Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a system that consistently exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold across every tested resolution and preset. The database contains average FPS figures for four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) at three resolutions, and no minimum or maximum frame time data was captured. All twelve measurements are average FPS values only.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest raw performance. Low settings produce an average of 118 FPS, which is the fastest result recorded for this pairing in the entire test suite. Medium settings follow closely at 110.5 FPS, while High settings reach 98.7 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still holds an average of 94.7 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest settings at this resolution is 23.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom even when the CPU is asked to feed it at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected scaling penalty. Low settings average 112 FPS, a drop of 6 FPS compared to the same preset at 1080p. Medium settings average 100.7 FPS, High settings average 92.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 90.2 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution narrows to 21.8 FPS, slightly less than at 1080p, which suggests the resolution increase is beginning to balance the load between CPU and GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system still clears the playability bar with room to spare. Low settings average 99.2 FPS, Medium settings average 87.4 FPS, High settings average 78.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 76.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 22.3 FPS, similar to the 1440p spread. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS sits nearly 17 frames above the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no scenario in the recorded data where this combination drops below playable performance.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: the Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the RTX 4090 produces average frame rates that are heavily GPU-bound at higher settings but still CPU-limited enough at lower presets to prevent the GPU from reaching its full potential. For example, at 1080p Low the average is 118 FPS, while at 4K Low it is 99.2 FPS. The 18.8 FPS difference between these two points is smaller than what a purely GPU-limited system might show, indicating that the CPU is a meaningful constraint in the less demanding scenarios.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The recorded data shows average FPS of 94.7 at 1920x1080 Ultra, 90.2 at 2560x1440 Ultra, and 76.9 at 3840x2160 Ultra. Every Ultra preset tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 4K resolution?

A: Ultra is the best settings preset at 3840x2160, with an average FPS of 76.9. The verdict data lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra all as playable at this resolution, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality while remaining above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 118 at 1920x1080 to 99.2 at 3840x2160, a difference of 18.8 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average drops from 94.7 to 94.7 to 76.9, a difference of 17.8 FPS. Higher settings show a slightly smaller absolute loss when moving up in resolution.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate partial CPU limitation at lower presets. At 1080p Low the average is 118 FPS, and at 1080p Medium it is 110.5 FPS. These numbers suggest the CPU keeps average frame rates from scaling fully with the GPU's capability, though the system still exceeds 60 FPS in every tested configuration.

Q: What is the slowest average FPS recorded for this combo in the database?

A: The lowest average FPS figure in the measured data is 76.9 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the most demanding configuration tested, and it remains above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Are there any settings at any resolution that fail to reach 60 FPS?

A: No. All twelve recorded configurations, which include Low, Medium, High, and Ultra at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, produce average FPS values above 60. The lowest recorded average is 76.9 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, which scores 21,440 and is 0.2% ahead. The Intel Core i9-11900H scores 21,367 and is 0.5% ahead. The Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21,635 and is 0.7% behind. The AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21,223 and is 1.2% ahead. These deltas are all within a narrow band of roughly 1.2% or less, meaning a system using any of these CPUs would likely produce very similar frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator when paired with the same GPU. The Ryzen 5 2600 sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs tested, and its average benchmark score is 21,484. The differences among these rivals are small enough that gameplay experience would be effectively identical, with any variance falling within normal run-to-run fluctuation.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 with an average score of 60,326 and a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 60,140 and a delta of 0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M with 61,896 and a delta of -2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 with 58,657 and a delta of 2.9%. The RTX 4090 itself has an average benchmark score of 60,347 and sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs. The Arc Pro A60 is essentially a statistical tie, while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 is within a third of a percent. The W6600M is 2.5% faster in aggregate benchmark terms, and the PRO V710 is 2.9% slower. In practical terms for Microsoft Flight Simulator, any of these GPUs paired with the Ryzen 5 2600 would land in the same general performance envelope, with frame rate differences of only a few FPS at most. The combination of a 75th percentile CPU and an 88th percentile GPU produces the measured results documented in this database entry.

The Verdict

This PC can run Microsoft Flight Simulator comfortably. The verdict data lists every tested resolution and preset as playable, with all average FPS values above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 76.9 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same four presets are playable, and Ultra is again the best choice with an average of 90.2 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, and Ultra leads with an average of 94.7 FPS.

The verdict is unambiguous: there is no configuration in the measured data where this system falls below 60 FPS. The lowest average across all twelve data points is 76.9 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still leaves nearly 17 FPS of headroom above the playability threshold. Users who prioritize maximum visual fidelity can select Ultra at any resolution, while those who want higher frame rates can drop to Low at 1080p for an average of 118 FPS. The recorded data does not include minimum FPS values, so the analysis of frame time consistency is based solely on averages, but those averages are consistently strong across the board.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 830th out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the pairing in the top 22.4% of all recorded system configurations for this game. The rank reflects the overall performance of the combo, and given that the CPU is a 2018-era six-core part while the GPU is a flagship Ada Lovelace card, the ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's strength. The CPU sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a high-percentile GPU with a mid-to-high-percentile CPU yields a system that outranks more than three-quarters of the tested combos in this database. The rank of 830 out of 3,714 means there are 2,884 recorded combos that perform worse, and 829 that perform better. This is a strong result for a pairing where the CPU is not the newest generation, and it confirms that the RTX 4090 carries the system well in this flight simulator title.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 94.7. This is the highest quality setting available in the test suite, so there is no trade-off needed at this resolution. The frame rate is high enough that even the most demanding preset leaves substantial margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is also Ultra, with an average FPS of 90.2. Again, no compromise is required. The system can run the maximum preset at this resolution while maintaining an average well above the playability cutoff.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 76.9. This is the most demanding configuration in the entire measured set, and it still clears the threshold by a comfortable margin. Users can run the maximum quality preset at 4K without needing to reduce settings, and the recorded average of 76.9 FPS provides enough headroom that occasional dips below that average would still likely remain playable, though the data does not include minimum FPS values to confirm this. For all three resolutions, the recommendation is simply to use Ultra settings, as the system demonstrates sufficient performance to handle the highest preset while maintaining average frame rates between 76.9 and 94.7 FPS.