Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this CPU-GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 51.5. This is nearly identical to the High preset at the same resolution, which delivers 52.6 FPS, suggesting the Ultra preset offers minimal performance gain over High for this configuration.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40468, placing it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (score 40431) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (score 40262). It trails the Intel Core i9-13905H by 0.6% (score 40712) and leads the Intel Core Ultra 5 235T by 1.2% (score 39995).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996 (0.5% behind), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 scores 16351 (1.7% ahead).

Q: What is the best average FPS recorded across all tested resolutions and settings?

A: The highest measured average is 91.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The second-best is 73.8 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings, indicating that the Low preset provides the largest performance headroom at every resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 1498 out of 1795 total tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the lower portion of the field, which is consistent with the RTX 2060's mid-tier percentile ranking (58th) and the CPU's strong 91st percentile ranking.

Q: What is the difference between Ultra and Low settings at 3840x2160?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers 27.7 FPS, while Low delivers 50.6 FPS — a difference of 22.9 FPS. Medium sits between at 39.8 FPS, and High is close to Ultra at 28.7 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset provides only a marginal improvement over High at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) using a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP. The CPU has a 32 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core, and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7700 demonstrates balanced single- and multi-threaded performance. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 1049, while the 16-thread score is 8484 — nearly identical to the max-thread score of 8479, indicating the 8-core/16-thread configuration scales efficiently. Cinebench R23 results reinforce this: 4136 single-core and 29302 multi-core. PassMark multithread score is 34470, with single-thread at 4063.

The CPU's percentile ranking is 91st among all CPUs, which is notably strong. Its average benchmark score of 40468 places it within a tight competitive cluster: 0.1% ahead of the Ryzen 9 7940H, 0.5% ahead of the Ryzen AI 9 365, 0.6% behind the Core i9-13905H, and 1.2% ahead of the Core Ultra 5 235T. These deltas are small, meaning the 7700 is effectively at parity with its nearest rivals in raw compute.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is significant because the simulator is known for complex flight dynamics and scenery processing. The 8-core/16-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock suggests strong single-thread performance for the main simulation loop, while the 16 threads help with background tasks like terrain loading and AI traffic. However, the measured FPS data shows that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor — the CPU's strong percentile (91st) does not translate into high frame rates at 4K, where the GPU's 58th percentile becomes the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is based on the Turing architecture (TU106 chip) on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. The GPU clock runs at 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. Memory speed is 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective.

The RTX 2060's benchmark results show a modest profile: PassMark G3D score is 14111, while 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1242. Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 71278 and 67425, respectively. The GPU's percentile ranking is 58th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals are extremely close: the RX 7600S is 0.5% behind, while the Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 are both 1.7% ahead, and the Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.8% behind.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are relevant at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 50.6 FPS, while Ultra drops to 27.7 FPS. This indicates the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K. At 1920x1080, the GPU has more headroom, with Low hitting 91.6 FPS and Ultra at 51.5 FPS. The 58th percentile ranking suggests the RTX 2060 is a mid-range card, and the FPS data confirms that it cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K with this simulator.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and 6 GB capacity are likely contributing factors to the performance cliff between 1440p and 4K. The simulator's detailed scenery and photogrammetry data consume significant VRAM, and the 6 GB allocation may be a constraint at 3840x2160, where the gap between Low (50.6 FPS) and Medium (39.8 FPS) is 10.8 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear tiering. Low settings deliver 91.6 FPS, Medium drops to 70.4 FPS, High reaches 52.6 FPS, and Ultra is 51.5 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is just 1.1 FPS, making Ultra effectively identical to High at this resolution. The jump from Low to Medium is 21.2 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low remains playable at 73.8 FPS, Medium delivers 59.9 FPS, High falls to 43.4 FPS, and Ultra is 38.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra widens to 5.0 FPS, and the drop from Medium to High is 16.5 FPS. The Low-to-Medium difference is 13.9 FPS, smaller than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the constraint. Low produces 50.6 FPS, Medium 39.8 FPS, High 28.7 FPS, and Ultra 27.7 FPS. The High-to-Ultra difference is only 1.0 FPS, while the Medium-to-High drop is 11.1 FPS. Notably, at 4K, the Low preset still achieves above 50 FPS, but High and Ultra both fall below 30 FPS, indicating these presets are not viable at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, Low settings are the only preset that consistently exceeds 50 FPS at every resolution tested. Medium exceeds 50 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, but falls below 40 FPS at 4K. High and Ultra are only above 50 FPS at 1080p, with High at 52.6 FPS and Ultra at 51.5 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU-GPU combination ranks 1498 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 17th percentile of all tested configurations. The rank reflects the pairing's overall performance, which is constrained by the GPU's mid-tier position (58th percentile) rather than the CPU's strong showing (91st percentile).

The CPU's nearest rivals — the Ryzen 9 7940H, Ryzen AI 9 365, Core i9-13905H, and Core Ultra 5 235T — all have average scores within 1.2% of the 7700. This means swapping the CPU for any of these would produce nearly identical results in this game. The GPU's nearest rivals — the RX 7600S, Radeon Pro 5600M, Pro 5700, and Pro W5500 — are similarly clustered within 1.8%. So the combo's rank is not driven by an unusual bottleneck; it is simply a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU.

The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 91.6 FPS, which is respectable for a flight simulator. But at 4K Ultra, the same combo drops to 27.7 FPS — a 69.8% reduction from 1080p Low. This performance scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's compute headroom cannot compensate for the GPU's limited VRAM and bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

For the best measured experience, the data points to specific presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 70.4 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, while High reaches 52.6 FPS. Ultra provides no meaningful benefit over High (51.5 vs 52.6 FPS), so Medium or High are the practical choices at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, Medium achieves 59.9 FPS, just shy of 60, while Low hits 73.8 FPS for smoother performance. High drops to 43.4 FPS, which may still be acceptable for a flight simulator, but Medium offers a better balance between visual fidelity and frame rate.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low is the only option above 50 FPS (50.6), while Medium falls to 39.8 FPS. High and Ultra are both below 30 FPS, making them impractical for smooth gameplay. For 4K, Low is the recommended preset based on the measured data.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, yielding 70.4 FPS — a strong frame rate that leaves headroom for the simulator's variable scenery loads. For users prioritizing visual quality, High at 1080p (52.6 FPS) is a viable alternative, but Ultra should be avoided since it provides no measurable improvement over High. At higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become apparent, and lowering settings to Medium or Low is necessary to maintain playable frame rates.