Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a uniquely demanding title, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT produces a distinct performance profile that shifts dramatically depending on resolution and quality settings. The measured data shows a configuration that is capable of smooth frame rates at 1080p but begins to struggle as the pixel count and visual fidelity increase, revealing a system where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck in the most demanding scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K in Microsoft Flight Simulator clearly illustrates the RX 5700 XT's limitations. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 99 FPS, which drops to 81.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 56.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 42.5% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU is still the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher quality settings. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 55.6 FPS at 1080p to 45.4 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 30.4 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is particularly steep, representing a 33% performance loss. This suggests that the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and the RDNA 1.0 architecture are being pushed to their limits, as the game's demanding draw distances and terrain detail require significant memory bandwidth and shading power.

The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combination, where the Ryzen 7 5800XT's 8 cores and 16 threads can keep the GPU fed without excessive bottlenecking. At 1440p, the system remains playable at Medium settings with 63.4 FPS, but High settings drop to 44 FPS, which may be borderline for smooth gameplay. The 4K results are consistently below 60 FPS across all settings, with even Low settings only reaching 56.9 FPS, confirming that this GPU is not suited for 4K gaming in this title.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution, with 60.9 FPS at High settings and 99 FPS at Low settings. This resolution allows the Ryzen 7 5800XT to maintain adequate frame pacing without the GPU becoming a severe bottleneck.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The measured results indicate that 4K is not viable for smooth gameplay. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 30.4, and even at 4K Low, it only reaches 56.9 FPS. These numbers fall below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for fluid flight simulation.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 24731, placing it 0.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and 0.3% behind the Intel Arc A350M. It is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000.

Q: What is the CPU's performance ranking relative to other processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29774. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which is 0.1% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, which is 0.3% lower.

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

A: The scaling data shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 99 FPS, but this drops to 56.9 FPS at 4K Low, a 42.5% decrease that points directly to the RX 5700 XT's rendering capabilities rather than the CPU's processing power.

Q: What settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: At 1080p, the High preset delivers 60.9 FPS, which is a good balance. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 63.4 FPS is the highest playable option, while at 4K, all presets fall below 60 FPS, with Low at 56.9 FPS being the only option close to acceptable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, built on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process, provides a solid foundation for Microsoft Flight Simulator. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing capability, which is reflected in its benchmark scores: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359. The base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensure responsive performance in a game that often has varying CPU loads depending on the complexity of the scenery.

The CPU's role becomes evident when examining the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (99 FPS) and Ultra (55.6 FPS) is 43.4 FPS, which is largely attributable to the GPU's workload. However, the fact that the system can maintain 99 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800XT is not a bottleneck at this resolution, as it can process the game's simulation logic and physics calculations without limiting the GPU.

The 32 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for this title, as the CPU's performance in the 3DMark 16-thread test (7683) and Passmark multithread test (27988) indicates strong multi-threaded capabilities. The CPU's 86th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 29774, shows that it is a high-performing part that can handle the demands of modern flight simulation, though the GPU ultimately determines the final frame rate in more demanding scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 5800XT and RX 5700 XT ranks 1349 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities, as the RX 5700 XT's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs drags down the overall combo performance.

The combo's rank is particularly notable when considering that the Ryzen 7 5800XT is a high-end CPU released in 2024, while the RX 5700 XT is an end-of-life graphics card from 2019. This mismatch creates a system where the CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver, resulting in a combo that underperforms relative to what the CPU alone could achieve. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more modern GPU would yield significantly better results, as the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this game's CPU demands.

In the context of the benchmark database, this combo's rank of 1349 out of 1795 indicates that many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs outperform it in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The primary reason is the GPU's RDNA 1.0 architecture and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, which struggle with the game's high-resolution textures and complex rendering requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 99 FPS, providing a highly fluid experience. Medium settings reduce this to 76.3 FPS, which remains smooth. High settings yield 60.9 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 55.6 FPS. This resolution demonstrates the system's capability to handle the game at playable frame rates across all quality presets, though only Low and Medium maintain frame rates above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance declines noticeably. Low settings produce 81.4 FPS, which is still quite playable. Medium settings drop to 63.4 FPS, near the threshold for smoothness. High settings fall to 44 FPS, and Ultra settings are at 45.4 FPS. The data shows a significant gap between Low and Medium, and then a sharp drop at High and Ultra, indicating that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the higher quality presets at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across all settings. Low settings achieve 56.9 FPS, which is the only preset that comes close to 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 46.1 FPS, High settings yield 34.1 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 30.4 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K gaming is not feasible with this GPU in Microsoft Flight Simulator, as even the lowest quality settings cannot consistently maintain a smooth frame rate. The progression from 1080p to 4K at each setting level shows a consistent pattern of GPU-bound performance, with the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power being the determining factor in the final output.