Microsoft Flight Simulator

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2406 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the bottom 20% of all tested configurations, a modest result for a pairing that combines a strong 8-core desktop processor with a mid-range Battlemage GPU. The rank reflects the fact that this simulator is heavily dependent on both CPU single-thread performance and GPU rasterization throughput, and the Arc B570, while competent, does not boost the combo into higher percentile territory.

The combo ranks behind the vast majority of tested systems, which is expected given the GPU's position in the overall GPU hierarchy. The Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% ahead), the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (0.4% ahead), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% behind). This clustering suggests the B570 is competitive with a narrow band of GPUs, but none of these rivals are top-tier performers in a demanding flight simulator.

The CPU side is comparatively stronger. The Ryzen 7 7700 sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Core 5 221E (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 (0.4% behind), and the Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% behind). This indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios; the GPU's mid-range standing drags the overall combo rank down.

The measured FPS data confirms this assessment. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the combo never reaches 60 FPS at 4K, and only achieves 86 FPS at 1080p Low. The rank of 2406 out of 2996 is consistent with a system that can play the game but requires significant settings compromises to reach smooth frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) and uses the BMG-G21 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 19,600 million transistors. The GPU features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, along with 18 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS.

The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), while the base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz. This configuration places the GPU at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. In synthetic tests, the card scores 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 83514 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 96844 in Geekbench Vulkan, with a Passmark G3D score of 14195.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is pivotal at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields an average of 28 FPS, which is barely playable, while High averages 30 FPS and Medium 40 FPS (with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46). Only at Low does the 4K average climb to 51 FPS. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game's textures at these settings, as evidenced by the measured results, but the raw compute throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS limits performance in the most demanding scenes.

The GPU's bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the card performs more respectably. At 2560x1440, Low averages 69 FPS, Medium 54 FPS (min 46, max 62), High 41 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K shows a significant drop, indicating that the memory bus width and bandwidth become constraints at higher pixel counts.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + Intel Arc B570 combo ranks 2406 out of 2996 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 20% of tested systems.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. It is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, 0.1% ahead of the Intel Arc A750, 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: What is the best 4K performance this combo can achieve?

A: At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 51 FPS. Medium settings yield 40 FPS, High 30 FPS, and Ultra 28 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The CPU is comparatively stronger, sitting at the 87th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 40081. The GPU sits at the 65th percentile, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck for frame rates.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 86 FPS, Medium averages 67 FPS (min 57, max 77), High averages 50 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081. It is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core 5 221E, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 270, and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13905H.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 86 FPS, which is smooth for a flight simulator. Medium settings average 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 and maximum of 77, indicating consistent frame pacing. High settings drop to 50 FPS average, while Ultra averages 48 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 17 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 69 FPS, still playable for most users. Medium averages 54 FPS (min 46, max 62), which is borderline but workable. High drops to 41 FPS, and Ultra to 39 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 15 FPS, while between Medium and High it is 13 FPS, and between High and Ultra just 2 FPS. The pattern repeats: the Ultra preset offers minimal gains over High in terms of visual fidelity but costs a few frames.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 51 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that approaches smoothness. Medium averages 40 FPS (min 34, max 46), High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steep: at Low, the average falls from 69 to 51 FPS (a 26% reduction); at Medium, from 54 to 40 FPS (a 26% reduction); at High, from 41 to 30 FPS (a 27% reduction); and at Ultra, from 39 to 28 FPS (a 28% reduction). This consistent ~26-28% decline highlights the GPU's bandwidth limitations at higher resolutions.

The only preset with min/max data is Medium across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 57-77 FPS, a spread of 20 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 46-62 FPS, a spread of 16 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 34-46 FPS, a spread of 12 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU becomes more consistently bottlenecked, reducing frame time variance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) and fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 65 watts. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. It scores 1049 in 3DMark single-thread, 2043 in 2-thread, 3931 in 4-thread, 6933 in 8-thread, and 8479 in max-thread tests. Cinebench R23 results show 1930 in single-core and 18760 in multi-core. Geekbench scores are 2525 single-core and 15371 multi-core. Passmark tests include 4063 in single-thread and 34470 in multithread, with a 3DMark 16-thread score of 8484.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle the simulation's physics and AI. The Ryzen 7 7700's boost clock of 5.30 GHz provides excellent single-thread performance, which is critical for this game's engine. However, the measured FPS data suggests that even with this strong CPU, the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push the GPU to 86 FPS average, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's 28 FPS average indicates the CPU is waiting on the GPU.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with the large data sets in flight simulation, and the 16 threads handle the game's multi-threaded workloads adequately. The 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the CPU's needs, but the GPU's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical factor at high resolutions. The CPU's percentile ranking of 87th among all CPUs confirms it is a top-tier processor, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of its average score, indicating tight competition at this performance level.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and frame rate preferences. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 67 FPS and a range of 57-77 FPS. This provides a smooth experience without the 17 FPS penalty of High settings. For users prioritizing frame rate, Low at 86 FPS is the clear choice, though the visual compromise is significant. Ultra at 48 FPS is playable but offers only 2 FPS more than High, making High a better choice if visual fidelity is desired.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again provides the best experience, averaging 54 FPS with a range of 46-62 FPS. This is on the edge of smoothness but workable for a flight simulator where frame rates above 30 are generally acceptable. Low at 69 FPS is the smooth option, while High at 41 FPS and Ultra at 39 FPS are marginal. Given the small difference between High and Ultra (2 FPS), High is the better choice if users want higher quality without the Ultra tax.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings at 51 FPS approach a comfortable experience. Medium at 40 FPS is playable but with noticeable stutters (min 34 FPS), while High at 30 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are borderline. For 4K users, the recommendation is to use Low settings for the best playability, or Medium if the user can tolerate occasional frame drops below 40 FPS. The data shows that the combo is not well-suited for 4K gaming in this title, and users with 4K displays should consider lowering resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

Overall, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point across all resolutions, as it consistently provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 67 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 54 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 40 FPS. Users seeking higher frame rates should drop to Low, while those prioritizing visuals should use High but expect sub-50 FPS at 1440p and below 35 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset offers no meaningful advantage over High and should be avoided given the measured performance.