Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in the benchmark database, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT produces a very specific performance profile. The data shows a system that is capable of smooth flight at lower resolutions and settings, but which hits a hard wall at 4K Ultra. The measured FPS numbers reveal a clear story about where the bottleneck lies and how to configure the game for the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 99.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 77.8 FPS at 2560x1440, and then down to 56.5 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a total reduction of 42.6 FPS, or roughly 43%, when moving from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 5700 XT’s compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated by the increasing pixel count.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra, the average FPS drops from 54.5 at 1080p to 47.0 at 1440p, and then plummets to 30.3 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 24.2 FPS, which represents a 44% performance hit. At High settings, the drop is from 57.5 to 36.8, a 36% reduction. The fact that the percentage drop is similar across settings suggests that the resolution increase is taxing the GPU’s raw throughput uniformly, rather than exposing a specific architectural weakness.

Notably, the transition from 1440p to 4K is where the system loses the most ground. At Medium settings, 1440p yields 64.9 FPS, but 4K drops to 44.1 FPS. This 20.8 FPS loss is larger than the 12.5 FPS loss seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo if you want to maintain playable frame rates above 60 FPS, while 4K is only viable at Low settings, where it still manages 56.5 FPS.

The limiting component at 4K is clearly the RX 5700 XT. The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin at 3840x2160. The FPS scaling shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in this configuration, and reducing resolution is the most effective way to recover performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, it delivers 64.9 FPS, and at High settings it drops to 46.0 FPS. 1080p is smoother, with 77.4 FPS at Medium and 57.5 FPS at High, but 1440p offers a better visual balance without sacrificing playability.

Q: Can this system run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves a 56.5 FPS average. At Medium, 4K drops to 44.1 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 30.3 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth flight simulation. The GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600 perform in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU scores 18,309 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,584 in single-core. It also achieves 5,659 in 3DMark Max Threads and 882 in 3DMark Single Thread. These scores place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,765.

Q: What is the RX 5700 XT’s standing relative to other GPUs?

A: The GPU has an average benchmark score of 24,731, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which scores 24,763, a 0.1% difference. It also performs close to the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 24,647.

Q: Does the game use the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600 has 6 cores and 12 threads, and its multi-threaded scores are strong, such as 18,309 in Cinebench R23. However, the FPS data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, suggesting the CPU has spare capacity in this title.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 99.1 FPS, while Ultra produces 54.5 FPS. That is a 44.6 FPS difference, or a 45% performance penalty for enabling the highest visual quality.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the dominant component in this build, and its VRAM and clock speeds directly influence the game’s performance. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a substantial amount of memory bandwidth, but it is not enough to keep frame rates high at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 30.3. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, and the core has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz.

The GPU’s compute power is rated at 9.754 TFLOPS for FP32, with 2,560 shading units and 64 ROPs. These specifications explain why the card performs well at 1080p, where it can push 99.1 FPS at Low settings, but struggles at 4K. The pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s are sufficient for lower resolutions, but the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 overwhelms the card’s capabilities.

The VRAM capacity is also a factor. With only 8 GB, the card may be forced to swap textures at 4K Ultra, which could contribute to the low 30.3 FPS average. At 1440p High, the card manages 46.0 FPS, and at 1080p High it reaches 57.5 FPS. These numbers suggest that the GPU is well-matched to 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not a 4K card for this simulation. The benchmark data shows that the RX 5700 XT’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile with a 0.1% score difference, are in the same performance class, confirming its mid-range positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 99.1 FPS on Low, 77.4 FPS on Medium, 57.5 FPS on High, and 54.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra is 44.6 FPS, which is the largest gap of any resolution. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU effectively, and the FPS is primarily determined by the graphics settings.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are 77.8 FPS on Low, 64.9 FPS on Medium, 46.0 FPS on High, and 47.0 FPS on Ultra. Interestingly, the Ultra setting performs slightly better than High, with a 1.0 FPS difference. This could be due to how the game handles certain effects, but the data is clear: 1440p Ultra is playable at 47.0 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 30.8 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, showing the GPU becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings yield 56.5 FPS, Medium drops to 44.1 FPS, High falls to 36.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 26.2 FPS. The system cannot maintain 60 FPS at any setting in 4K, and even Low settings are only marginally above 50 FPS. The data shows that the GPU is the clear bottleneck at this resolution, as the FPS scales almost linearly with the reduction in graphical load.

The overall combo rank is 1360 out of 1795, placing this configuration in the lower half of tested systems. This is a reflection of the GPU’s age and the game’s demanding nature, rather than a fault of the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing 1080p or 1440p with Medium to High settings. At 1080p, Medium settings provide 77.4 FPS, which is smooth and visually acceptable, while High settings drop to 57.5 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced flight. Ultra at 1080p is 54.5 FPS, and the visual improvement over High may not justify the 3.0 FPS loss.

At 1440p, Medium settings are the best choice, delivering 64.9 FPS. This is the highest frame rate above 60 FPS at this resolution, and it offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. High settings at 1440p drop to 46.0 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less smooth in dense areas. Ultra at 1440p is 47.0 FPS, which is nearly identical to High, so there is no benefit to using Ultra over High.

For users with a 4K display, the only viable option is Low settings, which produce 56.5 FPS. Medium settings at 4K are 44.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and High and Ultra are too slow. The recommendation is to play at 1080p Medium for the smoothest experience, or 1440p Medium for a sharper image. Avoid 4K unless you are willing to accept Low settings and frame rates below 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its performance is still important. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it is a capable mid-range processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz, and it boosts up to 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has 32 MB of shared L3 cache, and its memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s when paired with dual-channel DDR4.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5600 scores 18,309 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,584 in single-core. Its 3DMark scores are 5,659 for Max Threads and 882 for Single Thread. The CPU also achieves a Passmark multi-thread score of 21,541 and a single-thread score of 3,256. These results place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,765. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11700F, which scores 21,957 (0.9% higher), and the AMD EPYC 9554P, which scores 21,899 (0.6% higher).

The CPU’s role in Microsoft Flight Simulator is evident from the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 99.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU can handle the game’s physics and simulation logic without bottlenecking. However, at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 30.3, and the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 5600 has enough single-thread performance, as shown by its 882 3DMark Single Thread score, to keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game, and upgrading it would not significantly improve FPS at 4K. Instead, the GPU is the component that needs attention for higher resolutions.