Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions, but the scaling pattern also exposes where the CPU begins to assert itself. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 175.5 FPS, which drops to 144.3 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 104.8 FPS at 4K Low. That represents a 40.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is still the primary limiter even at the lowest preset. However, the gap between 1440p and 4K Low (39.5 FPS) is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p Low (31.2 FPS), showing that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering load grows disproportionately as pixel count climbs.

At High settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p High result of 109.8 FPS falls to 87.2 FPS at 1440p High, then to 61.8 FPS at 4K High. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K at High is 29.1%, which is larger than the 20.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This steepening curve is characteristic of a GPU that is increasingly saturated by 4K resolution, especially with the added shading and texture work that High settings demand. The data suggests that at 4K High, the RTX 4070 SUPER is operating near its practical limit for maintaining smooth frame rates.

Ultra settings amplify this trend. The 1080p Ultra score of 99.9 FPS declines to 82.4 FPS at 1440p Ultra, a modest 17.5% reduction. But the jump to 4K Ultra yields only 58.8 FPS, a 28.6% drop from 1440p Ultra. This is the steepest single-step decline in the entire dataset, confirming that 4K Ultra pushes the GPU into a regime where each additional pixel has a outsized cost. The fact that 4K Ultra (58.8 FPS) lands only 3 FPS below 4K High (61.8 FPS) suggests diminishing returns from the Ultra preset at this resolution — the extra visual fidelity comes at nearly the same frame rate cost as the step from Medium to High.

The scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component changes with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more prominent: the 175.5 FPS Low result is high enough that the Ryzen 5 5600GT's 6 cores and 12 threads may start to cap framerate in lighter scenes. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 104.8 FPS Low result — a figure that is still playable but far from the 175.5 FPS ceiling seen at 1080p. Users targeting 4K should expect the RTX 4070 SUPER to dominate performance, while those at 1080p will see more CPU influence.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. For 4K displays, High settings at 61.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as the step to Ultra (58.8 FPS) delivers only marginal visual gains for a 4.8% framerate loss. Medium at 4K offers 82.4 FPS, which is a substantial 33.3% improvement over High, but the visual quality reduction may be significant for a flight simulator where terrain detail matters. Data suggests that 4K High is the best compromise: it stays above the 60 FPS threshold while retaining the majority of the preset's visual features.

At 1440p, the choice depends on the monitor's refresh rate. The 144.3 FPS Low result is ideal for high-refresh displays, but Medium at 112.9 FPS provides a better balance of smoothness and detail. High at 87.2 FPS remains comfortable for 60 Hz panels, while Ultra at 82.4 FPS is only 5.5% slower than High, making Ultra a viable option for users who prioritize maximum quality. The 1440p Ultra figure exactly matches the 4K Medium result (82.4 FPS), illustrating that the render load at 1440p Ultra is equivalent to 4K Medium — a useful reference point for tuning.

For 1080p, the data shows that Medium at 145.4 FPS is the most versatile preset, offering high framerates without the visual sacrifices of Low (175.5 FPS). High at 109.8 FPS is still excellent for 100 Hz panels, while Ultra at 99.9 FPS just misses the triple-digit mark. Given that the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 913 and multi-thread score of 5554 suggest adequate headroom, the 1080p results indicate that the GPU is still the primary driver, but the gap between Low and Ultra (75.6 FPS) is narrower than at 4K (46 FPS), confirming the CPU's growing influence at lower resolutions.

The recommendation across all resolutions is to prioritize High settings as the default, with Medium as a fallback for 4K users seeking higher frame rates. Ultra should be reserved for 1440p and below, where the performance penalty is more acceptable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align with the measured performance. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture-heavy workloads of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The 4K Ultra result of 58.8 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as the framerate drop from 4K High to 4K Ultra (3 FPS) is modest compared to the settings change.

The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 7168 shading units, delivers the raw compute needed for the simulator's complex rendering. The 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is reflected in the 4K Low result of 104.8 FPS, which shows that even at lower settings, the GPU can handle 4K resolution at playable framerates. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 places the GPU in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.2% faster) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% faster) — indicating this card is positioned at the upper mid-range of performance.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is a key factor for this game, as flight simulators often load large terrain and aircraft textures. The data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stuttering in the measured FPS, suggesting that 12 GB is adequate for the tested settings. However, the RTX 4070 SUPER's end-of-life production status and its 220 W TDP indicate that it is a mature product design, with the 5 nm process node from TSMC contributing to its efficiency. The passmark G3D score of 29995 and GPU compute score of 17108 further corroborate the GPU's strong compute capability, though these synthetic benchmarks do not directly translate to game performance.

The GPU's role is most pronounced at 4K, where the 58.8 FPS Ultra result represents the lowest measured figure. This is not a failure but a realistic expectation for ultra-high-resolution flight simulation. At 1440p and 1080p, the GPU's headroom allows for high framerates even at Ultra settings, with the 1080p Ultra score of 99.9 FPS being particularly notable given the simulator's complexity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide spread of results. Low settings produce 175.5 FPS, Medium 145.4 FPS, High 109.8 FPS, and Ultra 99.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 30.1 FPS (17.1%), while Medium to High costs 35.6 FPS (24.5%). The High to Ultra transition is the smallest, at 9.9 FPS (9.0%), suggesting that Ultra adds relatively little overhead over High at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the figures are 144.3 FPS (Low), 112.9 FPS (Medium), 87.2 FPS (High), and 82.4 FPS (Ultra). The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction: 17.8% at Low, 22.4% at Medium, 20.6% at High, and 17.5% at Ultra. This consistency indicates that the GPU's workload scales predictably with pixel count at this resolution range.

At 3840x2160, the results are 104.8 FPS (Low), 82.4 FPS (Medium), 61.8 FPS (High), and 58.8 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Low figure is notable — it is only 5.2% lower than the 1440p High result (87.2 FPS), showing that the GPU can handle 4K at lower settings without a catastrophic framerate drop. However, the 4K Ultra result of 58.8 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, highlighting the extreme demand of combining 4K with the highest preset.

The consistency across resolutions is remarkable: the 4K Medium result (82.4 FPS) exactly matches the 1440p Ultra result (82.4 FPS), and the 1440p High result (87.2 FPS) is close to the 1080p Medium result (145.4 FPS) in relative terms. This suggests that the game's rendering engine scales settings and resolution in a predictable manner, allowing users to trade off one against the other.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 303rd out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 16.9% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with an upper-mid-range GPU. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing: the CPU's 78th percentile standing (avg benchmark score 20740) and the GPU's 84th percentile standing (avg benchmark score 42576) combine to produce a system that excels in this simulator.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-10700 (0% delta), Intel Core i5-12490F (-0.3% delta), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (0.3% delta). These are all capable processors, and the 5600GT's performance is essentially tied with them. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (-0.2% delta) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (-0.3% delta), confirming that the 4070 SUPER sits at a performance tier where small percentage differences separate competitors.

The rank of 303 out of 1795 suggests that while many combos outperform this pairing, the vast majority (1492 combos) are slower. This is particularly impressive given that the CPU is a 65 W part with integrated graphics, indicating that the 5600GT does not bottleneck the 4070 SUPER in this game. The data implies that users with this combo can expect a smooth experience at 1440p High and 4K Medium without needing a more expensive processor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known for moderate CPU utilization. The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz and base clock of 3.60 GHz, combined with Zen 3 architecture, provide solid single-thread performance — a critical factor for flight simulators that often rely on a few heavily loaded threads. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2438 and multi-core score of 17272 indicate that the CPU can handle both lightly threaded and well-parallelized workloads.

The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for feeding the GPU with data, though they are not exceptional. The 3DMark single-thread score of 913 and 16-thread score of 5523 suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU dominates. However, at 1080p Low (175.5 FPS), the CPU's role becomes more evident — this framerate is high enough that the 5600GT's per-core performance may cap further gains in less demanding scenes.

The CPU's 78th percentile ranking across all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20740, places it in the same performance tier as several Intel and AMD competitors. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-10700, has an identical average score (20746 vs 20740), while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is 0.3% faster. This indicates that the 5600GT is a well-rounded processor that does not hold back the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game.

The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node from TSMC suggest that thermal headroom is not a concern, allowing the CPU to maintain boost clocks during extended gaming sessions. The absence of 3D V-Cache and the standard DDR4 memory support are minor limitations, but they do not appear to affect this game's performance, as evidenced by the strong rank and FPS results.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The combo achieves 99.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is just below the 100 FPS threshold but still highly playable.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Yes, at 4K High settings it produces 61.8 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 82.4 FPS. Only 4K Ultra (58.8 FPS) dips below 60 FPS.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT's average benchmark score of 20740 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-10700 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (0.3% faster). It also trails the Intel Core i5-12490F by 0.3%.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: High settings at 87.2 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while Ultra at 82.4 FPS is also viable if visual quality is prioritized.

Q: Is the GPU's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The measured FPS data shows no VRAM-related issues across all settings and resolutions, indicating that 12 GB is sufficient for the tested configurations.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 303rd out of 1795 tested combos, placing it in the top 16.9% of all configurations tested for Microsoft Flight Simulator.