Microsoft Flight Simulator

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a distinct performance profile in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The data shows a configuration where the GPU’s high-end capabilities are frequently tempered by the CPU’s mid-range specifications, particularly at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) across three resolutions and four quality presets to identify the optimal settings and the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers an average of 130 FPS, which is only 12 FPS behind the Low preset’s 142 FPS but provides significantly better visual fidelity than the Ultra preset, which drops to 123 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the High preset maintains a strong 96 FPS average, a figure that remains highly playable and represents a 13 FPS improvement over Ultra’s 83 FPS. At 3840x2160, High achieves a 50 FPS average, which is the minimum threshold for a smooth experience, while Ultra falls to 43 FPS, making it the least desirable choice at that resolution.

The Medium preset is a viable alternative for users seeking a middle ground, but the data shows it does not provide a meaningful advantage over High. At 1080p, Medium averages 138 FPS, a marginal 8 FPS gain over High, while at 1440p, the difference narrows to 19 FPS (115 vs. 96). However, at 4K, Medium and High are nearly identical, with 60 FPS and 50 FPS respectively, indicating that the extra visual settings in High come at a minimal cost. The Low preset maximizes frame rates, reaching 142 FPS at 1080p and 122 FPS at 1440p, but it sacrifices the visual detail that defines this simulation. Given that the High preset remains above 50 FPS at 4K and above 96 FPS at 1440p, it is the recommended setting for the best balance of image quality and performance.

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. Its benchmark scores place it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,088. The data shows that this CPU is a moderate performer relative to its peers, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10,551 and a single-core score of 1,409. In this game, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

At 1080p, the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 19 FPS (142 vs. 123), which is relatively small compared to the 4K range. This suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain high frame rates, but the scaling from Low to Ultra is limited by the CPU’s single-thread performance. The single-core score of 1,409 in Cinebench R23 is a critical metric for flight simulators, which often rely heavily on single-threaded physics and AI calculations. The data indicates that this CPU can handle the game’s demands, but it does not provide the headroom to push frame rates dramatically higher when the GPU is underutilized. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate, but they are not standout figures, reinforcing the CPU’s role as a capable but not exceptional partner for the RTX 4080 SUPER.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a high-end graphics card with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2550 MHz and 10,240 shading units allow it to achieve a Passmark G3D score of 34,245, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 54,209 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080, with a delta of -0.1%. This indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier performer, and the measured FPS data confirms its strength in this game.

The GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 4K, the average FPS drops from 65 at Low settings to 43 at Ultra, a 34% reduction, which is a direct result of the GPU’s workload. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rates are not limited by memory capacity but by raw compute power. The GPU’s performance is also reflected in the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6,600, which is a demanding DX12 test. In contrast to the CPU, the GPU does not appear to be a limiting factor at 1080p, where the frame rates are consistently above 120 FPS across all settings. However, at 4K, the GPU’s limits are visible, with the Ultra preset dipping to 43 FPS, suggesting that even this powerful card struggles with the game’s highest settings at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600G and RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 812 out of 3,714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the top 22% of all tested systems, which is a solid result given the CPU’s mid-range positioning. The data shows that this rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s high performance, as the CPU’s 74th percentile score is below the GPU’s 86th percentile. The combo’s ranking suggests that the GPU is being held back to some extent by the CPU, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU’s limitations are more pronounced.

Relative to other combos, this pairing is not at the top of the charts, but it is far from the bottom. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-1220P and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, have similar average scores with deltas of 0.1% and -0.2%, respectively, indicating that the 5600G is a typical mid-range processor. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RTX 4080, has a delta of -0.1%, showing that the SUPER variant is essentially on par with its non-SUPER predecessor. The combo’s rank of 812 implies that there are 811 other configurations that outperform it, likely those with higher-end CPUs, but the data confirms that this pairing is well above average for the game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the limiting component in this setup. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 130 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p and finally to 50 at 4K. This represents a 62% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial decline. The scaling pattern suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count. From 1080p to 1440p (1.78x pixels), the FPS drops by 26%, and from 1440p to 4K (2.25x pixels), the FPS drops by 48%.

However, the scaling is not perfectly linear, indicating that the CPU also plays a role. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 142 at 1080p to 122 at 1440p and 65 at 4K, a 54% reduction. The fact that the Low preset at 4K (65 FPS) is only slightly higher than the High preset at 4K (50 FPS) suggests that the GPU is nearing its limits regardless of settings. Conversely, at 1080p, the difference between Low (142 FPS) and Ultra (123 FPS) is only 19 FPS, which implies that the CPU is not able to fully leverage the GPU’s power at that resolution. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU becomes more of a constraint at 1080p and, to a lesser extent, 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are consistent across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 142 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this resolution. The Medium preset follows closely with 138 FPS, and its minimum and maximum are 118 and 159 FPS, respectively. The High preset delivers 130 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 123 FPS. The data shows a narrow range of 19 FPS between the lowest and highest settings, indicating that the CPU is the primary limiter at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale more noticeably with settings. The Low preset averages 122 FPS, which is a 20 FPS drop from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 and maximum of 132 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. The range between Low and Ultra is 39 FPS, which is wider than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is starting to become more influential.

At 3840x2160, the impact of resolution is most evident. The Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69 FPS. The High preset averages 50 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. The range between Low and Ultra is 22 FPS, but the absolute values are much lower, confirming that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at 4K. The Minimum FPS data for Medium settings shows a 51 FPS floor at 4K and a 98 FPS floor at 1440p, indicating that the frame pacing remains stable even under load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 4K?

A: The High preset provides a 50 FPS average at 3840x2160, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS, making it less suitable, while the Low preset offers 65 FPS but with reduced visual quality.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (142 FPS) and Ultra (123 FPS) is only 19 FPS. This narrow gap indicates that the Ryzen 5 5600G’s single-core performance limits the frame rate, as the GPU is not fully utilized at this resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER capable of running the game at Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that the Ultra preset achieves 123 FPS at 1080p and 83 FPS at 1440p, which are playable. However, at 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS, which is below the preferred 50 FPS threshold, making High a better choice at that resolution.

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

A: The combo ranks 812 out of 3,714 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22% of systems. This rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s strong performance, while the CPU’s moderate scores hold the combo back from higher positions.

Q: What does the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K indicate about the limiting component?

A: The 62% reduction in FPS at High settings from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The scaling is less dramatic at 1080p, where the CPU becomes the more significant constraint.

Q: Are the Medium settings a good compromise?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, Medium offers a small FPS gain over High (8 FPS and 19 FPS, respectively), but at 4K, the difference is only 10 FPS. Given the minimal gains, High settings are generally preferred for the visual improvements without a major performance penalty.