings, the role of each component, and how this pairing performs relative to other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frames per second across the three resolutions and four presets reveal a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 88 FPS, which is fully playable, but it is also the lowest frame rate recorded at that resolution. The High preset at 1080p achieves 91.3 FPS, a marginal improvement that does not justify the visual downgrade from Ultra. The Medium preset jumps to 116.7 FPS, while Low reaches 140.5 FPS. For users prioritizing a high refresh rate experience, the Medium preset offers the best balance, as it provides a 32.7% increase over Ultra while still maintaining substantial visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. The Ultra preset averages 70.8 FPS, which is a solid result for a flight simulator. High preset drops slightly to 69.7 FPS, a negligible difference. Medium reaches 97.8 FPS, and Low produces 125.2 FPS. The data suggests that at 1440p, the High and Ultra presets are nearly interchangeable in performance, making Ultra the logical choice for image quality without a meaningful frame rate penalty.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The Ultra preset averages 49.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many users target. High preset improves to 54.8 FPS, still short of 60. Medium reaches 67.6 FPS, finally crossing into playable territory. Low jumps to 89.7 FPS. For 4K owners, the Medium preset represents the best compromise, offering a playable 67.6 FPS while retaining enough visual detail for a simulator where situational awareness matters.

The best experience across all resolutions is the Medium preset. It consistently delivers frame rates that are significantly higher than High or Ultra while remaining visually acceptable. At 1080p it hits 116.7 FPS, at 1440p it achieves 97.8 FPS, and at 4K it maintains 67.6 FPS. This preset provides a smooth experience at every resolution tested without the steep performance cost of higher settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This memory capacity is substantial for a simulator that loads large textures and terrain data. The GPU clock speeds are rated at a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz, which allows it to handle the geometry and shading demands of the flight simulator.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its performance in this title. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3689 and a Passmark G3D score of 24980. Its percentile versus all GPUs is 87, placing it well above the majority of tested graphics cards. The nearest rivals show a tight grouping, with the Intel Arc A550M at 0.5% higher average score, the NVIDIA RTX A1000 at 1.7% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at 2.6% lower. This indicates the RX 6800 XT sits in a competitive performance band.

The GPU's impact is most evident in the frame rate scaling. When moving from 1080p Ultra (88 FPS) to 4K Ultra (49.8 FPS), the frame rate drops by 43.4%, a substantial reduction that reflects the increased pixel workload. However, the GPU maintains playable frame rates at lower settings even at 4K, showing that it has sufficient headroom when the visual load is reduced. The 16 GB frame buffer is likely a key factor in avoiding memory-related stutters at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and RX 6800 XT ranks 618 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the upper third of all configurations, indicating a capable pairing. The percentile rank is approximately 65.6th, meaning this combo outperforms nearly two-thirds of the tested systems.

The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, with a percentile versus all CPUs of 85. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600 at 0.1% lower score, the Intel Core i5-12600H at 0.1% lower, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 0.1% higher, and the AMD EPYC 7203P at 0.2% higher. These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, showing that the 3700X sits in a very tight performance cluster.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 49982, with a percentile versus all GPUs of 87. The combination of an 85th percentile CPU and an 87th percentile GPU results in a system that is well-matched for this title. The rank of 618 out of 1795 suggests that while there are many faster configurations, a significant majority of tested systems perform worse in this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1080p is 140.5 FPS, achieved with the Low preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 70.8 FPS, while the High preset at 4K averages 54.8 FPS. The 1440p Ultra setting provides a significantly higher frame rate with a higher visual quality in terms of resolution.

Q: Is this system capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K, only the Medium and Low presets exceed 60 FPS, with averages of 67.6 FPS and 89.7 FPS respectively. The High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the performance delta between this CPU and its closest rival?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X's average benchmark score is 28631. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600, has a score of 28654, which is 0.1% higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT has a score of 28591, which is 0.1% lower.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking versus all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has a percentile ranking of 87, meaning it outperforms 87% of all GPUs in the benchmark database.

Q: Which preset shows the smallest frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p?

A: The High preset shows the smallest difference. At 1080p it averages 91.3 FPS, and at 1440p it averages 69.7 FPS, a difference of 21.6 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At the Medium preset, the frame rate drops from 116.7 FPS at 1080p to 97.8 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 16.2%. Moving to 4K, it drops further to 67.6 FPS, a 30.9% decrease from 1440p and a 42.1% decrease from 1080p. This scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The Low preset shows a similar trend. It starts at 140.5 FPS at 1080p, drops to 125.2 FPS at 1440p (a 10.9% decrease), and then falls to 89.7 FPS at 4K (a 28.4% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra preset, meanwhile, drops from 88 FPS at 1080p to 70.8 FPS at 1440p (a 19.5% decrease), and then to 49.8 FPS at 4K (a 29.7% decrease from 1440p).

The pattern of larger percentage drops between 1440p and 4K compared to between 1080p and 1440p indicates that the GPU is hitting its performance ceiling as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the CPU may be providing a more significant contribution, as the frame rates are high enough that CPU limitations could be present. However, the consistent drops at 4K point to the GPU being the primary bottleneck. The 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB VRAM are sufficient, but the raw compute power of the GPU is what ultimately limits higher resolution performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X provides the processing foundation for this pairing. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This is a Zen 2 architecture part built on a 7 nm process, and it supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its capabilities. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087 and a single-core score of 2694. In Geekbench, it scores 8083 multi-core and 1672 single-core. The Passmark multi-thread score is 22458, and the single-thread score is 2656. These numbers place the CPU in the 85th percentile versus all CPUs, indicating solid performance for its generation.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is evident in the lower resolution results. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 140.5 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could be constrained by the CPU's single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2694 is moderate by modern standards, and the game's simulation logic often relies on single-threaded performance. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU may be preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides enough multi-threaded headroom for the game's background tasks, but the single-core speed is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint, as the frame rate drops align more closely with the GPU's compute load.