Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + Intel Arc B390

This combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor and Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a playable but constrained experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with measured average frame rates ranging from 19 FPS at 4K Ultra to 56 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is consistently limited by the graphics solution, as the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.20 GHz boost clock provides sufficient headroom for the simulator's demands, while the GPU's performance percentile of 9 places it near the bottom of the tested graphics hierarchy.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a classic graphics-limited scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 56 FPS average, which drops to 45 FPS at 1440p Low (−19.6%) and further to 33 FPS at 4K Low (−41.1% from 1080p). This scaling pattern shows that the Intel Arc B390's rendering throughput is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU can maintain consistent frame delivery when the GPU load decreases at lower resolutions.

For Medium settings, the resolution penalty is similarly steep: 43 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (−18.6%), and 26 FPS at 4K (−39.5% from 1080p). The High preset shows 33 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p (−21.2%), and 19 FPS at 4K (−42.4%). Ultra settings follow the same trajectory with 31 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p (−19.4%), and 19 FPS at 4K (−38.7% from 1080p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets — roughly 19–21% from 1080p to 1440p and 39–42% from 1080p to 4K — indicates that the scaling is purely resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. This is characteristic of a GPU that is saturated at every quality level, with the 4K resolution approximately halving the frame rate compared to 1080p regardless of whether the preset is Low or Ultra. The data suggests that the Arc B390's fill rate and shading capacity are exhausted at higher pixel counts, making resolution the dominant variable in performance outcomes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output pipelines. Its measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% ahead) and NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% ahead). This performance tier explains why the graphics card struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions in a demanding flight simulator.

The system shared memory configuration means the GPU uses system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent" and memory size listed as "System Shared." This architecture likely contributes to the performance ceiling observed, as the GPU must compete with CPU memory traffic. The 12 ray tracing cores are present but the benchmark data shows that even without ray tracing enabled, the card is limited to sub-30 FPS averages at 4K for all presets except Low.

The GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient for Microsoft Flight Simulator's heavy draw calls and complex scenery at higher resolutions. The measured frame times reflect this: at 1440p Medium, the average of 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS shows relatively stable delivery, but at 4K Medium the average drops to 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS, indicating that the GPU is consistently near its rendering limits. The 80 W TDP and integrated form factor (IGP slot width, no power connectors) suggest this is a power-constrained solution, which aligns with its modest performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2665th out of 2996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe performance ceiling — the CPU's percentile rank of 71 among all processors is substantially higher than the GPU's 9th percentile, creating a significant imbalance in this pairing.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals provides context for what the processor contributes: the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 0.2% higher in average benchmark score (17007 vs 17035), while the Intel Core i5-11400 scores 0.2% lower (17067 vs 17035). These near-identical scores indicate that the Ryzen 5 3600 is performing exactly as expected for its class, and the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo's low ranking.

The GPU's nearest rivals paint a clearer picture of the bottleneck: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1.3% higher (1463 vs 1482), the GeForce 800M scores 1.5% higher (1460 vs 1482), and the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 2.5% higher (1446 vs 1482). These are all entry-level or legacy graphics solutions, confirming that the Arc B390's performance tier is the primary reason this combo ranks so low. If the same CPU were paired with a mid-range discrete GPU, the ranking would likely improve dramatically, but the data only shows this specific configuration's measured results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 56 FPS, which is the only measured configuration above 50 FPS. Medium settings drop to 43 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, showing a playable range for less demanding flight scenarios. High settings yield 33 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 31 FPS average — both below the commonly accepted 60 FPS threshold but potentially acceptable for a flight simulator where smooth panning is less critical than in fast-paced genres.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades notably. Low settings average 45 FPS, which is 11 FPS lower than 1080p Low. Medium settings average 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS, indicating that even the minimum frame rate remains above 30 FPS for this preset. High settings drop to 26 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 25 FPS average. The gap between 1440p Low and 1440p Ultra is 20 FPS, suggesting that settings adjustments provide meaningful performance headroom at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is severely constrained. Low settings average 33 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration above 30 FPS. Medium settings average 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS. High and Ultra settings both average 19 FPS, showing that the GPU has reached its absolute ceiling regardless of quality preset. The 4K Low result of 33 FPS matches the 1080p High result, indicating that resolution has a similar impact to raising the quality preset by two levels.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where any preset achieves above 50 FPS average (56 FPS at Low). At 1440p, the maximum average is 45 FPS (Low), and at 4K, the maximum is 33 FPS (Low). For playable frame rates, 1080p is the recommended resolution.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it 1.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% below the GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5% below the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446). Its 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates entry-level performance.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17035 places it at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals scoring within 0.2% (Intel Core i7-1260P at 17007 and Intel Core i5-11400 at 17067). The GPU's 9th percentile ranking makes it the clear performance limiter.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS at 2560x1440 Medium. This provides a consistent experience above 30 FPS but below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Does raising settings from Medium to Ultra have a significant impact at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium averages 26 FPS, while both High and Ultra average 19 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 7 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra is 0 FPS, indicating the GPU is fully saturated at both presets.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The combination ranks 2665th out of 2996 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested CPU-GPU pairings for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This low ranking is consistent with the GPU's entry-level performance tier.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, Low settings deliver 56 FPS average, which is the only configuration exceeding 50 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p provide a reasonable compromise at 43 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS, suggesting that this preset maintains playable frame rates during demanding scenery loads. For users prioritizing visual quality over raw frame rate, High at 1080p (33 FPS) may be acceptable, but Ultra (31 FPS) offers only a marginal improvement over High while consuming additional GPU resources.

At 1440p, the data recommends Low settings (45 FPS) as the only preset that consistently stays above 40 FPS. Medium at 1440p averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS, which could be viable for users who prefer smoother visuals and can tolerate occasional frame drops. High and Ultra at 1440p both fall below 27 FPS, making them less suitable for active gameplay.

At 4K, Low settings (33 FPS) are the only viable option for maintaining frame rates above 30 FPS. Medium at 4K averages 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS, which may be acceptable for screenshot purposes or stationary viewing. High and Ultra at 4K both average 19 FPS, which is likely too low for interactive flight control. The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and performance, with 1080p Low as the fallback for maximum smoothness.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse), manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz, combined with 32 MB of shared L3 cache, deliver strong single-threaded performance for a 2019-era processor. The CPU's benchmark results show balanced capabilities: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and single-core score of 2124, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7372 and single-core score of 1536.

In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle physics calculations, flight model updates, and scenery loading. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo, as its performance percentile (71) vastly exceeds the GPU's (9). The CPU's nearest rivals — Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core i5-11400 — all score within 0.2% of each other, showing that the Ryzen 5 3600 delivers expected performance for its tier.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) provide adequate feeding for the GPU, but the system shared memory architecture of the Arc B390 means the CPU and GPU contend for the same memory bandwidth. The CPU's 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die and PCIe Gen 4 support (16 lanes) ensure that data transfer to the GPU is not a bottleneck. However, the GPU's performance ceiling means that even with a capable CPU, the system cannot overcome the graphics card's fundamental limitations in this demanding flight simulator.