Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a top-tier experience, ranking 8th out of 2996 tested combos. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the processor's strength becomes evident at 1080p. This combination is exceptionally well-suited for the game's demanding simulation workloads, offering high frame rates across all presets, though the scaling pattern reveals where each component's contribution is most critical.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 247 FPS, which drops to 205 FPS at 1440p and 151 FPS at 4K. This represents a 38.9% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is still capable of pushing more frames but the GPU workload is increasing substantially.

The pattern becomes more pronounced at higher settings. With Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 142 FPS at 1080p to 114 FPS at 1440p (a 19.7% drop), and then to 84 FPS at 4K (a further 26.3% drop from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 40.8%, which is a clear sign that the RTX 5090 D is the primary limiting factor at 4K.

Interestingly, the scaling between Medium and High settings shows less dramatic resolution-based degradation. At Medium, the frame rates are 198 FPS (1080p), 159 FPS (1440p), and 118 FPS (4K), representing a 40.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High, the numbers are 149 FPS, 120 FPS, and 88 FPS, a 40.9% decline. This consistency across settings suggests that the rendering load scales linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a flight simulator where the scenery and terrain data are major contributors to GPU load.

The minimum FPS data available for Medium settings further reinforces the GPU-bound nature at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum is 168 FPS, which drops to 136 FPS at 1440p and 100 FPS at 4K. The minimum frame rates track the averages closely, indicating stable performance without significant stuttering or frame time spikes. This is crucial for flight simulation, where smoothness is often more important than raw peak frame rates.

The data suggests that for users targeting 4K, the RTX 5090 D is doing the heavy lifting, and the CPU headroom is largely untapped. At 1080p, however, the Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are more fully utilized, as evidenced by the 247 FPS Low setting result, which is nearly double the 4K Low result of 151 FPS. The scaling curve flattens as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU becomes the sole constraint at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 8 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 0.3% of all configurations tested, which is an exceptional result for a flight simulator that is known to be demanding on both CPU and GPU resources.

The CPU's standalone performance metrics support this high ranking. The Ryzen 9 9900X scores 32,172 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,253 in single-core, placing it in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015 (with a delta of -0.1%), the AMD EPYC 7313 (delta of 0.2%), the Intel Core i9-14900 (delta of -1.1%), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (delta of -1.4%). These small deltas indicate that the 9900X is tightly clustered with other high-end processors in synthetic benchmarks, but its real-world gaming performance in this simulator is what pushes the combo to rank 8.

The GPU also contributes significantly, ranking in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (delta of 1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (delta of -1.6%), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (delta of -2.1%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (delta of -2.4%). While these deltas are small, the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are likely the differentiators in a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which can load large texture sets for terrain and aircraft.

The rank of 8 out of 2996 is particularly impressive because flight simulators often reward CPUs with high single-thread performance and large caches. The 9900X's 64 MB of L3 cache and 5.60 GHz boost clock likely provide the necessary headroom to feed the RTX 5090 D at lower resolutions, while the GPU's massive memory pool prevents any texture streaming bottlenecks at higher settings. This synergy between the two components is what boosts the combo well above the median configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for maximum frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1080p with Low settings yields the highest average frame rate at 247 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High provides 120 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 84 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for a flight simulator, though users seeking higher refresh rates may need to drop to High settings, which yields 88 FPS at the same resolution.

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

A: Benchmark results indicate that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where frame rates drop by roughly 40% compared to 1080p across all settings. At 1080p, the CPU's capabilities are more fully utilized, as evidenced by the 247 FPS Low setting result.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 159 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS, while Ultra averages 114 FPS. This represents a 28.3% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Medium to Ultra.

Q: Does the combo provide stable frame rates?

A: The available minimum FPS data for Medium settings shows a 168 FPS minimum at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 100 FPS at 4K. These minimums are close to the averages, indicating stable performance without major frame drops.

Q: How does this combo compare to other configurations in the database?

A: This combo ranks 8th out of 2996 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile. The CPU and GPU both rank in the 92nd percentile individually, which correlates with the high overall ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance: 247 FPS on Low, 198 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 168 and maximum of 227), 149 FPS on High, and 142 FPS on Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 105 FPS, showing the significant impact of graphical settings on frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably. Low settings produce 205 FPS, Medium averages 159 FPS (minimum 136, maximum 183), High achieves 120 FPS, and Ultra drops to 114 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 91 FPS. The percentage reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent: approximately 17% for Low, 19.7% for Medium, 19.5% for High, and 19.7% for Ultra. This uniformity suggests that the GPU is handling the additional pixel load efficiently without introducing any CPU-related bottlenecks.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains playable across all presets. Low settings yield 151 FPS, Medium averages 118 FPS (minimum 100, maximum 135), High produces 88 FPS, and Ultra achieves 84 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 67 FPS. The reduction from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced: 26.3% for Low, 25.8% for Medium, 26.7% for High, and 26.3% for Ultra. This larger drop at 4K indicates that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily, as expected with four times the pixel count of 1080p.

The Medium settings data is the only preset with complete min/max information. At all three resolutions, the maximum frame rates are significantly higher than the averages: 227 vs 198 at 1080p, 183 vs 159 at 1440p, and 135 vs 118 at 4K. The minimum frame rates are 168, 136, and 100 respectively, showing that the combo maintains at least 100 FPS even at 4K on Medium settings. This suggests that the system has sufficient headroom to avoid frame rate dips during complex scenery loads or aircraft operations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D plays a critical role in this combo's performance, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, which are relatively high for a flagship card. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is likely essential for Microsoft Flight Simulator's large streaming world.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant for this game. Microsoft Flight Simulator loads massive amounts of terrain, photogrammetry, and aircraft model data. The 32 GB VRAM capacity means the RTX 5090 D can hold a substantial portion of the world data in memory, reducing the need for constant streaming from system RAM or storage. This is likely why the combo achieves 84 FPS at 4K Ultra, a resolution and setting combination that would cause many other GPUs to stutter or drop below playable frame rates.

The GPU's compute capabilities are also noteworthy. With 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores, the RTX 5090 D delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. While Microsoft Flight Simulator is not primarily a ray tracing-heavy game, the raw compute power allows for high-quality lighting and shadow effects without significant performance penalties. The GPU also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with the game's rendering API.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile, with an average score of 77,712. Its performance in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (14,326) and Geekbench Vulkan (376,915) indicates strong overall capability. The GPU's nearest rivals show small deltas (ranging from -2.4% to +1.1%), which suggests that the RTX 5090 D is at the top of its performance tier, but the real-world gaming advantage comes from its specific combination of memory capacity, bandwidth, and compute throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and performance priorities. For users with a 4K display, the Ultra preset provides 84 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth simulation. However, dropping to High settings yields 88 FPS, a modest 4.8% improvement that may not justify the visual downgrade. The Medium preset at 4K provides 118 FPS with a minimum of 100 FPS, which would be ideal for users with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors.

At 1440p, the High preset offers an excellent balance at 120 FPS. This is likely the sweet spot for most users, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (which runs at 159 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well above the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors. The Ultra preset at 114 FPS is also a strong choice, as the 5% reduction from High is unlikely to be perceptible during flight.

For 1080p users, the High preset at 149 FPS is recommended for the best visual quality without sacrificing performance. The Ultra preset at 142 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so users can choose based on their preference for slightly higher visual fidelity. The Low preset at 247 FPS would only be necessary for competitive play or esports scenarios, which are uncommon in flight simulation.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most consistent performer across all resolutions, with the only complete min/max data showing stable frame delivery. At 4K Medium, the 118 FPS average with a 100 FPS minimum ensures no noticeable stutters. Users who prioritize smoothness over maximum visual quality should consider Medium as their default preset, especially if they are using a variable refresh rate monitor where frame drops are more noticeable. For those who want the best visuals, Ultra is viable at 1440p and 1080p, but at 4K, the 84 FPS average may be borderline for users accustomed to higher frame rates in other titles.