Microsoft Flight Simulator

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features a shared 64 MB L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU posts a single-thread score of 1,093 in 3DMark and 2,952 in Geekbench, while multi-thread scores reach 12,536 in 3DMark max-threads and 17,830 in Geekbench multicore. Its Cinebench R23 results are 6,168 single-core and 43,695 multi-core.

These numbers matter for Microsoft Flight Simulator because the game's rendering engine relies heavily on a few primary threads for flight model calculations, terrain streaming, and weather simulation. The 7900X's strong single-core performance — reflected in its 2,590 Cinebench R20 single-core score — ensures that these critical threads are not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The CPU sits in the 93rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 50,556. Its nearest rivals are tightly grouped: the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 (50,598, -0.1%), AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (50,738, -0.4%), Intel Core i7-13850HX (50,827, -0.5%), and Intel Core i9-13980HX (50,944, -0.8%). This indicates the 7900X is essentially at parity with these high-end alternatives, differing by less than 1% in aggregate CPU performance.

Given this CPU's capability, the measured frame rates in this game — which range from 25.4 FPS at 4K Ultra to 80 FPS at 1080p Low — suggest that the processor is rarely the bottleneck. At lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU has less work per frame, the CPU's strong single-thread performance helps maintain higher frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 80 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. This aligns with the CPU's ability to feed frames quickly when the GPU is not overwhelmed.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1,530 MHz with a boost clock of 1,785 MHz. The GPU has 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. It achieves a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS.

The GTX 1660 SUPER sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14,286. Its nearest rivals are extremely close: the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14,314, -0.2%), Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14,315, -0.2%), AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14,352, -0.5%), and AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14,389, -0.7%). This clustering suggests that the 1660 SUPER performs essentially identically to these alternatives in general compute workloads, with all differences under 1%.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the 6 GB VRAM capacity is a critical constraint. The game is known for loading large textures for terrain, aircraft, and scenery. The measured results show a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops significantly, which is typical when VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth become limiting. At 1080p, the GPU can maintain playable frame rates across all settings, from 45.6 FPS at Ultra to 80 FPS at Low. However, at 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 32.6 FPS, and at 4K, Ultra falls to 25.4 FPS. The GPU's 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for the high-resolution texture workloads at higher settings, making it the primary limiting component in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 80 FPS, Medium achieves 62 FPS, High reaches 46.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 45.6 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 18 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 15.2 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is smaller, only 1.2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low runs at 59.8 FPS, Medium at 49.6 FPS, High at 34.9 FPS, and Ultra at 32.6 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is steep at 14.7 FPS, indicating that High settings at 1440p push the GPU harder relative to its capabilities. At 4K, the results are more constrained: Low delivers 46 FPS, Medium drops to 38 FPS, High falls to 26.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 25.4 FPS.

Based on these measurements, the best experience per the data is the Medium preset at 1080p, which yields 62 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate while still benefiting from some visual enhancements over Low. At 1440p, Medium at 49.6 FPS is the most balanced choice, as the High preset drops below 35 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in a flight simulator. At 4K, Low at 46 FPS is the only preset that stays above 40 FPS, making it the recommended option for 4K displays despite the visual trade-offs. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions above 1080p, as it delivers 32.6 FPS at 1440p and 25.4 FPS at 4K, both of which are below the threshold for a consistently smooth simulation experience.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1,563 out of 1,795 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower 13% of all configurations, which is expected given that the GPU is a mid-range part from a previous generation. The rank reflects the overall system capability in Microsoft Flight Simulator, where the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are significant limiting factors at higher resolutions.

The CPU's high percentile (93rd) does not compensate for the GPU's modest position (55th percentile) in this game's specific workload. The data shows that the combination performs best at lower resolutions, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance can shine. However, the overall rank indicates that this pairing is better suited for 1080p gaming than for higher-resolution flight simulation. Users seeking better 4K performance would need a more capable GPU, as the current setup's Ultra preset at 4K yields only 25.4 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users.

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

The measured frame rates show a clear resolution scaling pattern. At Low settings, the system achieves 80 FPS at 1080p, drops to 59.8 FPS at 1440p (a 25.3% decrease), and then to 46 FPS at 4K (a further 23.1% decrease from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 62 FPS at 1080p, 49.6 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. For High settings, the numbers are 46.8 FPS at 1080p, 34.9 FPS at 1440p, and 26.7 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows 45.6 FPS at 1080p, 32.6 FPS at 1440p, and 25.4 FPS at 4K.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count: going from 1080p to 4K quadruples the pixel workload, and the frame rates at 4K are approximately 42-58% of their 1080p values depending on the preset. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect smaller drops at higher resolutions, as the GPU would become more saturated. Instead, the consistent degradation across all settings suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER's compute throughput and memory bandwidth are being overwhelmed at higher resolutions.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely a contributing factor at 4K, where texture data exceeds what can be efficiently cached. The bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is also modest by modern standards, and the measured results suggest that this becomes a hard constraint at 4K Ultra, where the system can only manage 25.4 FPS. This analysis indicates that users should target 1080p or 1440p for the best experience with this hardware combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combination?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p provides the most consistent frame rates, with all presets ranging from 45.6 to 80 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium presets stay above 45 FPS. 4K is only playable at Low settings with 46 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 50,556, which is within 0.8% of its closest rivals: the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 (50,598, -0.1%), AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (50,738, -0.4%), Intel Core i7-13850HX (50,827, -0.5%), and Intel Core i9-13980HX (50,944, -0.8%).

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER a limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra, the system achieves only 25.4 FPS, and even at 4K High it drops to 26.7 FPS. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appear insufficient for high-resolution textures, making the GPU the bottleneck.

Q: What settings should I use for a smooth 1440p experience?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 49.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 45 FPS for that resolution. The High preset drops to 34.9 FPS, so Medium is recommended for 1440p.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 1,563 out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the lower 13% of all tested systems, reflecting the GPU's limited high-resolution performance.

Q: Does the CPU's performance help at lower resolutions?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 80 FPS, which is the highest measured result. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (6,168 in Cinebench R23) helps maintain high frame rates when the GPU is less stressed.