Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Intel Arc B370 shows a steep, predictable drop as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 50 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 41 FPS, a 9 FPS loss. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 30 FPS, which is exactly 20 FPS below the 1080p Low figure. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets.

Looking at High settings, the scaling is similar: 30 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings start at 28 FPS at 1080p, drop to 23 FPS at 1440p, and bottom out at 17 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow the same trajectory, with 39 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K.

What this scaling pattern tells you is that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing. The Intel Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% higher), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% higher), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% higher). This is an integrated-class part, and it shows. The 1080p to 4K delta of roughly 40% at Low settings (50 to 30 FPS) is characteristic of a GPU that runs out of pixel throughput long before the CPU breaks a sweat.

The CPU in this combo, by contrast, is anything but weak. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 75779. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (75738, 0.1% lower), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (75716, 0.1% lower), AMD EPYC 8224P (75582, 0.3% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (75488, 0.4% lower). The data indicates this CPU has massive headroom in flight sim, but the Arc B370 cannot feed it.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: if you want playable frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator with this GPU, 1080p is the only realistic target. The 4K numbers are all below 30 FPS regardless of settings, with Ultra at 17 FPS and High at 18 FPS. Even at 1440p, only Low settings clear 40 FPS, with Medium at 32 FPS and High at 24 FPS. This is a GPU-bound scenario, and resolution scaling confirms it.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined rank for this CPU/GPU pairing in Microsoft Flight Simulator is 3428 out of 3714 tested combos. That places this combo in the bottom 8% of all configurations in the database for this game. The data is measured, not estimated, so these are actual results from running the benchmark.

To contextualize that rank, consider the individual components. The CPU alone is a top-tier part — 95th percentile with an average benchmark score of 75779. The GPU, however, is at the 5th percentile with an average score of 1184. When you pair a near-top CPU with a near-bottom GPU, the composite rank reflects the weaker link, and that is exactly what the 3428/3714 ranking shows.

The rank gap between this combo and better configurations is substantial. Being 286 spots from the bottom means there are roughly 286 combos that perform worse, but over 3400 that perform better. In practical terms, this pairing is suited for low-resolution, low-settings play in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the data supports that conclusion.

Interestingly, the CPU's benchmark profile suggests it could drive far better results with a different GPU. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 42018 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2259 in single-core. Its 3DMark scores scale well from 1292 single-thread to 17184 max-threads. None of that matters here because the Arc B370 caps the frame rate. The combo rank is a reminder that a balanced system matters more than any single component's strength.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K averages of 17 FPS at Ultra, 18 FPS at High, 23 FPS at Medium, and 30 FPS at Low. None of these reach a smooth 60 FPS, and only Low settings approach playable territory.

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

A: 1080p produces the highest frame rates across all settings, with Low at 50 FPS, Medium at 39 FPS, High at 30 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. This is the only resolution where any preset exceeds 40 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower).

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9950X3D a strong CPU for this game?

A: The CPU sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 75779. It has 16 cores and 32 threads, which provides substantial headroom, but the GPU limits actual game performance.

Q: What frame rates does Medium settings provide?

A: Medium settings yield 39 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The minimum and maximum recorded at these resolutions are 33/45 at 1080p, 27/36 at 1440p, and 20/27 at 4K.

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

A: It ranks 3428 out of 3714 combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the bottom percentile of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results are as follows. Low settings average 50 FPS. Medium settings average 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45. High settings average 30 FPS. Ultra settings average 28 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 22 FPS, which is the largest gap of any resolution tier, indicating that the GPU's limited pixel throughput is the main constraint even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the numbers step down. Low settings average 41 FPS. Medium settings average 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 36. High settings average 24 FPS. Ultra settings average 23 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread here is 18 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p because the GPU is already closer to its ceiling at every preset.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low settings average 30 FPS. Medium settings average 23 FPS, with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 27. High settings average 18 FPS. Ultra settings average 17 FPS. This is the only resolution where even Low settings fail to reach 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 17 FPS is effectively a slideshow.

The data includes minimum FPS only for Medium settings at each resolution — 33 at 1080p, 27 at 1440p, and 20 at 4K. These minimums confirm that frame pacing is relatively stable at Medium, which is useful for understanding what a playable experience might look like. The minimums are within 6 FPS of the averages, suggesting that Medium settings do not produce severe stutter.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the scaling is consistent. Ultra at 1080p (28 FPS) beats Low at 4K (30 FPS) by only 2 FPS, which shows that resolution has a larger impact than preset level for this GPU. High at 1080p (30 FPS) matches Low at 4K (30 FPS) exactly. Medium at 1440p (32 FPS) beats High at 1080p (30 FPS) by 2 FPS, highlighting the tradeoff between resolution and quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 128 MB of L3 total. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and includes Radeon Graphics as integrated graphics.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. Cinebench R23 scores are 42018 multi-core and 2259 single-core. Geekbench scores are 26736 multi-core and 3064 single-core. 3DMark results scale from 1292 single-thread, 2549 for 2 threads, 4963 for 4 threads, 9259 for 8 threads, 16374 for 16 threads, and 17184 for max threads. PassMark multi-thread is 70255 and single-thread is 4737.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is largely underutilized because the Intel Arc B370 is the bottleneck. The game is known to be CPU-intensive in complex scenarios, and this CPU has the raw throughput to handle those. But the measured FPS data shows that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, not CPU load. The 95th percentile CPU ranking versus the 5th percentile GPU ranking makes the imbalance clear.

The 128 MB of L3 cache is substantial and could benefit flight sim scenarios that stream large amounts of terrain and aircraft data. The 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample parallelism for background tasks and OS overhead. The boost clock of 5.70 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is often the limiter in simulation games. None of this matters in practice when the GPU cannot deliver more than 50 FPS at 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings depend on your target frame rate and resolution tolerance. If you want the smoothest experience, 1080p Low is the only configuration that exceeds 50 FPS, hitting 50 FPS exactly. This is the configuration that gives the GPU the least work to do, and it is the only one approaching a 60 FPS target.

For a balance of visual quality and playability, 1080p Medium is the best choice. It averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45. The frame pacing is stable, and the visual upgrade from Low to Medium in Microsoft Flight Simulator is noticeable in terrain detail and lighting. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 32 FPS with a minimum of 27, which may be acceptable if you prefer higher resolution over smoothness.

Avoid Ultra settings at any resolution. The highest Ultra result is 28 FPS at 1080p, and that drops to 23 FPS at 1440p and 17 FPS at 4K. The visual gains from Ultra over High or Medium are marginal in this game, but the frame rate cost is severe. High settings at 1080p (30 FPS) and 1440p (24 FPS) are also below the 30 FPS threshold at 1440p, making Medium the practical ceiling.

If you are targeting 4K, Low settings at 30 FPS is the only option that clears 25 FPS. Medium at 4K averages 23 FPS, and anything higher is below 20 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable target for this combo, regardless of settings. For the best experience, prioritize 1080p and stay at Medium or below. The measured data supports this as the sweet spot, with 1080p Medium providing the best combination of frame rate and visual fidelity.