Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a balanced mid-range combination for Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the data reveals a setup that leans heavily on the GPU at higher resolutions while the CPU holds its own at 1080p. The measured frame rates show a system that is playable but far from maxed-out at 4K Ultra, with the sweet spot landing at 1080p Medium or High depending on your preference for smoothness versus visual fidelity. The RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and Turing architecture, becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, while the 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 processor provides sufficient headroom to avoid being the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly GPU-bound. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 54 at 1920x1080 to 43 at 2560x1440, then to 32 at 3840x2160. That is a 59% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign that the RTX 2060 is struggling to fill the increasingly large pixel counts. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 11 FPS, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is also 11 FPS, showing a nearly linear scaling penalty as resolution increases. This linearity indicates the GPU is the dominant constraint; a CPU-limited system would show a less pronounced difference between 1440p and 4K.

At Low settings, the trend is even more dramatic. The average FPS goes from 92 at 1080p, down to 74 at 1440p, and then to 55 at 4K. The total reduction from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 37 FPS, which is a 40% drop. Interestingly, the gap between Low and High settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, High is 38 FPS slower than Low (54 vs. 92). At 4K, High is only 23 FPS slower than Low (32 vs. 55). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so overwhelmed that the extra load from High settings has a smaller relative impact because the pixel fill rate is already the limiting factor. The data indicates that lowering settings at 1080p yields large gains, but at 4K, even dropping to Low only gets you to 55 FPS average, which is still below the 60 FPS target.

The Medium preset provides a useful middle ground for understanding scaling. At 1080p Medium, the average is 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 82. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 58 FPS average (min 49, max 66), and at 4K Medium, it falls to 42 FPS average (min 36, max 49). The minimum FPS figures at Medium settings show that even at 1440p, the system can dip below 50 FPS, which may be noticeable in a flight simulator where smooth panning is critical. The 4K Medium minimum of 36 FPS is borderline for playability, suggesting that 4K is only viable at Low settings for a consistently smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2344 out of 2996 combos. That places it in the bottom 22% of all tested systems, which is a sobering statistic for a mid-range pairing. The percentile ranking reflects that many other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title. This low rank is primarily driven by the GPU's age and memory capacity, as the RTX 2060 was released in early 2019 and is now end-of-life in production status.

The rank of 2344 out of 2996 means that roughly 78% of tested combos outperform this setup in Microsoft Flight Simulator. However, it is important to contextualize this rank. The database includes many high-end configurations with newer GPUs and more VRAM, which are naturally better suited to a game known for its demanding graphics. The Ryzen 5 5600F itself is a competent processor, but when paired with a GPU that has only 6 GB of VRAM, the combination is held back significantly at higher resolutions. The combo's rank suggests that for a smooth 4K experience, this pairing is not competitive, but for 1080p gaming, it is serviceable.

Looking at the individual component benchmarks provides some insight into why this combo ranks where it does. The CPU's average benchmark score is 36945, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This is a strong result, showing that the processor is well above average. The GPU, however, has an average benchmark score of 15290, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The delta between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile indicates a mismatch; the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can utilize in most gaming scenarios. This is a common issue with older GPUs paired with newer CPUs, and the measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the TU106 chip using the Turing architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz, and the 6 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it capable of modern APIs.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in this game's performance at higher resolutions. Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for loading large textures and scenery data, and the measured FPS at 4K High (32 FPS average) suggests that the memory capacity is being taxed. The GPU's pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, which are respectable for its era but insufficient for 4K Ultra settings. The FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, and the data shows that the card simply cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra (30 FPS average).

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its Passmark G3D score is 14111, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1242. The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark list are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (0% delta), AMD Radeon 680M (0.1% faster), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% faster), and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (0.8% faster). This clustering around similar average scores indicates that the RTX 2060 is functionally equivalent to these other cards in synthetic benchmarks, but its real-world performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator is constrained by its 6 GB memory limit. The launch MSRP of this GPU was 349 USD, which was a mid-range price at its release, and it remains a capable 1080p card today.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Microsoft Flight Simulator with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently exceed 60 FPS, with Medium settings averaging 71 FPS and Low settings averaging 92 FPS. At 1440p, the maximum average is 74 FPS on Low, which is below 60 FPS on higher presets. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 55 FPS average.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system for this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 54, but at 4K High, it drops to 32, showing a significant resolution penalty that is characteristic of GPU limitation. The CPU is at the 85th percentile of all CPUs in benchmark scores, while the GPU is at the 58th percentile, indicating the processor has more headroom than the graphics card can use.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 2344 out of 2996 tested combos for Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the bottom 22% of all systems. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and its age, as the RTX 2060 is now end-of-life in production status.

Q: What settings preset provides the most balanced experience at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Medium settings provide an average of 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, which is the best balance of smoothness and visual quality. High settings average 54 FPS, which is still playable but with less headroom for dips, while Ultra averages 51 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 55 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At High and Ultra, the averages are 32 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, which are not smooth for a flight simulator.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290, placing it at the 58th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the GTX 580 (0% delta), AMD Radeon 680M (0.1% faster), RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% faster), and Radeon RX 7600 (0.8% faster), showing it is statistically equivalent to these cards in raw compute.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a TDP of 65W. The CPU is manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process with 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform with PCIe Gen 4 connectivity (20 lanes). The processor has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance, with a Passmark single-thread score of 2872 and a Passmark physics score of 1043. Its multithreaded score is 19236, and its integer math score is 59339. The floating-point math score is 34548, and the data encryption score is 13839. The average benchmark score is 36945, which places it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark list are the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (0.4% slower), and Intel Core i9-12900T (0.5% slower). This clustering shows that the 5600F is competitive with these other mid-range and older high-end chips.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the 6-core, 12-thread configuration is adequate but not exceptional. The game is known for being single-threaded in many of its core simulation tasks, and the 5600F's strong single-thread score of 2872 helps maintain playable frame rates at 1080p. However, the data does not show the CPU becoming the primary bottleneck at any resolution. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU limitation, and the CPU's high percentile ranking (85th) versus the GPU's lower percentile (58th) confirms that the processor is not the limiting factor. The 32 MB L3 cache is beneficial for simulation workloads that require frequent data access, but the game's performance is ultimately capped by the GPU's rendering capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on your display resolution and frame rate preference. At 1080p, Medium settings provide the best balance: 71 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. This preset keeps the frame rate above 60 FPS consistently, which is crucial for a smooth flight experience where camera panning and terrain loading can cause stutters. High settings at 1080p drop the average to 54 FPS, which is playable but leaves less margin for dips. Ultra settings at 1080p average 51 FPS, which is the lowest of the presets and offers diminishing returns over High for the frame rate cost.

At 1440p, the data shows that Medium is the highest preset that remains playable, averaging 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS. Low settings at 1440p achieve 74 FPS average, which is smoother but sacrifices visual quality. High settings at 1440p drop to 43 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel sluggish. Ultra at 1440p averages 41 FPS, which is not recommended for a game that benefits from smooth motion. For 1440p users, Low or Medium is the practical choice, with Medium offering a better visual experience at a modest frame rate cost (74 to 58 FPS).

At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed regardless of preset. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches playability. Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS, and High averages 32 FPS, while Ultra averages 30 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is only viable on Low settings, and even then, the minimum frame rates are not documented, so dips below 55 FPS are possible. For users with a 4K display, the recommendation is to run at Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience. The combination's rank of 2344 out of 2996 combos indicates that this system is not designed for high-resolution gaming in this title, so settings should be chosen to prioritize frame rate stability over visual fidelity.