Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT in a configuration that demonstrates clear scaling behavior across resolutions. The measured data shows a steady decline in average frame rates as resolution increases, with the most demanding 4K Ultra setting producing 57.8 FPS, while the same Ultra preset at 1080p yields 98.4 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is substantial, with the 103.5 FPS at 1080p dropping to 61 FPS at 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 80.4 FPS, which sits comfortably between the 1080p and 4K results, suggesting a balanced workload distribution at this intermediate resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a consistent pattern across all four settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 177.1 at 1080p to 141.6 at 1440p, then to 104 at 4K — a reduction of 73.1 FPS from the lowest to highest resolution. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory, starting at 137.3 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 112.7 FPS at 1440p, and reaching 81.5 FPS at 4K. High settings follow with 103.5 FPS at 1080p, 80.4 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings display the tightest margins, with 98.4 FPS at 1080p, 81.3 FPS at 1440p, and 57.8 FPS at 4K.

The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is most pronounced at Low settings, where the 177.1 FPS figure falls to 104 FPS, representing a 41.3% decline. At Ultra settings, the drop from 98.4 FPS to 57.8 FPS is a 41.3% reduction as well, showing that the scaling penalty remains consistent regardless of preset. This uniformity suggests that the RX 7900 XT's memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s and 20 GB of GDDR6 VRAM are sufficient to handle the increased pixel workload without introducing additional bottlenecks at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU's raw rendering throughput, as the CPU maintains adequate performance to feed the graphics card even at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 348 out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 19.4% of all configurations. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where neither component severely limits the other in this particular title. The Ryzen 7 7700 sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, while the RX 7900 XT holds the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, suggesting that the processor has slightly more headroom than the graphics card in this game. The combo’s position in the overall ranking indicates that many other pairings deliver higher frame rates, but this configuration still offers a competitive experience for flight simulation enthusiasts.

When examining the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 7700’s average benchmark score of 40468 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H at 40431, with a delta of just 0.1%. The Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40712, which is 0.6% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 trails by 0.5% with a score of 40262. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235T scores 39995, putting it 1.2% behind. These narrow margins indicate that the Ryzen 7 7700 is competitively positioned among modern processors, though its 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock does not dramatically outpace or lag behind its direct competitors in synthetic benchmarks.

For the GPU, the RX 7900 XT’s average benchmark score of 38358 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile scores 38349, a delta of 0%, while the NVIDIA CMP 70HX scores 38225, just 0.3% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 scores 38494, which is 0.4% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, trailing by 0.6%. This grouping shows that the RX 7900 XT performs on par with these alternatives in aggregate benchmarks, though its actual in-game performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator will depend on specific optimization patterns.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT brings substantial resources to Microsoft Flight Simulator, featuring 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1387 MHz, a game clock of 2025 MHz, and a boost clock of 2394 MHz, providing the computational headroom needed for the game’s demanding scenery rendering. The 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 raster output pipelines deliver a pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s, which directly translate to the frame rates observed in the measured data.

The 4K Ultra result of 57.8 FPS demonstrates that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the 20 GB VRAM capacity is unlikely to be exhausted by the game’s textures at these settings. The FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS provides ample compute capability, yet the frame rates still decline with increasing resolution, confirming that fill-rate and memory bandwidth constraints take precedence. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 82 places it above the majority of graphics cards, and its nearest rivals all score within 0.6% of each other, indicating a mature and well-optimized architecture for this workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 98.4, which drops to 57.8 at 3840x2160, showing a 40.6 FPS decrease across the resolution range.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT compare to its nearest GPU rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XT scores 38358 on average, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile scores 38349, a delta of 0%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 0.6% lower.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested CPU-GPU pairings?

A: This combination ranks 348th out of 1795 total combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the upper portion of the tested configurations.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the GPU provide?

A: The RX 7900 XT offers 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth through its 320-bit bus and 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, which supports the frame rates seen at 4K resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700’s average benchmark score compare to the Intel Core i9-13905H?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40468, while the Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40712, putting the Intel part 0.6% ahead in aggregate synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1440p High and 4K High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 80.4, while at 3840x2160 with High settings, it drops to 61, a difference of 19.4 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly indicates that the Ultra preset provides the most visually demanding experience, with average frame rates of 98.4 FPS at 1080p, 81.3 FPS at 1440p, and 57.8 FPS at 4K. These numbers show that Ultra settings remain playable at all three resolutions, though the 4K result falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider optimal for smooth gameplay. The High preset offers a more consistent experience, with 103.5 FPS at 1080p, 80.4 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K, making it the recommended choice for users prioritizing frame rate stability across multiple resolutions.

For users with 4K displays, the Medium preset delivers 81.5 FPS, which provides a significant improvement over the 57.8 FPS seen at Ultra while still maintaining respectable visual quality. The Low preset at 4K produces 104 FPS, offering the highest frame rates available at this resolution, but the visual compromise may not justify the performance gain for most players. At 1440p, the Ultra preset’s 81.3 FPS is nearly identical to the High preset’s 80.4 FPS, suggesting that the additional visual features in Ultra come at minimal performance cost at this resolution. The data supports selecting the High preset as the default recommendation, as it balances frame rates and visual fidelity across all tested resolutions, with the Ultra preset being viable for 1080p and 1440p users who prioritize image quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 provides 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This processor, built on a 5 nm process with 6,570 million transistors, achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29302 and a single-core score of 4136, demonstrating strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth with DDR5 support ensure that the CPU can feed the GPU with sufficient data for the game’s complex flight simulation workloads.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 91 among all processors indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in synthetic tests, and its average benchmark score of 40468 places it within 0.6% of its nearest rivals. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is evident in the frame rate behavior at lower resolutions, where the 1080p Low preset achieves 177.1 FPS, suggesting that the processor can handle high frame rate scenarios without becoming a bottleneck. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1049 and 2-thread score of 2043 indicate strong single-core performance, which is critical for the game’s simulation logic, while the 16-thread score of 8484 shows that the CPU can also leverage its full core count when needed. The data suggests that the Ryzen 7 7700 provides a solid foundation for this GPU, with the combination ranking 348th out of 1795 tested configurations in this specific game.