Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT — Benchmark Analysis

This analysis covers the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT in Microsoft Flight Simulator, based on 12 tested configurations across three resolutions and four quality presets. The combo ranks 1674th out of 3714 tested combos in this game, placing it in the 55th percentile overall — a solidly mid-pack result for a flight simulator that is notoriously demanding on both CPU and GPU resources.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the strongest performer, with average FPS ranging from 71 at Ultra settings to 127 at Low settings. At 2560x1440, averages fall to between 57 and 102 FPS, while 3840x2160 delivers 42 to 75 FPS depending on the preset.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617, -0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, -0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i7-10700F (19499, +0.5% delta). The Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723, a 0.7% delta.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck at 4K in this game?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops dramatically compared to 1440p — from 102 to 75 FPS at Low settings, and from 60 to 44 FPS at High settings. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 42 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: What is the memory configuration of this GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective.

Q: Which settings preset gives the smoothest experience at 2560x1440?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 provide 79 average FPS with a minimum of 68 and maximum of 91 FPS, making it the most balanced preset for this resolution. High settings deliver 60 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 57 FPS.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 scores 16429 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2319 in single-core. The 3DMark results show 5411 for max threads versus 836 for single-thread, indicating strong scaling across its 6 cores and 12 threads.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It houses 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 40 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz, delivering 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's 12 GB of VRAM proves sufficient across all tested configurations, as the game's streaming-heavy workload benefits from the 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. The 192-bit memory bus and 18 Gbps effective memory speed allow the card to handle high-resolution textures without stuttering, though the measured FPS data suggests that at 4K, the GPU's raw compute capacity becomes the primary constraint.

The GPU ranks in the 71st percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26011. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25891, +0.5% delta), AMD FirePro W7100 (25856, +0.6% delta), AMD FirePro D700 (25842, +0.7% delta), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25740, +1.1% delta). While these comparisons are from general benchmarks, the in-game data shows that the card's performance scales predictably with resolution, confirming its role as a mid-range to upper-mid-range part.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 127 FPS on Low, 99 FPS on Medium, 74 FPS on High, and 71 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, those figures drop to 102, 79, 60, and 57 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, the numbers fall further to 75, 59, 44, and 42 FPS.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of roughly 20-25% across all presets, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where pixel count increases by approximately 78%. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is more dramatic — around 26-30% — despite 4K having 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is hitting memory bandwidth or fill-rate limits, as the 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and 166.4 GPixel/s pixel rate become stressed by the sheer pixel throughput required.

The fact that Low settings at 4K (75 FPS) outperform Ultra settings at 1440p (57 FPS) indicates that the game's quality presets have a significant impact on GPU load, likely through draw distance, shadow quality, and texture filtering. The CPU is not the primary bottleneck at any resolution, as the Ryzen 5 5500's 6-core, 12-thread configuration provides sufficient headroom for the game's simulation logic.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks 1674th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the 55th percentile of all systems tested. This is a respectable position for a mid-range pairing, though it falls short of top-tier configurations that would leverage higher-end CPUs and GPUs.

The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 73rd percentile standing and the GPU's 71st percentile, resulting in a system that performs slightly above the median for this game. The data indicates that the combo is well-matched — neither component dramatically outperforms the other, which prevents severe bottlenecking. However, the 4K results show that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 16 MB L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for the game's data streaming requirements.

Relative to other combos in the database, this system sits in a crowded field of 5000-series AMD processors paired with RX 6000-series GPUs. The ranking suggests that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need to consider a more powerful GPU, while those targeting 1080p or 1440p gaming will find this combo performs admirably.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but Medium settings (99 FPS average, 84 minimum, 113 maximum) offer the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. The High preset at 74 FPS is also viable, though the jump from Medium to High only yields marginal visual improvements while costing 25 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings (79 FPS average, 68 minimum, 91 maximum) are the recommended choice for a smooth experience. The Low preset (102 FPS) is suitable for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, while High (60 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) dip below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for comfortable gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that Medium settings (59 FPS average, 50 minimum, 67 maximum) are the highest preset that maintains playable frame rates. Low settings (75 FPS) provide a smoother experience, while High (44 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) fall into the range where stuttering and input lag become noticeable, particularly in a flight simulator where precise control is essential.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 1440p (60 FPS) offers a good compromise, though the 4K Ultra preset (42 FPS) should only be considered for static screenshots or very patient pilots.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 75 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average, 50 FPS minimum, 67 FPS maximum
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 102 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average, 68 FPS minimum, 91 FPS maximum
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 99 FPS average, 84 FPS minimum, 113 FPS maximum
• High: 74 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only configuration with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 84 to 113 FPS indicates a variance of 29 FPS, which is typical for a flight simulator with dynamic weather and terrain loading. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 68-91 FPS (23 FPS variance), while at 4K Medium, the range is 50-67 FPS (17 FPS variance), suggesting that higher resolutions smooth out frame pacing due to the GPU becoming the consistent bottleneck.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename), manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache, providing a total of 10,700 million transistors on a 180 mm² die.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is primarily handling the simulation logic, including flight physics, weather systems, and AI traffic. The 3DMark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: 5386 for 16 threads, 4593 for 8 threads, and 5411 for max threads, indicating that the processor scales well with workload. The single-thread score of 836 is modest but sufficient for the game's main thread, which handles player input and camera movement.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4, combined with its 16 MB L3 cache, allows for efficient data streaming from storage to the GPU. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and single-core score of 2319 place the processor in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, which is competitive with its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617 avg, -0.1% delta), Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, -0.4% delta), Intel Core i7-10700F (19499, +0.5% delta), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (19723, -0.7% delta).

The CPU's PCIe Gen 3 interface, while not the latest generation, does not appear to bottleneck the GPU in this game, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across resolutions. The processor's 12 threads are adequately utilized by the game's multi-threaded rendering pipeline, and the 65 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery without thermal throttling concerns in standard desktop configurations.