Microsoft Flight Simulator

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT brings six cores and twelve threads to the flight deck, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture part, built on a 7 nm TSMC process, is a desktop chip from the 5000 series with a 65 W TDP. It supports DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus, which yields a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

The benchmark results across all resolutions and settings suggest that this CPU is rarely the limiting factor in Microsoft Flight Simulator. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 177 FPS, but at 1080p with Ultra settings, it drops to 108 FPS. That 69 FPS swing is primarily a graphics-load change, but the CPU still has headroom to feed the GPU. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured in Cinebench R23, is 2438 points, while multi-core performance reaches 17272 points. Those scores indicate a balanced part that can handle the sim's heavy physics and AI workloads without choking the frame pipeline.

The CPU sits at the 74th percentile against all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 20733. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-12490F, which scores 20802, a delta of -0.3%. That means the 5600GT is essentially neck-and-neck with that Intel part in synthetic workloads. In a flight sim context, where frame pacing matters as much as raw throughput, the 5600GT's consistent multi-threaded scores (e.g., 7254 in Cinebench R20, 7986 in Geekbench multicore) suggest it can keep up with the demands of complex scenery and weather simulation.

The key observation is that at 1080p, the FPS delta between Low and Ultra is 69 FPS, which shows that the GPU is scaling with settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect smaller deltas as resolution drops. The data points to a system where the Ryzen 5 5600GT provides enough compute headroom to let the RTX 4070 Ti stretch its legs, especially at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 150 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Looking at the measured FPS data, the Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot for this combination. At 1080p, Medium delivers 150 FPS average, with a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 173 FPS. That is only 27 FPS behind the Low preset's 177 FPS, but the visual quality jump is substantial. At 1440p, Medium still holds 121 FPS, with a min of 103 FPS and a max of 139 FPS — well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth flight simulation.

The High preset at 1080p drops to 113 FPS, which is still playable, but the delta from Medium to High is 37 FPS, which is a significant hit for what is often a modest visual improvement in distant terrain and shadow quality. At 1440p, High yields 91 FPS, and at 4K, High falls to 67 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing 108 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K.

For users with high-refresh monitors, Medium at 1080p is the only preset that breaks 150 FPS, making it the clear recommendation for competitive or smooth-flight scenarios. At 1440p, Medium's 121 FPS average is ideal for a 120 Hz display, offering a comfortable margin above the minimum of 103 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is technically playable at 64 FPS, but the lack of min/max data for that row means there is no guarantee against stutters in dense urban areas.

The data suggests that Medium provides the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity across all three resolutions. It is the only preset where every resolution tested delivers an average above 89 FPS, and the min FPS data for Medium (76 FPS at 4K, 103 FPS at 1440p, 128 FPS at 1080p) shows consistent frame delivery without severe dips. Low settings are only advisable for users chasing maximum frame rates at 1080p, where 177 FPS is achievable, but the visual compromise is steep.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound progression. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 150 at 1080p to 121 at 1440p, then to 89 at 4K. That is a 40.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the drop is from 113 FPS to 91 FPS to 67 FPS, a 40.7% reduction as well. Low settings show the same pattern: 177 FPS to 156 FPS to 115 FPS, which is a 35.0% drop from 1080p to 4K.

These consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to plateau or drop less steeply as resolution increases, because the CPU workload stays roughly constant while the GPU workload scales with pixel count. The data shows no such plateau — FPS falls continuously as resolution climbs, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

The RTX 4070 Ti's memory configuration plays a role here. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the card delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. At 4K, flight simulators are known for heavy texture streaming, and the card’s bandwidth is sufficient to keep feeding the GPU cores without starving them. The boost clock of 2610 MHz and the 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are what drive the pixel fill rates, and the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the card still manages 64 FPS, which is a demanding workload for any GPU.

The fact that the 4K Ultra average (64 FPS) is only 3 FPS below the 4K High average (67 FPS) suggests that the card is approaching its limits at this resolution, and further settings increases yield diminishing returns. At 1080p, the card has ample headroom — even Ultra settings produce 108 FPS — which reinforces that the RTX 4070 Ti is the component that scales with resolution, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination — the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti — ranks 505th out of 3714 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. That puts it in the top 13.6% of all combinations in the database, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

The rank reflects the balance of the pairing. The RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this combo, as evidenced by the GPU's 84th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44795. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking is lower, but the FPS data shows that the CPU does not drag down the overall performance in this game. The combo rank of 505 suggests that there are 504 other combinations that perform better, likely featuring faster CPUs like the Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7 parts, but the 5600GT holds its own.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 Ti scores 44795, which is only 0.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45152) and 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384). It is 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (44075). These small deltas indicate that the 4070 Ti is a well-positioned GPU in the database, and the combo rank reflects that strength.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the Intel Core i5-12490F at 20802 (-0.3%), the Intel Xeon 6325P at 20821 (-0.4%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U at 20826 (-0.4%), and the AMD EPYC 7J13 at 20845 (-0.5%). The 5600GT's score of 20733 is within 0.5% of all four rivals, meaning that any of these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical FPS results in this game. The combo rank is therefore more a function of the GPU's strength than the CPU's, and users should interpret the 505th rank as a signal of the RTX 4070 Ti's capability.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the powerhouse in this combo, and the data shows it is the component that determines the frame rate ceiling. The card is built on the AD104 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, along with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The base clock is 2310 MHz, with a boost clock of 2610 MHz, and the memory runs at 1313 MHz, which translates to 21 Gbps effective on GDDR6X.

The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, this is critical because the game streams terrain and photogrammetry data constantly. The card's texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s are what allow it to render dense scenery at 4K. The FP32 performance of 40.09 TFLOPS is identical to the FP16 performance (1:1), which is unusual and indicates that the card is not artificially limited in half-precision workloads.

The measured FPS data at 4K Ultra (64 FPS) and 4K High (67 FPS) shows that the card is working hard at this resolution. The fact that Ultra is only 3 FPS below High suggests that the card's 12 GB VRAM is not being exceeded, as a VRAM overflow would cause a more significant FPS drop. The card's 84th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44795, places it ahead of most of the field. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 Mobile, is only 0.8% faster, which is within the margin of error for synthetic benchmarks.

The card's TDP is 285 W, and it requires a 600 W power supply. It is a dual-slot card measuring 285 mm in length, with a 16-pin power connector. These physical characteristics are standard for a high-end card, and the data shows that the card delivers the expected performance for its class. In this game, the GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K, but at 1080p, it has enough headroom to push frame rates above 150 FPS on Medium settings, which is more than sufficient for any flight sim enthusiast.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The data shows that 1440p with Medium settings delivers an average of 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 FPS, making it the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, Medium hits 150 FPS, but the resolution is lower; at 4K, Medium drops to 89 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding areas.

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

A: This combo ranks 505th out of 3714 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 13.6% of all tested setups. The rank is primarily driven by the RTX 4070 Ti's strong GPU performance, as the CPU is a mid-range part.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 4K at Medium settings, FPS drops from 150 to 89, a 40.7% reduction, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up at all tested settings.

Q: What is the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 4K, the High preset averages 67 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS, a difference of only 3 FPS. This suggests that the card is nearing its limit at 4K, and the Ultra preset's additional visual effects do not cost much performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795, which is 0.8% behind the RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT. It is 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A6000. These are small differences, indicating the card is well-positioned among its peers.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600GT hold back the RTX 4070 Ti in this game?

A: The data does not show a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the FPS scales significantly with settings (from 177 FPS on Low to 108 FPS on Ultra), which means the GPU is the primary driver. The CPU's multi-threaded score of 17272 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient for this sim's workload.