Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can this CPU/GPU combo deliver at 4K Ultra settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces an average of 69 FPS. This is the lowest average among the four tested settings at this resolution, with High settings achieving 73 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, scores 54247, which represents a delta of -0.1% relative to the SUPER model. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, a 1.1% difference.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: The data shows this combo ranks 640th out of 3714 tested combinations. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 109 FPS (Ultra) to 135 FPS (Low), while at 4K they range from 69 FPS (Ultra) to 114 FPS (Low). The smaller gap between settings at 1080p compared to 4K suggests the CPU becomes more of a limiting factor at lower resolutions, though the CPU's 6-core/12-thread design with a 4.20 GHz boost clock remains capable.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 115 FPS average with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. This provides a better balance than High (99 FPS) or Ultra (94 FPS), while Low pushes to 126 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity matter for this flight simulator?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER comes with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In this game, the measured results show that even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 69 FPS average, indicating the memory subsystem is sufficient for the demands of the simulator at these settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 scores 2124 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 15045 in multi-core. Its single-thread score is in line with its 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the multi-thread result reflects the 6-core/12-thread configuration. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, which often relies on fewer threads, the single-core performance is a key factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most compelling balance across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS and maximum of 142 FPS. This is only 11 FPS below the Low preset's 135 FPS average but provides substantially improved visual quality over Low. The High preset at 1080p delivers 111 FPS, which is 13 FPS lower than Medium, making Medium the sweet spot.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out. It produces a 115 FPS average with a 98 FPS minimum, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes. The High preset at this resolution drops to 99 FPS, while Ultra sits at 94 FPS. The Low preset reaches 126 FPS, but the gap between Low and Medium (11 FPS) is smaller than the gap between Medium and High (16 FPS), suggesting Medium captures most of the performance headroom.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset provides a 97 FPS average with an 82 FPS minimum and 111 FPS maximum. This is notably higher than High's 73 FPS and Ultra's 69 FPS. The Low preset achieves 114 FPS, but the 17 FPS difference between Low and Medium is modest compared to the 24 FPS drop from Medium to High. Given that the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 82, this preset maintains playability while offering better detail than Low.

The Ultra preset, while delivering 109 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K, shows diminishing returns. The jump from High to Ultra costs 2 FPS at 1080p, 5 FPS at 1440p, and 4 FPS at 4K. For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra is viable at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K it dips below the 70 FPS threshold where Medium and High remain more comfortable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER serves as the primary rendering engine in this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 256-bit bus, the card provides 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This capacity proves adequate for Microsoft Flight Simulator's detailed terrain and aircraft models, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of 69 FPS average.

The GPU's clock speeds are substantial: a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. These frequencies, combined with 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores, drive the frame rates observed across all settings. The card's compute capabilities include 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which supports the simulator's physics and rendering calculations.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's benchmark results place it in the 86th percentile among all GPUs. Its Passmark G3D score of 34245 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 reflect strong rasterization performance. The nearest rival, the RTX 4080, posts an average score of 54247 versus the SUPER's 54209, a difference of only 0.1%, indicating that the SUPER model's performance advantage is minimal in synthetic tests.

In practical terms, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 45 FPS (114 vs 69), while at 1080p the same settings spread is only 26 FPS (135 vs 109). This scaling demonstrates that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, where it must process four times as many pixels as 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 640th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the configuration in the top 17.2% of all tested pairings, a respectable position given the CPU's age relative to the GPU.

The ranking reflects how the CPU and GPU interact in this particular title. The Ryzen 5 3600, with its 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, provides sufficient processing power to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER in most scenarios. However, the gap between the combo's rank and what the GPU alone might achieve suggests the CPU does constrain performance in certain situations.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores include the Intel Core i7-1260P (delta of 0.2%) and the Intel Core i5-11400 (delta of -0.2%). These deltas indicate the Ryzen 5 3600 performs essentially on par with those processors in general benchmarks. In Microsoft Flight Simulator specifically, the combination's rank of 640 out of 3714 demonstrates that it outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's own ranking of 86th percentile among GPUs, combined with the CPU's 71st percentile, yields a combo that exceeds what either component might suggest individually. This is particularly true at higher resolutions where the GPU's capabilities are more fully utilized. The data indicates that this pairing is better suited for 1440p and 4K gaming than for 1080p, where the CPU becomes a more significant factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This CPU, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process, contains 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. It supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and provides 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's performance is critical for handling the simulation's complex calculations, including flight physics, weather systems, and AI traffic. The Ryzen 5 3600's Cinebench R23 scores show 15045 multi-core and 2124 single-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for this game, as flight simulators often have single-threaded bottlenecks.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance relative to its class. Its 3DMark 16-thread score of 4605 and max-thread score of 4603 indicate consistent scaling across cores. The Passmark multithread score of 17700 and physics score of 1152 further demonstrate its computational capabilities.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 17035 is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007) and the AMD EPYC 7742 (16998). The Intel Core i5-11400 scores 17067, a 0.2% difference. These tight margins show the Ryzen 5 3600 remains competitive in synthetic benchmarks despite its 2019 release date.

In this game's context, the CPU's role varies by resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 109 to 135 FPS across settings, suggesting the CPU helps maintain high frame rates. At 4K, the range is 69 to 114 FPS, where the GPU's workload dominates. The data indicates the CPU provides adequate support without becoming a severe bottleneck, though the combo's rank of 640 out of 3714 suggests some combinations achieve higher performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show consistent performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 135 FPS, the highest of any setting. Medium delivers 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS and maximum of 142 FPS. High produces 111 FPS, while Ultra reaches 109 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 26 FPS, indicating that even at maximum settings, the combo maintains playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low settings yield 126 FPS, the highest at this resolution. Medium provides 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 132 FPS. High drops to 99 FPS, and Ultra achieves 94 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 32 FPS, showing a slightly larger gap than at 1080p due to increased GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates decrease more noticeably. Low settings average 114 FPS, Medium reaches 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra delivers 69 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 45 FPS, the largest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

Comparing settings across resolutions reveals interesting patterns. The Medium preset at 4K (97 FPS) outperforms the High preset at 1440p (99 FPS) by a narrow margin, suggesting that Medium at 4K provides a better experience than High at 1440p in terms of frame rate. Similarly, the Low preset at 4K (114 FPS) nearly matches the Medium preset at 1080p (124 FPS), showing the GPU's headroom at lower settings.

The minimum FPS values, available only for Medium settings, provide insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 105 FPS, at 1440p it is 98 FPS, and at 4K it is 82 FPS. These minimums remain above 80 FPS even at 4K, indicating that the combo avoids severe frame drops in this simulator's typical workloads.