Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This combination ranks 296th out of 1795 tested combos in the database. That places it in the top 16.5% of all tested configurations for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an average benchmark score of 71660. It is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71056), 1.8% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420), and 2.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70104). It trails the Intel Xeon 6517P by 1.9% (73050).

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576. It is essentially tied with the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653, -0.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, -0.3%). It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991) and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897).

Q: What is the best average FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 185.5 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 57.7 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the measured FPS data from actual testing, and what does that mean?

A: The data is marked as "dataIsMeasured: true". This means the FPS figures come from direct benchmark runs rather than estimates, providing concrete performance values for this specific hardware pairing in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for the CPU in this combo?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D has 16 cores and 32 threads. It is based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) and uses the AMD Socket AM5 platform.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the graphics engine driving frame output in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is critical for a flight sim, which streams large textures and terrain data. The data shows the GPU handles the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 with a 57.7 average FPS, indicating the memory subsystem is sufficient for 4K Ultra, though frame rates dip close to the lower bound of smooth playability.

The GPU operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. It contains 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present but less directly relevant for this game's traditional rasterization load. The card's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is substantial, but the measured data suggests the bottleneck at higher resolutions shifts partially toward the GPU. In the 3840x2160 Ultra run, the average FPS of 57.7 is only 56% of the 103.1 average seen at 1920x1080 Ultra, showing the GPU's workload scaling with pixel count.

The GPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores nearly identically at 42653 (-0.2% difference). The AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is also within 0.3% at 42723. This means the 4070 SUPER sits in a tightly contested performance band where small architectural differences, not raw compute, dictate real-world deltas. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at 4K, where the gap between Low (107.3 FPS) and Ultra (57.7 FPS) settings at 3840x2160 is 49.6 FPS, a 46% reduction purely from graphical load.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz. The 128 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature for gaming workloads, and in Microsoft Flight Simulator, this cache can hold more of the simulation's active data set, reducing memory latency stalls.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong across the board. In Cinebench R23, it scores 59712 multi-core and 8430 single-core. The Geekbench multi-core score is 22515, and the single-core is 3401. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile among all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, which it beats by 1.8%, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which it beats by 2.2%. The 0.9% lead over the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 shows the 9950X3D is competitive even against server-class silicon.

In this game, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo hits 185.5 average FPS, while at 3840x2160 Low, it drops to 107.3. That 78.2 FPS difference is a 42% reduction. Since the Low preset minimizes GPU load, the CPU's ability to feed the simulation's draw calls and physics calculations is what allows such high frame rates at 1080p. The 16 cores help with background simulation tasks, while the single-thread performance (8430 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures the main render thread stays ahead of the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, yielding twelve data points. All figures are average FPS.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 185.5 FPS on Low, 140.8 on Medium, 108.8 on High, and 103.1 on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 82.4 FPS, a 44% reduction. The step from Medium to High costs 32.0 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 5.7 FPS. This indicates diminishing returns beyond High settings at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are 145.3 (Low), 113.8 (Medium), 86.3 (High), and 79.9 (Ultra). The Low-to-Ultra delta is 65.4 FPS, a 45% reduction. Medium to High drops 27.5 FPS, and High to Ultra drops 6.4 FPS. The pattern mirrors 1080p, but the absolute values are lower across the board, showing resolution scaling pressure.

At 3840x2160, the results are 107.3 (Low), 83.2 (Medium), 60.2 (High), and 57.7 (Ultra). The Low-to-Ultra delta is 49.6 FPS, a 46% reduction. Medium to High costs 23.0 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 2.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 57.7 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS reading in the entire dataset, making it the sole point where the combo dips below standard vsync thresholds.

The data shows consistency: the percentage loss from Low to Ultra is nearly identical across resolutions (44%, 45%, 46%). This suggests the settings scaling is proportional rather than resolution-dependent. However, the absolute FPS at 4K Ultra (57.7) is only 31% of the 1080p Low figure (185.5), indicating that pixel count is the dominant factor in frame rate reduction.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 296th out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a top 16.5% placement. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs combine to place this build in the upper quartile of tested systems for this game.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270, scores 0.9% lower in average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, a non-3D V-Cache variant, is 1.8% behind. This shows the 3D V-Cache advantage is measurable but not overwhelming in aggregate benchmarks. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, is only 0.2% behind, making the GPU pairing effectively a tie in compute potential.

Given the combo rank, this system sits above the median tested configuration. The rank of 296 out of 1795 means 1499 other combos score lower. This places the build in the top tier, but not the absolute elite — there are 295 combos that achieve higher performance in this specific game. The bottleneck analysis from the FPS data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, while the CPU has more headroom at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the High preset (108.8 FPS) offers a strong balance. The Ultra preset (103.1 FPS) is only 5.7 FPS slower, making it a viable option for users who prioritize visual fidelity over the small frame rate loss.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (86.3 FPS) is the recommended choice. Medium (113.8 FPS) is smoother but sacrifices visual quality. The Ultra preset (79.9 FPS) is still playable but approaches the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable. The gap between High and Ultra is 6.4 FPS, which is minor, so Ultra is acceptable for users with adaptive sync displays.

At 3840x2160, the High preset (60.2 FPS) is the best balance. The Ultra preset (57.7 FPS) dips just below 60 FPS, which can cause stutter on fixed-refresh displays. The Medium preset (83.2 FPS) provides a comfortable margin for 4K gaming. The Low preset (107.3 FPS) is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rate over all visual quality.

Overall, the High preset across all resolutions delivers the most consistent experience. The data shows that High-to-Ultra differences are small (2.5 to 6.4 FPS), while Medium-to-High differences are larger (23.0 to 32.0 FPS). This suggests the High preset captures most of the visual quality without the performance penalty of Ultra. For users with 144 Hz or higher refresh monitors at 1080p, the Medium preset (140.8 FPS) is a better match for frame rate targets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not uniform across settings. At Low settings, the drop is from 185.5 (1080p) to 107.3 (4K), a 42% reduction. At Medium, it goes from 140.8 to 83.2, a 41% reduction. At High, it goes from 108.8 to 60.2, a 45% reduction. At Ultra, it goes from 103.1 to 57.7, a 44% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops (41-45%) indicates that resolution scaling is linear across all settings presets. This is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the percentage drop would be smaller at higher resolutions because the CPU workload would remain constant while the GPU workload increased. The data shows the opposite: the percentage drop is slightly larger at High and Ultra settings, where the GPU is doing more work.

The 1440p results provide a midpoint reference. At High settings, 1440p (86.3 FPS) is 79% of the 1080p figure (108.8 FPS), while 4K (60.2 FPS) is 55% of the 1080p figure. This translates to a 20.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. The larger drop in the 1440p-to-4K transition further confirms the GPU's role as the limiting component at higher resolutions.

The CPU's 16-core, 32-thread configuration with 128 MB of L3 cache is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, evidenced by the 185.5 FPS Low result. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload scales with pixel count, eventually dominating the frame time budget at 4K. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of VRAM is adequate for all tested presets, as no out-of-memory stutters are indicated by the smooth average FPS deltas between resolutions.