Microsoft Flight Simulator

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3376 out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the lower 9% of all configurations. This is a bottom-decile result that reflects the combination's position well below the median experience. The rank is particularly telling because Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding titles in the benchmark database, requiring substantial graphics throughput and CPU single-thread performance to maintain acceptable frame rates.

The CPU holds up reasonably well in isolation, sitting at the 74th percentile among all processors, which is a solid mid-pack position. However, the GPU tells a different story, landing at the 53rd percentile among all graphics cards. When paired together in this specific flight simulator workload, the combination underperforms what either component's individual percentile might suggest, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The data shows a system that can handle lighter workloads but struggles significantly when pushed to higher resolutions and quality settings in this particular title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 54 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that approaches playable territory, with all other settings and resolutions producing lower averages.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600G has an average benchmark score of 21088, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i3-1220P (21066), 0.1% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (21112), 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (21133), and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (21174). These are extremely tight margins, showing the 5600G sits in a competitive cluster.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to similar graphics cards?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score is 12928, which is 0.1% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940), 0.4% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986), 0.5% above the AMD Radeon 740M (12870), and 0.6% above the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847). The RX 580 is essentially neck-and-neck with these alternatives.

Q: Does resolution scaling affect this combo evenly across settings?

A: No, the impact varies. At Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 20% (30 to 24 FPS), and from 1440p to 4K is 25% (24 to 18 FPS). At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 20% (54 to 43 FPS), and from 1440p to 4K is 26% (43 to 32 FPS). The declines are consistent but shallow, suggesting GPU-bound behavior throughout.

Q: What is the highest average FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the best average is 43 FPS with Low settings. Medium produces 34 FPS, High produces 25 FPS, and Ultra produces 24 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or higher resolutions?

A: The data clearly favors 1920x1080. At 1080p, even Ultra settings manage 30 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra drops to 24 FPS and at 4K Ultra falls to 18 FPS. The 1080p Low setting at 54 FPS is the only configuration in the measured data that approaches playability.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the drops being nearly linear across all settings presets. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS decreases by roughly 20-21% across all four settings: Low drops from 54 to 43, Medium from 42 to 34, High from 31 to 25, and Ultra from 30 to 24. This uniform scaling suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, as resolution increases place proportional demands on the rendering pipeline.

Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the declines continue but become slightly steeper in percentage terms. Low drops from 43 to 32 (26% decrease), Medium from 34 to 25 (26% decrease), High from 25 to 19 (24% decrease), and Ultra from 24 to 18 (25% decrease). The consistency of these reductions across all settings indicates that the system is operating in a GPU-bound regime even at lower resolutions, with the RX 580 unable to maintain frame rates as pixel counts rise.

The overall scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between resolutions, as the processor would be maxed out regardless of pixel count. Instead, the data shows a steady erosion of performance with each resolution step, which is classic GPU-limited behavior. The RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus width provide adequate bandwidth for 1080p, but at 4K the demands exceed what this Polaris 20 chip can deliver.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its most usable results. Low settings yield an average of 54 FPS, which is the only measured configuration to exceed 50 FPS. Medium settings average 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and maximum of 48, showing reasonable consistency. High settings drop to 31 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 12 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 11 FPS, and High to Ultra is just 1 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns from High to Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more marginal. Low settings average 43 FPS, which is a 20% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 and maximum of 39, demonstrating tighter variance than at 1080p Medium. High averages 25 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra shrinks to just 1 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional visual features are largely unattainable at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 32 FPS, which is 41% below the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 25 FPS with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 29, showing the narrowest operating range in the measured data. High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The 4K results across all settings fall below the 30 FPS threshold except for Low, making this resolution impractical for anything beyond minimal quality settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580, based on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, provides 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU's limitations become apparent in the resolution scaling patterns. The RX 580's 2304 shading units and 32 ROPs struggle to keep up with the game's demanding terrain rendering and lighting effects. The 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is sufficient for 1080p Low settings, where the card achieves 54 FPS, but falls short at higher quality presets. At 4K, even Low settings only produce 32 FPS, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle the pixel throughput demands of this title.

The card's 8 GB VRAM is adequate for the measured settings, as Microsoft Flight Simulator's texture streaming at these quality levels does not appear to exceed this capacity based on the consistent performance scaling. However, the 185 W TDP and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface suggest the card is pushing near its architectural limits in this workload. The GPU's end-of-life production status further indicates that newer titles will continue to challenge its capabilities.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename), manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and includes 16 MB of L3 cache. The CPU's 65 W TDP and DDR4 dual-channel memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) make it a versatile desktop processor. Its average benchmark score of 21088 places it at the 74th percentile among all CPUs.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical, as the game's simulation logic is heavily dependent on single-core throughput. The 5600G scores 1409 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 872 in 3DMark single-thread, which are respectable but not class-leading figures. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent resolution scaling discussed earlier. If the CPU were limiting, we would see similar FPS across resolutions, but instead we see clear declines.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, scoring 10551 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 8428 in Geekbench multi-core, are more than sufficient for this title's background tasks. The 5600G's nearest rivals show it is virtually identical in synthetic performance to the Intel Core i3-1220P (0.1% difference) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (-0.1% difference), confirming that the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo's poor ranking. The integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics are present but irrelevant to the discrete GPU results.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this combo. At 1920x1080, Low settings offer the only genuinely playable experience at 54 FPS average. Medium settings at 42 FPS are borderline acceptable for a flight simulator, where frame rates below 60 FPS are often tolerable due to the slower-paced gameplay. The minimum of 36 FPS at Medium suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable during complex scenery.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts strongly toward Low settings, which produce 43 FPS average. Medium at 34 FPS is playable but with a minimum of 29 FPS that risks stutter during dense urban areas. High and Ultra settings at 25 and 24 FPS respectively are not recommended, as they fall below the 30 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for acceptable smoothness.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings at 32 FPS are viable, and even this is marginal. Medium at 25 FPS and below is not recommended for any extended play session. The data suggests that players should prioritize 1080p Low or Medium settings for the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 12 FPS (54 to 42) but likely provides a meaningful visual improvement, making this the sweet spot for this hardware combination.