Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D + AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the combo ranking 603rd out of 1,795 tested configurations. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate dips below 50 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The data shows this pairing is best suited for high-refresh 1440p play, where it maintains an average of 70.9 FPS on High settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 603rd out of 1,795 tested combos in the database, placing it in the upper third of all configurations.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700X3D compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700X3D's average benchmark score of 24,673 is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1360P (24,627) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (24,605). It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 by 0.6% (24,811 vs. 24,673).

Q: What is the fastest measured FPS for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 153.1 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 46.9 FPS.

Q: Does the RX 6800 XT outperform its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6800 XT's average benchmark score of 49,982 is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M (49,737) and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49,071). It is 1.7% behind the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50,826) and 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (48,704).

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 70.9 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 65.7 FPS. Medium achieves 97.7 FPS, making High the balanced choice for visual fidelity and smoothness.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 87.9 at 1080p to 65.7 at 1440p, then to 46.9 at 4K — a total reduction of 46.6% from 1080p to 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.00 GHz can boost up to 4.10 GHz, and it carries 96 MB of shared L3 cache — a substantial pool that benefits simulation workloads. The CPU scores 22,366 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,157 in single-core, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 26,318. Its percentile ranking of 82 versus all CPUs places it well above the median.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 153.1 FPS, which drops to 91.2 FPS at 1080p High — a 40.4% reduction driven by increased CPU-side simulation and draw-call overhead. The 5700X3D's 96 MB L3 cache is particularly relevant here, as flight simulators often stream terrain and scenery data that benefits from large, fast on-die storage. The processor's 3Dmark 16-thread score of 6,764 and max-thread score of 6,755 indicate strong multi-threaded consistency, which helps maintain frame pacing during complex flight scenarios.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores are all within 0.6% of its 24,673 average, meaning the 5700X3D sits in a tightly contested performance band. Its 3dmark single-thread score of 804 is modest, but the 8-core/16-thread configuration ensures that simulation logic, AI traffic, and physics calculations have ample parallel resources. For a flight simulator that scales across cores, the 5700X3D's balanced throughput is a solid match.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT features the Navi 21 chip on RDNA 2.0 architecture, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2250 MHz with a game clock of 2015 MHz. The GPU's 4,608 shading units and 72 ray accelerators provide 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It scores 24,980 in PassMark G3D and 13,245 in GPU compute, with an 87th percentile ranking versus all GPUs.

At 4K resolution, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra average of 46.9 FPS is the lowest measured result, while 4K Low reaches 91.5 FPS — a 48.7% spread between presets. This wide gap indicates that the RX 6800 XT's raw rasterization power is sufficient for lower settings, but Ultra preset at 4K pushes beyond its comfortable range. The 16 GB frame buffer is not the constraint; rather, the 512.0 GB/s bandwidth and 288 TMUs are taxed by the game's high-resolution textures and lighting effects.

The RX 6800 XT's nearest GPU rival comparisons show it edging out the Intel Arc A550M by 0.5% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER by 2.6% in average benchmark score. However, it trails the NVIDIA RTX A1000 by 1.7%. In practical terms for this game, the GPU delivers 71.0 FPS at 4K Medium — a playable result — but the 50.4 FPS at 4K High suggests users targeting 60 FPS at 4K should stick to Medium or below.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings average 153.1 FPS, Medium reaches 119.2 FPS, High hits 91.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 87.9 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is a mere 3.3 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 124.3 FPS (Low), 97.7 FPS (Medium), 70.9 FPS (High), and 65.7 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p High result is 22.3% lower than the 1080p High figure, showing a predictable resolution penalty. At 1440p Ultra, the 65.7 FPS average remains smooth for most displays, though not ideal for 144 Hz panels.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress significantly. Low averages 91.5 FPS, Medium drops to 71.0 FPS, High falls to 50.4 FPS, and Ultra reaches just 46.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is 48.7% below the 4K Low figure, highlighting how heavily the Ultra preset taxes the GPU at this resolution. Across all resolutions, Low settings consistently deliver more than double the FPS of Ultra, with the 1080p pair showing 153.1 vs. 87.9 FPS (a 74.2% advantage for Low).

Resolution Scaling

From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 91.2 to 70.9 — a 22.3% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, it falls from 70.9 to 50.4 — a 28.9% further reduction. The cumulative drop from 1080p High to 4K High is 44.8%. At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 87.9 to 65.7 (25.3% drop) from 1080p to 1440p, then 65.7 to 46.9 (28.6% drop) to 4K.

The pattern across all presets shows that the FPS penalty from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than from 1080p to 1440p. For Low settings, the drop from 1440p (124.3) to 4K (91.5) is 26.4%, while 1080p to 1440p drops 18.8%. This widening gap indicates the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as pixel count rises, while the CPU's influence fades — the 5700X3D can feed frames faster than the RX 6800 XT can render them at 4K.

The limiting component shifts clearly across resolutions. At 1080p, the 153.1 FPS Low result suggests CPU headroom remains, but the 87.9 FPS Ultra figure shows the GPU already struggles with max settings. At 4K, even Low settings (91.5 FPS) fall below the 1080p Ultra mark, confirming the GPU is the bottleneck. Users with 4K displays should expect to run Medium settings for 60+ FPS, while 1080p and 1440p users can push toward High and Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset's 87.9 FPS average is only 3.3 FPS below High (91.2 FPS), making Ultra the clear choice — the visual upgrade costs almost nothing. If targeting 144 Hz, Medium at 119.2 FPS is sufficient, while Low at 153.1 FPS exceeds 144 FPS for maximum smoothness.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 70.9 FPS provide the best balance — it is 5.2 FPS faster than Ultra (65.7 FPS) while retaining most visual features. Medium at 97.7 FPS is ideal for 100 Hz+ monitors, and Low at 124.3 FPS suits 120 Hz panels. Ultra at 1440p is playable but offers marginal gains over High for a 7.3% FPS penalty.

For 3840x2160, the data strongly recommends Medium settings at 71.0 FPS, which is 40.6% faster than High (50.4 FPS) and 51.4% faster than Ultra (46.9 FPS). Low at 91.5 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS at 4K, but the visual compromise may not be worth it given how close Medium comes to 60 FPS. High and Ultra at 4K are only suitable for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate and can tolerate sub-60 FPS performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 603 out of 1,795 tested configurations places it in the 66th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a strong showing, though not elite — the top 600 combos likely feature newer-generation GPUs or higher-tier CPUs. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking and the GPU's 87th percentile ranking individually suggest the pairing is well-matched, but the game's demanding nature at 4K Ultra keeps it from climbing higher.

The 5700X3D's aggregate benchmark score of 24,673 sits within 0.6% of its nearest rivals, meaning any of those CPUs would perform nearly identically in this game. The RX 6800 XT's 49,982 average score is similarly clustered, with the closest rival (Intel Arc A550M) just 0.5% behind. This indicates that the combo's rank is more a function of the GPU's 4K limitations than any CPU deficiency — swapping in a slightly faster CPU would not meaningfully change the 4K results, which are GPU-bound.

At 1080p and 1440p, the combo outperforms the median tested configuration by a wide margin, with 1080p Low hitting 153.1 FPS versus the game's typical demands. The 603rd rank reflects that many higher-end combos exist, but for practical flight simulation at mainstream resolutions, this pairing delivers strong, consistent performance. The data suggests users should treat 4K as a secondary option, with 1440p High representing the sweet spot for the best balance of visuals and fluidity.