Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 345th out of 3,714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 9.3% of all tested pairings for this flight simulator.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600F has an average benchmark score of 36,945, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 36,938 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37,018 (0.2% behind).

Q: What are the key specifications of the RTX 4090's memory subsystem?

A: The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 148, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next best is 138 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The PassMark single-thread score is 2,872, while the multi-thread score is 19,236, indicating strong scaling across the 6 cores and 12 threads. The single-thread score places the CPU in the 85th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's benchmark performance align with its measured FPS in this game?

A: The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 38,194, with a percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs. The measured FPS data shows the GPU delivering between 77 and 148 FPS across tested configurations, consistent with its high-end positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this CPU-GPU pairing at rank 345 out of 3,714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This top-decile placement reflects a combination that handles the simulator's demanding rendering workload effectively. The rank is particularly noteworthy given the game's reputation for stressing both processor and graphics resources simultaneously.

Looking at the components individually, the CPU sits in the 85th percentile among all processors, while the GPU reaches the 88th percentile among all graphics cards. When paired, their combined rank of 345 out of 3,714 suggests the pairing extracts near-peak performance from both units. The gap between individual component percentiles and the combo rank indicates that Microsoft Flight Simulator's specific workload characteristics create a unique performance profile that differs from synthetic benchmarks.

The nearest CPU rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (within 0%), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (0.4% ahead). These negligible deltas suggest that, from a pure processing standpoint, the Ryzen 5 5600F is extremely competitive with contemporary alternatives. For the GPU, the nearest scores come from the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0%) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% ahead), though the RTX 4090's average score of 60,347 significantly exceeds its nearest rivals' scores by up to 2.9%.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F provides six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. The base clock runs at 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, supported by 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration delivers a PassMark multi-thread score of 19,236 and a single-thread score of 2,872, with the latter representing the CPU's 85th percentile standing among all processors.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is critical for simulation logic, physics calculations, and draw call processing. The single-thread performance directly impacts how quickly the game can process flight dynamics and scenery streaming. With a single-thread score of 2,872, the Ryzen 5 5600F provides sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4090 in most scenarios, as evidenced by the measured FPS figures reaching 148 at 1080p Low settings.

The CPU's 12 threads allow for efficient distribution of the game's multi-threaded tasks, though the simulator's reliance on single-thread performance means the 4.00 GHz boost clock is often the more significant factor. The L3 cache size of 32 MB helps maintain data locality for the game's terrain and aircraft models. The CPU's average benchmark score of 36,945 places it essentially tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, confirming its competitiveness for this workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS ranges from 148 at Low settings down to 120 at Ultra settings. The Medium preset delivers 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155. High settings produce 122 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 28 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU remains capable of high frame rates even at maximum settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 138 at Low, 126 at Medium (with min/max of 107/145), 110 at High, and 105 at Ultra. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p costs between 10 and 15 FPS depending on the settings preset. The Ultra preset at 1440p still delivers 105 FPS, demonstrating substantial performance headroom.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 125 at Low, 108 at Medium (min 92, max 124), 81 at High, and 77 at Ultra. The 4K resolution introduces a more pronounced performance penalty, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening to 48 FPS. The Ultra preset maintains 77 FPS, which remains playable for a flight simulator where smooth frame pacing matters more than raw competitive responsiveness.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides a balanced frame rate with documented minimums that indicate stable performance. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 115 FPS ensures no noticeable stutter. At 1440p Medium, the 107 FPS minimum remains solidly above typical display refresh rates. Even at 4K Medium, the 92 FPS minimum keeps the experience fluid.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 employs the AD102 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process, containing 76,300 million transistors across a 609 mm² die. Its 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster operation processors provide substantial raw compute capability. The GPU's FP32 throughput reaches 82.58 TFLOPS, with match FP16 performance at 82.58 TFLOPS. The boost clock of 2520 MHz drives this performance, supported by a base clock of 2235 MHz.

The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which proves essential for Microsoft Flight Simulator's high-resolution textures and streaming terrain data. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, achieving 21 Gbps effective data rate. This bandwidth capacity ensures that at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU can feed its 176 ROPs without memory starvation, as reflected in the 77 FPS average at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and average benchmark score of 60,347 place it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, 0.3% ahead), though these comparisons reflect synthetic workloads rather than gaming performance. The RTX 4090's 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores provide additional capabilities that, while not directly measured in the FPS data, contribute to the GPU's overall processing efficiency.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that Medium settings offer the most consistent performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 135 FPS average with a 115 FPS minimum and 155 FPS maximum shows tight frame delivery. The 1440p Medium configuration delivers 126 FPS average with a 107 FPS minimum, maintaining smoothness. At 4K Medium, the 108 FPS average with 92 FPS minimum ensures the experience remains fluid even at the highest resolution.

For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra settings remain viable at all resolutions. The 120 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 105 FPS at 1440p Ultra are both excellent figures. The 4K Ultra result of 77 FPS is acceptable for a flight simulator, where the pace is slower and frame time consistency matters more than absolute refresh rate matching.

Low settings provide the highest frame rates but sacrifice visual quality that enhances the flight experience. The 148 FPS at 1080p Low and 138 FPS at 1440p Low demonstrate the GPU's raw capability, but the visual trade-off may not be worthwhile given how well Medium performs. The Medium preset appears to strike the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance, particularly because it is the only settings level with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating the benchmark methodology captured more detailed frame data for these configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 148 at 1080p to 138 at 1440p (a 6.8% reduction) and further to 125 at 4K (a 15.5% reduction from 1080p). This relatively mild scaling suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has ample headroom and the frame rate does not increase dramatically at lower resolutions.

At Medium settings, the progression goes from 135 FPS at 1080p to 126 FPS at 1440p (6.7% drop) to 108 FPS at 4K (20% drop from 1080p). The increasing penalty at 4K indicates the GPU is becoming more engaged as resolution rises, though the 108 FPS result still shows significant headroom. The High settings show a steeper curve: 122 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p (9.8% drop), and 81 FPS at 4K (33.6% drop from 1080p). This pattern suggests the GPU begins to exert more influence at High settings.

Ultra settings exhibit the most pronounced scaling: 120 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p (12.5% drop), and 77 FPS at 4K (35.8% drop from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 77 FPS, when compared to the 1080p Low result of 148 FPS, shows a 48% reduction in frame rate. This scaling behavior indicates that Microsoft Flight Simulator becomes increasingly GPU-bound as both resolution and settings increase, with the RTX 4090's 24 GB memory buffer and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth being sufficient to maintain playable frame rates even at the most demanding configuration tested.