Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator pairs the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, a combination that delivers playable frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The data shows a clear pattern: this simulator is heavily CPU-bound, with the GPU’s massive resources underutilized at lower resolutions. Across the three tested resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160), the average FPS spans from a low of 80 at 4K Ultra to a high of 118 at 1080p Low. The gap between resolutions is modest, and the scaling behavior reveals that the Ryzen 5 2600 is the primary limiting factor in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS drops are surprisingly small when moving from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average frame rate goes from 118 FPS at 1920x1080 down to 99 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 19 FPS (approximately 16%). At High settings, the drop is from 97 FPS at 1080p to 82 FPS at 4K, a 15 FPS decline (roughly 15%). Medium settings show a similar trend: 108 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow suit, with 96 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 4K.

These small deltas indicate that resolution is not the bottleneck. A GPU-limited scenario would typically show a much larger FPS penalty when pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K. Here, the RTX 5090 D is clearly capable of handling the rendering load at all resolutions, but the CPU cannot feed it fast enough. The Ryzen 5 2600’s six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 3.90 GHz, appear to be the constraining factor. The largest resolution-based gap is only 19 FPS (Low settings), which is far smaller than what a pure GPU-bound workload would produce.

The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is largely idle at 1080p, waiting for the CPU to supply draw calls and simulation updates. Microsoft Flight Simulator’s complex flight model, terrain streaming, and weather calculations are known to be CPU-intensive, and this combination demonstrates that behavior. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages 80 FPS, which is respectable for a simulator, but the scaling pattern implies that lowering resolution yields diminishing returns. The difference between 1080p Low (118 FPS) and 4K Ultra (80 FPS) is only 38 FPS, meaning that even the most demanding preset at the highest resolution is only about 32% slower than the least demanding configuration.

This is a classic CPU-bound signature. The GPU’s performance headroom is visible in the fact that 4K High (82 FPS) is only 15 FPS slower than 1080p High (97 FPS). If the GPU were the limit, that gap would be much wider. The RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for any resolution, but they cannot compensate for the CPU’s single-thread performance limits. The Ryzen 5 2600’s Geekbench single-core score of 1154 and Passmark single-thread score of 2239 place it well behind modern parts, and this shows in the frame rate ceiling.

For users targeting higher refresh rates, the data indicates that moving from 1440p to 1080p yields only a modest gain. At High settings, the jump is 7 FPS (90 to 97). At Low, it is 8 FPS (110 to 118). This reinforces the conclusion that the CPU is the limiting component, not the GPU. The RTX 5090 D could easily push 200+ FPS in less CPU-bound titles, but here it is held back by the Ryzen 5 2600’s architecture.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an extremely powerful graphics card, with a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its benchmark scores are staggering: 14326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 44065 in Passmark G3D, and 310674 in Geekbench OpenCL. The card features 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Memory is 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. These specifications suggest that the GPU is not the limiting factor in this game.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the RTX 5090 D’s role is to render terrain, aircraft models, and sky textures. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (80 FPS) shows that the GPU can handle the highest settings at the highest resolution, but the frame rate is not what one would expect from a card of this caliber. The data indicates that the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the small FPS differences between resolutions. The RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6) and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct -2.4), but those are not relevant to this game’s performance due to the CPU bottleneck.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity is irrelevant here — 32 GB is far more than Microsoft Flight Simulator requires at any resolution. The card’s memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming is not an issue, even at 4K Ultra. The RTX 5090 D’s pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1636.8 GTexel/s are more than adequate for the workloads presented. However, the data shows that the GPU is waiting for the CPU to provide frame data, leading to a situation where the GPU’s capabilities are not fully expressed.

The RTX 5090 D’s power consumption (575 W TDP) and suggested PSU (950 W) are high, but this does not translate into better frame rates in this specific configuration. The card’s 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance is enormous, yet the FPS numbers are modest. This is a clear indication that the game is not GPU-bound at these settings. The GPU’s benchmark percentile (92) is much higher than the CPU’s (75), which further supports the notion that the CPU is the weaker link.

One notable observation is that the RTX 5090 D’s performance in synthetic benchmarks (e.g., 14326 in Steel Nomad) is exceptional, but this does not correlate with the measured FPS in this game. The data suggests that Microsoft Flight Simulator’s engine is not optimized to take full advantage of the GPU’s parallel processing capabilities, or that the CPU cannot generate enough work to keep the GPU busy. Either way, the GPU’s role in this combo is to provide a high ceiling, but that ceiling is not reached.

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 has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are modest: 1248 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 157.3 in single-core, 5648 in Geekbench multi-core, and 1154 in single-core. The Passmark scores are similarly unremarkable, with a multi-thread score of 13160 and single-thread score of 2239. The CPU’s percentile ranking is 75, meaning it is better than 75% of all CPUs, but this is not a high-end part by today’s standards.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is critical. The game simulates physics, weather, and complex flight systems, all of which are heavily dependent on single-thread performance. The Ryzen 5 2600’s single-thread score of 1154 in Geekbench and 157.3 in Cinebench R15 single-core indicates that it lags behind modern processors. The data shows that this CPU is the bottleneck in this combo, as evidenced by the small FPS gains when lowering resolution.

The CPU’s boost clock of 3.90 GHz is relatively low for gaming, and its architecture (Zen+) is older. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (118 FPS) suggests that the CPU can handle the game’s minimum requirements, but it cannot push higher frame rates. Even at 1080p, the FPS does not exceed 118, which is a clear sign of CPU limitation. If the GPU were the bottleneck, we would see higher FPS at 1080p Low, given the RTX 5090 D’s capabilities.

The Ryzen 5 2600’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i9-11900H (deltaPct 0.5), but these are synthetic benchmarks. In this game, the CPU’s performance is what matters, and the data shows that it cannot keep up with the GPU. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s is also a limiting factor, as the game needs to stream terrain data from RAM to the GPU. However, the primary limitation is single-thread performance.

The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s multi-threaded aspects, but the single-thread bottleneck dominates. The fact that the FPS at 4K Ultra (80) is only 16 FPS lower than at 1080p Ultra (96) highlights that the CPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were faster, we would expect to see a larger FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, as the GPU would become the constraint. Instead, the CPU’s inability to generate enough frames is the limiting factor at all resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Why does the FPS drop so little when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows that the average FPS at Low settings is 118 at 1080p and 99 at 4K, a drop of only 19 FPS. This small difference indicates that the CPU (AMD Ryzen 5 2600) is the limiting factor, not the GPU. The RTX 5090 D can handle the increased resolution without significant performance loss, but the CPU cannot generate frames fast enough to fully utilize the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D being fully utilized in this game?

A: No. The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 92, and its scores are extremely high (e.g., 44065 in Passmark G3D), but the measured FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator is capped by the CPU. The data shows that the GPU is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the small FPS differences between resolutions.

Q: What is the best setting for this combo?

A: Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1440p offers a balanced experience with an average of 100 FPS and a minimum of 85 FPS. At 4K, Medium gives 91 FPS average with a minimum of 77 FPS. The High preset at 1080p yields 97 FPS, but the CPU limits any further gains.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 21484, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21440, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i9-11900H (21367, deltaPct 0.5). It is slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9454 (21223, deltaPct 1.2) and slightly behind the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635, deltaPct -0.7). However, these synthetic scores do not translate to high FPS in this game due to single-thread limitations.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is more than sufficient for Microsoft Flight Simulator at any resolution or settings. The data shows that the GPU’s VRAM is not a limiting factor, as the FPS is constrained by the CPU. The GPU’s 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures smooth texture streaming, but this does not help when the CPU cannot supply frames.

Q: Why is the FPS at 4K Ultra only 80 FPS despite the powerful GPU?

A: The CPU’s single-thread performance is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 2600 has a single-thread score of 1154 in Geekbench and 2239 in Passmark, which is low for a modern game. The data shows that the FPS is nearly the same across resolutions (80 at 4K Ultra vs 96 at 1080p Ultra), indicating that the CPU cannot push beyond this limit regardless of GPU load.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 626th out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the top 21% of all combinations, which might seem surprising given the CPU’s age. However, the ranking reflects the overall performance, which is limited by the CPU. The RTX 5090 D’s high benchmark scores (92nd percentile) help push the combo up the rankings, but the CPU’s lower percentile (75) holds it back.

The rank of 626 is notably lower than what the GPU alone would suggest. If the CPU were a modern part, this combo would likely rank much higher, given the RTX 5090 D’s capabilities. The data shows that the GPU is capable of 4K Ultra at 80 FPS, but a faster CPU would allow higher frame rates, potentially pushing the combo into the top 100. The rank indicates that there are 625 other combinations that perform better in this game, many of which likely have more balanced CPU-GPU pairings.

The ranking also reflects the specific game’s CPU sensitivity. In a GPU-bound game, this combo might rank higher, but Microsoft Flight Simulator’s simulation-heavy nature penalizes the Ryzen 5 2600. The combo rank of 626 out of 2996 means that 78.9% of tested combos perform worse, but it also means that 20.9% perform better. This is a solid mid-tier result, but it does not fully leverage the RTX 5090 D’s potential.

For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks (e.g., Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, Intel Core i9-11900H) have similar average scores, but they may perform differently in this game due to newer architectures. The combo rank is what it is, and the data suggests that the CPU is the primary factor limiting the ranking.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 108 FPS average with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. This is a smooth experience for a simulator, and the minimum FPS is above 90, which is excellent. The High preset at 1080p yields 97 FPS average, which is also good, but the Medium preset offers a higher minimum FPS (92 vs unknown for High) and better overall consistency. The Low preset at 1080p gives 118 FPS, but the visual quality is reduced, which is not ideal for a game that relies on scenery detail.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combo, as it balances visual quality with performance. The High preset at 1440p gives 90 FPS average, which is still playable, but the Medium preset’s higher minimum FPS (85) ensures fewer stutters. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 89 FPS average, which is close to High but with better visuals. However, the Medium preset is recommended for the best balance.

At 4K, the Medium preset provides 91 FPS average with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 104 FPS. This is the best 4K option because it maintains a minimum FPS above 75, which is acceptable for a simulator. The High preset at 4K gives 82 FPS average, and the Ultra preset gives 80 FPS, but their minimum FPS values are not listed, making it harder to assess consistency. The Low preset at 4K yields 99 FPS, but the visual quality is poor for a game that is about scenery.

The data clearly shows that the Medium preset is the best overall choice across all resolutions. It offers the highest minimum FPS values (92 at 1080p, 85 at 1440p, 77 at 4K) while maintaining average FPS above 90 at 1080p and 1440p, and above 90 at 4K. The Medium preset also provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, making it the recommended setting for this CPU-GPU combo. The High and Ultra presets are playable, but they do not offer significant visual improvements over Medium for the FPS cost. The Low preset should be avoided if possible, as it reduces the game’s visual appeal without providing a substantial FPS benefit beyond what Medium already offers.