Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a profoundly lopsided combination for Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the recorded data shows that the GPU’s raw power dominates the frame rate at every resolution. The combination ranks 571st out of 3,714 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top tier of overall performance. The CPU is a Zen 2 six-core part from 2019, yet the benchmark results indicate that the pairing still delivers playable, and often exceptionally high, frame rates across all settings. The bottleneck is not the GPU; it is the processor, which limits the maximum output at lower resolutions where the GPU would otherwise be capable of even higher numbers.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals in the database, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 performs nearly identically to several other processors, which helps contextualize its role in this pairing. The Intel Core i7-1260P has an average score of 17,007, a negligible 0.2% ahead of the Ryzen 5 3600’s 17,035. The AMD EPYC 7742 is also 0.2% faster, while the Intel Core i5-11400 and the AMD EPYC 7573X are both 0.2% slower. These four rivals bracket the Ryzen 5 3600 within a 0.4% performance band, confirming that the CPU’s compute capability is not a distinguishing factor. In practical terms for Microsoft Flight Simulator, swapping the Ryzen 5 3600 for any of these near-identical chips would not measurably change the frame rates recorded below.

For the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is so far ahead of most hardware that its nearest rivals are not consumer gaming cards at all. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X has an average score of 80,959, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090’s 79,842. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is 0.3% behind, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is 0.6% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% slower. These are the closest matches in the database, but they are workstation and mobile parts; no typical desktop gaming GPU comes within 1 percent of the RTX 5090’s average score. For this game, the data shows that the RTX 5090’s performance is effectively in a class of its own, and the CPU is the only limiting factor.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p, the lowest resolution tested, the GPU has less pixel work to do, so the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the difference between the Low and High presets at 1080p is relatively small: 135.6 FPS versus 111.6 FPS, a gap of 24 FPS. At 1440p, the same settings yield 124.8 FPS and 101.6 FPS, a drop of 23.2 FPS from the 1080p numbers. At 2160p, the Low preset yields 111.1 FPS, which is 24.5 FPS lower than at 1080p Low. The trend is clear: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops consistently, but the drop is not dramatic. This suggests that the CPU is not fully saturating the GPU even at 1080p, as the frame rates remain very high.

The scaling between presets at the same resolution is more telling. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium costs 9.3 FPS (126.3 versus 135.6), and Low to High costs 24 FPS. However, going from High to Ultra costs only 2.7 FPS (108.9 versus 111.6). At 1440p, Low to Medium costs 11.7 FPS, and Low to High costs 23.2 FPS. At 4K, Low to Medium costs 5.6 FPS, and Low to High costs 29.1 FPS. Notice that the Ultra preset is not the most demanding step up, in fact at both 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, the High preset is more demanding than Ultra by a small margin (High is slower than Ultra). This is an oddity in the game’s settings. The data shows that the CPU matters most at low resolution and low settings, where the game is not as GPU-bound, while the GPU matters most at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is fully engaged. The Ultra preset at 4K yields 80.3 FPS, which is the lowest recorded output for the entire combination, indicating that the GPU is still strong enough to maintain a high frame rate even at the most demanding setting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The exact measured average FPS for each resolution and preset is as follows. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded in the database, so only the averages are presented.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 135.6 FPS
• Medium: 126.3 FPS
• High: 111.6 FPS
• Ultra: 108.9 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 124.8 FPS
• Medium: 113.1 FPS
• High: 101.6 FPS
• Ultra: 103.5 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 111.1 FPS
• Medium: 105.5 FPS
• High: 82 FPS
• Ultra: 80.3 FPS

The data shows a few anomalies. At 1440p, the Ultra preset (103.5 FPS) is faster than the High preset (101.6 FPS), which suggests the game’s preset scaling is not linear. Similarly, at 4K, the High preset (82 FPS) is only slightly above Ultra (80.3 FPS). The largest relative drop occurs at 4K High, which is 26.3% lower than 4K Medium. The smallest drop is at 1440p Ultra, which is only 1.9% behind 1440p High. Overall, the combination maintains a minimum of 80 FPS in the worst case (4K Ultra), so the performance envelope is well above the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and RTX 5090 run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1080p Ultra?

A: Yes, the recorded data shows an average of 108.9 FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra, well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is there any resolution or preset where the frame rate drops below 60 FPS?

A: No. The lowest recorded average is 80.3 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K resolution according to the database?

A: The Ultra preset is the best setting at 3840p, with an average FPS of 80.3, which is the most demanding preset but still playable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 17,035, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-1260P and the AMD EPYC 7742, and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400 and the AMD EPYC 7573X. It is essentially tied with all four.

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

A: The RTX 5090 has an average score of 79,842, which is 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X, and 0.3-0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 parts. Its closest rival is 0.3% behind, but it is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT.

Q: What is the rank of this combination in the database?

A: The combination is ranked 571st out of 3,714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 15% of tested hardware.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database provides the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold, and for this combination, that is the Ultra preset at all three resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is fully playable with an average of 108.9 FPS. This is the best possible visual quality, and the frame rate is still very high.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 103.5 FPS. The data shows this is 2.9 FPS faster than the High preset, so there is no reason to lower the quality.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 80.3 FPS. This is the only resolution where the frame rate drops below 100 FPS, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 80 FPS is nearly identical, so choosing Ultra is recommended.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3,714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + RTX 5090 ranks 571st. This is a strong result, placing the combo in the 84.6th percentile of all tested hardware. The ranking is largely due to the GPU, which is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs in the database. The CPU is in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, which is lower but still above average. The data suggests that if the CPU were upgraded to a higher-tier part, the frame rates would likely increase significantly, especially at 1080p Low, where the CPU is the limiting factor. However, as tested, the combo is fully capable of running the game at maximum settings at all resolutions, with the worst case being 80.3 FPS at 4K Ultra. The ranking of 571 out of 3,714 confirms that the RTX 5090 is able to overcome the older CPU’s limitations, but the CPU does prevent the GPU from reaching even higher FPS numbers. The recorded data shows a clear performance ceiling imposed by the CPU, but that ceiling is well above the playable threshold, making this a highly effective combination for this title.