Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator presents an unusual stress profile, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 reveal a system that is far more balanced than typical gaming rigs. The data shows a configuration where the GPU is the primary scaling agent, but the CPU’s six Zen 3 cores provide a surprisingly robust foundation. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interprets the component roles, and contextualizes the combo’s standing among 1,795 tested pairs.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 99.4 at 1080p to 77.5 at 1440p, then further to 59.7 at 4K. This is a 39.7 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K, representing a 39.9% reduction in performance. The scaling is steep and consistent, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. When the pixel count increases, the RTX 5070 has to work harder, and the frame rate yields accordingly.

What is more revealing is the Low settings scaling. At 1080p Low, the system hits 177.2 FPS, but this falls to 142.6 at 1440p and then to 105.6 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 71.6 FPS, a 40.4% decline. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical between Low and Ultra settings suggests that the RTX 5070’s raw throughput is the limiting factor even when the graphical load is light. The CPU is not the primary constraint here, because if it were, the FPS at 1080p Low would be much higher and the scaling to 4K would show a smaller percentage decline.

Looking at Medium settings, the pattern holds: 140.5 FPS at 1080p, 113.3 at 1440p, and 78.5 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly large, at 34.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading units are being saturated at the higher resolution. The data implies that for this game, the RTX 5070’s 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 192-bit bus are adequate but not overkill, as the frame rate degradation accelerates as resolution climbs.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. It features 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s. These specifications directly influence the measured FPS. At 4K Ultra, the card produces 59.7 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth. This is a demanding scenario, and the data shows the card is working near its limit.

The GPU’s memory subsystem is notable: 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus delivers 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is crucial for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data. The 4K High result of 61.3 FPS versus the 4K Ultra result of 59.7 FPS shows a small 1.6 FPS difference, suggesting that the game’s Ultra preset introduces visual effects that tax the GPU more than the memory system. Conversely, the jump from Medium to High at 4K (78.5 to 61.3 FPS) is a significant 17.2 FPS drop, indicating that High settings engage features that heavily use the shading units or RT cores.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 41,687, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, scores 41,441, a delta of 0.6% in favor of the RTX 5070. This close margin in synthetic benchmarks is reflected in real-world gaming, where the 5070’s modern architecture and higher clock speeds compensate for its narrower memory bus compared to the older flagship.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU is responsible for physics calculations, AI traffic, and the core simulation loop. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (177.2 FPS) suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but it is not unlimited.

The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score is 17,272, and its single-core score is 2,438. These scores are relevant because Flight Simulator is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance. The 5600GT’s 3dmark single-thread score is 913, which is modest compared to its multicore score of 5,554. This indicates that while the CPU handles multi-threaded workloads well, its single-thread performance may become a limiting factor in scenarios with heavy CPU simulation at low GPU load.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600GT’s average benchmark score is 20,740, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-10700 at 20,746 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X at 20,680 (0.3% delta). This means the 5600GT is effectively on par with these CPUs in general compute. However, in this game, the CPU’s role is more nuanced. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 177.2 FPS, which is 34.7 FPS higher than at 1440p Low (142.6 FPS). This 24.3% increase from 1440p to 1080p suggests that the CPU is not fully saturating the GPU at 1080p, but it is also not holding back the frame rate to a severe degree.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600GT and RTX 5070 ranks 327th out of 1,795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This puts it in the 81.8th percentile of all tested pairs, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of systems. The rank is respectable but not top-tier, which aligns with the measured FPS that show strong 1080p and 1440p performance but sub-60 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The rank is influenced by the fact that this is a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The RTX 5070’s 83rd percentile GPU rank is higher than the combo’s overall rank, indicating that the CPU is slightly dragging down the potential of the GPU in this specific game. However, the CPU’s 78th percentile rank is not a major liability. The data suggests that while the GPU is the primary driver of FPS, the CPU’s 6 cores and 16 MB of L3 cache provide sufficient support for most settings, except perhaps the most CPU-intensive scenarios at low resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are strong across the board. Low settings deliver 177.2 FPS, Medium drops to 140.5 FPS, High falls to 101.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 99.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 2.3 FPS, which is surprisingly small. This suggests that the Ultra preset at 1080p is not significantly more demanding than High, or that the CPU is starting to limit the frame rate at these high values.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS decreases across all settings. Low yields 142.6 FPS, Medium produces 113.3 FPS, High reaches 84.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 77.5 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is 6.9 FPS, which is more pronounced than at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at 1440p, as the higher resolution requires more pixel processing.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more constrained. Low settings still manage 105.6 FPS, but Medium falls to 78.5 FPS, High is 61.3 FPS, and Ultra is 59.7 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is 1.6 FPS, which is minimal. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the difference between High and Ultra presets is negligible, as the card is already at its computational limit.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the High preset at 101.7 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium (140.5 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 99.4 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so players can enable it without a noticeable penalty if they desire maximum visual fidelity.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 113.3 FPS is recommended for smooth play, but High at 84.4 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visuals. The Ultra preset at 77.5 FPS is playable but starts to approach the lower end of smoothness. For 4K, the Medium preset at 78.5 FPS is the best balance, as High (61.3 FPS) and Ultra (59.7 FPS) dip below or near the 60 FPS line, which may result in occasional stutter. Low at 105.6 FPS is available for competitive play but sacrifices too much visual detail for a simulation game. The data shows that Medium at 4K provides a playable frame rate while maintaining acceptable graphical quality.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 99.4.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT has an average benchmark score of 20,740, which is 0.3% higher than the Ryzen 5 5600X’s score of 20,680.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 capable of running the game at 4K Ultra smoothly?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 59.7, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested combos?

A: This combo ranks 327th out of 1,795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Which settings preset provides the highest FPS at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 provides the highest measured average FPS at 142.6.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is delivered via 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus.