Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a remarkably strong performance profile in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with measured frame rates that clear the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested resolution and preset combination. The data indicates that this combination is not merely capable of running the flight simulator, but does so with substantial headroom, making it a candidate for high-refresh-rate displays even at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves 80.1 FPS. This is a significant margin above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning the Ultra preset is fully viable for 4K gaming. For users who prioritize maximum visual fidelity, this is the clear choice, as the average frame rate sits comfortably above the playability line.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again delivers the best visual experience while staying well above 60 FPS, with an average of 108.3 FPS. The gap between the Ultra preset and the 60 FPS threshold is nearly double, indicating that this resolution offers substantial performance headroom for demanding flight scenarios or heavy scenery add-ons.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 132.2 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playability threshold. This resolution is where the combination truly shines, providing frame rates that would satisfy even the most demanding high-refresh-rate monitor users. The data shows that in every resolution tested, the Ultra preset is the recommended setting, as it never dips below 80 FPS on average.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a clear pattern regarding component roles. At 1920x1080, the system produces 132.2 FPS on Ultra settings, while at 2560x1440 it drops to 108.3 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls further to 80.1 FPS. This represents a 18.1% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 39.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K when using the Ultra preset.

The frame rate scaling between presets at a fixed resolution provides additional insight. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra is 59.0 FPS (139.1 to 80.1), which is a 42.4% drop. At 2560x1440, the same comparison shows a 54.1 FPS difference (162.4 to 108.3), or 33.3%. At 1920x1080, the gap narrows to 37.3 FPS (169.5 to 132.2), or 22.0%.

These scaling patterns indicate that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the CPU has more influence on overall performance, as evidenced by the smaller frame rate penalty from increasing graphics settings. As resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU workload expands significantly, making the RTX 5090 the primary performance driver. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions, but the data clearly shows that GPU-bound scenarios dominate at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates span from 132.2 FPS at Ultra to 169.5 FPS at Low. The Medium preset delivers 155.3 FPS, while High achieves 143.4 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with each preset tier costing roughly 12-14 FPS on average.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute values. Low settings produce 162.4 FPS, Medium reaches 144.6 FPS, High yields 111.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 108.3 FPS. The jump from Medium to High represents the largest single-step reduction at this resolution, a 22.6% decrease in frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings achieve 139.1 FPS, Medium drops to 108.5 FPS, High reaches 81.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 80.1 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal, only 1.4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional visual features have diminishing returns at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, the minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded in the data, but the average figures provide a consistent picture of performance. The 4K Ultra result of 80.1 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it demonstrates that the combination can handle the most demanding settings at the highest common resolution while still exceeding the 60 FPS threshold by a healthy margin.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Ryzen 5 5600's nearest rivals in benchmark scoring include the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, which scores 20454 versus the Ryzen's 20468, a difference of just 0.1%. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500G trails by 0.2% with a score of 20425, while the AMD EPYC 9454P also sits at 20422, a 0.2% deficit. The AMD EPYC 7713 rounds out the group at 20363, which is 0.5% behind. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning any of these processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator when paired with the RTX 5090.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090's nearest rivals show similar performance clustering. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605, just 0.3% behind the RTX 5090's 79842. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB trails by 0.6% at 79396, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% behind at 78940. Interestingly, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090, though this is within the margin of benchmark variance. Users with any of these GPUs would experience similar performance characteristics in this flight simulator, though the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory provides capacity advantages that these rivals may not match.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600 and RTX 5090 ranks 166th out of 3714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 4.5% of all tested systems, a strong result that reflects the GPU's dominant performance contribution. The high rank is primarily attributable to the RTX 5090's exceptional rasterization capabilities, as the CPU's mid-range positioning would typically pull a combo lower in the rankings for less GPU-bound titles.

The percentile standings reinforce this assessment. The CPU sits at the 74th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. The combination's 166th overall ranking out of 3714 systems shows that the GPU's elite status more than compensates for the CPU's more modest standing, resulting in a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations in this specific title.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Microsoft Flight Simulator, and the data confirms it does so with exceptional capability. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers 80.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by over 33%. All four presets at 4K are playable, with Low achieving 139.1 FPS and Medium reaching 108.5 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the system performs even better, with Ultra settings producing 108.3 FPS and Low reaching 162.4 FPS. Every preset at this resolution is not just playable but delivers frame rates suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. The 1920x1080 results are exceptional, with Ultra hitting 132.2 FPS and Low achieving 169.5 FPS, making this combination ideal for competitive or visually demanding flight simulation at 1080p.

The verdict is unambiguous: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination provides a premium experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator across all tested resolutions and settings. The only consideration is whether the CPU's mid-range positioning limits performance in CPU-intensive scenarios, but the measured data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers 169.5 FPS, indicating the Ryzen 5 5600 is more than adequate for this title. For users with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors or those who demand maximum visual quality, this combination delivers without compromise.