Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 156 FPS, but this drops to 125.6 FPS at 1440p and further to 91.2 FPS at 4K. The step from 1080p to 1440p represents a 19.5% reduction in frame rate, while the step from 1440p to 4K is a 27.4% reduction. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

Looking at High settings, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The combo produces 89.4 FPS at 1080p, 75.4 FPS at 1440p, and 53.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15.7%, and from 1440p to 4K is 29.3%. The larger relative drop at the higher resolution step suggests that the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 320-bit bus are being pushed harder as resolution increases, with the memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s becoming a more critical factor.

Ultra settings tell a similar story. The combo achieves 85.7 FPS at 1080p, 67.9 FPS at 1440p, and 48.8 FPS at 4K. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is small (89.4 vs 85.7 FPS, a 4.1% difference), but at 4K the gap widens (53.3 vs 48.8 FPS, an 8.4% difference). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is able to keep up with the GPU's output, but at 4K the GPU's workload dominates and the additional graphical fidelity of Ultra settings takes a heavier toll.

The data shows that at 1080p, even with Ultra settings, the combo maintains a playable 85.7 FPS, indicating that the CPU's single-thread performance, demonstrated by a 3DMark single-thread score of 943 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327, is sufficient to feed the GPU. However, the 4K Ultra result of 48.8 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many flight simulation enthusiasts target, which points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo achieves 124.3 FPS, and even Ultra settings deliver 85.7 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings produce 97.7 FPS, which remains smooth. For 4K, High settings yield 53.3 FPS, which is playable but below 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 156 FPS at 1080p to 91.2 FPS at 4K, a 41.5% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 85.7 FPS to 48.8 FPS, a 43.1% reduction.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 943) helps maintain high frame rates, but the 4K results show the RTX 3080's workload dominating.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, High gives 89.4 FPS and Ultra gives 85.7 FPS (4.1% difference). At 1440p, High gives 75.4 FPS and Ultra gives 67.9 FPS (9.9% difference). At 4K, High gives 53.3 FPS and Ultra gives 48.8 FPS (8.4% difference).

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 565 out of 1795 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 31.5% of all configurations tested.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's memory configuration sufficient for this game?

A: The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate, as the GPU achieves 91.2 FPS at 4K Low settings. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 plays a central role in determining the frame rates observed in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Based on the GA102 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, this GPU contains 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The Ampere architecture provides 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz, combined with a base clock of 1440 MHz, allows it to reach an FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant for a flight simulator that renders vast landscapes. The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory operates at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. This bandwidth proves sufficient for the game's demands, as evidenced by the 91.2 FPS result at 4K Low settings, which suggests the GPU can push frames even at high pixel counts when graphical effects are reduced.

The GPU's compute capabilities also matter for flight simulation physics and scenery generation. The 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores provide additional processing power, though Microsoft Flight Simulator primarily relies on traditional rasterization. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s indicate the GPU can handle the detailed textures and geometry typical of flight simulation environments.

Comparing the RTX 3080 to its nearest rivals in the database, the average benchmark score is 35787. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35860, just 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon 880M scores 35646, 0.4% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 36101, 0.9% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35435, 1% lower. These small deltas suggest the RTX 3080 sits in a tightly contested performance band, with the GPU's percentile rank of 80 among all GPUs confirming its position as a high-end part.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 156 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings yield 124.3 FPS, High settings 89.4 FPS, and Ultra settings 85.7 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is just 3.7 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds graphical features that have minimal impact on frame rate when the GPU is not heavily constrained.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all settings. Low settings deliver 125.6 FPS, Medium 97.7 FPS, High 75.4 FPS, and Ultra 67.9 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent, but the gap between Low and Ultra grows to 57.7 FPS, compared to 70.3 FPS at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of additional pixels, though the combo still maintains playable frame rates at all settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings achieve 91.2 FPS, Medium 68.7 FPS, High 53.3 FPS, and Ultra 48.8 FPS. Notably, the 4K Ultra result is the only one below 50 FPS, and the 4K High result is just above 50 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 42.4 FPS, smaller than at lower resolutions, which reinforces that the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint.

The data shows that for users targeting 60 FPS, the combo can achieve this at 1080p with Ultra settings (85.7 FPS), at 1440p with High settings (75.4 FPS), but at 4K only with Medium settings (68.7 FPS) or Low settings (91.2 FPS). The 4K Ultra setting remains the most demanding scenario, with the game falling below 50 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 565 out of 1795 combos. This places it in the top 31.5% of all tested configurations, indicating that it performs above average for this game. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of both the CPU and GPU working together.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is supported by its benchmark performance. The Ryzen 7 5800X has an average benchmark score of 27606 and ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with a score of 27535 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE with 27708 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-13700H with 27716 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i5-12600KF with 27827 (0.8% higher). These small deltas mean the CPU is competitive with other high-end processors.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 35787 places it in the 80th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show similarly small differences: the AMD Radeon Pro Duo is 0.2% higher, the AMD Radeon 880M is 0.4% lower, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is 0.9% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 1% higher. The tight clustering of these scores means the RTX 3080 is positioned in a crowded performance tier.

The combo rank of 565 out of 1795 suggests that while neither component is the absolute fastest in its class, their combination yields solid results in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The game's demanding nature, with its detailed scenery and complex physics, plays to the strengths of both the 8-core CPU and the high-bandwidth GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X provides the processing foundation for this configuration. This 8-core, 16-thread processor is built on the Zen 3 architecture with the Vermeer codename, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. The CPU has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a TDP of 105 W. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's single-thread performance is particularly important, as the game's simulation loop relies heavily on a few threads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 943 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327 reflect strong per-core capability. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1846 suggests that even with just two threads, the CPU can handle significant workload.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities also contribute to the game's background tasks, such as scenery loading and AI traffic. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7586 and max-thread score of 7578 indicate consistent scaling across all 16 threads. The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 9899 and R23 multicore score of 23571 further confirm the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance.

The cache hierarchy plays a role in game performance. The CPU has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing memory latency. The 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die allow for efficient processing with a 7 nm process node.

The CPU's percentile rank of 84 among all CPUs indicates it outperforms the majority of processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 27606 is within 1% of its nearest rivals, showing that it competes effectively with both newer AMD and Intel parts. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 3543 and 8-thread score of 6035 demonstrate that the CPU scales well with increasing thread counts, which helps prevent CPU bottlenecks in the game's more demanding scenes.