Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is an exceptionally demanding title, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the hardware's limitations at higher fidelity levels. The measured results show a system that is firmly positioned for playable, lower-fidelity experiences, with a steep performance cliff appearing as both resolution and settings increase. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1080p operation where the user accepts significant compromises in visual quality to maintain a smooth frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based strictly on the measured FPS values, the most viable experience for this hardware combination is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which yields an average of 48 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a consistently smooth simulation experience, providing a playable baseline for a genre that often prioritizes fluidity for aircraft control and scenery rendering. The jump from Low to Medium at this resolution results in a 10 FPS drop to 38 average, which is a substantial 20.8% reduction in performance for what is likely a modest visual upgrade.

At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS falls to 28, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience in a flight simulator where camera panning and fast-moving terrain can make lower frame rates feel stuttery. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields only 27 average FPS, effectively matching the High preset's 28 FPS but requiring the highest graphical load. The data shows a clear pattern: the Low preset at 1080p is the only setting that avoids single-digit or low-twenties averages, making it the recommended choice for this GPU-CPU pairing. Medium settings might suffice for users who prioritize visual detail over smoothness, but the 38 FPS average with a minimum of 32 FPS indicates occasional dips that could hinder the experience during complex flight scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, demonstrates that its memory subsystem and compute capabilities are the primary limiting factors in this game. The GPU's 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs, clocked at a base of 1168 MHz and boost of 1244 MHz, deliver a raw FP32 throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS. This level of compute performance is insufficient for the heavy geometry and texture streaming demanded by Microsoft Flight Simulator at higher presets. The memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is a notable bottleneck, especially at 4K resolution where the 4 GB VRAM capacity is easily exhausted, leading to severe performance degradation.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance scales poorly with resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 48 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 39 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 29 FPS. This linear degradation suggests that the GPU is consistently the primary constraint, as the CPU's role in this test is likely secondary due to the massive graphical load. The RX 570's 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its proximity to rivals like the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (0.7% faster) and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (1.2% slower) in average benchmark scores indicate that it sits in a specific performance tier, one that is clearly inadequate for this game's highest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a stark resolution scaling curve that underscores the GPU's limitations. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 9 FPS drop (from 48 to 39, an 18.75% decrease), while the move from 1440p to 4K causes a 10 FPS drop (from 39 to 29, a 25.6% decrease). This pattern indicates that the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the RX 570 struggling to maintain even Low preset performance as pixel count increases. The 4K Low result of 29 FPS is barely playable, while 4K Medium (22 FPS) and 4K High (17 FPS) are effectively slideshows.

At High settings, the scaling is even more punishing: 1080p yields 28 FPS, 1440p drops to 23 FPS (a 17.9% decrease), and 4K falls to 17 FPS (a 26.1% decrease from 1440p). This consistent pattern across presets confirms that the limiting component is the GPU, as the frame rate drops proportionally with the pixel count. The CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Zen 2 part, is likely not the bottleneck here, as even the most demanding flight simulation physics calculations are overshadowed by the sheer graphical load. The data shows that any resolution above 1080p is not viable for this combo, and even at 1080p, only the Low preset provides an acceptable average frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The data clearly indicates 1920x1080 is the only resolution that yields playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 48, compared to 39 at 1440p Low and 29 at 4K Low, showing a severe drop-off at higher resolutions.

Q: Can this system handle Microsoft Flight Simulator at Ultra settings?

A: No. The highest average FPS at Ultra settings is 27 at 1080p, with 22 FPS at 1440p and 16 FPS at 4K. These results are far below acceptable playability thresholds, making Ultra settings unusable on this hardware.

Q: How much of a performance hit does increasing from Low to Medium settings incur?

A: At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average FPS from 48 to 38, a 10 FPS or 20.8% decrease. At 1440p, the drop is from 39 to 30 FPS (23.1% decrease), and at 4K, it goes from 29 to 22 FPS (24.1% decrease).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the low frame rates?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The RX 570's 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the game's demands, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops with increasing resolution. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has sufficient compute power for this title's physics and AI at these graphical settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 19 at 4K Medium settings. The highest minimum FPS is 32 at 1080p Medium, indicating that even at playable averages, frame time consistency can be an issue.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 3538 out of 3714 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the measured FPS results, which show marginal performance in a demanding title.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 3538 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 95.2nd percentile of all configurations. This rank is a direct reflection of the hardware's inability to handle the game's intensive graphical requirements, as the measured FPS values are consistently low across all settings and resolutions. The GPU's performance, which sits at the 74th percentile among all GPUs, is the primary drag on this ranking, as the CPU's 71st percentile standing is not the limiting factor.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 570's average benchmark score of 28766 is within 1.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 and 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 470, but this does not translate into playable performance in this specific title. The combo's low rank is exacerbated by the fact that Microsoft Flight Simulator is a particularly demanding game that requires top-tier hardware for high-fidelity experiences. The data shows that even the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13593) cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations, resulting in a system that is only suitable for low-detail 1080p play.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G, a 6-core/12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, provides a solid foundation for this system but is not the primary constraint in this game. With a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, this CPU offers adequate single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919 and Geekbench single-core score of 1460. The 8 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s dual-channel memory bandwidth are sufficient for the game's simulation logic and asset streaming, but the GPU's inability to keep up with frame rendering means the CPU often sits idle waiting for the graphics card.

In this benchmark, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle the game's complex flight dynamics, which it does competently. The 3DMark max-thread score of 4889 and Passmark multithread score of 15992 indicate that the CPU has enough headroom to handle the game's background tasks, but the measured FPS values do not show significant CPU-bound behavior. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 48 FPS, but this is still far below the CPU's potential, suggesting that the RX 570 is the limiting factor. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (0.1% faster) and Intel Core 7 150U (0.6% slower), confirms that this processor is a mid-range part that is paired with a GPU that cannot fully utilize its capabilities in this particular title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across presets. The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS of 48, while Medium drops to 38 (with a minimum of 32 and maximum of 43), High falls to 28, and Ultra bottoms out at 27. The difference between High and Ultra is negligible (only 1 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little visual benefit for the same performance cost. At this resolution, only Low and Medium are arguably playable, with Low being the only preset that maintains a consistent experience above 40 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance declines significantly. Low settings yield 39 FPS, Medium drops to 30 (with a minimum of 26 and maximum of 35), High falls to 23, and Ultra reaches 22. The gap between Low and Medium is 9 FPS (23.1% decrease), while the gap between High and Ultra is only 1 FPS)Skip to content. At 1440p, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates except at Low settings, and even that preset is marginal.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unusable. Low settings produce 29 FPS, Medium drops to 22 (with a minimum of 19 and maximum of 26), High falls to 17, and Ultra reaches 16. The 4K resolution overwhelms the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, causing severe performance degradation. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 13 FPS (44.8% decrease), showing that the GPU cannot handle the pixel count even at the lowest settings. The minimum FPS of 19 at 4K Medium indicates that frame times can spike unpredictably, further degrading the experience. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown confirms that this combo is only suitable for 1080p Low settings, with all other configurations falling below acceptable playability thresholds.