Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers 111 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 89 FPS, a reduction of roughly 20%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 66 FPS, which is about 41% below the 1080p figure. This scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is increasingly becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With High settings, the system produces 65 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K on High is exactly 40%, nearly identical to the Low preset's 41% decline. Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 86 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result is 41% lower than the 1080p Medium result. Ultra settings show the same pattern with 62 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K — a 40% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

What this consistency reveals is that the game's performance scaling is highly uniform across presets. The RTX 2070 SUPER's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are being stressed similarly regardless of quality level. The fact that Low settings at 4K (66 FPS) barely outperforms Medium at 1440p (70 FPS) suggests that the GPU's raw throughput, not the settings complexity, is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The data shows that this combination is playable at 1080p and 1440p across all presets, but 4K pushes the system into marginal territory — only the Low preset at 4K stays above 60 FPS average.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K on every preset. For instance, on Medium settings, 1080p to 1440p costs 16 FPS, while 1440p to 4K costs 19 FPS. This accelerating decline at 4K points directly at the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity and 256-bit memory bus becoming saturated. The frame time consistency also degrades at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the Medium preset's min/max spread: at 1080p the range is 73–99 FPS, at 1440p it is 59–80 FPS, and at 4K it narrows to 44–59 FPS. The narrower spread at 4K indicates the system is hitting a hard performance ceiling rather than fluctuating due to scene complexity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the central component determining this system's flight simulator performance. Its specifications include a base clock of 1605 MHz, a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 9.062 TFLOPS.

In the broader GPU landscape, this card sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (1% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (1.2% lower), the Intel Arc B570 (1.3% lower), and the Intel Arc A750 (1.5% lower). These deltas are small, meaning the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitively positioned within its performance tier, though it is not a standout in either direction.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically, the VRAM allocation is critical. The game streams vast amounts of terrain and photogrammetry data, and with only 8 GB of GDDR6, the RTX 2070 SUPER can experience capacity pressure at 4K Ultra settings. The measured data supports this: 4K Ultra produces an average of just 37 FPS, the lowest figure recorded for this combination. The boost clock of 1770 MHz is modest by contemporary standards, and the data suggests that the GPU's computational throughput, not its clock speed, is what limits performance in this title.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when comparing Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low yields 111 FPS while Ultra yields 62 FPS — a 44% reduction. At 4K, the same preset comparison shows 66 FPS versus 37 FPS, a 44% reduction as well. This consistent percentage gap indicates that the GPU is handling the additional shading and texture work proportionally across resolutions, without hitting a memory capacity cliff until the highest settings at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 51 FPS, with a min of 44 FPS, shows that even mid-tier settings at 4K can dip below playable thresholds during demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X provides substantial computational headroom for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer), fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, yielding 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 4.

In CPU benchmarks, the 5900X ranks at the 87th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 41376, which places it very close to several rivals: the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H scores 41263 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H scores 41215 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 scores 41208 (0.4% lower). The Intel Core i7-14650HX is slightly ahead at 41576, a 0.5% delta. These margins are negligible in real-world terms, meaning the 5900X is competitively matched with these modern processors.

For flight simulation, the CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant, as the game's simulation engine (aircraft systems, weather, flight dynamics) is not perfectly parallelized. The 5900X achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2083. Its multi-threaded results are strong as well: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 16262, and 3DMark max threads scores 10075.

The data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. Comparing the 1080p Low result (111 FPS) to the 4K Low result (66 FPS), the FPS is halved as resolution quadruples, which is a GPU-bound signature. If the CPU were the constraint, the 1080p and 4K results would be much closer. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample processing for the game's background simulation tasks, and its high boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance for the main rendering thread. The 64 MB L3 cache also helps with the large dataset working set that flight simulator maintains. In practical terms, the 5900X is likely to keep frame times stable even when the GPU is saturated, which the data indirectly confirms through the consistent FPS scaling pattern observed across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For users of this specific combination — AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER — the measured FPS data provides clear guidance for settings selection. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 86 FPS average with a minimum of 73 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in dense urban areas or during complex weather events. High at 1080p (65 FPS) is also viable, but it leaves less margin for frame drops, and Ultra at 1080p (62 FPS) pushes the system close to the edge of 60 FPS territory.

At 1440p, Medium is again the recommended preset. It produces 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, which keeps the experience fluid in most scenarios. High at 1440p (52 FPS) is playable but will show stutter during demanding flyovers, and Ultra at 1440p (50 FPS) is borderline. Low at 1440p (89 FPS) is excessively conservative and sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the 19 FPS gain over Medium.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The data shows that Low is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS (66 FPS). Medium at 4K yields 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but could be acceptable for users who prioritize visual detail over absolute smoothness. High at 4K (39 FPS) and Ultra at 4K (37 FPS) are both below 40 FPS, making them difficult to recommend for anything other than static screenshots or slow taxiing. For 4K users, Low is the practical choice, with Medium as a compromise if frame rate dips below 45 FPS are tolerable.

The data does not show a meaningful benefit to running Ultra over High at any resolution. The FPS difference between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS at 1080p, 2 FPS at 1440p, and 2 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Ultra preset adds graphical complexity that this GPU cannot translate into a better experience, making High the more efficient choice for those who want maximum quality without the performance penalty.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Only with the Low preset, which produces an average of 66 FPS at 3840x2160. The Medium preset at 4K averages 51 FPS, and High and Ultra both fall below 40 FPS (39 FPS and 37 FPS respectively).

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

A: 1440p with Medium settings offers the best combination of visual fidelity and performance, delivering 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS. This provides a solid experience without the frame rate compromises seen at 4K.

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

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. Evidence comes from the resolution scaling: at 1080p Low the system hits 111 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 66 FPS. If the CPU were limiting, the gap between resolutions would be much smaller. The Ryzen 9 5900X, with its 12 cores and 4.80 GHz boost clock, has sufficient headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in general performance?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score is 20282. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 (20556, 1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, 1.5% higher). These are all within 1.5% of each other.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 111 FPS while Ultra averages 62 FPS, a difference of 49 FPS. This shows the substantial performance cost of the Ultra preset's additional rendering complexity.

Q: Does the 5900X perform well compared to other CPUs in its class?

A: The 5900X ranks at the 87th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 41376. It is within 0.5% of the Intel Core i7-14650HX (41576) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (41263), indicating it remains competitive with newer mobile and desktop processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured FPS results for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. All figures are average FPS unless otherwise noted, and min/max values are provided where available.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 111 FPS average
• Medium: 86 FPS average, 73 FPS minimum, 99 FPS maximum
• High: 65 FPS average
• Ultra: 62 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 89 FPS average
• Medium: 70 FPS average, 59 FPS minimum, 80 FPS maximum
• High: 52 FPS average
• Ultra: 50 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 66 FPS average
• Medium: 51 FPS average, 44 FPS minimum, 59 FPS maximum
• High: 39 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

The overall performance trend is consistent: each resolution step up costs approximately 20–25% of performance, and each settings step up from Low to Ultra costs roughly 40–45% of performance regardless of resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p (70 FPS) and the Low preset at 4K (66 FPS) are the two configurations that best balance playability with visual output, though the 4K Low preset sacrifices significant graphical detail. The data confirms that this hardware combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for users who prioritize resolution over frame rate.