Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination delivers a robust, highly playable experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the data showing a clear shift from CPU-bound behavior at lower resolutions to a more balanced workload as pixel count climbs. The measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions indicate that this pairing is well-suited for the sim, though the performance scaling patterns reveal distinct bottlenecks that vary depending on your display target.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a classic scaling curve, but the magnitude of the drop is heavily influenced by the graphics preset. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 152.9 at 1920x1080 to 121.8 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 31.1 FPS, and then further down to 91.4 at 3840x2160. This represents a 40.2% total drop from 1080p to 4K, which is substantial but not catastrophic. The fact that Low settings still deliver 91.4 FPS at 4K strongly suggests that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at this preset, as the GPU has ample headroom to render the scene quickly, yet the frame rate is capped by the processor's ability to feed the simulation logic.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling pattern tightens. The average FPS drops from 118.6 at 1080p to 96.1 at 1440p, a 22.5 FPS decrease, and then to 71.9 at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 46.7 FPS, or 39.4%. Interestingly, the percentage drop is nearly identical to Low, but the absolute FPS values are lower at every resolution. This indicates that the added graphical load at Medium is starting to engage the GPU more, yet the CPU still holds significant sway over the final result.

At High settings, the curve steepens. The average FPS goes from 87.4 at 1080p to 72.5 at 1440p, a 14.9 FPS drop, and then to 50.4 at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 37.0 FPS, or 42.3%. Here, the GPU begins to take on a more substantial role, as the higher resolution demands more pixel throughput, and the FPS losses become more pronounced per pixel count increase. The Ultra preset shows the steepest relative decline: 86.6 FPS at 1080p down to 68.8 at 1440p (a 17.8 FPS drop) and finally 49.1 at 4K. The total drop of 37.5 FPS from 1080p to 4K represents a 43.3% reduction, the largest percentage decrease of all presets.

What the data implies is that at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 5700's eight cores and 16 threads are the primary constraint, as even the difference between Low and Ultra is a mere 66.3 FPS, suggesting the GPU is not being fully utilized. As resolution increases, the RX 6800 XT's workload grows, and the frame rate gaps between presets widen, indicating the GPU is becoming a more significant factor. The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling: at High settings, the drop is 22.1 FPS, which is nearly identical to the drop from 1080p to 1440p at 14.9 FPS, showing that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute power are being taxed more heavily at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a formidable graphics card, and its specifications align well with the measured results. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This is critical for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data. The 4K results, particularly at High and Ultra settings, demonstrate that the GPU's memory subsystem is up to the task, as the frame rates do not collapse entirely, suggesting sufficient memory capacity and bandwidth to handle the high-resolution textures.

The GPU's clock speeds also play a role. With a base clock of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz, the RX 6800 XT can dynamically adjust its performance based on thermal and power headroom. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the card achieves 152.9 FPS, which is likely near its maximum output for this title, but the CPU prevents it from going higher. At 4K Ultra, the card settles into a 49.1 FPS average, which is a more balanced workload where the GPU's raw compute (20.74 TFLOPS FP32) is the deciding factor.

The GPU's architecture, RDNA 2.0, and its 72 ray accelerators are relevant, though the measured data does not isolate ray tracing effects. The FP32 performance of 20.74 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s are high enough to handle the complex shaders and geometry in flight sim. The pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s is also substantial, which helps explain why the card can maintain playable frame rates at 4K even on Ultra settings. However, the data shows that the card's performance ceiling is not the issue; rather, it is the balance between CPU and GPU that determines the final FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at to maximize frame rate with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings yields the highest average FPS at 152.9. If you prefer higher quality, 1080p Ultra still delivers 86.6 FPS, which is very playable.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 49982. It is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M, 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, and 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. It trails the NVIDIA RTX A1000 by 1.7%.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K, the CPU's impact is reduced. The FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 61.5 FPS, but at Ultra it is 37.5 FPS. This suggests that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is the primary limiter, while at 1080p Low, the CPU holds the system back.

Q: Which preset offers the most significant FPS boost from Ultra to Low?

A: At 1080p, the difference between Ultra and Low is 66.3 FPS (from 86.6 to 152.9). At 1440p, the gap is 53.0 FPS (from 68.8 to 121.8), and at 4K, the gap is 42.3 FPS (from 49.1 to 91.4). The biggest relative boost is at 1080p.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700 has an average benchmark score of 27220. It is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-9900K, 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700H and Intel Core i7-1370P, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 4K with this hardware?

A: The highest 4K average FPS in the measured data is 91.4, achieved with Low settings. The next step down is Medium at 71.9 FPS, then High at 50.4 FPS, and finally Ultra at 49.1 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal setting depends on your target resolution and desired smoothness. For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings are viable at 86.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a high visual fidelity. If you have a high refresh rate monitor, High settings at 87.4 FPS offer a negligible FPS gain over Ultra, so sticking with Ultra is recommended for the best image quality without a significant performance penalty.

At 1440p, Medium settings deliver 96.1 FPS, which is an excellent balance between visual quality and smoothness. High settings drop to 72.5 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium offers a 23.6 FPS advantage for a modest reduction in graphical detail. Ultra at 1440p yields 68.8 FPS, which is playable but might feel less fluid than Medium. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at this resolution, as it provides a significant FPS boost over High while maintaining a substantial quality improvement over Low.

For 4K, the choice becomes more critical. Low settings are required for a smooth experience at 91.4 FPS, but this sacrifices much of the visual detail that makes flight sims immersive. Medium settings at 71.9 FPS are the best compromise, offering a 21.9 FPS improvement over High settings while still retaining a reasonable level of graphical fidelity. High settings at 50.4 FPS are borderline, and Ultra at 49.1 FPS is similar, so Medium is the clear recommendation for 4K to ensure a stable frame rate without dropping to the lowest quality preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 152.9 FPS, Medium settings achieve 118.6 FPS, High settings achieve 87.4 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 86.6 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal at 0.8 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little extra GPU load at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across the board. Low settings yield 121.8 FPS, Medium yields 96.1 FPS, High yields 72.5 FPS, and Ultra yields 68.8 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra widens slightly to 3.7 FPS, indicating a bit more GPU strain at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS continues to decline. Low settings produce 91.4 FPS, Medium produces 71.9 FPS, High produces 50.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 49.1 FPS. The High to Ultra gap remains small at 1.3 FPS, but the overall frame rates are much lower, making the choice of preset more impactful for playability.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the FPS drop from Low to Medium is substantial at every resolution (34.3 FPS at 1080p, 25.7 FPS at 1440p, 19.5 FPS at 4K), while the drop from High to Ultra is negligible. This suggests that the Medium preset represents a major graphical step up that the hardware can still handle, while the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns for the performance cost.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a Zen 3 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20655 and a Passmark multithread score of 24303. The single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2916 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3296.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is critical for simulation logic, AI traffic, and physics calculations. The data suggests that at 1080p, this CPU becomes the limiting factor, as the FPS at Low settings (152.9) is likely near the CPU's maximum output for this title. The fact that the FPS drops significantly when moving from Low to Medium (34.3 FPS at 1080p) indicates that the GPU is being engaged more, but the CPU still holds the overall frame rate in check.

The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache is notable for gaming, as it helps reduce memory latency. The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s (DDR4 dual-channel) is adequate, though not exceptional. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 6628 and max-thread score of 6617 show consistent performance across all cores, which is beneficial for a game that can utilize multiple threads. The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that this processor is well above average, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-9900K, are closely matched, with a 0.7% deltaPct.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 607th out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 33.8% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The rank is determined by the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, and this combo's performance is clearly competitive.

The GPU's 87th percentile ranking among all GPUs is higher than the CPU's 84th percentile, suggesting that the graphics card is slightly more capable relative to its peers than the processor. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data, which shows the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The combo's rank of 607 is likely driven by the strong 1080p performance, where the CPU and GPU work well together to produce high frame rates.

Compared to other combos, this system offers a balanced profile. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, is only 2.6% behind in average benchmark score, yet the RX 6800 XT's 16 GB of VRAM gives it an edge in memory-heavy scenarios like flight sim. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-9900K, is only 0.7% behind, meaning that either component could be swapped without a major change in overall performance. This rank suggests that users with this combo can expect consistent, high-quality performance across all resolutions, with the caveat that 4K Ultra will require a compromise in frame rate.