Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in Microsoft Flight Simulator produces a dataset that rewards close reading. Across four settings presets and three resolutions, the measured frames per second reveal a system where the graphics card is rarely the sole bottleneck, and where the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads carry more weight than raw clock speeds might suggest. This combination ranks 247th out of 1,795 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top tier of configurations while leaving headroom for interpretation about where the remaining performance lives.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling pattern from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is not uniform, and that irregularity tells a story about which component governs each setting tier. At Low settings, the 1080p average of 172.2 FPS falls to 153.3 FPS at 1440p, a drop of roughly 11 percent. Moving to 4K Low, the average lands at 112.7 FPS, which is a 26 percent reduction from 1440p and a 35 percent reduction from 1080p. That steepening curve at higher resolutions suggests the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth begin to matter more as pixel count climbs, but the absolute numbers remain high enough that the CPU is still feeding frames comfortably.

At Medium settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p average of 148.8 FPS drops to 123.2 FPS at 1440p, an 18 percent decline, then to 84.5 FPS at 4K, a 31 percent drop from 1440p. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is larger here than at Low, which hints that increased draw calls and object density are starting to tax the Ryzen 5 5600’s six cores. However, the 4K figure remains playable, suggesting the GPU is still the primary limiter at that resolution.

High settings show a different curve again. From 114.3 FPS at 1080p to 89 FPS at 1440p, that is a 22 percent reduction. The 4K High average of 66.5 FPS represents a 25 percent drop from 1440p and a 42 percent drop from 1080p. Here, the scaling is more linear than at Low or Medium, which implies both components are being pushed near their limits simultaneously. The flight simulator’s rendering of terrain and weather systems at High settings appears to engage both the CPU’s threading and the GPU’s shading units more evenly.

Ultra settings produce the most revealing data. The 1080p average of 109.6 FPS drops to 86 FPS at 1440p, a 22 percent decline. But the 4K Ultra average of 61.2 FPS is only a 29 percent drop from 1440p, and just a 44 percent drop from 1080p. That relatively shallow scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra suggests the CPU is becoming a limiting factor even at lower resolutions. If the GPU were the sole constraint, the 4K Ultra number would likely fall further below 60 FPS. Instead, the data shows the Ryzen 5 5600’s single-thread performance and cache architecture are holding back the RTX 4070 Ti at Ultra settings, particularly at 1440p where the GPU still has headroom.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 5 5600 brings six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache is a meaningful asset for a flight simulator that streams terrain data and airport scenery. The benchmark results for this CPU show a single-thread score of 882 in 3dmark and 2584 in Cinebench R23, which places it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. That percentile is modest, but the architecture’s efficiency in handling sequential tasks matters more than raw multi-thread scores for this game.

The multi-thread scores tell a complementary story. Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 18,309, while Passmark multithread hits 21,541. These numbers are not exceptional, but they are sufficient for a game that does not scale linearly across many cores. The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark data include the Intel Xeon D-1746TER with an average score of 21,635 and a delta of 0.6 percent, and the AMD EPYC 9554P with an average score of 21,899 and a delta of -0.6 percent. Those server-class parts have far more cores, yet the Ryzen 5 5600 holds its own in average benchmark score at 21,765, suggesting that per-core performance and cache behavior are what matter for this workload.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 172.2 FPS average approaches the practical limit of what the Ryzen 5 5600 can feed to the GPU. At 4K Ultra, the 61.2 FPS result is more likely GPU-bound, but the fact that Ultra settings at 1080p only reach 109.6 FPS—a 36 percent drop from Low—indicates that the CPU is doing heavy lifting in physics and AI calculations. The twelve threads handle the simulator’s background tasks, but the six cores are the ceiling for frame generation in dense urban environments or complex weather scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600 bottleneck the RTX 4070 Ti at 1080p?

A: The data suggests partial CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the average of 172.2 FPS is strong, but at 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 109.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is 63 FPS, which implies the CPU’s six cores are heavily engaged by Ultra settings’ additional simulation work, not just the GPU’s rendering load.

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p offers the best balance. At High settings, the average is 89 FPS, and at Ultra it is 86 FPS. Both are comfortably above 60 FPS, while 4K Ultra sits at 61.2 FPS, leaving less margin for scenery-heavy areas or weather effects.

Q: How does this combo compare to the nearest CPU rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600’s average benchmark score is 21,765. The Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21,635, which is 0.6 percent slower, while the AMD EPYC 9554P scores 21,899, which is 0.6 percent faster. These differences are negligible in real-world flight simulation, where per-frame consistency matters more than aggregate throughput.

Q: Is 12 GB of VRAM sufficient for 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured 4K Ultra average of 61.2 FPS indicates the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is adequate for this title at this resolution. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s and 192-bit bus width are not shown to be a limiting factor, as the frame rate remains playable.

Q: What does the combo rank of 247 out of 1,795 mean?

A: This configuration sits in the top 14 percent of all tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The rank reflects both the CPU’s 79th percentile standing and the GPU’s 85th percentile standing, with the combination performing better than the average of its parts in this specific game.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K with all settings maxed?

A: Yes, barely. The 4K Ultra average is 61.2 FPS. This leaves minimal headroom, so any increase in scenery complexity or weather simulation could push the frame rate below 60 FPS, but the measured data confirms it is achievable.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the dataset shows a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings produce an average of 172.2 FPS, Medium drops to 148.8 FPS, High reaches 114.3 FPS, and Ultra settles at 109.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 62.6 FPS, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Medium and High at 34.5 FPS. That suggests High settings introduce a significant increase in rendering complexity, likely related to shadows and reflections, that disproportionately impacts the CPU’s ability to feed frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages compress somewhat. Low settings yield 153.3 FPS, Medium produces 123.2 FPS, High reaches 89 FPS, and Ultra delivers 86 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 67.3 FPS, but the more telling comparison is between High and Ultra: only 3 FPS separates them. This indicates that at 1440p, the incremental cost of going from High to Ultra is minimal, likely because the GPU’s 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not the primary constraint at these settings.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress further and the order remains consistent. Low averages 112.7 FPS, Medium drops to 84.5 FPS, High falls to 66.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 61.2 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is only 5.3 FPS, while the step from Medium to High is 18 FPS. The 4K data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti’s 7680 shading units and 80 ROPs are working harder, but the CPU still influences the results: the 1080p Ultra score of 109.6 FPS is nearly double the 4K Ultra score of 61.2 FPS, which is a larger scaling penalty than pure pixel count would predict for a GPU with this much bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo rank of 247 out of 1,795 places this configuration in the upper echelon of tested systems for Microsoft Flight Simulator. To contextualize that rank, consider that the CPU alone sits in the 79th percentile among all processors, and the GPU in the 85th percentile among all graphics cards. The combination outperforms what those individual percentiles might suggest, implying that the pairing is well-matched for this game’s specific demands.

The nearest GPU rivals in the benchmark data include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile with an average score of 45,152 and a delta of -0.6 percent, and the Intel Arc A730M with an average score of 45,592 and a delta of -1.5 percent. The RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44,900 shows it is competitive with those parts, but the in-game rank of 247 indicates that the Ryzen 5 5600 is not holding the GPU back to a significant degree. If the CPU were a severe bottleneck, the combo rank would likely be lower relative to the GPU’s standalone percentile.

The rank also benefits from the fact that only 1,795 combos are tested, and many of those include higher-end CPUs or GPUs that are not necessarily better suited to a flight simulator’s streaming-heavy workload. The 32 MB L3 cache on the Ryzen 5 5600 is particularly relevant here, as it reduces the latency of accessing frequently used terrain and aircraft data, which directly improves frame consistency in a game that loads new scenery continuously.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Looking at the measured FPS rows, the most compelling choice for most users is 1440p High, with an average of 89 FPS. This setting provides a 4.7 percent improvement over the 86 FPS at 1440p Ultra, while the visual difference between High and Ultra is often imperceptible during fast flight maneuvers. The 1080p High setting at 114.3 FPS is also strong, but it leaves performance on the table that the RTX 4070 Ti could use for higher resolution.

For users prioritizing frame rate above all, 1080p Low at 172.2 FPS is the fastest measured configuration, but it sacrifices the visual fidelity that makes the simulator immersive. A more balanced recommendation is 1440p Medium at 123.2 FPS, which offers a 38 percent improvement over 1440p High while still maintaining a detailed scene. The 4K options are viable for slower, scenic flights: 4K High at 66.5 FPS and 4K Ultra at 61.2 FPS are both above the 60 FPS threshold, but the margin is thin. The data suggests that the best experience for a mix of smoothness and detail is 1440p High, as it keeps the frame rate well above 60 FPS while allowing the GPU’s shading units and the CPU’s threads to work without one component dominating the other.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In the measured data, the 4K Ultra average of 61.2 FPS suggests that the memory subsystem is sufficient for this game’s largest texture sets, but the 21 Gbps effective memory clock and 1313 MHz memory clock are worth noting. The GPU’s base clock of 2310 MHz and boost clock of 2610 MHz, combined with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, do not appear to be the limiting factor at any resolution tested. Instead, the frame rate differences between settings presets point to the CPU’s role in simulation logic.

The GPU’s passmark G3D score of 31,624 and its 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs reinforce that this is a top-tier card. However, in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the game’s reliance on draw calls and object updates means the GPU often waits on the CPU. The 1080p Ultra result of 109.6 FPS, which is only 13 percent higher than the 4K Ultra result of 61.2 FPS, indicates that the GPU is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than enough for this title, so the bottleneck shifts to the Ryzen 5 5600’s six cores. The data implies that upgrading the CPU would yield larger frame rate gains at 1080p and 1440p than upgrading the GPU, while 4K performance is already at the edge of playability with this combination.