Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti presents a compelling mid-range combination for Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the data reveals a significant performance ceiling dictated by the GPU at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings to provide practical guidance for optimizing your experience.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, where the frame rate drops dramatically as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 100.1 at 1920x1080 to 77.7 at 2560x1440, a 22.4% reduction, and then further to 56.2 at 3840x2160, a 43.9% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti's rendering throughput, not the CPU, is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The scaling trend is consistent across all quality presets. With High settings, the average drops from 57.1 at 1080p to 48.9 at 1440p (a 14.4% decrease) and then to 37.1 at 4K (a 35.0% decrease from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern: 55.9 at 1080p, 46.2 at 1440p, and 34.7 at 4K. The fact that the percentage drop between 1440p and 4K is consistently larger than the drop between 1080p and 1440p across all settings underscores that the GPU is working progressively harder as resolution increases, with diminishing returns for the CPU's involvement.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 55.9 FPS versus 100.1 on Low, a 44.2% performance penalty for maxing out visuals. At 4K, that gap shrinks to 34.7 versus 56.2, a 38.3% penalty. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that the additional shading and texture work from higher presets has less relative impact on the final frame rate, while at 1080p there is more headroom to absorb the extra workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this pairing ranks 1243 out of 1795 total combos. That places it in the lower-middle tier of all configurations, which might seem surprising given the hardware's specifications. However, this ranking reflects the game's extreme demands on both processor and graphics card, and the measured FPS numbers show that while the combo is functional, it does not deliver the high-refresh-rate experience that some other pairings achieve.

The rank is influenced by the CPU's performance class. The Ryzen 5 5600G sits at the 78th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19983. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11600H (scoring 19949, a 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-11800H (scoring 20024, a -0.2% delta), meaning the 5600G is essentially tied with these mobile-class processors in raw compute. This mid-pack CPU performance, combined with the RTX 3060 Ti's 69th percentile GPU ranking (average score 25120, with rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6700M at 25180), results in a combo that handles the game's baseline requirements but lacks the overhead for maximum settings at high resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, with a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s, which are the metrics that directly influence how quickly the card can fill the screen with rendered geometry.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. The game streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data, and at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the memory footprint can approach the card's limit. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (34.7) and 4K High (37.1) are both below the 40 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for playable simulation, suggesting that the GPU is not only compute-bound but potentially memory-constrained as well. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the sheer volume of texture data required by the simulator can saturate the bus.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, and the benchmark results reflect this. In the PassMark G3D test, the card scores 20349, placing it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. The DirectX 12 score of 78 and DirectX 11 score of 163 indicate that the card handles modern APIs competently, but these scores are not exceptional. The RTX 3060 Ti is a capable 1080p and 1440p card, and the data shows it delivers playable frame rates at those resolutions, but 4K gaming requires significant compromises in settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 100.1 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 80.1 FPS, still very playable. High settings yield 57.1 FPS, which is borderline for a flight simulator where smoothness matters for accurate control. Ultra settings produce 55.9 FPS, nearly identical to High, suggesting that the CPU or GPU is hitting a performance plateau at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but manageable. Low settings average 77.7 FPS, which is excellent for a simulator. Medium settings deliver 63.7 FPS, still above 60. High settings drop to 48.9 FPS, which is playable but may require some adjustment to settings for users who prefer a locked 60 FPS. Ultra settings produce 46.2 FPS, indicating that the game is becoming more demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal. Low settings average 56.2 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings drop to 47.4 FPS, and High settings fall to 37.1 FPS. Ultra settings produce 34.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. The data shows a clear pattern: at 4K, users must choose between Low settings for playable performance or accept sub-40 FPS for higher visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. In the Cinebench R23 multi-core test, it scores 16758, and in the single-core test, it scores 2365. These results place it at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, indicating solid mainstream performance.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's single-thread performance is crucial because the game's core simulation logic runs on a limited number of threads. The 2365 single-core score in Cinebench R23 suggests that the 5600G has adequate single-thread capability, but it is not class-leading. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11600H (scoring 19949 in the average benchmark, a 0.2% delta) and the AMD EPYC 7713P (scoring 20024, a -0.2% delta), indicating that the 5600G is competitive with these parts but not superior.

The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for the game's multi-threaded aspects, such as loading scenery and AI traffic, but the data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The fact that FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the 100.1 FPS result indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to achieve high frame rates, so the 5600G is not holding back the system at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a 1080p display, the data supports using Medium settings as the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 80.1 FPS average at Medium is significantly higher than the 57.1 FPS at High, and the visual difference between these presets is often less noticeable in flight than the frame rate difference. Ultra settings at 55.9 FPS are not worth the performance cost over High, which delivers nearly identical performance.

At 1440p, the recommendation is to use Low or Medium settings. Low delivers 77.7 FPS, which is smooth and provides a better experience for precise landing and navigation. Medium at 63.7 FPS is also acceptable, and the increased detail in clouds and terrain may be worth the 14 FPS drop for some users. High and Ultra at 48.9 and 46.2 FPS respectively are playable but may feel slightly less responsive, especially in dense urban areas or during weather events.

At 4K, the data clearly shows that Low settings are the only viable option for a playable experience. The 56.2 FPS average at Low is just below the 60 FPS target but is smooth enough for simulator use. Medium at 47.4 FPS is borderline, and High and Ultra at 37.1 and 34.7 FPS respectively are too low for comfortable play, as the reduced frame rate can make it difficult to judge descent rates and adjust controls accurately. Users with 4K displays should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, as the simulator's complex scenery can tolerate lower texture quality more than it can tolerate stuttering.