Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows a wide spread of average frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers 117.9 FPS on Low settings, 93.3 FPS on Medium, 71.7 FPS on High, and 68.9 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 49 FPS, which indicates that the preset scaling at 1080p is substantial, but even the most demanding setting remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern continues with lower overall numbers. Low settings produce 92.8 FPS, Medium drops to 76.6 FPS, High falls to 53.9 FPS, and Ultra lands at 51 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 41.8 FPS, slightly tighter than at 1080p, but the key shift is that High and Ultra now fall below 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results compress further: Low settings yield 69.9 FPS, Medium produces 52.4 FPS, High manages 39.9 FPS, and Ultra reaches 40.2 FPS. Interestingly, Ultra at 4K is actually 0.3 FPS faster than High at 4K, a negligible difference that suggests both presets are bound by the same bottleneck at this resolution.

The data does not include minimum or maximum frame rate values, so the analysis relies entirely on average FPS. That said, the averages are consistent across the resolution ladder, with each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reducing performance in a predictable manner. At 1080p, all four presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra holding a 8.9 FPS margin. At 1440p, only Low and Medium stay above the threshold, with Medium leaving a 16.6 FPS buffer. At 4K, only Low crosses 60 FPS, and it does so with a 9.9 FPS margin. No preset at 4K other than Low is playable by the database's 60 FPS standard.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU likely plays a significant role, especially on Low settings where the GPU has less work to do. The 117.9 FPS result at 1080p Low is the highest recorded value in the entire set, and the fact that it drops to 92.8 FPS at 1440p Low (a 21.3% reduction) while falling to 69.9 FPS at 4K Low (a 40.7% reduction from 1080p) indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as pixel count rises.

The Medium preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 93.3 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 76.6 FPS, a 17.9% decrease. At 4K Medium, it falls to 52.4 FPS, a 43.8% decrease from 1080p. These percentages are close to the Low preset scaling, which suggests that the GPU load scales with resolution in a consistent manner regardless of preset, at least up to Medium. The High preset shows a steeper drop: 71.7 FPS at 1080p, 53.9 FPS at 1440p (24.8% lower), and 39.9 FPS at 4K (44.4% lower). Ultra follows a similar trajectory: 68.9 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p (26% lower), and 40.2 FPS at 4K (41.7% lower).

The fact that High and Ultra at 1440p sit below 60 FPS while Medium at 1440p sits above suggests that the RTX 4060's rendering load, not the Ryzen 5 2600's processing power, is the limiting factor at these settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would not scale as cleanly with resolution. The 4K results reinforce this: the difference between High (39.9 FPS) and Ultra (40.2 FPS) at 4K is only 0.3 FPS, meaning both presets are hitting a similar GPU ceiling. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but as the GPU workload increases, the RTX 4060 becomes the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this combination at rank 2042 out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. That puts it in the 55th percentile overall, meaning roughly 45% of tested configurations perform worse and about 55% perform better. Given that the Ryzen 5 2600 is a 2018-era CPU and the RTX 4060 is a 2023 GPU, the pairing is an interesting mix of older processor and newer graphics card. The rank reflects that mixed nature: the GPU is strong enough to push high frame rates at 1080p and even 1440p on medium presets, but the overall combo sits in the middle of the database because many tested systems pair newer CPUs with similar or better GPUs.

The CPU itself sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs in the database, which is a strong showing for a processor from the Zen+ generation. Its average benchmark score of 21484 places it close to the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21440, 0.2% higher), the Intel Core i9-11900H (21367, 0.5% higher), and the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635, 0.7% higher). The AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21223, which is 1.2% lower. These rivals are a mix of mobile, server, and desktop parts, and the Ryzen 5 2600 holds its own within 1.2% of all of them. For a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known to be demanding on both CPU and GPU, this level of CPU performance is respectable but not class-leading.

The GPU sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, 0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, 0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, 0.7% lower). These are notably older or lower-tier parts, which makes the RTX 4060's position in the 61st percentile somewhat surprising at first glance. However, the database's GPU benchmark suite includes a range of tests, and the RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus may hold it back in some compute workloads. In gaming specifically, the measured FPS data shows it is capable of 60 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 1440p Medium, which aligns with its mid-range positioning.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Microsoft Flight Simulator? The answer depends entirely on the resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the database verdict lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable settings, meaning all four clear the 60 FPS threshold. The best playable preset is Ultra with an average of 68.9 FPS, which leaves a modest but real margin above the playability threshold. At 2560x1440, the playable settings narrow to Low and Medium, with Medium being the best option at 76.6 FPS. High (53.9 FPS) and Ultra (51 FPS) fall short of 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low is playable, delivering 69.9 FPS. Medium (52.4 FPS), High (39.9 FPS), and Ultra (40.2 FPS) all miss the threshold.

The verdict is clear: this system is a solid 1080p machine for Microsoft Flight Simulator, capable of maxing out the Ultra preset with room to spare. It is also viable at 1440p as long as the user sticks to Medium settings or lower. At 4K, the system is only viable on Low, which may not deliver the visual fidelity that 4K users expect. The data suggests that users targeting 4K should consider lowering the resolution or accepting Low settings, while 1440p users have a comfortable Medium option. For 1080p users, there is no compromise needed; the Ultra preset at 68.9 FPS is the recommended configuration.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are all within 1.2% of the Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V scores 21440, just 0.2% higher, meaning it would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i9-11900H scores 21367, 0.5% higher, and is another close match. The Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635, 0.7% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21223, 1.2% lower. None of these parts would change the overall gaming experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator in a meaningful way, as the differences are within the range of run-to-run variance.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666, 0.2% higher, and the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, 0.3% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17588, 0.5% lower) and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, 0.7% lower) are also close. These GPUs would produce similar frame rates in the database's GPU benchmarks, though the RTX 4060's feature set, including its Ada Lovelace architecture and 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance, may give it an edge in games that leverage newer rendering features. For this specific title, the measured FPS data is the best guide, and any of these GPU rivals would likely land within a few percent of the RTX 4060's results.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080. The Ultra preset delivers 68.9 FPS at that resolution. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 51 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Ultra manages only 40.2 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Medium at 76.6 FPS is the best playable setting according to the database verdict for 1440p. High (53.9 FPS) and Ultra (51 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which produce 69.9 FPS. Medium (52.4 FPS), High (39.9 FPS), and Ultra (40.2 FPS) all fail to reach 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in the database?

A: It ranks 2042 out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the 55th percentile. The CPU sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 61st percentile.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU appears to be the limiting factor. The difference between High (39.9 FPS) and Ultra (40.2 FPS) at 4K is only 0.3 FPS, indicating both presets are hitting a similar GPU ceiling.

Q: What frame rate can I expect on Low settings at 1080p?

A: Low settings at 1920x1080 deliver 117.9 FPS, the highest recorded value for this combo. Medium yields 93.3 FPS and High produces 71.7 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra with an average of 68.9 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for 1080p, as it delivers the highest visual quality while maintaining a 8.9 FPS margin above the playability threshold. At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium at 76.6 FPS, which provides a healthy 16.6 FPS buffer. High at 1440p falls to 53.9 FPS, so Medium is the clear choice for users who want both quality and smoothness. At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low at 69.9 FPS. While Low sacrifices visual fidelity, it is the sole 4K option that clears 60 FPS. Users who prioritize 4K visuals over frame rate can experiment with Medium at 52.4 FPS, but the database verdict identifies Low as the best playable setting at this resolution.