Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Intel Arc B390 presents a sharply defined performance profile. The benchmark data shows a configuration where the graphics subsystem is the overwhelming constraint, with the capable eight-core processor largely held in reserve. The measured frame rates are consistently low across all settings and resolutions, placing this combo in the bottom percentile of tested systems for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the absolute frame rates are the defining characteristic. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 56 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the average to 45 FPS, a 19.6% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 33 FPS, a further 26.7% decline from the 1440p figure. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load on the graphics processor increases directly with pixel count.

The pattern holds across other settings. For High settings, the averages are 33 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows 43 FPS, 35 FPS, and 26 FPS for the same resolution ladder. The Ultra preset yields 31 FPS, 25 FPS, and 19 FPS. The consistent drop from 1080p to 4K indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component at every resolution. The CPU is not the bottleneck; its performance headroom is not being utilized because the GPU cannot produce frames fast enough.

The fact that the frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count strongly suggests the system is limited by the GPU's fillrate and shader throughput. The Intel Arc B390's specifications, including its 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are modest, and the data confirms this. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power for the simulation's logic, but it is starved for work as the GPU struggles to keep up.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 56 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the combo produces an average of 19 FPS, which is the same average as the High preset at that resolution.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT or the Intel Arc B390 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation, and the CPU's scores in synthetic tests are far above what would be needed to run this game at these low frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 45 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS. This represents a 44.4% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the combo have a playable frame rate at any setting?

A: The data shows that only the 1080p Low preset achieves an average above 50 FPS. All other tested configurations fall below 45 FPS, with 4K resolutions and higher settings often dropping below 30 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations?

A: This configuration ranks 2665 out of 2996 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data places this pairing at 2665 out of 2996 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a rank in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, indicating that the overall performance is very low compared to the broader database. The combination of a high-end 2024 CPU with a low-end integrated-class GPU results in a severely unbalanced system for this specific title.

The Intel Arc B390's individual percentile ranking is 9th, meaning it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the company of legacy NVIDIA parts like the GeForce GT 520MX, which has a score of 1463, and the GeForce GT 710, which has a score of 1443. The GPU is the primary reason for the low combo rank. The CPU, by contrast, is a far more capable component. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT has a percentile ranking of 81 and an average benchmark score of 29879, which is much higher than its GPU counterpart.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals show that the Arc B390 is only 1.3% faster than the GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% faster than the GeForce GT 710. This places its raw compute performance in a very low tier. In a simulation game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for its heavy CPU and GPU demands, this GPU performance is insufficient to drive the high-resolution, high-detail visuals that the CPU could potentially handle.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. The data is measured, not estimated, which adds to its reliability.

At 1920x1080:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 56 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 33 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 31 FPS.

At 2560x1440:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 45 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 26 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 25 FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• The Low preset achieves an average of 33 FPS.
• The Medium preset achieves an average of 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS.
• The High preset achieves an average of 19 FPS.
• The Ultra preset achieves an average of 19 FPS.

The data shows a few notable points. At 4K, the High and Ultra presets yield the same average FPS of 19, suggesting that the GPU is completely saturated and the additional detail settings in Ultra do not impact the frame rate further. The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only min/max data points, showing a consistent range. For example, at 1080p Medium, the range is 37 to 50 FPS, which is a variance of 35%. This variance is typical for a flight simulator with dynamic scenery.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only configuration that approaches a playable experience is the 1920x1080 Low preset, which averages 56 FPS. This is the only setting that breaks the 50 FPS barrier. All other settings at 1080p fall below 45 FPS, which is generally considered a threshold for smooth gameplay in simulation titles.

If a user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate, the 1080p Medium preset at 43 FPS is a compromise. The data shows that moving from Medium to High at 1080p only yields a 10 FPS drop, but the visual improvements are typically more subtle than the performance cost. The Ultra preset at 1080p (31 FPS) offers no significant advantage over High (33 FPS) for the performance penalty incurred.

At 1440p, the Low preset (45 FPS) is the only viable option. The Medium preset at 35 FPS is borderline, and the High (26 FPS) and Ultra (25 FPS) presets are too slow for a fluid experience. At 4K, all presets are below 35 FPS, with Low at 33 FPS being the best case. The recommendation is to prioritize resolution and settings that keep the average FPS above 40. For this system, that means 1080p Low or Medium, or 1440p Low.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a high-performance desktop processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. It has a 32 MB shared L3 cache. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359, and an average benchmark score of 29879.

In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle the complex simulation logic, physics, and AI traffic. The data suggests that the 5800XT is more than capable of this task. The frame rates are low across all settings, but they scale consistently with resolution, which is the signature of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates that plateau or even decrease at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do.

The processor's 81st percentile ranking and its position among its nearest rivals—such as the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (0.6% faster)—show that it is a solid performer. The CPU is not the reason for this combo's low rank. It is the GPU that holds the system back. The 5800XT has the processing power to drive much higher frame rates if paired with a more capable graphics card.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is "System Shared," meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and relies on the system's main memory, with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." Its compute capabilities are limited, with 1536 shading units and a FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

The GPU's role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is to render the detailed 3D environment, including terrain, aircraft, and weather effects. The benchmark data shows that the Arc B390 is severely underpowered for this task. Its 9th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 1482 place it in the same performance tier as graphics cards from over a decade ago. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce GT 710, which are not capable of modern gaming at high settings.

The measured FPS data confirms this. The GPU struggles to maintain 30 FPS at 1080p with High settings. The fact that the High and Ultra presets at 4K both result in 19 FPS suggests the GPU's rendering pipeline is completely saturated, and it cannot differentiate between these detail levels. The Arc B390's low pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are insufficient for the high-resolution textures and complex geometry of the simulator. This GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo, and its performance dictates the overall experience, which is poor for this game.