Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is notoriously demanding, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination paints a clear picture of a system struggling to keep pace. This pairing, ranked 1736 out of 1795 tested combos, demonstrates that the experience is heavily dictated by resolution and settings, with playable frame rates only appearing at the lowest graphical presets and resolutions. The benchmark results show a system that is firmly entry-level for this specific title, requiring significant compromises to achieve smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a stark and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop is telling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 45.7 FPS, which is the highest score recorded across all 12 tested configurations. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings, the average falls to 39.8 FPS, a reduction of roughly 13%. However, the jump to 4K at Low settings is far more punishing, with the average plummeting to 25.8 FPS — a 35% drop from the 1440p figure and a 44% drop from the 1080p score.

This scaling pattern suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput requirements of 4K overwhelm the RX 570. The data shows that this graphics card, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, simply cannot sustain the workload. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is a manageable 5.9 FPS, but the leap to 4K exposes a severe bottleneck. The results imply that while the system has some headroom at 1080p, it is completely out of its depth at 4K, where even the lowest settings fail to produce a playable experience.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570, based on the Polaris 20 chip with a GCN 4.0 architecture, is the central component in these results. Its performance percentile of 74 places it in the lower-mid range of all GPUs, and its benchmark scores corroborate this position. The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, are modest, and the 2048 shading units are insufficient for the heavy geometric and texture loads of Flight Simulator.

The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical constraint. The data shows that at 1080p, dropping from Medium (38.6 FPS) to High (29.5 FPS) costs 9.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra (26.8 FPS) costs another 2.7 FPS. This degradation suggests that as settings increase, the GPU is not only processing more effects but also potentially exceeding its memory buffer, leading to stutter and reduced frame rates. The GPU’s 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate and 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 performance are simply not enough for the simulation’s complex scenery. The fact that even at 1080p Ultra the average FPS is just 26.8, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered a minimum for playability, underscores the GPU’s limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data is unequivocal: this pairing is ranked 1736 out of 1795 combos, placing it in the bottom 3% of all tested configurations. This is a poor result, indicating that the Ryzen 5 3600 and RX 570 are a mismatched or, more accurately, an underpowered duo for this particular game. The CPU itself is not the primary culprit; it holds a percentile rank of 76 among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 18129 is nearly identical to that of its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, which scores 18150 (a deltaPct of -0.1). This suggests the processor is capable.

The bottleneck is clearly the GPU. While the CPU is at the 76th percentile, the GPU is at the 74th percentile, but the game’s reliance on GPU power for rendering vast terrains and detailed aircraft models means the RX 570 drags the entire combo down. The data implies that a stronger GPU paired with this same CPU would yield substantially better results, as the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are not the limiting factor in this configuration. The rank of 1736 is a direct consequence of the GPU’s inability to handle the game’s demands.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the only configuration that approaches a stable, playable frame rate is 1080p with Low settings, averaging 45.7 FPS. This is the only row in the entire dataset that surpasses the 40 FPS mark. The 1440p Low setting, at 39.8 FPS, is borderline but may still suffer from dips in busy areas. For a consistent experience, the data strongly suggests using the Low preset at 1080p.

Choosing Medium at 1080p yields 38.6 FPS, which is a marginal drop of 7.1 FPS from Low, but the visual improvement may be worth it for some users. However, any setting above Medium at 1080p, or any setting at 1440p or 4K, results in averages below 30 FPS, which is generally considered too choppy for a fluid simulation. The data makes it clear that High settings at 1080p (29.5 FPS) and Ultra at 1440p (19.4 FPS) are not viable. The measured rows indicate that the sweet spot for this hardware is Low or Medium at 1080p, with a hard ceiling at 1440p Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a granular view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 26.8 on Ultra to 45.7 on Low, with Medium at 38.6 and High at 29.5. This shows a 18.9 FPS spread between the lowest and highest presets at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers drop significantly. Low averages 39.8 FPS, Medium falls to 29.7 FPS, High is at 23.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 19.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 20.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU struggles more with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 25.8 FPS, Medium is 23.7 FPS, High drops to 17.7 FPS, and Ultra is a slideshow at 16.4 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the RX 570 loses about 40% of its performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings. For example, at Medium, 1080p yields 38.6 FPS while 4K yields 23.7 FPS, a difference of 14.9 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the RX 570 is only suitable for 1080p gaming in this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600, a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, shows its strength in synthetic benchmarks. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and a single-core score of 2124, which are respectable figures. Its average benchmark score of 18129 puts it nearly neck-and-neck with its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which scores 18101 (a deltaPct of 0.2), and just behind the AMD Ryzen 5 1600, which scores 18158 (a deltaPct of -0.2). This indicates that the CPU is a solid mid-range performer.

However, in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The data shows that, despite the CPU’s competent benchmark scores, the overall combo rank is very low. This leads to the conclusion that the CPU is not the bottleneck; it is providing sufficient processing power for the game’s physics and AI, but the RX 570 cannot render the frames fast enough. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.20 GHz and 32 MB of shared L3 cache are adequate, and the 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is standard for DDR4. The benchmark results imply that if this CPU were paired with a much stronger GPU, the frame rates would improve significantly, as the processor has headroom to spare.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that averages above 45 FPS. The next best option is 2560x1440 with Low settings at 39.8 FPS, but for a consistently smooth experience, 1080p Low is recommended.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129. This is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400, which scores 18150 (a deltaPct of -0.1), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which scores 18101 (a deltaPct of 0.2). It is essentially at parity with both.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the AMD Radeon RX 570 in this game?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 25.8 on Low settings, which is below 30 FPS. All other 4K settings produce averages below 24 FPS, making the game unplayable at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 38.6. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS drops to 29.7. This represents a reduction of 8.9 FPS when increasing the resolution.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance percentile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 570 has a percentile rank of 74 among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has an average score of 30109, which is a deltaPct of 0.2 from the RX 570’s score of 30158. This indicates they are statistically similar in average benchmark performance.

Q: Does the data suggest the CPU or GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo?

A: The data points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s benchmark scores are relatively strong, with a percentile of 76, and the combo rank is very low at 1736 out of 1795. The GPU’s inability to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions and settings, despite the CPU’s adequate performance, indicates the graphics card is holding the system back.