Microsoft Flight Simulator

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produce an average of 44.2 FPS. This is the lowest 1080p preset measured, while Low settings reach 80.1 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 scores 20,875 average benchmark points, placing it 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12500 (20,897) and 0.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7J13 (20,845). Its percentile rank versus all CPUs is 79.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14,286. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14,314, a 0.2% difference.

Q: Which resolution yields the highest average FPS across all settings?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the fastest resolution tested, with averages ranging from 44.2 FPS (Ultra) to 80.1 FPS (Low). At 3840x2160, the same settings range from 23.4 FPS (Ultra) to 47.2 FPS (Low).

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It features 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and bandwidth?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER includes 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz, effectively 14 Gbps.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and can boost to 4.20 GHz, which is directly relevant to Microsoft Flight Simulator's simulation-heavy workload. This game relies on single-thread performance for flight physics and AI calculations, but it also benefits from additional threads for scenery loading and background tasks. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache helps reduce latency when accessing frequently used flight data.

Benchmark results show the Ryzen 5 5500 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,429 and a single-core score of 2,319. In 3DMark tests, it scores 5,386 with 16 threads and 836 with a single thread, indicating strong scaling across cores. Its PassMark multithread score is 19,330, with single-thread at 3,058. These numbers place the CPU at the 79th percentile versus all CPUs, meaning it outperforms most processors in general compute tasks, though its nearest rivals highlight the tight competition: the Intel Core i5-12500 is 0.1% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE matches it within 0.1%.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is pivotal because the game simulates real-time weather, aerodynamic models, and terrain streaming. The 6-core/12-thread configuration allows the processor to handle these tasks without becoming the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 80.1 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed frames quickly when the GPU is less stressed. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 23.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU limits performance more severely at higher visual loads. The CPU's boost clock of 4.20 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance, which is critical for maintaining stable frame pacing in flight simulators.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is based on the Turing architecture (TU116 chip) and fabricated on a 12 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with 1,408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation units. The GPU's memory subsystem includes 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for streaming high-resolution textures in Microsoft Flight Simulator's vast world scenery. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern graphics APIs.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GTX 1660 SUPER achieves a PassMark G3D score of 12,699 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 62,664. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1,278, and Vulkan performance reaches 59,933 in Geekbench. These results place the GPU at the 55th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14,286. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14,314, 0.2% ahead) and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14,315, 0.2% ahead), indicating that this GPU sits near the middle of the performance spectrum.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 80.1 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 23.4 FPS, a 70.8% reduction. This demonstrates that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K Ultra exceeds its capabilities. The boost clock of 1785 MHz helps maintain performance in GPU-bound scenes, such as dense urban areas with high object detail. The GPU's pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s contribute to its ability to render complex scenes, though the 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 performance limits its headroom for ultra-high settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 44.2 (Ultra) to 80.1 (Low), with Medium at 61.2 and High at 45. This shows a 45% drop from Low to Ultra, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings. At 2560x1440, the averages are 32.1 (Ultra), 34.6 (High), 48.4 (Medium), and 64.5 (Low). The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 50%, as the higher pixel count increases GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop further: 23.4 (Ultra), 25.2 (High), 36.6 (Medium), and 47.2 (Low). The difference between Low and Ultra is 50.7%, and even Low settings fail to reach 60 FPS, highlighting the GPU's limitations at 4K. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 20-25%, and from 1440p to 4K by another 25-30%. For example, at Medium settings, 1080p yields 61.2 FPS, 1440p yields 48.4 FPS (a 20.9% drop), and 4K yields 36.6 FPS (a 24.4% drop from 1440p).

The settings impact is also consistent. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS by 23.6% (80.1 to 61.2), and from Medium to High by 26.5% (61.2 to 45). At 1440p, Low to Medium is a 25% drop (64.5 to 48.4), and Medium to High is 28.5% (48.4 to 34.6). At 4K, Low to Medium is 22.5% (47.2 to 36.6), and Medium to High is 31.1% (36.6 to 25.2). The largest single-step drop occurs at 1440p High to Ultra (34.6 to 32.1, a 7.2% reduction), while the smallest is at 1080p High to Ultra (45 to 44.2, a 1.8% reduction). These numbers indicate that the combo is most efficient at 1080p Medium, where it achieves 61.2 FPS, balancing visual quality and smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1,580 out of 1,795 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the lower 12% of all configurations, meaning it outperforms only about 215 other combinations. The rank reflects the game's demanding nature, particularly at higher resolutions, where this mid-range duo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. In the context of the CPU's 79th percentile and GPU's 55th percentile, the combo's rank is lower than either component's individual standing, indicating that the pairing does not maximize the potential of either part for this specific game.

The data shows that while the CPU is strong relative to all processors, the GPU is only average, and the game's heavy reliance on GPU performance at high settings drags the overall ranking down. For comparison, the CPU's nearest rivals (Intel Core i5-12500, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE) perform within 0.2% in synthetic tests, yet their real-world FPS would depend on the GPU paired with them. The GPU's nearest rivals (AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics) are also within 0.7%, but none of these are high-end parts, so the combo's rank is consistent with its mid-range positioning. The 1,580th rank out of 1,795 combos suggests that most other tested configurations have either a stronger GPU or a more balanced CPU-GPU pairing for this simulator.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combo depends on the target resolution and desired smoothness. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the best balance, achieving 61.2 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 45 FPS, which is still playable but may introduce stutter in dense scenes, while Ultra at 44.2 FPS offers marginal visual improvement over High with a negligible FPS difference (1.8% reduction). Low settings at 80.1 FPS are the smoothest but sacrifice visual fidelity, which is counterproductive for a flight simulator that relies on scenery detail.

At 2560x1440, no setting reaches 60 FPS, so users must prioritize either visual quality or smoothness. Medium at 48.4 FPS is the most balanced, offering a 25% improvement over High (34.6 FPS) while retaining moderate detail. Low at 64.5 FPS is the only 1440p setting that exceeds 60 FPS, making it suitable for competitive or fast-paced flying, though the visual compromise is significant. High and Ultra (34.6 and 32.1 FPS) are best avoided unless the user prioritizes visuals over frame rate, as both fall below 35 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo cannot maintain playable frame rates at any setting, with Low at 47.2 FPS being the only option above 30 FPS. Medium (36.6 FPS) and High (25.2 FPS) are borderline, while Ultra (23.4 FPS) is not recommended. For 4K users, the data suggests dropping to 1440p or lowering settings to Low to achieve a smoother experience. The best overall recommendation is 1080p Medium, which delivers 61.2 FPS, or 1440p Low at 64.5 FPS for users with higher-resolution monitors who accept reduced detail.