Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in the benchmark database, and this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER lands in the lower tier of tested combinations. The combo ranks 2546 out of 2996 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 15% of systems. That ranking is not a surprise given the hardware: the GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 5 5600F achieves an 85th percentile CPU score. The bottleneck is overwhelmingly the graphics card, and the measured frame rates confirm that this system is best suited to 1080p gaming with medium-to-low settings.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can this system achieve at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 78. This is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo across all tested resolutions and settings. It represents a playable experience for a flight simulator, though users seeking smoother performance may need to accept visual compromises.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600F has an average benchmark score of 36945. This is essentially identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, -0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, -0.5%). All five processors are within 0.5% of each other, meaning CPU-bound scenarios will show negligible differences among them.

Q: What is the GTX 1660 SUPER's closest rival in GPU benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score is 12986. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a score of 12940 (0.4% delta), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 580 at 12928 (0.4% delta). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scores 13075 (-0.7% delta), and the AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870 (0.9% delta). The performance envelope is extremely tight, with all rivals within 1% of each other.

Q: Does this system maintain 60 FPS at 2560x1440 with any settings?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 63. However, at Medium settings the average drops to 49 FPS, and at High it falls to 37 FPS. Only the Low preset crosses the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution; all other settings at 1440p produce averages below 50 FPS.

Q: What is the worst measured performance for this combo?

A: The lowest average frame rate recorded is 26 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. At this same resolution, High settings yield 27 FPS, and Medium produces 36 FPS. Even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Ryzen 5 5600F have, and what are its clock speeds?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600F has 6 cores and 12 threads. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The processor is based on Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename) built on a 7 nm process, with a 65 W TDP and 32 MB of shared L3 cache.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary performance limiter in this configuration. Its benchmark data shows a PassMark G3D score of 12699 and an average benchmark score of 12986, placing it at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's closest rival, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores 12940, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 12928 — both within 0.4% of the 1660 SUPER. This tight cluster indicates that the 1660 SUPER delivers mid-range performance that is competitive with several other graphics cards from its era, but it remains far below the high-end GPUs that can drive Microsoft Flight Simulator at higher resolutions.

The GPU's memory configuration is a key factor. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). For a flight simulator that streams vast terrain and photogrammetry data, 6 GB of VRAM is workable at 1080p but becomes a constraint at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates reflect this: at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. Stepping up to 2560x1440 with Medium settings drops the average to 49 FPS, and at 3840x2160 with Medium, the average falls further to 36 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1530 MHz base and 1785 MHz boost. The shading units number 1408, with 88 texture mapping units and 48 raster output units. The pixel rate is 85.68 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 157.1 GTexel/s. The fp32 performance is 5.027 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for this title's lower presets. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, all of which Microsoft Flight Simulator can utilize.

The 1660 SUPER's TDP is 125 W with a suggested power supply of 300 W. The card is dual-slot, 229 mm in length, and uses a single 8-pin power connector. Its bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16, which is sufficient for this GPU's bandwidth needs. The GPU was released in late 2019 and is now marked end-of-life, meaning no future driver optimizations are likely to improve its performance in this title.

The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 78 FPS average. At High settings, the average drops to 45 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 43 FPS — a surprisingly small gap between High and Ultra, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a memory bandwidth or shader throughput wall rather than being limited by preset-specific effects. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 18 FPS (78 to 60), while the gap between Medium and High is 15 FPS (60 to 45). This suggests that each step up in quality costs roughly 15-20 FPS at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F provides a solid foundation for this gaming system. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it offers enough parallelism for modern game engines and background tasks. The base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.00 GHz are modest by today's standards, but the Zen 3 architecture delivers strong single-thread performance. The PassMark single-thread score is 2872, and the multithread score is 19236. The processor's average benchmark score is 36945, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 0.5% of its performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 (-0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (-0.5%). This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, swapping the 5600F for any of these alternatives would produce virtually identical frame rates. The 5600F is not the limiting factor in this combo.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB of L3 cache. The L3 cache is particularly relevant for gaming, as it allows frequently accessed data to be stored closer to the cores. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. ECC memory is supported, which is rare for consumer desktop processors.

The Ryzen 5 5600F is built on TSMC's 7 nm process, with 4,150 million transistors packed into a 74 mm² die. The processor uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform and supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU. The TDP is 65 W, making it an efficient choice that won't stress cooling solutions. The CPU was released in September 2025, which is notably later than the GPU's 2019 release, but the benchmark data indicates this CPU is well-matched to the GPU's performance class.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and the simulation of aircraft systems. The 12 threads allow for efficient distribution of these workloads. The PassMark physics score of 1043 and the floating-point math score of 34548 suggest adequate computational headroom. However, the game's heavy single-thread dependency means the 2872 single-thread score is more indicative of real-world performance. This score places the 5600F in a competitive position among its peers.

The benchmark results show that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 78 FPS average. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau across different resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the data shows clear resolution scaling: 78 FPS at 1080p Low, 63 FPS at 1440p Low, and 46 FPS at 4K Low. This pattern indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, as frame rates drop proportionally with pixel count. The CPU is providing enough headroom to feed the GPU at all tested settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. This is the only 1080p preset that both meets the 60 FPS average threshold and maintains a minimum above 50 FPS. The Low preset achieves 78 FPS but sacrifices visual quality, while High drops to 45 FPS and Ultra to 43 FPS — both below the 60 FPS target.

For users with 1080p displays, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point. The measured minimum of 51 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays within a playable range. The maximum of 69 FPS shows there is some headroom for occasional smoother moments. The gap between Medium (60 FPS) and High (45 FPS) is substantial, suggesting that the additional visual effects in High cost more than 25% of the frame rate. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS offers only marginal visual improvements over High for an additional 2 FPS loss, making it the least efficient choice.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. The Low preset achieves 63 FPS, which is playable but requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset drops to 49 FPS average with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target but may be acceptable for a flight simulator where precise frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced action games. The High preset at 37 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are difficult to recommend, as they produce frame rates that may feel stuttery during complex maneuvers or over dense scenery.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets deliver playable performance. The best result is 46 FPS at Low settings, with Medium at 36 FPS, High at 27 FPS, and Ultra at 26 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a smooth experience, and users with 4K displays should either lower the resolution or accept significant visual compromises. The data suggests that this system is not suitable for 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The optimal settings depend on the user's display resolution. For 1080p, Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. For 1440p, Low is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, though Medium may be acceptable for users who prioritize visuals over smoothness. For 4K, no preset is recommended, and users should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2546 out of 2996 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the bottom 15% of all configurations in the database. The ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance level, as the CPU is comparatively strong — sitting at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking is more indicative of the combo's overall standing.

The ranking implies that a significant majority of tested systems outperform this setup in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Users with higher-end GPUs will see substantially better frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The GTX 1660 SUPER's nearest GPU rivals — the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, RX 580, Tesla M2090, and Radeon 740M — all have nearly identical benchmark scores, meaning any of these GPUs would produce similar results in this game.

The combo's rank is primarily driven by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the system performs adequately with 60 FPS on Medium settings, which is a playable experience. However, the database includes many combos that achieve 60 FPS at 1440p or 4K, which this system cannot match. The rank of 2546 out of 2996 indicates that this is a mid-to-low tier configuration for this specific title, despite the CPU's strong benchmark showing.

The delta between the CPU's percentile (85) and the GPU's percentile (53) highlights the imbalance in this pairing. A more balanced configuration would pair the 5600F with a stronger GPU, but the data shows that the 1660 SUPER is the limiting factor. Users considering this combo should understand that the CPU has headroom for future GPU upgrades, but the current configuration is constrained by the graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of this combo's performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 78, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium settings produce 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. This is the only 1080p preset with a minimum frame rate above 50 FPS. High settings drop the average to 45 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 43 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline: 78, 60, 45, 43. The small difference between High and Ultra (2 FPS) suggests that Ultra's additional effects are not heavily taxing the GPU at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings achieve 63 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS target. Medium settings produce 49 FPS average, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings yield 37 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 35 FPS. The pattern from Low to Ultra is 63, 49, 37, 35. The gap between Low and Medium is 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 12 FPS, and High to Ultra is only 2 FPS. This mirrors the 1080p pattern where the Ultra preset offers marginal gains over High.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings achieve 46 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings produce 36 FPS average, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS. High settings yield 27 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 26 FPS. The progression is 46, 36, 27, 26. At this resolution, even the Low preset falls short of smooth gameplay, and the minimum frame rates at Medium (31 FPS) indicate noticeable stuttering during demanding scenes.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings reveals the GPU's scaling behavior. At Low settings, frame rates are 78 FPS (1080p), 63 FPS (1440p), and 46 FPS (4K). This represents a 19% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 60, 49, and 36 FPS, showing drops of 18% and 27% respectively. At High settings, the averages are 45, 37, and 27 FPS, with drops of 18% and 27%. At Ultra settings, the averages are 43, 35, and 26 FPS, with drops of 19% and 26%. The consistent scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being utilized in a predictable manner across resolutions.

The highest average frame rate recorded is 78 FPS at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 26 FPS at 4K Ultra. The range of performance spans 52 FPS across all tested configurations. For users seeking the best experience, the 1080p Medium preset at 60 FPS represents the sweet spot, offering 25% more performance than the next preset up (High at 45 FPS) while maintaining a minimum frame rate of 51 FPS. The data clearly shows that this combo is optimized for 1080p gaming, with acceptable performance at 1440p only on the Low preset, and no viable options at 4K.