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 (codenamed Raphael) using a 5 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, backed by a 64 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core. This configuration places the CPU in the 91st percentile among all tested processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 53,288.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is heavily tied to simulation logic, physics, and the streaming of terrain and aircraft systems. The game is known for its demanding single-thread and multi-thread workloads, especially when flying over dense scenery or using complex aircraft. The 7900X's high boost clock of 5.60 GHz helps with the game's primary simulation thread, while the 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, AI traffic, and weather simulation.

The recorded data shows that in this CPU-GPU combo, frame rates scale noticeably with resolution and settings, which indicates that the CPU is not the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 183 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. Even at 4K with Low settings, the system maintains 109 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently across a wide range of scenarios.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the 7900X sits close to the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Xeon 634 (0.6% higher). It trails the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 0.3% and the Intel Core i7-14700F by 0.6%. These small deltas indicate that the 7900X is competitively positioned for multi-threaded workloads, though the differences are minor in practical gaming terms.

The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5, is strong for a flight simulator, which relies heavily on a few primary threads for the core simulation loop. The PassMark single-thread score of 4238 further confirms solid per-core capability. The 7900X also demonstrates strong multi-thread throughput with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29,300 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19,267.

In this game, the measured FPS at 1080p High is 107, which is only slightly lower than the 1080p Low result of 183 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU begins to take on more load as settings increase, but the CPU remains capable of maintaining high frame rates. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes further, with the bottleneck shifting almost entirely to the GPU.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process, with a chip designated AD104. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The card includes 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, 80 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores.

In the database, the RTX 4070 SUPER ranks in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43,223. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.2% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (1% higher). These small deltas suggest that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER is a strong performer in its class, though mobile and workstation variants can edge it out slightly.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role is primarily in rendering terrain, buildings, weather effects, and lighting. The game is visually intensive, especially at higher resolutions and with Ultra settings, where the demand on VRAM and shading units increases sharply. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's needs at 1080p and 1440p, and even at 4K, the measured results show solid performance.

At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 102 FPS, which is only 5 FPS lower than High settings (107 FPS). This indicates that the GPU can handle the extra graphical load without major frame rate drops at 1080p. At 1440p, the gap widens: High delivers 86 FPS, Medium 115 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra setting drops to 61 FPS, while High manages 64 FPS and Medium 85 FPS.

The 4K results highlight the GPU's limits. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 61, which is barely above 60 FPS, and the lack of a recorded minimum FPS suggests potential variability. The 4K Medium setting with a minimum FPS of 72 and maximum of 98 shows more consistent performance. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is capable of 4K gaming in this title, but only at Medium settings for a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

The GPU's compute performance, as measured by PassMark G3D score of 29,995 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 205,624, reflects strong raw capability. The FP32 throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s support the game's rendering demands. The 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's texture streaming, though higher resolutions and Ultra settings will stress the memory subsystem more.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions. At Low settings, the combo delivers 183 FPS at 1080p, 148 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K. This represents a drop of 19.1% from 1080p to 1440p, and another 26.4% from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 40.4%, which is substantial but not as steep as at higher settings.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 107 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 19.6%, and from 1440p to 4K is 25.6%, for a total reduction of 40.2% from 1080p to 4K. This nearly identical percentage drop at Low and High settings suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at both settings, as the CPU headroom is sufficient to maintain similar relative performance.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly different: 143 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 19.6%, and from 1440p to 4K is 26.1%, totaling 40.6% from 1080p to 4K. The minimum FPS values at Medium also scale: 121 at 1080p, 98 at 1440p, and 72 at 4K, indicating that the worst-case frame rates follow the same trend.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is the steepest: 102 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 19.6%, and from 1440p to 4K is 25.6%, totaling 40.2%. This consistency across all settings strongly indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution, as the CPU's contribution to frame rate scaling is minimal.

The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) is a key finding. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect larger percentage drops at lower resolutions where the CPU has more influence, but the data shows the opposite. The GPU's rendering load scales directly with the number of pixels, and the measured FPS drops align closely with the increased pixel count from 1080p (2.07 million pixels) to 1440p (3.69 million) to 4K (8.29 million).

The 4K results are particularly telling. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 61, which is right at the edge of playable for a flight simulator. At 4K High, it is 64 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 85 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K (85 to 64 FPS) represents a 24.7% drop, while the jump from High to Ultra (64 to 61 FPS) is only 4.7%. This suggests that Ultra settings at 4K push the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth to their limits, while the transition from Medium to High has a more significant impact.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings is 102.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to the RTX 4090 Mobile in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43,223, which is 1% lower than the RTX 4090 Mobile's average score of 43,667.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 1440p with Medium settings is 98, with a maximum of 132.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as FPS drops consistently across settings when moving from 1080p to 4K, with nearly identical percentage reductions.

Q: What is the Ryzen 9 7900X's percentile ranking among all CPUs?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs in the database.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, using 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's measured results for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this specific combo of AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 587th out of 3,714 tested combinations. This places it in the top 15.8% of all recorded combos, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end desktop pairing.

The rank reflects the combo's ability to maintain high frame rates across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers between 102 and 183 FPS depending on settings, which is well above typical playable thresholds. At 1440p, the range is 82 to 148 FPS, and at 4K, it is 61 to 109 FPS. These figures are competitive for a system of this class.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking both contribute to the combo's overall position. The CPU is slightly above the GPU in relative performance, which is consistent with the finding that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's high single-thread score (2016.5 in Cinebench R23) helps maintain frame pacing, while the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth handle the game's texture and geometry loads.

Compared to the database's full set of combos, this pairing is not at the top tier, but it is far above the median. The rank of 587 out of 3,714 means that the majority of tested combos (3,127 of them) perform worse in this game. This is a solid result for a system that pairs a 12-core desktop CPU with a mid-range Ada Lovelace GPU.

The proximity of the GPU's nearest rivals (all within 1% in average benchmark score) suggests that small variations in GPU performance can shift the combo's rank slightly. The RTX 4070 SUPER's score of 43,223 is nearly identical to the Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268), meaning that the combo's rank could change if the GPU were swapped for one of these alternatives. However, the 7900X's strong CPU performance provides a stable foundation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how each preset performs across resolutions. The database records results for Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

At 1080p, all settings deliver playable frame rates. Low achieves 183 FPS, Medium 143 FPS, High 107 FPS, and Ultra 102 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS, which means Ultra is a reasonable choice for users with 1080p displays who want maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The 102 FPS at Ultra is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the lack of a recorded minimum suggests stable performance.

At 1440p, the differences become more significant. Low delivers 148 FPS, Medium 115 FPS, High 86 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 29 FPS (25.2%), while the drop from High to Ultra is only 4 FPS (4.7%). This indicates that High settings offer the best balance at 1440p: 86 FPS is playable, and the visual improvement over Medium is likely noticeable. Ultra at 82 FPS is also playable, but the margin above 60 FPS is thinner.

At 4K, the choice of settings is critical. Low delivers 109 FPS, Medium 85 FPS, High 64 FPS, and Ultra 61 FPS. The Medium setting with a minimum FPS of 72 and maximum of 98 provides the most consistent experience at 4K, with an average of 85 FPS. High at 64 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom, and Ultra at 61 FPS sits right at the edge of playable. For a flight simulator, where smoothness and consistency matter for long sessions, Medium at 4K is the recommended preset.

The data shows that the best experience per the measured rows is at 1440p with High settings, where the average FPS of 86 is high enough for smooth gameplay and the visual quality is strong. At 1080p, Ultra is the best choice for maximum quality, as the 102 FPS average remains well above the playable threshold. At 4K, Medium is the safest option, as it provides the highest average FPS (85) with a minimum of 72, ensuring no major frame rate drops.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, 1080p Low at 183 FPS or 1440p Low at 148 FPS are the fastest options. For those prioritizing visual fidelity, 1080p Ultra at 102 FPS or 1440p Ultra at 82 FPS are viable. The 4K Ultra setting at 61 FPS is only recommended for users who accept a minimal margin above 60 FPS, as the data shows no recorded minimum for that setting, which could indicate potential dips below the average.