Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a playable experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but only when the resolution and settings are carefully managed. The data shows a system that is clearly capable at 1080p and 1440p with medium presets, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K across all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combination struggles to maintain smooth frame rates. With High settings, the average FPS is 34, which is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Dropping to Medium settings improves the average to 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS—still not enough for consistent smoothness. Low settings push the average to 58 FPS, which is tantalizingly close to 60 but still misses the mark. Ultra settings produce the lowest result at 32 FPS average. No 4K setting achieves a playable result.

Moving down to 2560x1440 (1440p), the picture improves significantly. Low settings deliver an average of 78 FPS, comfortably above the threshold. Medium settings achieve an average of 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS—this is the highest playable preset at this resolution. High settings drop to 46 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS, both below the playable line.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system shows its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 97 FPS, which is a strong result. Medium settings hit 76 FPS average, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS, making it the optimal playable preset. High settings average 57 FPS, just under the threshold, while Ultra averages 54 FPS. The data indicates that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have close rivals that would behave similarly in this title. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36945. Its nearest rivals are separated by less than one percent in performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average score of 36938, a delta of 0 percent—essentially identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, which is 0.2 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, 0.4 percent higher, and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, 0.5 percent higher. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, so any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The Intel Arc B580 GPU sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its nearest rivals show similarly small margins. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, which is 0.2 percent higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7 percent higher, and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1 percent higher. The delta percentages here are all under one percent, meaning users with any of these GPUs would see virtually the same performance in this game. Notably, the RTX 3080 being in this group underscores that the Arc B580 competes with much older high-end cards rather than contemporary ones.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a system that is increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU still plays a significant role at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 97, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. When the resolution increases to 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 78, a 19 FPS decrease that indicates the GPU is starting to become the limiting factor. At 4K Low, the FPS falls to 58, a further 20 FPS drop, confirming that the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the performance ceiling at this resolution.

The pattern holds across presets. At 1080p Medium, the average is 76 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 61 FPS. At 4K Medium, it falls to 45 FPS. This consistent scaling shows that the GPU workload increases roughly in proportion to pixel count, while the CPU load remains relatively constant. The Ryzen 5 5600F, with its Zen 3 architecture and 6 cores, provides sufficient single-threaded performance for the simulation's core logic, but the Arc B580's 12 GB of memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are what determine the frame rate at higher resolutions.

At 1080p Ultra, the average is 54 FPS, which is only 3 FPS lower than 1080p High at 57 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at these settings; rather, the GPU's raw compute limits are being reached. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 43 FPS, which is a substantial range that demonstrates how much headroom the CPU has, but also how quickly the GPU becomes saturated.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear. At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The best average FPS at 4K is 58 on Low, which still misses the 60 FPS threshold. This system cannot run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K with acceptable smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium. Low averages 78 FPS, and Medium averages 61 FPS. The best settings for this resolution are Medium, which achieves an average of 61 FPS. This is a playable experience, though the minimum of 52 FPS in Medium settings means there will be brief dips below the threshold during complex scenes.

At 1920x1080, the playable settings are also Low and Medium. Low averages 97 FPS, and Medium averages 76 FPS. The best settings are Medium, with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 64 FPS. This is a solidly playable experience with headroom to spare, and it is the resolution where this combination performs best.

Users aiming for a smooth experience should target 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium. The 4K results are not viable for serious play.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only at specific settings. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 76. At 1440p Medium, it is 61. At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS; the best 4K result is 58 FPS on Low.

Q: What is the best setting at 1080p for this hardware?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 1080p, with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 64 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 57 and 54 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B580 comparable to the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: In terms of overall benchmark scores, the Arc B580's average score of 23021 is only 0.7 percent lower than the RTX 3080's score of 23172. The performance delta is minor, so the two GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Does the CPU matter more at lower resolutions?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the system averages 97 FPS, which is the highest result in the data. This indicates the CPU is able to deliver high frame rates when the GPU load is low. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's influence diminishes.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 52, with a maximum of 70. This means the experience is playable on average, but there will be occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold during demanding scenes.

Q: How does this setup rank among all tested combos?

A: This combination ranks 2788 out of 3714 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower portion of the database. This reflects the fact that it cannot handle 4K and only barely clears 60 FPS at 1440p Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2788 out of 3714 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 25th percentile of tested hardware, meaning roughly 75 percent of tested combos perform better in this specific game. The rank is a direct consequence of the measured FPS data: the system is playable at 1080p and 1440p with medium settings, but fails at 4K entirely. The CPU's 85th percentile standing among all CPUs is strong, and the GPU's 68th percentile standing is respectable, but the combination is not high-end enough for the most demanding resolutions in this simulation. For users with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this setup provides a workable experience. For 4K users, this is not the right hardware choice. The data suggests that this combination is best suited for medium-preset gaming at mainstream resolutions, where it delivers a solid and consistent performance.