Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti produces a mid-pack result in Microsoft Flight Simulator, ranking 1324th out of 1795 tested combos. This places the configuration in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, with measured frame rates that range from 30.6 FPS at 4K Ultra to 99.4 FPS at 1080p Low. The data indicates a system that is capable of smooth flight simulation at 1080p with moderate settings, but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and quality presets.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset achieving 99.4 FPS and the Medium preset reaching 78.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset still manages 80.7 FPS, while 3840x2160 drops below 60 FPS even on Low (59.2 FPS).

Q: How does this combo perform at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the system delivers 56.6 FPS at 1080p, 43.7 FPS at 1440p, and 30.6 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that Ultra is only viable at 1080p, where frame rates remain above the 50 FPS threshold.

Q: Which preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 78.2 FPS, which is 37.6% higher than the High preset at the same resolution (61 FPS). Given the substantial frame rate advantage, Medium at 1080p offers the most playable experience without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400 (18150, -0.1% delta). It slightly outperforms the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (18101, +0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (18158, -0.2% delta).

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180, representing a -0.2% difference, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 scores 25235 (-0.5% delta).

Q: Is this system capable of 60 FPS gameplay in this title?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p or 1440p with lower presets. At 1080p, Low (99.4 FPS), Medium (78.2 FPS), and High (61 FPS) all exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (80.7 FPS) and Medium (62.6 FPS) cross the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to a clear hierarchy of playable configurations. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 78.2 FPS, providing a 28% improvement over High (61 FPS) and a 38% gain over Ultra (56.6 FPS). This makes Medium the recommended preset for 1080p users who prioritize smoothness, as the frame rate comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS target.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset (62.6 FPS) is the only setting besides Low (80.7 FPS) that maintains playable frame rates. The High preset at 45.9 FPS and Ultra at 43.7 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable for a smooth experience. Users willing to accept lower visual quality should opt for Medium at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset comes closest at 59.2 FPS, while Medium (45.6 FPS), High (33.4 FPS), and Ultra (30.6 FPS) all present significant compromises. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable option for near-60 FPS gameplay, though the visual quality trade-off may be substantial.

Overall, the data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p Medium or 1440p Low/Medium gameplay. Higher resolutions demand substantial compromises in visual fidelity to maintain acceptable frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 696 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 4603 in the max-threads test. In Cinebench R23, the CPU achieves 2124 in single-core and 15045 in multi-core tests.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is significant because the game's simulation logic is heavily dependent on single-thread performance. The single-thread score of 696 in 3DMark places it below many modern CPUs, which may explain why the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes the bottleneck. The multi-thread capabilities (4603 in 3DMark max threads) provide some headroom for background tasks, but the game's primary thread usage limits overall performance.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this workload, but the 7 nm Zen 2 architecture's single-thread performance is a limiting factor. Compared to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, the Ryzen 5 3600 delivers nearly identical average scores (18129 vs 18150, -0.1% delta), indicating that the CPU is not unusually weak for its class.

However, the data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 99.4 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can keep pace with the GPU when graphical load is minimal. As settings increase, the GPU becomes more constrained, but the CPU's single-thread limitations may still cap frame rates in certain scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1324th out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 26th percentile of all tested systems. This is a below-average ranking, indicating that most other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates in this game.

The ranking reflects the system's measured performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo achieves competitive frame rates (99.4 FPS on Low), but its performance drops substantially at higher resolutions. The 4K results, where even Low preset only reaches 59.2 FPS, drag the overall ranking down.

The CPU's percentile standing (76th among all CPUs) is higher than the GPU's (69th among all GPUs), suggesting that the graphics card is the more significant bottleneck in this pairing. The GPU's average benchmark score of 25120 is within 0.5% of several rivals, indicating that it performs as expected for its class.

The rank of 1324 out of 1795 implies that roughly 74% of tested combos outperform this configuration. This is consistent with the RTX 3060 Ti being an older mid-range GPU (released in late 2020) paired with a mid-range CPU from the same era, both of which have been surpassed by newer hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with 4864 shading units and 152 texture mapping units. Its FP32 performance is rated at 16.20 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor, as the game is known for high memory usage at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 1080p, the GPU handles all presets reasonably well, with Ultra achieving 56.6 FPS. At 1440p, performance drops by approximately 25-30% across presets, while at 4K, the GPU is severely constrained, with Ultra falling to 30.6 FPS.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is moderate by modern standards, and the 8 GB capacity may be insufficient for 4K Ultra textures in this simulation. The benchmark data supports this, showing a 48% drop from 1080p Ultra (56.6 FPS) to 4K Ultra (30.6 FPS), which is steeper than the resolution pixel-count increase alone would suggest.

The RTX 3060 Ti's 69th percentile standing among all GPUs indicates that it is an average performer in the current landscape. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores nearly identically (25180 vs 25120, -0.2% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is also close (25235, -0.5% delta). These marginal differences suggest that the GPU is well-matched to its peers, and the combo's ranking is more influenced by the game's demanding nature than by any GPU-specific deficiency.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results: Low preset achieves 99.4 FPS, Medium reaches 78.2 FPS, High hits 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 56.6 FPS. The step from Low to Medium represents a 21.3% performance loss, while the step from Medium to High costs another 22%. The gap between High and Ultra is smaller at 7.2%, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 80.7 FPS, Medium at 62.6 FPS, High at 45.9 FPS, and Ultra at 43.7 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs approximately 18-19% performance across all presets, with the largest absolute drop seen in High (from 61 to 45.9 FPS, a 24.8% reduction). The Medium preset maintains a playable 62.6 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below 50 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly lower: Low at 59.2 FPS, Medium at 45.6 FPS, High at 33.4 FPS, and Ultra at 30.6 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 27-29% performance at each preset level, with Low being the only setting that approaches 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K delivers less than half the frame rate of the same preset at 1080p (30.6 vs 56.6 FPS).

Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra follows a consistent pattern: Low provides roughly 1.7-1.9 times the frame rate of Ultra. This suggests that the game's graphical settings have a substantial impact on performance, and users can effectively trade visual quality for frame rate within a predictable range. The measured data also shows that the combo is best utilized at 1080p, where all presets remain above 56 FPS, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors at lower settings.