Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The data places this combo in the 985th position out of 1795 tested configurations, meaning it sits slightly above the middle of the pack. This pairing leverages an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 4 CPU with a 5.30 GHz boost clock alongside a 12 GB RDNA 2 GPU, and the measured frame rates reveal a system that is consistently GPU-limited at higher resolutions but becomes more balanced as resolution drops.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the RX 6700 XT is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 118.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97.1 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 67.6 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 43% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit but still leaves the game playable at 4K on Low. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 91.5 FPS at 1080p drops to 77.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 55.8 FPS at 4K. High settings follow the pattern with 71.3 FPS at 1080p, 58.0 FPS at 1440p, and 42.7 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, starting at 65.7 FPS at 1080p and falling to 54.4 FPS at 1440p and 40.9 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior reveals that the gap between 1080p and 1440p is relatively modest compared to the jump to 4K. For instance, on High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 13.3 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 15.3 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s 192-bit memory bus and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1440p but start to strain at 4K. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor here; rather, the raw pixel throughput and shading power of the 2560 shading units are what hold back 4K performance. At 1080p, the CPU’s strong single-thread performance — evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1049 — is more relevant, as frame rates above 90 FPS require the Ryzen 7 7700 to feed frames quickly enough.

GPU Role

The RX 6700 XT operates with a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz. These clocks are relatively high, but the card’s 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 performance places it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800, which scores 0.7% higher in average benchmarks, and the NVIDIA RTX A5000 at 1.3% higher. This means the 6700 XT is essentially on par with the RX 6800 in synthetic tests, but in this specific game, the measured FPS tells a different story.

The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for Microsoft Flight Simulator’s texture streaming needs at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the game’s vast scenery data can push memory usage higher. However, since the FPS drops are consistent across all presets at 4K, the issue is more likely the GPU’s compute throughput rather than VRAM capacity. The card’s 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs handle the game’s geometry and texturing, but the 40 RT cores are underutilized in this title, as the game does not heavily rely on ray tracing. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra of 40.9 FPS aligns with the GPU’s percentile ranking of 77th, suggesting that this is roughly the expected performance for a mid-range card from its generation.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 985th out of 1795 tested configurations, placing it in the 55th percentile of all tested combos. This is a middle-of-the-road result that reflects the balanced nature of the CPU and GPU pairing. The Ryzen 7 7700 itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 91st percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 40468. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (0.1% higher score), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.5% higher), and the Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% lower). This CPU is clearly not the weak link in this combo.

The GPU, however, is less impressive relative to its peers. The RX 6700 XT’s average benchmark score of 33721 places it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are within 1.3% in either direction. The fact that this combo ranks 985th overall while the CPU ranks in the 91st percentile and the GPU in the 77th percentile suggests that the GPU is dragging down the overall performance in this game. Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for being CPU-intensive, but at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 118.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 40.9 FPS, showing that the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce 118.9 FPS, Medium yields 91.5 FPS, High gives 71.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 65.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is well within the card’s comfort zone, with even Ultra settings remaining playable. The jump from Low to Medium costs 27.4 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs another 20.2 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is smaller at 5.6 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid but noticeably lower. Low settings produce 97.1 FPS, Medium 77.4 FPS, High 58.0 FPS, and Ultra 54.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 3.6 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1440p is only marginally more demanding than High. The 1440p results show that this combo is capable of exceeding 60 FPS on Medium settings, which is a good baseline for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce 67.6 FPS, Medium 55.8 FPS, High 42.7 FPS, and Ultra 40.9 FPS. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS at 4K. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is just 1.8 FPS, which is negligible. This suggests that at 4K, the Ultra preset offers no meaningful visual benefit over High for the performance cost, as both are well below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings presets exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest being Ultra at 65.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (97.1 FPS) and Medium (77.4 FPS) achieve 60+ FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low (67.6 FPS) reaches 60 FPS.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40468, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H, 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i9-13905H. It ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across all presets, and the GPU’s average benchmark score of 33721 places it in the 77th percentile, which is lower than the CPU’s 91st percentile. At 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 40.9 FPS.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High produces 58.0 FPS and Ultra produces 54.4 FPS, a difference of 3.6 FPS. This is a small gap, suggesting the Ultra preset offers minimal performance cost over High at this resolution.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and is it sufficient?

A: The RX 6700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data does not indicate VRAM limitations, as performance drops are consistent across all presets at each resolution, pointing to compute limitations rather than memory capacity.

Q: Does the combo rank highly among all tested configurations?

A: No. It ranks 985th out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the field. The CPU is strong, but the GPU holds the combo back in this game.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience at 1920x1080, the High preset at 71.3 FPS is the best choice, as it offers a significant visual improvement over Medium (91.5 FPS) while still maintaining frame rates well above 60. The Ultra preset at 65.7 FPS is also viable, but the 5.6 FPS gain from High to Ultra is minor for the added visual load. At 2560x1440, Medium at 77.4 FPS is the recommended preset, as it keeps the game above 60 FPS while providing better visuals than Low. High at 58.0 FPS is borderline, but if you can tolerate slightly lower frame rates, it is acceptable. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 67.6 FPS provides a 60+ FPS experience. Medium at 55.8 FPS is playable but not ideal for a flight simulator where smooth camera panning is important. The High (42.7 FPS) and Ultra (40.9 FPS) presets at 4K are not recommended, as the frame rates dip too low for comfortable play. Overall, this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low settings or users who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness.