Microsoft Flight Simulator

# FAQ

Q: What is the comboRankInGame for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: This combination ranks 1624 out of 1795 tested combos in the database for this game, placing it in the lower percentile of tested systems — roughly the 10th percentile of all recorded configurations.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 scores 18129 on average across all benchmarks. The Intel Core i5-11400 scores 18150 (a delta of -0.1% relative to the 3600), while the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 18101 (0.2% higher than the 3600). The AMD Ryzen 5 1600 scores 18158 (-0.2%), and the AMD EPYC 9274F scores 18189 (-0.3%). This indicates the 3600 sits within a tight cluster of comparable CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is at the 50th percentile among all GPUs in the database, placing it exactly at the median of recorded graphics cards. Its average benchmark score is listed as 0, with no nearest rivals provided.

Q: What are the peak and minimum average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 74.2, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest average FPS is 23.3, recorded at 3840x2160 with High settings. The full range spans from 23.3 to 74.2 FPS across all tested resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth compare to its memory size?

A: The RTX 3050 4 GB features 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed. This bandwidth is a key constraint at higher resolutions, as the data shows significant FPS drops.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile relative to all CPUs?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is at the 76th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it outperforms roughly three-quarters of recorded processors in general benchmark workloads. Its average benchmark score is 18129.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA107 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units, alongside 16 ray-tracing cores and 64 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz and boosts to 1740 MHz, delivering 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its memory subsystem consists of 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that becomes a critical bottleneck in Microsoft Flight Simulator at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests it is an average performer in the broader GPU landscape. In this flight simulator, the 4 GB VRAM capacity is a limiting factor, particularly at 3840x2160 where the data shows average FPS falling to 23.3 on High settings and 24.8 on Ultra. The texture-heavy environments and large draw distances of flight simulation likely saturate the VRAM buffer, causing the steep performance degradation observed at 4K.

The GPU's 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU indicate a modest power envelope, but the performance data reveals that memory bandwidth and capacity are the primary constraints rather than raw compute. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 74.2 FPS, suggesting the GPU can handle lighter loads. However, as resolution scales, the 192.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain adequate frame rates — the 4K High result of 23.3 FPS is below playable thresholds, and even 1440p High only reaches 30.4 FPS.

The RTX 3050's pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s are modest figures that align with its mid-range positioning. The GPU's ray-tracing cores are present but their impact in this title is secondary to the memory constraints. The combination of 4 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus width means the GPU struggles to maintain consistent frame delivery when the simulator loads high-resolution terrain and airport scenery.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB configuration ranks 1624 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the bottom 10% of all recorded systems for this specific title, indicating that while the CPU is competent (76th percentile overall), the GPU's limitations dominate the pairing's performance in this simulator.

The CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-11400, AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, AMD Ryzen 5 1600, and AMD EPYC 9274F — all have average benchmark scores within 0.3% of the 3600's 18129. This clustering shows that the processor is not the differentiating factor in this combo's low ranking. Instead, the RTX 3050's 50th percentile GPU standing, combined with its limited 4 GB VRAM, drags the overall ranking down.

The rank of 1624 out of 1795 means that 171 combos perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems outperform this configuration in flight simulation. The data suggests that Microsoft Flight Simulator is particularly sensitive to GPU memory capacity and bandwidth, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost of 4.20 GHz, provide sufficient processing power for the simulator's physics and rendering threads, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings.

The combo's position in the ranking is not surprising given the GPU's modest specifications. With 32 ROPs and 64 TMUs, the RTX 3050 is designed for 1080p gaming, and the data confirms this — the only setting where the combo exceeds 60 FPS is 1080p Low (74.2 FPS). The ranking reflects a system that is adequate for lower-resolution play but falls short of the demands of high-fidelity flight simulation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 74.2 FPS on Low settings, 56.2 FPS on Medium, 45.0 FPS on High, and 38.9 FPS on Ultra. This resolution shows the most usable range: Low and Medium are playable, High is borderline, and Ultra dips below 40 FPS. The 1080p results indicate that the GPU can handle the simulator when texture loads are reduced, but the step from Medium to High costs 11.2 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 6.1 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 58.9 FPS on Low, 42.9 FPS on Medium, 30.4 FPS on High, and 32.5 FPS on Ultra. Notably, Ultra at 1440p (32.5 FPS) is slightly higher than High (30.4 FPS), which is an anomaly in the data — likely due to variable scenery complexity during measurement. Generally, the 1440p results show a significant decline: Low loses 15.3 FPS compared to 1080p, and Medium loses 13.3 FPS. High at 1440p falls below 30 FPS, making it largely unplayable for smooth flight.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses further: 41.1 FPS on Low, 31.6 FPS on Medium, 23.3 FPS on High, and 24.8 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is the only setting above 40 FPS at this resolution, while High and Ultra both fall below 25 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial: Low drops 17.8 FPS, Medium drops 11.3 FPS, High drops 7.1 FPS, and Ultra drops 7.7 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator, regardless of settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Low settings provide the best headroom at every resolution, but the margin shrinks as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 35.3 FPS; at 1440p it is 26.4 FPS; at 4K it is 16.3 FPS. This narrowing gap indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes so constrained that even lowering settings yields diminishing returns — the memory bandwidth and capacity limit frame generation independent of graphical detail.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the limiting component. At Low settings, the combo falls from 74.2 FPS at 1080p to 58.9 FPS at 1440p (a 20.6% reduction) and then to 41.1 FPS at 4K (a 44.6% reduction from 1080p). At Medium settings, the drop is from 56.2 FPS to 42.9 FPS (23.7% reduction) and then to 31.6 FPS (43.8% reduction). High settings go from 45.0 FPS to 30.4 FPS (32.4% reduction) and then to 23.3 FPS (48.2% reduction). Ultra settings move from 38.9 FPS to 32.5 FPS (16.5% reduction) and then to 24.8 FPS (36.2% reduction).

The percentage drops are steepest for High settings, suggesting that this preset pushes the GPU to its limits even at 1440p. The resolution scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 3050's 4 GB VRAM and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth are the primary constraints. In flight simulation, the camera frequently views large expanses of terrain, which requires high-resolution textures to be held in memory. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples relative to 1080p, and the GPU cannot maintain adequate fill rates or memory access patterns.

The CPU, with its 76th percentile ranking and 6 cores/12 threads, is not the limiting factor — the FPS scaling tracks closely with pixel count rather than CPU workload. If the Ryzen 5 3600 were the bottleneck, we would expect less variation between settings at a given resolution, as the CPU's workload is relatively constant regardless of texture quality. Instead, the sharp drops when increasing from Medium to High and from 1440p to 4K point squarely at the GPU's memory subsystem.

The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with Medium or Low settings, where it can maintain 56-74 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings provide a consistently playable experience (58.9 FPS), while Medium dips to 42.9 FPS and High falls below 30 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings produce only 41.1 FPS, which is marginal for a flight simulator where smooth camera panning is essential. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that this is a GPU-limited configuration for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the 4 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus being the decisive weaknesses.