Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This combination ranks 511th out of 1,795 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all configurations tested. The rank reflects the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, not synthetic benchmarks.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 39,453, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 4245P, 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700F, 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS, and 1.0% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700. The CPU sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's synthetic benchmark percentile and how does it compare to nearby rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 XT is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 39,647. It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 575 by 0.1%, the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile by 0.2%, the AMD Radeon Pro 575X by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 by 0.6% in average score.

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved at 1920x1080 with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 162.7 FPS average, which is the highest measured FPS across all tested configurations. This drops to 88.4 FPS at Ultra settings at the same resolution.

Q: How does the FPS scale from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 96.5 at 1920x1080 to 76.0 at 2560x1440, and further to 54.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 43.4% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU have a higher percentile ranking relative to their respective pools?

A: The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. This indicates the processor is relatively stronger in its pool than the graphics card is in its pool.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's clock configuration shows a base clock of 1660 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2970 MHz. Memory operates at 2518 MHz, translating to 20.1 Gbps effective.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the 16 GB frame buffer proves adequate across all tested settings. The measured FPS data shows the GPU handling 3840x2160 Ultra at 50.8 FPS average, indicating the memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient for high-resolution texture streaming. The 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s, suggest the card can push substantial fill rates needed for detailed terrain rendering.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS and FP16 of 97.32 TFLOPS (2:1) provide compute headroom for the simulation's physics and weather calculations. The 64 RT cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), though the game's ray-traced elements are not explicitly measured in the data. The PCIe 5.0 x16 bus interface ensures adequate bandwidth for asset streaming, though the game's data patterns are not detailed.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 3840x2160 is substantial: 93.7 FPS versus 50.8 FPS, a 42.9 FPS difference. This indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor as settings increase, with the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads providing consistent frame delivery. The CPU's 64 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth likely prevent bottlenecking in CPU-bound scenarios like ground traffic or complex airport environments.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT achieves rank 511 out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the configuration in the 28.5th percentile of all combos — meaning roughly 71.5% of tested configurations rank higher. While the CPU alone sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, the combo rank is dragged down by the GPU's 82nd percentile standing.

The ranking suggests that for this specific title, the GPU's performance ceiling limits the overall combo. The measured FPS data confirms this interpretation: at 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo delivers only 50.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many would target for smooth simulation. Even at 2560x1440 Ultra, the average of 70.4 FPS is playable but not exceptional.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals — the AMD EPYC 4245P, Intel Core i7-13700F, and Intel Core i7-13700 — all have similar synthetic scores (within 1.0%), so the combo rank is more determined by the GPU configuration. The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks (AMD Radeon Pro 575, NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, and others) are workstation or mobile parts, which may not represent gaming performance in this simulator.

The rank of 511 with 1,795 total combos means there are 1,284 combos ranked lower. This positions the setup as a mid-to-upper tier configuration for this game, capable of 1080p Ultra at 88.4 FPS but requiring settings reductions at 4K for smoother gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1920x1080, all settings levels produce playable results: Low at 162.7 FPS, Medium at 124.4 FPS, High at 96.5 FPS, and Ultra at 88.4 FPS. For 1080p users, Ultra settings are viable with an average of 88.4 FPS, which should satisfy most users seeking maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the data shows High settings at 76.0 FPS and Ultra at 70.4 FPS — both playable. Medium delivers 100.7 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin for demanding scenes. The recommendation for 1440p would be High or Ultra, depending on preference for visual quality versus frame rate headroom. The 76.0 FPS at High represents a balanced choice, while 70.4 FPS at Ultra remains acceptable for a flight simulator where frame times are less critical than in fast-paced genres.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Ultra delivers 50.8 FPS, High delivers 54.6 FPS, Medium delivers 76.2 FPS, and Low delivers 93.7 FPS. For 4K users, Medium at 76.2 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and smoothness. The jump from Medium to High costs 21.6 FPS (76.2 to 54.6), which is a significant drop for incremental visual gains. Low at 93.7 FPS is an option for users prioritizing frame rate above all else, but Medium appears to be the sweet spot at this resolution.

The data suggests that the combo can handle Ultra at 1080p without issue, but at higher resolutions, settings must be adjusted. The 3840x2160 Ultra result of 50.8 FPS indicates that this configuration is not ideal for maxed-out 4K, though the game remains playable. Users with 4K displays should target Medium settings to maintain frame rates above 75 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce 162.7 FPS average, Medium reaches 124.4 FPS, High achieves 96.5 FPS, and Ultra maintains 88.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 74.3 FPS drop, showing the GPU's workload increase with higher quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 129.6 FPS, Medium at 100.7 FPS, High at 76.0 FPS, and Ultra at 70.4 FPS. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs 33.1 FPS at Low settings (162.7 to 129.6), 23.7 FPS at Medium (124.4 to 100.7), 20.5 FPS at High (96.5 to 76.0), and 18.0 FPS at Ultra (88.4 to 70.4). The smaller absolute drop at higher settings suggests diminishing returns from resolution scaling when the GPU is already heavily loaded.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 93.7 FPS, Medium at 76.2 FPS, High at 54.6 FPS, and Ultra at 50.8 FPS. Comparing 1440p to 4K, the drops are 35.9 FPS at Low (129.6 to 93.7), 24.5 FPS at Medium (100.7 to 76.2), 21.4 FPS at High (76.0 to 54.6), and 19.6 FPS at Ultra (70.4 to 50.8). The pattern continues where higher settings show smaller absolute FPS losses when resolution increases, because the GPU is already near its rendering limits.

The minimum and maximum FPS values are not provided in the data, so only average FPS can be analyzed. The spread between Low and Ultra widens with resolution: 74.3 FPS at 1080p, 59.2 FPS at 1440p, and 42.9 FPS at 4K. This narrowing spread indicates that at 4K, even Low settings stress the GPU enough that the difference between quality presets becomes less impactful on frame rate.

Overall, the data shows a configuration that is well-suited for 1080p Ultra and 1440p High-to-Ultra gameplay, while 4K users should expect to use Medium settings for optimal frame rates. The 16 GB VRAM and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient across all tested configurations, with no indication of memory-related stuttering or capacity limitations in the measured results.