Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 183 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 170 FPS, a modest decline of roughly 7% that suggests the CPU is still heavily involved in the workload. At 4K Low, the average falls to 125 FPS, which is a more substantial drop of about 26% from the 1080p figure — indicating the GPU begins to assert its influence even at the lowest quality preset.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly different magnitudes. At 1080p Medium, the average is 164 FPS, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 132 FPS, with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 97 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution climbs, from 49 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K. This compression of the frame time distribution at higher resolutions is characteristic of the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck, as frame-to-frame variance driven by CPU thread scheduling gives way to more consistent rendering loads.

With High settings, the pattern continues. The 1080p average is 123 FPS, the 1440p average is 99 FPS, and the 4K average is 73 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 41%, which is noticeably larger than the equivalent drop at Low settings (32%). This widening gap as settings increase reinforces that the RTX 4080 is doing progressively more work per frame, and the CPU's headroom becomes less relevant. At Ultra settings, the same trend holds: 117 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset at 4K produces the lowest average of any measured configuration, at 70 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold that many flight sim enthusiasts consider a baseline for smooth panning across dense terrain.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting component in many scenes, particularly at Low and Medium settings where the GPU has ample headroom. The Ryzen 9 5900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are enough to feed the RTX 4080 at lower resolutions, but the frame rate ceiling appears to be capped by CPU throughput rather than GPU rendering capacity. At 4K, the situation inverts: the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes. The fact that the 4K Low average (125 FPS) is still higher than the 1080p Ultra average (117 FPS) suggests that the GPU is the dominant constraint at 4K, regardless of settings, because the resolution alone drives the rendering load.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 in this combo brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. For Microsoft Flight Simulator, a title known for streaming vast amounts of terrain and photogrammetry data, this memory configuration is directly relevant to the measured results. The game's tendency to load large textures and geometry data on the fly means that memory bandwidth can influence how quickly new scenery is streamed in, and the RTX 4080's bandwidth figure is ample for the resolutions tested here. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and the memory operates at 1400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective speed.

The RTX 4080's 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units provide the raw compute throughput needed to sustain the frame rates observed. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 70 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is being pushed to its limits with the highest settings at the highest resolution. The fact that the GPU scores in the 86th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 54247, aligns with its position as a high-end card that can handle demanding titles but still shows measurable scaling across settings and resolutions.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is not a limiting factor in any of the measured configurations, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 70 is well above the minimum threshold for playability. The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores nearly identically (54209 average, a delta of 0.1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which scores slightly higher (54828 average, a delta of -1.1%). These close scores suggest that the RTX 4080's performance in synthetic benchmarks translates into real-world consistency, though the measured FPS in this particular game depends heavily on the interaction with the CPU.

The RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present but not directly exercised by the measured FPS data, as no ray tracing or DLSS settings are listed in the measured rows. The data shows pure rasterization performance at four presets and three resolutions, which is the most common way to benchmark this flight simulator. The GPU's pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are high enough to handle the rendering loads observed, but the 4K Ultra result of 70 FPS suggests that the card is nearing its practical ceiling for this game at that configuration. The 4K High result of 73 FPS and the 4K Medium result of 97 FPS show that stepping down one preset tier yields meaningful gains, while the 4K Low result of 125 FPS demonstrates that the GPU has substantial headroom when settings are reduced.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average FPS is 183, measured at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 117 at 1080p to 70 at 4K, a reduction of 47 FPS or approximately 40%.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K Low?

A: At 4K Low, the average FPS is 125, which is still very high, but the drop from 1080p Low (183 FPS) indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting component due to the resolution increase.

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

A: The lowest average FPS is 70, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a delta of 0.1%, meaning they are essentially matched in synthetic tests.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5900X show any sign of holding back the GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 183, and at 1080p Medium it is 164, which are high values, but the relatively small gap between Low and Medium suggests the CPU may be limiting the GPU's full potential in less demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 293rd out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the top 8% of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the high-end nature of both components. The rank of 293 out of 3714 means that approximately 3421 other combos rank below it, while 292 combos achieve higher measured FPS in this game. Given that the game is a flight simulator with a strong CPU dependency for physics and AI calculations, the Ryzen 9 5900X's 12-core, 24-thread configuration contributes to this strong showing, even though the GPU is also a high performer.

The percentile ranking of the CPU (87th percentile among all CPUs) and the GPU (86th percentile among all GPUs) both suggest that this combo is well-balanced for demanding titles. However, the combo rank of 293 indicates that there are still a significant number of configurations that outperform it in this specific game, likely those with even newer or higher-tier CPUs and GPUs. The data shows that this combo is not at the absolute top of the charts but is firmly in the upper echelon, capable of delivering high frame rates at all tested settings and resolutions. The fact that the combo ranks 293rd out of 3714 also implies that the measured FPS values are competitive with systems that feature more recent hardware, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (which scores 0.3% higher in CPU benchmarks) or the RTX 4080 SUPER (which scores 0.1% higher in GPU benchmarks), but neither of those rival components individually would necessarily produce better game-specific results without the corresponding other half.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all settings. With Low settings, the average FPS is 183. With Medium settings, the average is 164 FPS, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS. With High settings, the average is 123 FPS. With Ultra settings, the average is 117 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 66 FPS, showing that the settings preset has a substantial impact on performance at this resolution. The Medium preset's minimum of 139 FPS and maximum of 188 FPS indicate good frame pacing, with the maximum nearly matching the Low average.

At 2560x1440, the averages shift downward across the board. Low settings yield an average of 170 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 132 FPS, with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. High settings average 99 FPS. Ultra settings average 95 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at Low settings (183 to 170 FPS, a 7% reduction) and least pronounced at Ultra settings (117 to 95 FPS, a 19% reduction). The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 112 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for high refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the averages continue to fall, but the combo remains playable at every preset. Low settings average 125 FPS. Medium settings average 97 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. High settings average 73 FPS. Ultra settings average 70 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 28 FPS, which is smaller than the 44 FPS gap at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor and the settings preset has less relative influence. The Medium preset's minimum of 83 FPS at 4K is notable because it still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, even with the added resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 70 FPS, is the only configuration that dips below 73 FPS, and it does so by just 3 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and target frame rate. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver average FPS above 117, so users can confidently select Ultra settings for the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra average of 117 FPS is well above the 60 FPS baseline, and even the minimum FPS (not listed for Ultra, but implied by the average) is likely to remain high. At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS, which is still excellent for most monitors, but users with 144 Hz displays might prefer High settings, which average 99 FPS, or Medium settings, which average 132 FPS, for a more responsive experience. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate headroom, with a minimum of 112 FPS ensuring consistent performance.

At 4K, the recommendations become more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, which is playable but may feel slightly less smooth in dense areas. The High preset averages 73 FPS, a marginal improvement that does not justify the visual downgrade. The Medium preset averages 97 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS, making it the clear choice for 4K users who want a high frame rate without sacrificing too much detail. The Low preset at 4K averages 125 FPS, which is overkill for most displays and would result in a noticeable reduction in visual quality. For users with 60 Hz displays, the Ultra preset at 4K is acceptable, but for those with higher refresh rate panels, the Medium preset is recommended. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K (97 FPS) delivers more than double the frame rate of the Ultra preset at 4K (70 FPS) in terms of the gap from the 60 FPS baseline, making it the most efficient choice per the measured rows.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, and its boost clock is 4.80 GHz. The CPU has 64 MB of L3 cache, with 512 KB of L2 cache per core and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. This large cache configuration is beneficial for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which relies heavily on streaming and processing large datasets. The CPU's 105 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 at most resolutions, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 5900X scores 1527 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 16262 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. Its single-thread performance is critical for flight simulator physics and AI calculations, which often run on a single thread. The 3DMark scores show a clear scaling from 2 threads (1852) to 16 threads (9075) to max threads (10075), indicating that the CPU benefits from additional thread utilization but also has strong per-core performance. This is reflected in the game's measured FPS at 1080p, where the CPU's single-thread strength allows the combo to hit 183 FPS at Low settings and 164 FPS at Medium settings, numbers that would be difficult to achieve with a weaker single-core processor.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 87th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41376, places it just above the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (which scores 41263, a delta of 0.3%) and just below the Intel Core i7-14650HX (which scores 41576, a delta of -0.5%). These rivals are close in synthetic performance, but the Ryzen 9 5900X's 12 cores and 24 threads give it an advantage in multi-threaded workloads that flight simulators increasingly use for terrain and weather simulation. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU dominates, but at 1080p, the CPU's performance ceiling is apparent: the difference between Low (183 FPS) and Medium (164 FPS) is 19 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High (123 FPS) is 41 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can sustain high frame rates up to a point before the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 5900X's boost clock of 4.80 GHz is high enough for the game's single-threaded tasks, and its 64 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is important for the game's streaming behavior. Overall, the CPU contributes positively to the combo's rank of 293 out of 3714, and its performance is well-matched to the RTX 4080 for this title.