Microsoft Flight Simulator

Measured FPS Breakdown

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding title, and the recorded data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 shows a clear progression of performance across resolutions and presets. The measurements, taken at three resolutions and four quality settings, show that this combination is highly sensitive to both resolution scaling and graphical load.

At 1920x1080, the pair delivers its strongest results. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 94.5 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo across the entire test matrix. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 69.3 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings yield 56.2 FPS on average, while Ultra is the most demanding, producing an average of 53.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 40.9 FPS, showing that each preset step carries a significant cost.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve steepens. Low settings produce an average of 74.4 FPS, a 20.1 FPS drop compared to the same preset at 1080p. Medium falls to 57.4 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line. High settings average 40.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40.6 FPS, nearly identical to High. The compression between High and Ultra at this resolution suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the two presets converge despite their different visual demands.

At 3840x2160, 4K resolution proves extremely demanding for this hardware. Low settings average 50.6 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution to approach playability, but it still falls short. Medium averages 39.9 FPS, High averages 29.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 30.6 FPS. Notably, Ultra slightly outperforms High at 4K by 1.0 FPS, which is an anomaly in the data, likely due to scene complexity variations during measurement rather than a consistent trend. The recorded data shows no minimum or maximum frame rate values for any resolution or preset, so the analysis relies solely on averages.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playability threshold for this database is set at 60 FPS. Applying that standard to the measured data, the verdict is clear for each resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS target. The playable settings list is empty, and the database records no best settings for this resolution. The closest result is Low at 50.6 FPS, which is 9.4 FPS short of playable. Users targeting 4K with this combo would need to accept frame rates below the threshold, as even the lowest quality preset cannot bridge the gap.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves. The only playable setting is Low, which delivers an average of 74.4 FPS. This is the best settings selection for this resolution, as it is the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS. Medium falls to 57.4 FPS, missing the threshold by 2.6 FPS, and both High and Ultra are well below at 40.8 and 40.6 FPS respectively.

At 1920x1080, two presets qualify as playable: Low and Medium. The database selects Medium as the best settings, with an average of 69.3 FPS. This is the highest quality preset that maintains playability, and it does so with 9.3 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 56.2 FPS and Ultra at 53.6 FPS both fall short, meaning users seeking higher visual fidelity would need to sacrifice frame rate smoothness.

The data suggests a clear pattern: this combo is best suited to 1080p Medium or 1440p Low, with 4K effectively out of reach for smooth gameplay.

CPU and GPU Roles

Understanding which component drives performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator requires examining how frame rates scale between resolutions and presets. The recorded data shows distinct behavior at each resolution, revealing the balance between CPU and GPU load.

At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a substantial role. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, must feed the RTX 2060 with enough draw calls and simulation data. The drop from Low at 94.5 FPS to Medium at 69.3 FPS is 25.2 FPS, a 26.7 percent reduction. Further drops to High at 56.2 FPS and Ultra at 53.6 FPS show diminishing returns, with only a 2.6 FPS difference between High and Ultra. This compression at higher presets suggests the CPU is nearing its limit in feeding the GPU, particularly as the simulation complexity of the flight model and world detail increases.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to assert more influence. Low settings produce 74.4 FPS, which is still CPU-bound territory, but Medium drops to 57.4 FPS, a 17.0 FPS reduction. The High and Ultra results, at 40.8 and 40.6 FPS, are nearly identical, with just 0.2 FPS separating them. This convergence indicates that at higher presets and higher resolution, the RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus become the limiting factors. The GPU simply cannot render the additional shader and texture work fast enough, regardless of CPU headroom.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unambiguously the dominant constraint. Low settings average 50.6 FPS, which is lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 53.6 FPS, showing that even the lowest preset at 4K is more demanding than the highest preset at 1080p. The scaling from 1080p Low at 94.5 FPS to 4K Low at 50.6 FPS represents a 46.5 percent reduction in frame rate, driven almost entirely by pixel count and memory bandwidth demands. The RTX 2060's 336.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain high throughput at 4K, and the 6 GB frame buffer likely struggles with the large textures required by the simulator.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5600's Zen 3 architecture and high single-thread performance are sufficient to push the GPU to its limits, but at 1440p and above, the RTX 2060 becomes the bottleneck. Users overclocking the CPU or upgrading to a faster GPU would see the most benefit at 1440p and 4K, while 1080p performance would see smaller gains from a GPU upgrade alone.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the RTX 2060 achieves a combo rank of 2957 out of 3714 tested configurations. This places the pairing in the lower 20 percent of all combos tested for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with a percentile ranking of approximately 20.4 percent. The rank reflects the measured frame rates across all resolutions and presets, weighted toward the playability threshold of 60 FPS.

The CPU itself ranks in the 74th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 20468 across a suite of tests including Cinebench R23, Geekbench, and Passmark. The GPU, by contrast, ranks in the 58th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 15290. This discrepancy suggests that the combo rank is dragged down primarily by the GPU, which sits below the CPU in relative standing.

The combination rank of 2957 indicates that this pairing is well suited to 1080p Medium gameplay, as recorded in the verdict data, but struggles at higher resolutions. The 3714 total combos include many with more powerful GPUs, which naturally achieve higher frame rates in this simulator. The Ryzen 5 5600's strong single-threaded performance, evidenced by its 2584 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is not fully utilized when paired with a GPU that cannot keep pace at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For users considering this combo, the database provides nearest rival data for both components, which can help identify alternative hardware with similar behavior.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 5 5600's nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, with an average benchmark score of 20454, a negligible 0.1 percent difference. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500G scores 20425, 0.2 percent lower, while the AMD EPYC 9454P scores 20422, also 0.2 percent lower. The AMD EPYC 7713 scores 20363, 0.5 percent lower. These rivals would produce nearly identical CPU-bound frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator, meaning any of these processors paired with the RTX 2060 would deliver similar performance at 1080p, where the CPU has more influence.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, with an average score of 15283, a 0 percent difference. This indicates that in the database's benchmark suite, the two cards perform nearly identically on average, despite their different architectures and features. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.1 percent lower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6 percent lower. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8 percent lower. These GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in the simulator, meaning users choosing any of these cards instead of the RTX 2060 would see comparable results, with differences likely under 1 percent on average.

The practical implication is that this combo sits in a crowded performance band. Swapping to any of the nearest rivals, whether on the CPU or GPU side, would not meaningfully change the measured FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The 1080p Medium result of 69.3 FPS would likely remain within a few frames of that figure regardless of which rival component is substituted.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows an average of 69.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best playable settings preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, only Low settings achieve playability, with an average of 74.4 FPS. Medium falls to 57.4 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 4K resolution playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest recorded average is 50.6 FPS on Low settings, which is 9.4 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. No preset at 4K is playable.

Q: Which component limits performance more at higher resolutions?

A: The GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. Evidence includes the convergence of High and Ultra frame rates at 1440p (40.8 vs 40.6 FPS) and the steep drop to 50.6 FPS at 4K Low, which is lower than 1080p Ultra at 53.6 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2957 out of 3714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

Q: Are there similar-performing GPUs to the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: Yes. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has a nearly identical average benchmark score with a 0 percent delta, while the AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1 percent lower, the RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6 percent lower, and the RX 7600 is 0.8 percent lower. These would produce comparable frame rates.