Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT + AMD Radeon RX 9060

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a playable but constrained experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the measured results showing a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. The data indicates that this setup ranks 1712 out of 2996 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which aligns with the component-level scores: the CPU sits at the 74th percentile among all processors while the GPU ranks at the 59th percentile among all graphics cards. The benchmark results reveal a system that can handle the simulation at acceptable frame rates, but only when settings are managed carefully relative to the chosen resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a straightforward prescription for the best experience with this hardware. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 62 FPS average, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for the complex scenery loads and weather effects common in flight simulation. The High preset at 1080p delivers 65 FPS average, a marginal improvement of 3 FPS over Ultra, suggesting that the jump from High to Ultra is not steeply punished at this resolution. However, the Medium preset at 1080p produces 86 FPS average with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS, representing the most balanced combination of visual fidelity and performance stability. The Low preset reaches 111 FPS average, but this sacrifices the visual detail that makes the simulator immersive.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Ultra drops to 50 FPS average, High falls to 52 FPS, and Medium maintains 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 89 FPS average. For 1440p users, Medium is the clear recommendation because it stays above 60 FPS on average while keeping the minimum above 55 FPS, which is crucial for avoiding stutter during dense urban flyovers. The 3840x2160 results show that Ultra averages 37 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Medium averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 59 FPS. At 4K, Medium is the only preset that approaches acceptable smoothness, though the sub-60 FPS average indicates that this resolution is pushing the hardware to its limits.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1920x1080. It delivers an 86 FPS average, which is 24 FPS higher than High and 21 FPS higher than Ultra at the same resolution, while the minimum of 73 FPS ensures consistent frame pacing. For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, High at 1080p offers a 65 FPS average, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that Medium at 1440p is the sensible alternative for those with higher-resolution displays, as it maintains a 69 FPS average despite the increased pixel count.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The memory clocks run at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's base clock is 1700 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. These specifications place the card in a position where it can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably but struggles at 4K, which is reflected in the measured FPS results across the resolution spectrum.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a significant factor in Microsoft Flight Simulator's performance. The game is known for loading extensive texture data for terrain, aircraft, and scenery. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 111 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is not memory-limited at lower settings. However, the frame rate drops to 62 FPS at Ultra 1080p, indicating that the higher texture quality and draw distances are consuming substantial memory bandwidth. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p Medium settings, as evidenced by the 86 FPS and 69 FPS averages respectively, but the 4K results tell a different story.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages only 37 FPS, and even Low averages 66 FPS. This substantial drop relative to lower resolutions points to the GPU's raw compute limits rather than memory capacity alone. The RX 9060's FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS and its pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s are the relevant metrics here. The simulator's rendering workload at 4K requires significantly more pixel throughput, and the data shows that the card cannot maintain playable frame rates above Medium settings at this resolution. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 16014, places it close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (which scores 16129, a 0.7% difference) and ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852, 1% faster) and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679, 2.1% faster). These comparisons suggest that the RX 9060 is a mid-range card, which aligns with its 4K performance limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 achieves a combo rank of 1712 out of 2996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the system in the 57th percentile of all tested combos, meaning that approximately 43% of configurations in the database outperform it. The rank reflects a balanced but not exceptional pairing: the CPU's 74th percentile standing (average benchmark score of 20733) is notably higher than the GPU's 59th percentile (average benchmark score of 16014), suggesting that the processor has more headroom than the graphics card in this specific workload.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database include the Intel Core i5-12490F with an average score of 20802 (0.3% higher), the Intel Xeon 6325P at 20821 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U at 20826 (0.4% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7J13 at 20845 (0.5% higher). These deltaPct values are all within 0.5% of the 5600GT's score, indicating that the processor's performance is tightly clustered with these competitors. For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16129 (0.7% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862 (1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 at 15852 (1% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15679 (2.1% lower). The RX 9060 sits nearly equidistant between the RTX 3060 Ti above it and the R9 370X below it.

In the context of this game specifically, the combo rank of 1712 suggests that Microsoft Flight Simulator is neither particularly favorable nor unfavorable to this hardware combination. The simulator's CPU-intensive nature for physics and AI calculations may benefit from the 5600GT's six Zen 3 cores and 12 threads, but the GPU's mid-range positioning caps the overall performance. The rank indicates that many cheaper or older configurations achieve similar or better results, likely due to GPUs with higher memory bandwidth or more shading units.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values show a clear progression across settings. The Low preset averages 111 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this resolution. Medium averages 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS. High averages 65 FPS, and Ultra averages 62 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 49 FPS, representing a 44% reduction in frame rate when moving from minimal to maximum settings. The narrow gap between High (65 FPS) and Ultra (62 FPS) of just 3 FPS indicates that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects are not heavily taxing the hardware at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute values. Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 39 FPS, a 44% reduction that mirrors the 1080p scaling. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p narrows further to just 2 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's overhead is minimal relative to High at this resolution, likely due to the GPU becoming pixel-bound.

At 3840x2160, the data shows a more dramatic falloff. Low averages 66 FPS, Medium averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 59 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 37 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 29 FPS, which is a 44% decrease, consistent with the other resolutions. However, the absolute values are much lower, with Ultra falling below 40 FPS. The minimum FPS of 44 at Medium 4K indicates that even the recommended setting for this resolution can experience noticeable drops during complex scenes, such as approaching a dense airport or flying through cloud formations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveal important information about the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the 1080p average of 111 FPS drops to 89 FPS at 1440p (a 20% reduction) and then to 66 FPS at 4K (a further 26% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 45 FPS, representing a 41% decrease. This scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter even at low settings, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K but the FPS does not quarter.

At Medium settings, the 1080p average of 86 FPS drops to 69 FPS at 1440p (a 20% reduction) and then to 51 FPS at 4K (a 26% reduction from 1440p). The total drop is 35 FPS, a 41% decrease, which is nearly identical to the Low scaling. At High settings, the 1080p average of 65 FPS drops to 52 FPS at 1440p (a 20% reduction) and then to 39 FPS at 4K (a 25% reduction). The total drop is 26 FPS, a 40% decrease. At Ultra settings, the 1080p average of 62 FPS drops to 50 FPS at 1440p (a 19% reduction) and then to 37 FPS at 4K (a 26% reduction). The total drop is 25 FPS, a 40% decrease.

The consistent 40-41% total FPS reduction across all settings from 1080p to 4K indicates that the scaling is driven primarily by GPU rendering load rather than CPU limitations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more constant across resolutions, but the data shows a clear dependency on pixel count. The 4K results at Low (66 FPS) versus 1080p results at Ultra (62 FPS) are nearly identical, which further confirms that the GPU's pixel throughput is the determining factor. The RX 9060's 191.4 GPixel/s pixel rate is insufficient for 4K at high settings, but it manages to deliver acceptable 1080p performance across the entire settings range.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with the Medium preset provides the best balance, achieving an 86 FPS average with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS. This combination offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality.

Q: Can this system run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The 3840x2160 results show an average of 66 FPS at Low, 51 FPS at Medium, 39 FPS at High, and 37 FPS at Ultra. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium is playable but below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 9060 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862) and AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852), and 2.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile relative to all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT sits at the 74th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20733. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12490F, scores 20802, which is only 0.3% higher.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K?

A: The FPS drops by approximately 40-41% from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 across all settings. For example, at Low settings, the frame rate falls from 111 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 4K, and at Ultra settings, it falls from 62 FPS to 37 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The consistent 40-41% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings points to pixel throughput as the bottleneck, rather than CPU processing. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 59th percentile also supports this conclusion.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture with the Cezanne codename. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, featuring 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and a 16 MB L3 cache. The processor is manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC with 10,700 million transistors on a 180 mm² die. Its memory support includes DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, which is relevant for feeding the GPU in memory-intensive scenarios.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU handles game logic, physics calculations, AI traffic, and weather simulation. The 5600GT's 6 cores and 12 threads provide adequate parallel processing for these tasks, as evidenced by the benchmark results. The CPU scores 17272 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2438 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 7986 and single-core score of 1843. The Passmark multithread score is 20325, and the single-thread score is 3348. These numbers indicate a solid mid-range processor that can keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions but does not bottleneck the system.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 74 places it above average, and its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i5-12490F (0.3% higher average score), Intel Xeon 6325P (0.4% higher), Intel Core Ultra 5 125U (0.4% higher), and AMD EPYC 7J13 (0.5% higher). These deltaPct values are minimal, meaning the 5600GT's processing power is competitive with these alternatives. In the context of this game, the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid becoming the primary constraint, as the GPU's limitations appear at 4K regardless of CPU headroom. The 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is adequate for the dual-channel DDR4 configuration, and the PCIe Gen 3 interface with 16 lanes provides enough bandwidth for the RX 9060's PCIe 5.0 x16 connection, though the older standard may slightly limit data transfer rates in certain scenarios. The integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics are not used for this game since a discrete GPU is present, but they do not interfere with the dedicated card's operation.