Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title that scales heavily with both resolution and graphical presets. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination reveals a system that is capable of solid performance at 1080p, but which begins to struggle as pixel count and visual fidelity increase. The results show a clear trajectory: this is a pairing designed for high-refresh 1080p or smooth 1440p play, not for 4K ultra-fidelity. The following analysis breaks down the performance metrics, ranking, and the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping this experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 58 FPS at 1920x1080 to 46 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 12 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 34 FPS, which is a 24 FPS loss compared to the 1080p figure. This represents a roughly 41% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a significant scaling cost that indicates the graphics card is being pushed to its absolute limit at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern points directly at the GPU as the primary limiting factor at 4K. When we look at the Low preset, the frame rate at 3840x2160 is 59 FPS, which is only slightly below the 1080p High preset score of 58 FPS. This suggests that when the graphical load is lightened, the system can still deliver acceptable frame rates even at 4K. The fact that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are being saturated at 4K is evident in the steep decline from Medium (46 FPS) to High (34 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS). The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is a mere 1 FPS, indicating that the card has hit a hard performance ceiling where additional visual effects have almost no impact because the rendering pipeline is already fully occupied.

At 1440p, the scaling is more moderate. The drop from the 1080p High score of 58 FPS to the 1440p High score of 46 FPS is a 12 FPS loss, but the system still maintains a playable average. The 1440p Medium preset yields 62 FPS, which is a comfortable level for most flight sim enthusiasts. However, moving to 1440p Ultra drops the average to 44 FPS, showing that even at this more manageable resolution, the RX 5700 XT cannot handle the highest settings without significant compromise. The frame time data, where available, shows a consistent gap between the average and minimum FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS, a 12 FPS variance. At 1440p Medium, the average is 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS, also a 10 FPS gap. This indicates that while the game is generally smooth, there are moments of increased load that cause noticeable dips.

The data suggests that the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p, where even the High preset achieves 58 FPS and Low reaches 98 FPS. At 1440p, users will need to stick to Medium or High presets to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS. The 4K resolution is only viable on the Low preset, which achieves 59 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual detail for a flight simulator where seeing distant terrain and aircraft is crucial. The scaling behavior clearly demonstrates that the RX 5700 XT, with its 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is the component that dictates the system's limits as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT holds a rank of 2745 out of 3714 total combinations for this game. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, indicating that while it is functional, it is not a top-tier performer for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The percentile ranking of the individual components helps contextualize this. The CPU sits at the 79th percentile among all tested CPUs, showing it is a relatively strong processor. The GPU, however, is at the 59th percentile among all tested GPUs, which is more modest.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's lower percentile suggests that the overall combo rank is being dragged down by the graphics card. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU more data than the GPU can process, especially at higher resolutions. This is a classic case of a balanced system where the GPU is the limiting factor in a graphically intensive game. The combo rank of 2745 out of 3714 means that over 1000 other system configurations deliver better performance in this specific title. This is not necessarily a negative mark against the hardware, but it does place it firmly in the mid-range category for this game.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5700G has an average benchmark score of 27051. It is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i9-9900K, which scores 27097, a difference of only -0.2%. It also edges out the AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 by 0.4% and the Intel Core i7-1370P by 0.6%, while trailing the Intel Core i5-14400T by 0.4%. This shows that the 5700G's processing power is competitive with several high-end chips from previous generations, reinforcing that it is not the source of performance bottlenecks in this game.

For the GPU, the RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 16361. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, which is essentially tied with a 0.1% delta, and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, which is 0.3% slower. Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 is listed as a rival with a score of 16504, only 0.9% higher than the RX 5700 XT. While this seems anomalous, the data shows that in synthetic benchmarks, the RX 5700 XT holds its own against much newer and more expensive cards. However, this does not translate to a high rank in the game-specific results, where the demands of Flight Simulator's rendering engine prove to be a significant challenge for the 8 GB of VRAM and the RDNA 1.0 architecture.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal experience for this combo is achieved by prioritizing a balance between visual quality and frame rate stability. For users targeting a standard 60 FPS experience, the 1080p Medium preset is the clear choice, delivering an average of 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. This provides a smooth and responsive experience without pushing the hardware to its breaking point. The High preset at 1080p is also viable, with an average of 58 FPS, but the lower minimum frame rate data is not available, making Medium a safer bet for consistent performance.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to the Medium preset, which yields an average of 62 FPS. This is the only 1440p setting that breaks the 60 FPS barrier. The High preset at this resolution drops to 46 FPS, which is playable but may feel less fluid during complex scenes with heavy cloud coverage or dense cityscapes. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 79 FPS, but the visual compromise is generally too severe for a game that relies heavily on scenery detail. Users with 1440p monitors should stick to Medium to get the best mix of clarity and performance.

For 4K displays, the data strongly advises against high-fidelity settings. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 59 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 46 FPS, and both High and Ultra fall to 34 and 33 FPS respectively. These lower frame rates will result in a stuttery and unresponsive feel, which is detrimental in a flight simulator where precise control is necessary. Given that the Ultra preset offers only a 1 FPS improvement over High at 4K, there is no reason to select it. The conclusion is that this system is not suited for 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and users should either lower their expectations or their resolution.

The data shows a consistent pattern where the Medium preset provides the best performance-to-quality ratio across all resolutions. At 1080p, it offers a 19 FPS advantage over High and a 22 FPS advantage over Ultra. At 1440p, it beats High by 16 FPS and Ultra by 18 FPS. At 4K, it beats High by 12 FPS and Ultra by 13 FPS. The Medium preset appears to be the point where the game's engine is still able to leverage the GPU's capabilities without being overwhelmed, making it the definitive recommendation for this hardware pairing.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the most effective resolution. At the Medium preset, it achieves an average of 77 FPS, which is significantly higher than any 1440p or 4K configuration. The 1440p Medium preset is the only other setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS, but it comes with a 15 FPS penalty compared to 1080p Medium.

Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in this game?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset, which averages 59 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 46 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 34 and 33 FPS, respectively. The 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth of the RX 5700 XT are insufficient for high-detail 4K rendering in this title.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700G compare to other CPUs in its class?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 27051, putting it at the 79th percentile. It is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-9900K, with a delta of -0.2%. It is also 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 and 0.6% faster than the Intel Core i7-1370P, while being 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5-14400T.

Q: Is the GPU the main bottleneck for this system in Flight Simulator?

A: Yes, the resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU remains relatively strong at the 79th percentile. The GPU's performance percentile is lower at 59th, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell.

Q: What is the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 58 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. The difference is only 3 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns for the performance cost. The Medium preset, at 77 FPS, provides a much larger performance headroom.

Q: Does the system provide consistent frame times?

A: The data includes minimum FPS figures only for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the average is 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. At 1440p, the average is 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS. At 4K, the average is 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS. This indicates a consistent 10-15 FPS dip during demanding scenes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the decisive component in this pairing's performance. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it becomes a limiting factor at 4K where the demand for texture data and frame buffer memory increases exponentially. The card's base clock is 1605 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz, which allows it to maintain competitive performance in synthetic benchmarks, where it scores an average of 16361 and sits at the 59th percentile of all GPUs.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is to render the vast, detailed environments, including terrain, buildings, and dynamic weather effects. The data shows that the card's performance scales poorly with resolution increases on higher presets. The move from 1080p High (58 FPS) to 1440p High (46 FPS) represents a 20% drop, and the move to 4K High (34 FPS) is a 41% drop from 1080p. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and raw compute power. The card's FP32 performance is 9.754 TFLOPS, which is adequate for 1080p but struggles to maintain high frame rates when the pixel count quadruples.

The GPU's benchmark scores show it is a mid-range performer. Its Passmark G3D score is 16277, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2134. When compared to its nearest rivals, it is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and only 0.9% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 in average score. However, these synthetic scores do not translate to high performance in Flight Simulator. The game's engine is particularly demanding on memory bandwidth and fill rate, which are areas where the RX 5700 XT's RDNA 1.0 architecture, with 64 ROPs and a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s, is not exceptional. The data indicates that to get better results, a GPU with more VRAM and higher bandwidth would be necessary, as the current card is clearly the limiting factor at resolutions above 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G plays a supporting role in this configuration, but it is a capable one. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, it has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This processing power is reflected in its benchmark scores: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12830.5 and a single-core score of 1494. Its Passmark multithread score is 24419, and its Geekbench multicore score is 9950. These figures place it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, showing that it is a strong processor that is not likely to bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU is responsible for simulating flight physics, handling the complex flight model, and processing the game's extensive world data. The 16 threads allow the CPU to manage these tasks efficiently, and the high single-core performance is crucial for the game's main simulation loop. The CPU's L3 cache is 16 MB, which is sufficient for keeping frequently accessed data close at hand. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint, as the frame rates scale more dramatically with resolution changes than with changes in CPU load. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27051 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-9900K, indicating that it provides comparable processing capability for this title.

However, the CPU's memory bandwidth is limited to 51.2 GB/s due to its dual-channel DDR4 support. While this is sufficient for the CPU's needs, it is importantly the GPU has a significantly higher bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The CPU's performance in the context of this game is best described as adequate. It provides enough headroom to ensure that the GPU is the limiting factor, which is the typical and preferred scenario for a gaming system. The data suggests that a user could upgrade the GPU to a more powerful model and see a substantial improvement in frame rates, while keeping the Ryzen 7 5700G in place. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and its close performance to the Intel Core i9-9900K confirm that it is a reliable foundation for a mid-range gaming system.