Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is an exceptionally demanding title, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 shows a system with substantial headroom across all tested configurations. This combination ranks 38th out of 2996 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.3% of all configurations in the database for this specific game. The benchmark results indicate a platform capable of delivering high frame rates even at maximum settings, with the data showing a clear scaling pattern that shifts from GPU-bound at 4K to more CPU-influenced at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how each preset performs, allowing for a methodical recommendation based on resolution and desired frame rate targets. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields an average of 79 FPS, while the High preset improves this to 83 FPS, a modest gain of 4 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 110 FPS, and Low jumps to 142 FPS. For a flight simulator where visual fidelity of terrain and cockpit details is paramount, the data suggests that the High preset at 4K offers the most balanced experience, as it maintains an average above 60 FPS while providing significantly better visual quality than the Medium or Low presets, which sacrifice detail for a higher frame rate that is not strictly necessary for this genre.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 107 FPS, and High is close behind at 112 FPS. Medium provides a substantial jump to 149 FPS, while Low reaches 192 FPS. At this resolution, the High preset again appears to be the sweet spot, as it stays above the 100 FPS threshold, which is generally considered very smooth, while the Ultra preset only offers a marginal visual improvement over High for a 5 FPS loss. The Medium preset is a viable option for users prioritizing higher frame rates, but the data indicates that the gap between High and Medium in visual quality is often more noticeable than the FPS difference.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset runs at an average of 133 FPS, and High is at 139 FPS. Medium delivers 185 FPS, and Low reaches 238 FPS. Given that even the Ultra preset exceeds 120 FPS, there is no performance-based reason to drop below High settings at this resolution. The data supports using the Ultra preset at 1080p to extract maximum visual quality, as the frame rate remains high enough for a fluid experience. The Low preset, while achieving a very high frame rate, is unnecessary for this title, as the simulation does not benefit from such extreme refresh rates in the same way a competitive shooter might.

The most compelling argument for the High preset across all resolutions is the consistency of the frame rate data. While min FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset, the lack of reported minimums for other presets suggests that the average figures are stable. For the Medium preset, the min FPS values are 94 at 4K, 127 at 1440p, and 158 at 1080p, which are all within a reasonable range of the averages, indicating a lack of severe frame time spikes. Based on this data, the High preset is the recommended starting point for most users, with Ultra being a strong choice for those with 1080p or 1440p displays who prioritize image quality above all else.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications heavily influence the game's performance. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, resulting in a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This large memory pool is particularly relevant for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for streaming vast amounts of high-resolution terrain and aircraft data. The data shows that the RTX 5090's memory subsystem is more than sufficient, as the frame rates do not appear to be limited by memory capacity or bandwidth at any tested setting.

The GPU's clock speeds are listed as a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 21760 shading units, allow for immense raw compute throughput, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. In the context of the benchmark results, this compute power translates to the high average FPS numbers observed. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is able to maintain an average of 79 FPS, which is a demanding workload for any graphics card. The fact that this configuration achieves this without dipping below 60 FPS in the average indicates that the RTX 5090 is the primary engine driving the frame rate at higher resolutions.

The RTX 5090's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is the API used by the game. The benchmark scores for the GPU, such as a Passmark G3D score of 39650, reinforce its position as a top-tier part, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. When examining the nearest rivals in the database, the RTX 5090's average score of 79842 is only 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, but this comparison is misleading for gaming, as the Tesla is a compute-focused card. The data shows that the RTX 5090 is not the bottleneck in this system, as its performance headroom is substantial, allowing the CPU to become a more significant factor at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution changes, which indicates the shifting balance between CPU and GPU load. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 139. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 112 FPS, a decrease of 19.4%. At 3840x2160, the average is 83 FPS, a further drop of 25.9% from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 5090's workload increases significantly with pixel count.

However, the scaling at Low settings tells a different story. From 1080p Low at 238 FPS to 1440p Low at 192 FPS, the drop is 19.3%. From 1440p to 4K Low, the drop is 26.0%, from 192 to 142 FPS. These percentage drops are very similar to those seen at High settings, which suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor. This is a notable finding, as it implies that the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is capable of feeding the RTX 5090 enough data to keep it fully utilized even at 1080p Low.

The data further illustrates this point when looking at the difference between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 105 FPS (238 vs 133), which is a 44.1% reduction. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS (142 vs 79), a 44.4% reduction. The consistency of these percentage reductions across resolutions indicates that the performance scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's rendering workload, not by CPU limitations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, one would expect to see a smaller absolute FPS difference at higher resolutions, as the CPU would be unable to maintain the frame rate even with a lighter GPU load. The data shows this is not the case, confirming the GPU's dominant role in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combination in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 238 FPS, which was achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 1080p Ultra performance?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 79, while at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 133. This represents a 40.6% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the highest settings.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 or the Ryzen 7 9700F the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The percentage FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are nearly identical across all settings presets, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions, but it does not appear to bottleneck the GPU.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for the Medium settings preset?

A: The minimum FPS values for Medium settings are 158 at 1080p, 127 at 1440p, and 94 at 4K. These values are only reported for the Medium preset in the measured data.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations in the database?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 38th out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 1.3% of all configurations.

Q: Does the CPU have enough performance to keep up with the GPU at 1080p?

A: Yes, the benchmark results suggest the CPU is sufficient. At 1080p Low, the configuration achieves 238 FPS, which indicates that the Ryzen 7 9700F is capable of providing the necessary instructions to the GPU without becoming a significant bottleneck, even at high frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, plays a critical supporting role in this configuration. Its specifications include a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). The CPU's Passmark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470, with an average benchmark score of 69996. This places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, having an average score of 70163, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the Ryzen 7 9700F is essentially on par.

In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw call preparation. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load. However, its performance is crucial for maintaining a stable frame rate, particularly in complex scenarios with heavy traffic or detailed scenery. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s help ensure that data can be fed to the GPU efficiently.

The benchmark results for the CPU, such as a Passmark integer math score of 120788 and a floating-point math score of 77955, indicate strong computational capabilities. In a flight simulator, this translates to smooth frame delivery and reduced stuttering. The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz is particularly relevant for single-threaded tasks, which are common in simulation games. While the GPU is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, the Ryzen 7 9700F provides a solid foundation that does not hinder the RTX 5090's performance, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved even at 1080p Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table outlines the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset combination, as recorded in the database.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 79 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | High | 83 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 110 | 94 | 127 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 142 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 107 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 112 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 149 | 127 | 172 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 192 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 133 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 139 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 185 | 158 | 213 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 238 | - | - |

The data shows a steady progression of FPS as settings are lowered at each resolution. The most significant jumps occur between Medium and Low settings, with an increase of 32 FPS at 4K (from 110 to 142), 43 FPS at 1440p (from 149 to 192), and 53 FPS at 1080p (from 185 to 238). This indicates that the Low preset significantly reduces the GPU's workload, likely by disabling certain post-processing effects and reducing object detail. The Medium preset, which has recorded min and max FPS values, shows a consistent frame time distribution, with the min FPS being within 14-20% of the average, suggesting a stable experience without major stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 38 out of 2996 total combos. This places the configuration in the 98.7th percentile, meaning it outperforms 2958 other tested systems. This high ranking is expected, given the top-tier nature of both components, but the data confirms that the combination is well-balanced for this specific game.

The rank is a holistic measure, taking into account performance across all resolutions and settings. Given that the RTX 5090 is one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available, and the Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end 8-core processor, the combination is positioned near the very top of the performance spectrum. The data suggests that there are only 37 configurations in the entire database that deliver a better overall experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which likely include combinations with even higher-end CPUs or more specialized hardware. For the vast majority of users, this combo represents a near-flagship level of performance that can handle the game's most demanding scenarios with ease.