Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This combo ranks 2,527 out of 3,714 tested combinations in the database, placing it in the lower third of all tested systems for this specific title.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 15,171. It sits within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon 680M (15,270), 0.2% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15,199), and 0.6% above the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15,082).

Q: What is the best 1080p result this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 101 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS, while High drops to 59 FPS and Ultra to 56 FPS.

Q: How much VRAM does the RX 7600 have and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 7600 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective).

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts, and how does it perform in multi-threaded workloads?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has 6 cores and 12 threads. Its Cinebench R15 multicore score is 1,248 and Passmark multithread score is 13,160, while single-thread performance is 157.3 and 2,239 in those respective tests.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 33, which is marginal. Dropping to High yields 35 FPS, Medium gives 47 FPS, and Low reaches 60 FPS average.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured data places this pairing at position 2,527 out of 3,714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That percentile positioning — roughly the 32nd percentile of tested systems — tells a mixed story. The GPU is far from the weakest component in this game, but the CPU's age limits overall system performance in a title that is known for heavy simulation workloads.

Looking at the component-level benchmarks provides context for this overall rank. The Ryzen 5 2600 sits in the 75th percentile versus all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 21,484. That places it within 0.7% of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21,635), 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21,440), and 0.5% of the Intel Core i9-11900H (21,367). These are closely grouped rivals, indicating the CPU is competitive with a range of modern and older processors in general compute.

The RX 7600, meanwhile, sits in the 57th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15,171. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15,199, 0.2% higher), AMD Radeon 680M (15,270, 0.7% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15,082, 0.6% lower). The tight clustering of these scores means the GPU sits in a crowded performance band where small architectural differences matter more than raw throughput.

The combination rank of 2,527 out of 3,714 suggests that while neither component is a standout performer, the pairing is coherent for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 4K, the data shows the system struggles to maintain high framerates at higher settings, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning and the CPU's older Zen architecture.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It carries 13,300 million transistors on a 204 mm² die, with a transistor density of 65.2M per mm². The GPU operates with a base clock of 1720 MHz, a boost clock of 2655 MHz, and a game clock of 2250 MHz.

Memory configuration is a defining factor for this card in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The 8 GB GDDR6 pool on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth — sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a sharp drop at 4K Ultra where the average FPS falls to 33. The 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs handle texture-heavy scenes, while 2,048 shading units deliver 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The GPU's pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s are moderate figures that align with its 57th percentile ranking.

In this flight simulator, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS, but at 4K Ultra that number collapses to 33 FPS. The scaling pattern — 101 to 79 to 59 to 56 FPS across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra at 1080p — indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for this game's measured presets, but the 128-bit memory bus limits bandwidth-intensive operations at 4K resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080: Low averages 101 FPS. Medium averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 and maximum of 90. High averages 59 FPS. Ultra averages 56 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 22 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS — suggesting diminishing returns at the top end of the settings spectrum.

At 2560x1440: Low averages 81 FPS. Medium averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73. High averages 48 FPS. Ultra averages 45 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 18 FPS, but the step from High to Ultra costs only 3 FPS, mirroring the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160: Low averages 60 FPS. Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 54. High averages 35 FPS. Ultra averages 33 FPS. The 4K results show a steeper decline at High and Ultra, with both falling below the 40 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for acceptable smoothness.

The medium preset is the only one that reports minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 67 FPS indicates the combo maintains playable framerates even during demanding scenes. At 1440p, the minimum drops to 54 FPS, still acceptable. At 4K, the minimum falls to 40 FPS, which is borderline for a flight simulator where smooth camera panning matters.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 101 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p to 60 at 4K. That is a drop of 19.8% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 25.9% from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 40.6%.

At Medium settings, 1080p averages 79 FPS, 1440p averages 63 FPS, and 4K averages 47 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 20.3%, and from 1440p to 4K is 25.4%. The total drop is 40.5%, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling.

At High settings, 1080p averages 59 FPS, 1440p averages 48 FPS, and 4K averages 35 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 18.6%, and from 1440p to 4K is 27.1%. The total drop is 40.7%.

At Ultra settings, 1080p averages 56 FPS, 1440p averages 45 FPS, and 4K averages 33 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 19.6%, and from 1440p to 4K is 26.7%. The total drop is 41.1%.

The consistency of these scaling patterns — roughly 40% total drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings — indicates a balanced bottleneck. Neither the CPU nor GPU is overwhelmingly dominant; instead, both contribute to the performance ceiling. The slightly larger drop between 1440p and 4K at High and Ultra settings suggests the GPU becomes more limiting at higher resolutions and settings, which is expected given the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen+ architecture (Pinnacle Ridge). It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel interface, providing 46.9 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The 16 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB L2 per core are modest by modern standards but adequate for this game's simulation workloads.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's strengths and weaknesses. The Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1,248 and Passmark multithread score of 13,160 indicate reasonable multi-threaded capability for a 2018 processor. Single-thread performance is more limited: Cinebench R15 single-core scores 157.3, and Passmark single-thread scores 2,239. These figures place the CPU in the 75th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,484.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is significant because the game simulates physics, weather, and aircraft systems. The 6-core/12-thread configuration provides enough parallelism for these workloads, but the Zen+ architecture's lower instructions-per-clock compared to newer designs limits peak performance. The measured FPS data reflects this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS, but this is likely CPU-limited in less demanding scenes and GPU-limited in more complex ones.

The CPU's nearest rivals — Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (0.2% higher average score), Intel Core i9-11900H (0.5% higher), and Intel Xeon D-1746TER (0.7% lower) — show that the 2600 remains competitive in general compute despite its age. However, the 3.90 GHz boost clock is the theoretical maximum, and sustained all-core loads may run lower, which can affect frame pacing in a simulation title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings based on resolution and desired framerate.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS, offering the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. The High preset at 59 FPS is playable, but the 3 FPS gain from High to Ultra (56 FPS) is not worth the additional graphical load. Low at 101 FPS is useful for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, but the visual compromise is substantial for a flight simulator where scenery detail matters.

At 2560x1440, Medium averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS, which is the recommended choice for a smooth experience. High at 48 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 45 FPS is not advisable for sustained play. Low at 81 FPS is an option if framerate takes priority over visuals, but the simulator's terrain and aircraft detail will be noticeably reduced.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Low averages 60 FPS, which is the only preset that maintains a consistent 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, which may be acceptable for less action-oriented flight. High (35 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as both fall below the 40 FPS minimum that most users find acceptable.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience, with measured minimum FPS values of 67 at 1080p, 54 at 1440p, and 40 at 4K. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p Medium-to-High or 1440p Medium, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings when visual fidelity is less critical than framerate stability.