Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a unique benchmark target because it stresses both the CPU's single-thread performance for simulation logic and the GPU's raw throughput for rendering dense scenery. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D tested here produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and settings, and the data shows a system that is clearly capable of very high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable frame rates at 4K with the highest presets. This analysis draws exclusively from the measured FPS data and the component specifications provided, along with the ranking information for this specific combo in the game.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 23rd out of 2996 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 35909. This is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, 0.5% higher than the Intel Core 7 250H, 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, and 0.7% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all other tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is in the 92nd percentile for all GPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of graphics cards in the database.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 221, which was achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 84, which was recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the measured FPS data include minimum and maximum frame rate values for all settings?

A: No, the data only includes minimum and maximum FPS values for the Medium settings at each resolution. For High, Low, and Ultra settings, only the average FPS is provided.

How This Combo Ranks

The ranking data places this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D at position 23 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a top-tier result, putting the system in the 99th percentile of all tested configurations. The rank of 23 indicates that only 22 other CPU and GPU pairings in the database achieve higher performance in this specific title. This is a strong showing for a CPU that, while powerful, is not the absolute top-end option available, suggesting the RTX 5090 D is doing significant heavy lifting in this title. The data implies that this combination is severely bottlenecked by neither component for this workload, allowing for high frame rates across the board.

The fact that this combo ranks so highly is notable because Microsoft Flight Simulator is known to be a demanding title. The ranking reflects the combined capabilities of both components. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its benchmarks, helps maintain the simulation's frame pacing, while the GPU's massive memory bandwidth and fill rates handle the high-resolution textures and geometry. The gap between this combo and the rest of the field is substantial, but the data does not provide the specific score of the combo in the game itself, only its ordinal rank. The rank of 23 out of 2996 is the key metric, and it signals that users of this system can expect a performance level that is within the top tier of what is possible for this simulation.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This combination of a high boost clock and a moderate core count is well-suited for Microsoft Flight Simulator, a game that is heavily reliant on single-thread performance for its core simulation loop. The benchmark scores support this: the CPU scores 1090 in the 3dmark single-thread test and 1987 in the cinebench_r23_singlecore test. These are strong numbers that indicate the CPU can handle the complex flight model calculations and AI logic that the game constantly runs.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core are also relevant. The game benefits from lower latency access to data, and the sizeable cache helps ensure that frequently used instructions and data are readily available to the cores. In the measured FPS data, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 221 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. This suggests that even with the GPU not being fully stressed at this resolution, the CPU is capable of feeding it enough frames to reach such high numbers. The 3dmark_max_threads score of 8852 and the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 19088 show the CPU's strong multi-threaded capability, which is useful for the game's background tasks like scenery loading and weather simulation.

The CPU is part of the 7000 series, released on 2022-09-26, and uses the AMD Socket AM5. It has a TDP of 105 W and supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. This memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's data streaming needs. The percentileVsAllCpus score of 85 indicates that the 7700X is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs in the database, confirming its position as a high-end part. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, all have very similar average benchmark scores within 0.7% of the 7700X, meaning its performance is on par with some of the best mobile and desktop chips available. In practice, this means the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios tested here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the system scales with resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 221 FPS for Low, 198 FPS for Medium, 149 FPS for High, and 142 FPS for Ultra. The Medium settings also show a minimum FPS of 168 and a maximum of 227. The jump from Low to Medium is a 23 FPS drop, while moving from High to Ultra is a smaller 7 FPS drop. This suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as the GPU is not the limiting factor, and the differences between medium and high presets have a more significant impact than the difference between high and ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS decreases across all settings. The numbers are 205 FPS for Low, 159 FPS for Medium, 120 FPS for High, and 114 FPS for Ultra. The Medium settings show a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 183 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is more pronounced at Low settings (from 221 to 205 FPS), but the relative differences between settings remain similar. For example, the gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 39 FPS, which is slightly larger than the 49 FPS gap at 1080p. This indicates that the system is starting to become more GPU-bound at this resolution, but the CPU is still capable of delivering high frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance becomes more dependent on the GPU. The average FPS is 151 for Low, 118 for Medium, 88 for High, and 84 for Ultra. The Medium settings show a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is significant, particularly at Low settings where the frame rate falls from 205 to 151 FPS. This is a 26% reduction, highlighting the increased pixel count that the GPU must process. At 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 84 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate for a flight simulator. The data shows a clear trend: the system is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the emphasis shifts to maintaining smooth frame rates, which it does successfully even on the Ultra preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship graphics card based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB202 chip. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The memory configuration is a key highlight: 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This is crucial for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams large amounts of terrain and texture data. The GPU also has 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, making it an incredibly powerful rendering engine.

The GPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 14326 and a passmark_g3d score of 44065. Its percentileVsAllGpus is 92, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Interestingly, its nearest rivals in the database are not other top-tier desktop cards but rather mobile GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is 1.6% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which is 1.1% faster. This is a quirk of the database's scoring, but it doesn't change the fact that the RTX 5090 D is an extremely powerful card. The data shows that its role in this combo is to provide the raw horsepower needed to render the game at high resolutions and detail levels.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU's importance is most evident at 4K. The difference between Low and Ultra at 3840x2160 is a 67 FPS gap (151 vs 84), which is the largest absolute difference across all resolutions. This indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, and that higher settings place a significantly greater load on it. The GPU's 32 GB of VRAM is a major advantage for this game, as it allows for large texture packs and long draw distances without running out of memory. The high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that the GPU can quickly access this data, preventing stutters and maintaining smooth performance. The card has a TDP of 575 W and a suggested PSU of 950 W, indicating it is a power-hungry component, but the performance data shows it is justified for this workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user's display resolution and performance priorities. For users with a 1920x1080 monitor, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. The system achieves an average of 142 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and is also high enough to take advantage of a 144 Hz monitor. The difference between High and Ultra is only 7 FPS, so there is little reason to sacrifice visual quality for such a small performance gain. The Low preset at 221 FPS is only useful for competitive or maximum refresh rate scenarios, but for a flight simulator, the visual fidelity of Ultra is far more valuable.

For 2560x1440 displays, the Ultra preset is also recommended. The average FPS at 1440p Ultra is 114, which provides a very smooth experience and is also high enough for most high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 120 FPS offers a marginal 6 FPS improvement, which is not worth the reduction in visual quality. The Medium preset at 159 FPS is a solid fallback for those who prefer higher frame rates, but the system has enough headroom to run Ultra comfortably. The measured data for Medium shows a minimum of 136 FPS, which is still excellent, but the Ultra preset's average of 114 FPS is more than sufficient for this type of game.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 84 FPS, which is playable and smooth, especially for a flight simulator where the camera is often static or moving slowly. However, the High preset at 88 FPS is very close in performance, and the difference is only 4 FPS. For users who want a bit more headroom or who have a 120 Hz 4K display, the High preset might be preferable, as it offers a slightly higher average frame rate. The Medium preset at 118 FPS is also a strong option if the user prioritizes frame rate over maximum visual settings. Given that the Ultra and High presets are so close in performance, the choice comes down to personal preference; the data shows that both are viable for a good experience at 4K. The Low preset at 151 FPS is not recommended at this resolution, as it would significantly reduce the visual quality that the RTX 5090 D is capable of delivering.