Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with frame rates ranging from 33 FPS at 4K Ultra to 101 FPS at 1080p Low. The data reveals a system where the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance ensures that even the heaviest settings remain bound by graphics throughput rather than processor limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 101 FPS at 1080p to 81 FPS at 1440p, then to 60 FPS at 4K — a total reduction of roughly 40% from the lowest to highest resolution. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the system retains enough headroom at 1080p to push well above 100 FPS, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth begin to limit throughput as pixel count increases.

Moving to Medium settings, the same resolution progression yields 78 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The frame rate drops are nearly linear, suggesting that the GPU is the dominant factor at these settings; the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are not yet saturated. At High settings, the pattern continues: 59 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 12 FPS is identical to the Medium settings drop, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of this workload.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario, with 56 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The spread from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 23 FPS, which is proportionally smaller than at Low settings (41 FPS spread), indicating that at Ultra settings the GPU is already near its limit even at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS falls below the 35 FPS High 4K result, showing that the Ultra preset's additional graphical demands cost roughly 6% performance at that resolution. Overall, the scaling data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component across all resolutions, with the Ryzen 9 7900X providing ample headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% faster), AMD Radeon RX 460 (1.5% slower), and Intel Arc A770M (1.6% slower). This places the RTX 2060 SUPER in a competitive mid-range position, though its Turing architecture and 12 nm process node (TSMC) are older than the newer offerings in the market.

The GPU's memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the 8 GB pool may become a limiting factor. The measured 4K High average of 35 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 33 FPS suggest that the GPU is both memory-bandwidth and compute constrained at these resolutions. The base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs provide adequate throughput for a flight simulator that emphasizes draw distance and texture detail over rapid frame-to-frame changes.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure that Microsoft Flight Simulator can utilize modern rendering features. However, the RTX 2060 SUPER's ray tracing cores (34 RT cores) and tensor cores (272) are not heavily leveraged in this title, which explains why the card's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the more relevant metric. The measured FPS numbers across all settings and resolutions indicate that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck, as evidenced by the steep performance drops when moving from 1080p to 4K at identical settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2571 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The percentile position reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER's mid-range standing (62nd percentile among all GPUs) combined with the Ryzen 9 7900X's high-end processor performance (91st percentile among all CPUs). The GPU is the weaker link in this pairing, and the combo ranking reflects that imbalance.

The Ryzen 9 7900X's average benchmark score of 53288 places it just ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.2% faster) and Intel Xeon 634 (0.6% faster), while trailing the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% slower) and Intel Core i7-14700F (0.6% slower). This CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combo, as its 12-core, 24-thread configuration with a 5.60 GHz boost clock provides far more processing power than the GPU can feed. The combo's rank of 2571 out of 3714 suggests that many other GPU pairings with this CPU would achieve better frame rates, but within the constraints of the RTX 2060 SUPER, the results are consistent with the GPU's capabilities.

Benchmark results indicate that the combo's performance is heavily influenced by the GPU's 62nd percentile standing. In practical terms, this means that users upgrading from a weaker GPU would see significant gains, while those expecting the Ryzen 9 7900X's high-end status to boost the RTX 2060 SUPER's output would be disappointed. The data suggests that this pairing is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where the GPU can maintain respectable frame rates without being overwhelmed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 101 FPS, Medium settings 78 FPS (with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 90 FPS), High settings 59 FPS, and Ultra settings 56 FPS. The gap between Medium and High (19 FPS) is larger than the gap between High and Ultra (3 FPS), indicating that the High preset captures most of the visual fidelity improvements without a proportional performance cost. The 1080p results show that the RTX 2060 SUPER can maintain smooth frame rates at all but the most demanding settings, with Ultra remaining above 55 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings yield 81 FPS, Medium 63 FPS (minimum 54 FPS, maximum 73 FPS), High 47 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The 1440p results show a tighter spread between settings — only 36 FPS separates Low from Ultra, compared to 45 FPS at 1080p. This compression indicates that the GPU is becoming the binding constraint, and further visual fidelity increases yield diminishing returns. The Medium preset at 1440p, with its 63 FPS average, offers the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, while High and Ultra both dip below 50 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings. Low settings produce 60 FPS, Medium 47 FPS (minimum 40 FPS, maximum 54 FPS), High 35 FPS, and Ultra 33 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that this GPU is not well-suited for ultra-high-definition gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with only the Low preset achieving a consistent 60 FPS. The Medium preset's 47 FPS average is borderline playable, but the 40 FPS minimum suggests occasional stutters during complex scenes. High and Ultra presets both fall below 36 FPS, which is generally considered the threshold for smooth gameplay in simulation titles.

The measured data also shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER's performance degrades more steeply from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. For example, at High settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 12 FPS (59 to 47), while the 1440p-to-4K drop is also 12 FPS (47 to 35). This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are evenly taxed across resolution increases, with no sudden cliff in performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process node at TSMC. It features a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. Its 170 W TDP and AMD Socket AM5 compatibility position it as a high-end desktop processor, and its benchmark scores reflect that status: a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 53288.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle the simulation's complex physics, flight model calculations, and world-streaming logic, which are highly multi-threaded. The Ryzen 9 7900X's 12 cores and 24 threads provide substantial headroom, as evidenced by the measured FPS data showing GPU-bound behavior at all resolutions. The processor's multi-threaded benchmark scores — including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29300 and a Passmark multithread score of 51406 — demonstrate its ability to handle simultaneous workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's single-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4238. This is relevant because Microsoft Flight Simulator relies on a primary simulation thread for many core game functions. However, the measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation: even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system achieves 101 FPS, which is well within the CPU's capability. The nearest CPU rivals — the AMD EPYC 7313P, Intel Xeon Phi 7290, Intel Xeon 634, and Intel Core i7-14700F — all have similar average scores, confirming that the Ryzen 9 7900X is not an outlier in either direction.

The 64 MB of shared L3 cache is particularly beneficial for flight simulation, as it allows the CPU to cache terrain data and object models that are frequently accessed during flight. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support, with 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, ensures that data flows quickly between the CPU and memory, reducing potential stutters during rapid world loading. Overall, the CPU's role in this combo is to provide a stable, high-performance foundation that never limits the GPU's output.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the most comfortable resolution, with all settings except Ultra staying above 59 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium settings provide 63 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 47 FPS and 45 FPS respectively. 4K is only playable at Low settings (60 FPS) or Medium settings (47 FPS).

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, placing it 0.4% behind the RTX 3060 Mobile, 0.5% behind the Radeon Pro 5700, 1.5% ahead of the Radeon RX 460, and 1.6% ahead of the Arc A770M. Its 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its mid-range position.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The benchmark results show GPU-bound behavior at every resolution and settings combination. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and strong multi-threaded scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multicore of 29300) indicate it has ample headroom, with the GPU being the limiting factor.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 47 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but may be acceptable for a flight simulator, where frame rate consistency is less critical than in fast-paced action games.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RTX 2060 SUPER cause issues at 4K?

A: The data suggests that 4K performance is limited, with only Low settings achieving 60 FPS and Ultra dropping to 33 FPS. While the 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, the 4K results indicate that memory capacity and bandwidth are likely contributing to the low frame rates.

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

A: This combo ranks 2571 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range performance, as the CPU is significantly more capable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset (59 FPS) offers a strong balance of visual quality and smoothness, while Ultra (56 FPS) provides only a marginal improvement at a 3 FPS cost. For users prioritizing frame rate, the Medium preset at 78 FPS is the best choice, as it delivers a substantial 19 FPS improvement over High with only a moderate reduction in visual fidelity. Low settings at 1080p (101 FPS) are only recommended for competitive play or when maximum frame rate is essential.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (63 FPS) is the clear recommendation, as it maintains a smooth frame rate while still offering decent visual quality. The High preset (47 FPS) drops below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel less responsive, while Ultra (45 FPS) offers no meaningful benefit over High. The Low preset (81 FPS) is viable for users who prioritize performance over visuals, but the Medium preset provides a better overall experience.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset (60 FPS) is the only setting that achieves a consistent 60 FPS average. The Medium preset (47 FPS, with a 40 FPS minimum) is borderline playable but may experience noticeable stutters during complex scenes. High (35 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) are not recommended for 4K gaming, as the frame rates fall below the smoothness threshold. For users who insist on 4K with higher settings, the data suggests that a more powerful GPU would be necessary, as the RTX 2060 SUPER is clearly the limiting factor at this resolution. Given the measured results, the best overall experience for most users would be 1080p High (59 FPS) or 1440p Medium (63 FPS), depending on monitor resolution and personal preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate.