Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 179 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 167 FPS, a reduction of approximately 7%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 151 FPS, which is about 16% below the 1080p figure. This scaling behavior indicates that even at Low settings, the simulator begins to tax the GPU more heavily as pixel count grows, though the RTX 5090 D still maintains triple-digit framerates at 4K.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with a steeper curve. At 1080p Medium, the average is 163 FPS with a minimum of 139 FPS and maximum of 188 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 152 FPS (min 129, max 175), and at 4K Medium it falls to 118 FPS (min 100, max 135). The spread between minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution climbs, suggesting that the frame pacing becomes more consistent at higher resolutions where the GPU is more uniformly utilized. The 4K Medium average of 118 FPS is still well within playable territory for a flight simulator, where smoothness matters more than raw refresh rate.

High settings exhibit the most pronounced resolution penalty. The 1080p High average of 147 FPS drops to 120 FPS at 1440p — a 18% decline — and then to 88 FPS at 4K, another 27% reduction from the 1440p figure. This accelerating decline indicates that the High preset introduces shading and texture workloads that scale superlinearly with pixel count. The Ultra preset shows similar behavior: 142 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra narrows at higher resolutions; at 1080p the difference is 5 FPS, but at 4K it is only 4 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are less impactful when the GPU is already heavily loaded by resolution.

The data indicates the CPU is not the primary limiter at 4K. At 1080p, the 179 FPS Low result suggests the Ryzen 7 5700X can feed the RTX 5090 D adequately at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The 5700X's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 4.60 GHz boost clock provide sufficient single-thread performance for the simulator's main thread, while the 32 GB GDDR7 memory on the GPU ensures no texture swapping occurs even at Ultra 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level — roughly 16% to 40% FPS loss depending on preset — is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive benchmark database, this CPU+GPU combination achieves a comboRankInGame of 79 out of 2,996 tested combos. This places the pairing in the 97th percentile of all combinations tested in Microsoft Flight Simulator, meaning it outperforms roughly 2,917 other CPU+GPU pairings. The rank reflects the synergy between the 5700X's strong multi-threaded capabilities and the RTX 5090 D's massive rendering throughput. Only 78 combinations deliver higher average framerates in this simulator, which is notable given that Flight Simulator is notoriously demanding on both processor and graphics hardware.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 79 indicates that the 5700X itself sits above roughly three-quarters of all processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 27,578 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i5-12600K matches the 5700X exactly at 27,578 with a deltaPct of 0. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27,535, a mere 0.2% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X posts 27,636, which is 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H reaches 27,507, 0.3% below the 5700X. This grouping shows that the 5700X is competitively positioned within its price and performance tier, though none of these rivals are paired with the RTX 5090 D in this specific test configuration.

For the GPU, the percentileVsAllGpus of 92 means the RTX 5090 D outperforms 92% of all graphics cards in the database. Its average benchmark score of 77,712 is flanked by interesting rivals. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904, which is 1.1% lower than the RTX 5090 D. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT reaches 78,940, 1.6% higher. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB posts 79,396, 2.1% higher, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB hits 79,605, 2.4% above the RTX 5090 D. These rival comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark scores, not Flight Simulator-specific results, so the in-game ranking of 79/2996 is the more relevant metric for this analysis.

The combination's high rank suggests that the 5700X does not meaningfully hold back the RTX 5090 D in Flight Simulator. While a newer or higher-clocked CPU might extract slightly more performance at 1080p, the 4K results show the GPU is the dominant factor. The data supports the conclusion that this pairing is well balanced for this simulator, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's 32 GB memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are fully utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GB202 chip contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with a transistor density of 122.9 million per square millimeter. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Flight Simulator's vast texture streaming requirements.

The GPU's 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS (with FP16 at the same 1:1 ratio) provides ample compute for the simulator's weather simulation and terrain rendering. The 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are present but less relevant for Flight Simulator, which primarily uses traditional rasterization for its visuals.

The measured FPS data shows the RTX 5090 D's role clearly. At 4K Ultra, the average of 84 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can handle the simulator's maximum settings at full resolution. The 4K Medium result of 118 FPS (min 100, max 135) shows headroom for higher refresh rates. The 1080p Low result of 179 FPS approaches the 180 FPS ceiling that many monitors offer, indicating the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The 32 GB memory capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the simulator's massive texture sets remain resident in VRAM, avoiding stutter from memory swapping.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its high-end positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 indicate strong compute and graphics performance. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 places it in the top tier of graphics cards. The GPU's closest rivals in aggregate scores are mobile and datacenter parts, which highlights the RTX 5090 D's unique position as a desktop enthusiast card.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset delivers 118 FPS average with a minimum of 100 FPS and maximum of 135 FPS. High drops to 88 FPS, and Ultra to 84 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 27,578. The Intel Core i5-12600K matches it exactly with a 0% delta. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27,535 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X scores 27,636 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H scores 27,507 (0.3% lower).

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1920x1080. At Low settings, the combo achieves 179 FPS, while at Ultra it drops to 142 FPS. The relatively small gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p indicates the CPU may be limiting performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 120. At 3840x2160 High, it drops to 88 FPS. This represents a 27% reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, while the RX 6850M XT scores 78,940. The AMD part is 1.6% higher in aggregate benchmarks, though the RTX 5090 D's desktop-oriented design and 32 GB memory give it advantages in Flight Simulator specifically.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 100, with an average of 118 and a maximum of 135. This indicates consistent frame delivery without significant drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160), providing a complete picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 179 FPS average. Medium averages 163 FPS with a minimum of 139 and maximum of 188. High settings produce 147 FPS average, while Ultra yields 142 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 37 FPS, indicating that the settings presets have a moderate impact at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 139 at Medium suggests that even in demanding scenes, the combo maintains high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 167 FPS average. Medium averages 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 and maximum of 175. High settings drop to 120 FPS, and Ultra reaches 114 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 53 FPS, wider than at 1080p, showing that settings have a more pronounced effect as resolution increases. The Medium preset's minimum of 129 FPS indicates that even in complex scenarios, the frame rate stays above 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 151 FPS. Medium averages 118 FPS with a minimum of 100 and maximum of 135. High settings produce 88 FPS, and Ultra drops to 84 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 4K is 67 FPS, the largest of any resolution, demonstrating that the GPU's workload scales significantly with both resolution and settings. The 4K Medium minimum of 100 FPS is a strong result, ensuring smooth gameplay even in the most demanding flight scenarios.

The data shows that the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame delivery across all resolutions, with the only min/max figures recorded in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the 49 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates some variance, but at 1440p the spread narrows to 46 FPS, and at 4K it tightens to 35 FPS. This suggests that higher resolutions produce more uniform frame times, likely because the GPU is consistently saturated.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a 5000-series processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and fits the AMD Socket AM4. Built on TSMC's 7 nm process, the chip contains 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, with ECC support enabled.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 13,184, while the single-core score is 1,499. Geekbench reports 10,779 multicore and 2,016 single-core. The PassMark multithread score of 26,612 and single-thread score of 3,385 indicate balanced performance across both metrics. The 3DMark scores are notable: 6,858 for 16 threads, 5,768 for 8 threads, 3,512 for 4 threads, and 921 for single-thread. The PassMark physics score of 1,337 and floating-point math score of 51,842 reflect the CPU's computational capabilities.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is primarily to manage the simulation's main thread, which handles flight dynamics, weather, and AI traffic. The 5700X's 4.60 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 921 single-thread 3DMark score and 1,499 Cinebench R23 single-core result. The 8 cores and 16 threads allow background tasks like terrain streaming and scenery loading to run concurrently without interfering with the main simulation thread.

The measured FPS data reveals the CPU's influence at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 179 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but the relatively small gap between Low (179 FPS) and Ultra (142 FPS) at 1080p — only 37 FPS — indicates that the CPU may be approaching its limit in single-thread performance. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck; the 151 FPS Low result at 4K shows that the CPU can still push high frame rates even at maximum resolution.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks are all within 0.3% of its score, showing that the 5700X remains competitive. The Intel Core i5-12600K matches it exactly, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 trails by 0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X leads by 0.2%, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H trails by 0.3%. This tight grouping suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, any of these processors would deliver similar performance, but the 5700X's combination of 8 cores, 16 threads, and 32 MB L3 cache makes it well-suited for Flight Simulator's unique demands.