Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and AMD Radeon RX 9070 show a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 155 FPS, which drops to 125 FPS at 1440p and further to 92 FPS at 4K. This represents a 40.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical preset, the rendering load scales substantially with pixel count.

The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 121 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 40.5%, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across these settings, as the frame rate reduction closely tracks the 4x pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K, though not perfectly linearly due to other bottlenecks.

High settings follow the same pattern with 91 FPS at 1080p, 73 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K — a 40.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K. Ultra settings produce 86 FPS, 70 FPS, and 51 FPS respectively, with a 40.7% drop. The uniformity of these scaling percentages across all four presets is striking; it indicates that the performance ceiling at each resolution is determined by the GPU's rasterization throughput rather than CPU limitations, since the Ryzen 7 9700X's Zen 5 architecture with 8 cores and 16 threads provides ample headroom for the simulation's physics and scenery processing.

The data reveals that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, yielding just 51 FPS, while 1080p Low achieves 155 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution narrows as resolution increases: at 1080p, the difference is 69 FPS (155 vs 86), at 1440p it is 55 FPS (125 vs 70), and at 4K it is 41 FPS (92 vs 51). This tightening suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate become increasingly dominant factors, reducing the relative impact of preset-driven shader complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 achieves a combo rank of 1098 out of 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the pairing in the 70.4th percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of the configurations in the database for this specific title. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU in handling the flight simulator's unique blend of CPU-intensive flight modeling and GPU-heavy scenery rendering.

Breaking down the components individually, the Ryzen 7 9700X sits in the 86th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14901E with an average score of 37911 (a 0.1% difference) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 at 37904 (also 0.1% difference). The Intel Core 5 211E trails at 37829 (0.3% behind), while the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 scores 37804 (0.4% behind). These tiny margins indicate that the 9700X is positioned at the top of a tightly clustered group of high-performance processors, though it does not break away from them significantly.

The Radeon RX 9070 GPU achieves the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rivals show a wider spread: the AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063 (0.8% ahead of the 9070), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170 (1.2% ahead), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736 (0.6% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628 (1.1% behind). The GPU's percentile ranking is notably lower than the CPU's, suggesting that the graphics card is the more limiting component in this pairing for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Given the CPU's 86th percentile standing and the GPU's 69th percentile, the combo's overall rank of 1098 out of 3714 (70.4th percentile) reflects a balanced but GPU-constrained system. The data indicates that this configuration is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p play, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K, particularly with higher presets.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 9070's specifications directly explain its measured performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This generous memory allocation proves crucial for the flight simulator's high-resolution textures and complex scenery, as even at 4K Ultra settings the game does not appear to be memory-constrained based on the consistent frame rates measured.

The clock speeds are notable: the base clock runs at 1330 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The memory operates at 2518 MHz, or 20.1 Gbps effective. These clocks, combined with 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster output units, produce a pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 36.13 TFLOPS positions the card firmly in the upper-midrange segment.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically, the data shows that the GPU's raw throughput is the determining factor for frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS versus the 1080p Low result of 155 FPS demonstrates that the card's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution. The 16 GB VRAM capacity exceeds what the game requires at these settings, as evidenced by the stable performance across all measured configurations without any indication of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters.

The GPU's 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs is reflected in its performance relative to the CPU. While the Ryzen 7 9700X sits in the 86th percentile, the GPU's lower ranking means that in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the graphics card is the primary limiter for achieving higher frame rates, especially at 4K. The card's boost clock of 2520 MHz is aggressive, and the measured frame rates suggest that the GPU maintains high utilization throughout the benchmark runs.

Settings Recommendations

Analysis of the measured FPS data reveals that the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the Low preset delivers 155 FPS, which is far beyond what most flight simulation enthusiasts require, given the game's slower-paced gameplay. However, the Medium preset at 121 FPS offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the minimum FPS of 103 ensuring smooth operation even in dense scenery areas. High at 91 FPS remains playable, while Ultra at 86 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visual quality.

At 1440p, the Medium preset produces 97 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 73 FPS provides acceptable performance for standard 60 Hz displays, while Low at 125 FPS offers headroom for competitive or fast-moving scenarios. Ultra at 70 FPS is borderline for 60 Hz displays, but the lack of minimum FPS data makes it a riskier choice.

For 4K resolution, the situation becomes more constrained. The Ultra preset yields just 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold preferred by most users. The High preset at 54 FPS is similarly marginal. However, the Medium preset delivers 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that consistently maintains playable frame rates. The Low preset at 92 FPS offers the best performance but sacrifices significant visual quality. The data strongly supports Medium as the recommended preset for 4K gameplay, as it combines acceptable visual fidelity with reliable frame pacing.

Overall, the measured results indicate that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high settings, with 4K requiring a reduction to Medium settings for optimal playability. The minimum FPS data points, available only for Medium settings across all resolutions, show that this preset maintains frame times well below the average, suggesting consistent performance without major stutters.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates span three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a comprehensive picture of the combo's performance envelope.

1920x1080: At Low settings, the combo achieves 155 FPS average. Medium settings produce 121 FPS average, with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 139 FPS. High settings deliver 91 FPS average, while Ultra settings yield 86 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 44.5% reduction in average FPS, from 155 down to 86.

2560x1440: Low settings result in 125 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 97 FPS average, with a minimum of 83 FPS and maximum of 112 FPS. High settings produce 73 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 70 FPS average. The drop from Low to Ultra is 44.0%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling.

3840x2160: Low settings achieve 92 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 72 FPS average, with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 83 FPS. High settings produce 54 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 51 FPS average. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 44.6%, maintaining the consistent scaling pattern observed at other resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only configuration with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the 36 FPS spread between minimum and maximum (103 to 139) indicates some scene-dependent variability. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 29 FPS (83 to 112). At 4K, the spread is 22 FPS (61 to 83). This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound scenarios have less variability than CPU-bound ones, further confirming the GPU as the primary performance limiter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p with Medium settings delivers 97 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS, providing the best balance of visual quality and smooth performance. At 1080p, Medium achieves 121 FPS, while 4K Medium yields 72 FPS with a 61 FPS minimum.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured 4K Ultra result is 51 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset at 72 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a minimum of 61 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23877. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170 (1.2% higher). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736 (0.6% lower), while the RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628 (1.1% lower).

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The Ryzen 7 9700X ranks in the 86th percentile among CPUs, while the RX 9070 ranks in the 69th percentile among GPUs. The consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets further supports GPU-bound performance.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with the High preset?

A: The measured average FPS is 91 at 1080p High settings. This is 36 FPS lower than Medium (121 FPS) and 5 FPS higher than Ultra (86 FPS), showing that High provides a middle ground between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: How does the combo's overall ranking compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1098th out of 3714 tested combinations, placing it in the 70.4th percentile. The CPU's 86th percentile ranking is notably higher than the GPU's 69th percentile, indicating that the graphics card holds back the overall system performance in this title.