Microsoft Flight Simulator

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor built on Raptor Lake-S architecture. It runs at a 3.40 GHz base clock and boosts up to 5.40 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The chip uses a hybrid design with 16 total cores, combining performance and efficiency cores to handle both lightly threaded and heavily threaded workloads. Its L3 cache is 30 MB shared, with 2 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it includes UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-13700K demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability. It scores 30,745 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 16,292 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. The single-core scores are equally notable: 2,116 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2,299 in R20. Geekbench results show 19,429 multi-core and 2,529 single-core. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1,136 single-thread to 12,412 max-threads, indicating the processor effectively utilizes its core count when workloads expand.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is substantial. Flight simulators are known for heavy simulation logic, physics calculations, and terrain processing that tax the processor heavily. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 126 FPS average, which is the highest figure in the entire measured dataset. This suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond typical flight sim requirements at lower resolutions. The 1080p Ultra setting drops to 70 FPS average, which still indicates headroom in the CPU for this title.

The CPU's percentile ranking versus all processors is 89, placing it in the top tier of available chips. Its average benchmark score is 46,881. When compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-13700K sits nearly level with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which scores 46,971 with a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47,022 with a -0.3% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46,654 with a +0.5% delta. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 also scores 46,653 with a +0.5% delta. These margins are negligible, meaning the i7-13700K is effectively tied with these alternatives in aggregate CPU performance.

Given the measured FPS patterns, the CPU appears to be a limiting factor primarily at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the gap between Low (126 FPS) and Ultra (70 FPS) is 56 FPS, a 44% drop. This scaling across settings at the same resolution indicates the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's demands, but the GPU becomes more stressed as settings increase. The CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample parallel processing for the simulation's background tasks, while the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz handles the primary game thread efficiently.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operations pipelines. It also includes 40 ray tracing cores. Clock speeds are a 1,900 MHz base, 2,459 MHz boost, and 2,041 MHz game clock. The memory runs at 2,438 MHz with 19.5 Gbps effective speed. Power consumption is rated at 200 W, with a dual-slot cooler requiring 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and the same 25.18 TFLOPS of FP16 performance in a 1:1 ratio. Pixel rate is 236.1 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 393.4 GTexel/s. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its physical dimensions are 267 mm in length, 135 mm in height, and 50 mm in width.

In GPU benchmarks, the RX 7700 scores 20,974 in Passmark G3D and 10,963 in Passmark GPU compute. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields 2,865. Geekbench OpenCL shows 106,028. The GPU's percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 58, placing it in the mid-range tier. Its average benchmark score is 15,852.

The nearest rivals show a tight cluster. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15,862 with a -0.1% delta, while the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16,014 with a -1% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15,679 with a +1.1% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129 with a -1.7% delta. These comparisons indicate the RX 7700 is performance-equivalent to these cards in aggregate benchmarks, though its 16 GB VRAM capacity is notably large for this class.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings rise. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 42 FPS average, while at 4K Low it reaches 75 FPS. This 33 FPS difference (44% drop) from Low to Ultra at 4K shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The 16 GB VRAM is substantial for a flight simulator that loads large textures and terrain data, and the 624.1 GB/s bandwidth supports high-resolution rendering without memory pressure.

The GPU's mid-range percentile ranking (58) aligns with the measured FPS results. At 1080p, the GPU handles the workload comfortably, with 126 FPS at Low and 74 FPS at High. The 1440p results show 102 FPS at Low and 60 FPS at High. The 4K results drop to 75 FPS at Low and 44 FPS at High. This scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data includes four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. Medium is the only preset with complete min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 98 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 67 FPS.

For 1080p, the High preset delivers 74 FPS average, which is 24 FPS lower than Medium but still smooth for most displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p gives 70 FPS average, only 4 FPS below High. The Low preset at 1080p yields 126 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium preset at 98 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, with the min FPS of 84 ensuring minimal stutter.

At 1440p, the High preset hits 60 FPS average, exactly at the standard 60 Hz refresh rate. The Medium preset at 79 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS. The Ultra preset at 57 FPS is marginally below 60 FPS, which could cause noticeable frame pacing issues. The Low preset at 102 FPS is unnecessary for most users unless competitive play is a priority. The Medium preset is the recommended choice at 1440p, as it delivers 79 FPS average with solid minimums.

At 4K, the High preset achieves 44 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenarios. The Medium preset at 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 FPS, is the best option for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS will feel sluggish, while the Low preset at 75 FPS sacrifices too much visual fidelity. The Medium preset provides the best experience at 4K, with a 59 FPS average that stays above 50 FPS even in demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1,324 out of 2,996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 56% of combos perform better and 44% perform worse. The rank of 1,324 is mid-pack, which is consistent with the CPU's high percentile (89) and the GPU's mid-range percentile (58).

The rank suggests the GPU holds back the overall combo performance in this game. The CPU alone would rank much higher, as its 89th percentile placement indicates top-tier capability. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking drags the combined result down. The 1,324 rank out of 2,996 reflects this imbalance: the combo is better than average but not exceptional for this flight simulator.

The measured FPS data corroborates this ranking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 126 FPS, which is strong for a flight simulator. However, at 4K Ultra, the 42 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider smooth. The ranking of 1,324 implies that many combos with more powerful GPUs outperform this configuration at higher resolutions, while combos with weaker CPUs but similar GPUs may score lower.

The data shows that the combo's performance is resolution-dependent. At 1080p, the rank would likely be higher due to the CPU's strength. At 4K, the rank drops because the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The overall rank of 1,324 represents an average across all tested scenarios, balancing the CPU's strength at lower resolutions against the GPU's limitations at higher ones.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 126 at 1080p to 102 at 1440p, then to 75 at 4K. This represents a 19% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 26% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 51 FPS, a 40% reduction.

At Medium settings, the FPS goes from 98 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p to 59 at 4K. The drops are 19% and 25% respectively, with a total reduction of 39 FPS (40%). At High settings, the FPS goes from 74 at 1080p to 60 at 1440p to 44 at 4K. This is a 19% drop to 1440p and a 27% drop to 4K, totaling 30 FPS (41%). At Ultra settings, the FPS goes from 70 at 1080p to 57 at 1440p to 42 at 4K, with drops of 19% and 26%, totaling 28 FPS (40%).

The consistent percentage drops across all settings—approximately 19% from 1080p to 1440p and 26% from 1440p to 4K—indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by 125% from 1440p to 4K. The FPS drops do not scale linearly with pixel count, suggesting the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions.

The CPU's role in this scaling is secondary. At 1080p Low, the 126 FPS average suggests the CPU can push far beyond this figure, as the GPU is not rendering many pixels. As resolution increases, the GPU workload grows, and the FPS drops proportionally. The CPU's performance remains constant, but the GPU's rendering time per frame increases. This pattern confirms that the RX 7700 is the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, while the i7-13700K provides sufficient headroom.

The subtle variation in percentage drops—19% to 1440p and 26-27% to 4K across all settings—shows that the limiting component is consistent regardless of quality preset. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s and its 2,560 shading units are the constraining factors at higher resolutions. The CPU's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock are not the bottleneck in this game at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 126 FPS average
• Medium: 98 FPS average, 84 FPS minimum, 113 FPS maximum
• High: 74 FPS average
• Ultra: 70 FPS average

The Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest FPS in the entire dataset at 126. The Medium preset provides 98 FPS with a tight range between 84 and 113 FPS, indicating stable performance. The High preset at 74 FPS is 24 FPS below Medium, showing a significant visual quality cost. The Ultra preset at 70 FPS is only 4 FPS below High, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest settings.

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 102 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average, 67 FPS minimum, 91 FPS maximum
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

The Low preset at 1440p drops to 102 FPS, still a high frame rate. The Medium preset at 79 FPS has a minimum of 67 FPS, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 60 FPS exactly hits the standard refresh rate, but any dips could cause visible stutter. The Ultra preset at 57 FPS is below 60, making it less desirable for smooth gameplay.

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 75 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum, 67 FPS maximum
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

The Low preset at 4K reaches 75 FPS, which is playable but visually sparse. The Medium preset at 59 FPS average has a minimum of 50 FPS, which is the lowest minimum in the dataset. The High preset at 44 FPS and the Ultra preset at 42 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset only 2 FPS lower than High. The Medium preset at 4K is the only setting that maintains an average near 60 FPS.

The complete dataset shows that the combo performs best at 1080p Medium, where it achieves 98 FPS with an 84 FPS minimum. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 79 FPS is the sweet spot. At 4K, the Medium preset at 59 FPS is the only viable option for near-60 FPS gameplay. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are too demanding for this GPU, while the Low presets at any resolution sacrifice too much visual quality for marginal FPS gains.