Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX presents a stark contrast in hardware generations: an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 3 APU from the 5000 series paired with a flagship RDNA 3.0 graphics card. This pairing yields surprisingly balanced results in Microsoft Flight Simulator, where the data indicates that neither component is entirely dominating the performance curve, though the GPU clearly carries the heavier load at higher resolutions. The following analysis breaks down how each component contributes to the measured frame rates.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 7 5700G brings 8 cores and 16 threads to the table, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides a solid foundation for a flight simulator that relies on heavy single-threaded physics and scenery processing. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 2,930 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 20,755 in multi-core, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, scores a nearly identical average benchmark score (25,706 vs. 25,626), a delta of just -0.3%, indicating that the 5700G is competitive with modern mobile chips.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical for maintaining frame pacing. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 175.6 FPS, which suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. However, the 5700G's memory bandwidth is limited to 51.2 GB/s with dual-channel DDR4, and its L3 cache is 16 MB. These figures are modest compared to the GPU's capabilities, and benchmark results show that in 3DMark's 2-thread test, the CPU scores 1,758, while the max-thread score is 6,627. This gap indicates that while multi-threading is well-supported, the single-thread headroom is not exceptional, which could become a bottleneck in complex scenes with heavy AI traffic or detailed photogrammetry.

The data shows that the CPU's performance percentile (83rd) is lower than the GPU's (85th), but the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (107 FPS) versus 1080p Low (175.6 FPS) reveals a 64% performance swing that is more attributed to GPU load than CPU limits. In practical terms, the 5700G is capable, but it does not boost the combo beyond what its clock speeds and cache suggest. The Ryzen 7 5700G's average benchmark score of 25,626 is only 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25,532), reinforcing that this CPU sits in a mid-range tier relative to modern desktop and mobile processors.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a heavyweight with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz, and it houses 6144 shading units. This GPU is based on the Navi 31 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, and its raw compute power is substantial: 61.39 TFLOPS FP32. In benchmarks, it scores 31,238 in Passmark G3D and 192,597 in Geekbench Vulkan, placing it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 44,195 average, a delta of -0.4%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti scores 44,900, a delta of -2% behind the RX 7900 XTX.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's massive VRAM and bandwidth are not fully utilized at lower settings, but at higher resolutions, they become decisive. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 63.8 FPS, while at 4K Low, it jumps to 111.6 FPS. This 75% increase from Ultra to Low shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as the CPU cannot compensate for the pixel shading demands. The RX 7900 XTX's 192 ROPs and 384 TMUs handle texture and rasterization efficiently, but the game's engine scales heavily with GPU load. At 1440p Ultra, the FPS drops to 84.4, while at 1440p Low, it hits 153.9, indicating a similar pattern. The GPU's TDP of 355 W and suggested PSU of 750 W are not reflected in the FPS data, but the performance consistency across resolutions suggests that the RX 7900 XTX is not thermally throttling in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a clear shift in bottleneck. At 1080p, the combo delivers 175.6 FPS on Low and 107 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 64%. Moving to 1440p, the same settings produce 153.9 FPS and 84.4 FPS, respectively. At 4K, the numbers drop further to 111.6 FPS and 63.8 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 36.4% (from 175.6 to 111.6), while at Ultra it is 40.4% (from 107 to 63.8). This consistent ~40% reduction across settings indicates that the GPU is the dominant scaling factor, as the CPU's workload does not increase proportionally with resolution.

Specifically, the data shows that at 4K Low, the FPS (111.6) is higher than the 1080p Ultra FPS (107). This is counterintuitive if the CPU were the bottleneck, because higher resolution should reduce FPS if the CPU is limiting. Instead, the fact that 4K Low outperforms 1080p Ultra suggests that the GPU has headroom at Low settings, and the CPU is not the primary constraint. The limiting component at 4K Ultra is the GPU's shading and memory throughput, as the FPS drops to 63.8, which is near the threshold for smooth flight simulation. At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance (2,930 in Cinebench R23) is sufficient to feed the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU's 24 GB VRAM and 960 GB/s bandwidth are taxed, and the FPS scales with GPU compute.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 7 5700G and RX 7900 XTX ranks 256th out of 1,795 combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 14.3% of all tested systems, which is respectable given the CPU's mid-range standing. The GPU's high percentile (85th) boosts the combo, but the CPU's 83rd percentile does not drag it down significantly. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing outperforms many systems with weaker GPUs but does not reach the top tier dominated by newer CPUs with higher single-thread scores.

The rank of 256 suggests that there are 255 combos with better performance, likely featuring CPUs with higher boost clocks or more cache. However, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (107) and 1440p Ultra (84.4) are strong figures for a flight simulator, which is known for its demanding nature. The combo's rank is a function of both components, and the data indicates that the RX 7900 XTX is doing the heavy lifting. If the CPU were upgraded, the rank would likely improve, but as it stands, the 256th position out of 1,795 is a solid mid-to-high tier result, indicating that this is a viable system for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p and acceptable 4K performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of performance. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 175.6 FPS on Low, 146.4 FPS on Medium, 115.1 FPS on High, and 107 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a smooth degradation as settings increase, with a 39% drop from Low to Ultra. At 2560x1440, the scores are 153.9 FPS (Low), 120.5 FPS (Medium), 88.9 FPS (High), and 84.4 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is more pronounced at High settings (from 115.1 to 88.9, a 22.8% reduction) compared to Low (from 175.6 to 153.9, a 12.4% reduction), indicating that the GPU's fill rate becomes more critical as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance is 111.6 FPS on Low, 85.7 FPS on Medium, 64.9 FPS on High, and 63.8 FPS on Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal (1.1 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not heavily taxing the GPU. The largest single-setting delta is from 1080p Low to 4K Low, a 36.4% drop, while the smallest is from 1080p High to 1440p High, a 22.8% drop. These figures confirm that the RX 7900 XTX scales predictably, and the CPU does not introduce erratic frame dips, as evidenced by the consistent FPS progression across all resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For a balanced experience, the High preset at 1440p offers 88.9 FPS, which is smooth for a flight simulator and retains visual fidelity. The data shows that moving from High to Ultra at 1440p costs only 4.5 FPS (from 88.9 to 84.4), so Ultra is also viable if visual quality is prioritized, as 84.4 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 107 FPS is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the drop to High (115.1 FPS) is minor, making Ultra the recommended choice.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 85.7 FPS provides the best balance, as High (64.9 FPS) and Ultra (63.8 FPS) are very close, but Medium offers a 32% performance boost over High. The Low preset at 4K (111.6 FPS) is only recommended for competitive or streaming scenarios, as the visual quality loss is significant. Overall, the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p Ultra, where the 84.4 FPS is playable and the GPU's 24 GB VRAM is utilized without hitting CPU limits. For users with 4K displays, Medium settings at 85.7 FPS deliver a smooth experience that avoids the sub-65 FPS territory of High and Ultra. The data suggests that this pairing is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high FPS across all presets, and 4K is viable only with reduced settings.