Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination delivers a playable but constrained experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with performance that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The data shows this pairing ranks low among tested combos, placing at 1595 out of 1795, indicating that it is positioned in the lower percentile for this demanding flight simulator. Benchmark results reveal a setup that can achieve smooth frame rates at 1080p with lower presets but struggles to maintain playability at 4K, where the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60 FPS?

A: The only setting that reaches 60 FPS is 1920x1080 with Low settings, averaging 79 FPS. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average drops to 59.6 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 43.1 on Low settings. With High settings, the average falls to 24.1 FPS, and on Ultra it drops to 23.2 FPS, making 4K only viable on the lowest preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, especially at higher resolutions. The FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., from 46 to 24.1 on High settings), while the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread configuration provides consistent multi-threaded performance that does not show a similar scaling bottleneck.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The processor's average benchmark score is 18129. It is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400, which has an average score of 18150, showing a delta of -0.1%. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS is 0.2% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 is 0.2% behind.

Q: What is the GTX 1660 SUPER's standing among other GPUs?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 14286, placing it in the 55th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14314, which is 0.2% higher, while the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics is also 0.2% higher with a score of 14315.

Q: What is the most balanced preset for 1080p gaming?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides a balanced experience with an average of 57.4 FPS. This is significantly smoother than the High preset's 46 FPS and only 21.6 FPS slower than Low, offering a better visual experience without a major performance penalty.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Matisse. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, characteristics that are relevant for a simulation title like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which can utilize multiple threads for physics and AI calculations. The processor's benchmark results show a strong multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and a single-core score of 2124. This indicates a balanced performance profile that is well-suited for the game's CPU-intensive simulation aspects.

The CPU's performance relative to its peers is consistent with its position in the market. Its average benchmark score of 18129 places it in the 76th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-11400 and AMD Ryzen 5 1600, show negligible performance differences, with deltas of -0.1% and -0.2% respectively. This means the CPU is not a source of significant variance in the measured FPS; instead, the frame rate data suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 33.3 FPS, which indicates that the CPU can handle the increased draw calls and simulation load, but the GPU's rendering limits then become the dominant factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 1785 MHz, and it has a TDP of 125 W. These specifications are critical for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which renders vast landscapes and complex scenery. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is a key consideration, as the game's high-resolution textures can be demanding. The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance is the main constraint on frame rates, particularly as resolution increases.

The GPU's overall performance is modest, with an average benchmark score of 14286, placing it in the 55th percentile. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, is a mere 0.2% faster, highlighting the GTX 1660 SUPER's position in the entry-level to mid-range segment. The data shows a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. For instance, at 2560x1440, the average FPS on High is 38.3, which is 16.7 FPS lower than at 1920x1080. This scaling pattern points to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth being insufficient for the increased pixel count, making it the limiting component in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combination show a clear hierarchy based on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 79 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combo. The Medium preset drops to 57.4 FPS, while High and Ultra presets are closer together, at 46 FPS and 45.7 FPS respectively. This suggests that beyond Medium settings, the performance gain from reducing quality is minimal at this resolution, as the GPU is already struggling to maintain high frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. The Low preset averages 59.6 FPS, which is still smooth, but the Medium preset falls to 50.2 FPS. The High preset averages 38.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset is significantly lower at 34.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 25.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU's rendering load is becoming more significant. At 3840x2160, performance is severely impacted. The Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 43.1 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 37.3 FPS, while High and Ultra presets are nearly identical, with averages of 24.1 FPS and 23.2 FPS, respectively. This data confirms that 4K resolution is beyond the practical capabilities of this GPU for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1920x1080 to 38.3 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 16.7%. The further drop to 24.1 at 3840x2160 represents a 47.6% decrease from the 1080p value. This steep decline is a classic indicator of a GPU-limited scenario, where the increased pixel count directly impacts the rendering workload.

The data for the Low preset shows a similar trend, with FPS dropping from 79 at 1080p to 59.6 at 1440p, and then to 43.1 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 45.4%, which is substantial. In contrast, the CPU's performance, as measured by its benchmark scores, does not degrade with resolution, confirming that the Ryzen 5 3600 is not the primary limiter. The consistent pattern across all presets indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory interface are insufficient to handle the demands of Microsoft Flight Simulator at higher resolutions, making the GPU the definitive bottleneck in this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points towards using the Low preset at 2560x1440, which yields an average of 59.6 FPS, or the Medium preset at 1920x1080, which averages 57.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a superior visual experience compared to Low, with a performance penalty of only 21.6 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p provide minimal visual benefit for the performance cost, as they both hover around 46 FPS, which is not significantly smoother than the Medium preset's 57.4 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that approaches smooth playability, with an average of 59.6 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution drops to 50.2 FPS, which may still be acceptable for some users, but the High and Ultra presets are not recommended due to their sub-40 FPS averages. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable choice, with an average of 43.1 FPS, but users should expect a less fluid experience. The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1080p with Medium settings for a balance of visual fidelity and performance, or to drop to 1440p with Low settings if a higher resolution is desired.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1595 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested, indicating that it is a lower-tier configuration for this particular game. The rank reflects the cumulative performance of both components, and given the GPU's modest standing in the 55th percentile, it is clear that the graphics card is the main factor dragging down the combo's overall position.

The CPU's performance is not the primary issue, as it sits in the 76th percentile and is on par with several other mid-range processors. The data suggests that while the Ryzen 5 3600 is a capable processor for the simulation aspects of the game, the GTX 1660 SUPER is not powerful enough to render the game at high frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. This low rank underscores the importance of GPU selection for Microsoft Flight Simulator, as the game's visual demands are substantial. The measured FPS data reinforces this, showing that the combo only achieves acceptable performance at 1080p with lower presets, making it a configuration suited for entry-level 1080p gaming rather than high-fidelity or high-resolution play.