Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator with AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combo pairs a 6-core, 12-thread AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT with the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, producing a rank of 89 out of 2996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-driven at higher resolutions, but the CPU becomes a meaningful factor at 1080p, where frame rates approach the 177 FPS ceiling. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for the simulator's large texture sets, while the Ryzen 5 5600GT's 3.60 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost clocks keep the pipeline fed in most scenarios. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to help you choose the right settings for your display and expectations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and frame rate stability across all three resolutions. At 3840x2160, Medium delivers 118 FPS average with a minimum of 100 FPS and maximum of 135 FPS, whereas High drops to 88 FPS and Ultra falls to 84 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs only 31 FPS at 4K (149 to 118), but the visual improvement in a flight simulator is substantial—ground textures, cloud rendering, and cockpit details all scale with these presets. At 2560x1440, Medium achieves 150 FPS average with a minimum of 128 FPS, which is comfortably above the 120 FPS that High provides. The 1080p results show a similar pattern: Medium hits 161 FPS average with a minimum of 137 FPS, while High manages 145 FPS and Ultra 142 FPS.

For players with 4K displays, Medium is the recommended preset—it provides 100 FPS minimums, which keeps the experience smooth in dense city flyovers or weather-heavy scenarios. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for frame drops during complex scenery loading. At 1440p, Medium again wins because it holds 128 FPS minimums, giving you 8 FPS more headroom than High's 120 FPS average. At 1080p, the choice is less critical: Medium's 137 FPS minimum is excellent, but High at 145 FPS average is also viable if you prefer the extra visual fidelity. Low settings are only recommended for competitive frame rate chasing—177 FPS at 1080p and 149 FPS at 4K—but the visual compromise in a simulation genre is rarely worth it.

The data suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" because it maintains at least 100 FPS minimums at every resolution tested, whereas High and Ultra dip below 90 FPS at 4K. If you own a 120 Hz or 144 Hz display, Medium at 1440p or 1080p will keep you near your refresh rate ceiling. For 60 Hz displays, even Ultra at 4K (84 FPS) exceeds the refresh rate, so you could push settings higher for visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the GPU has 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth—more than enough to stream the massive terrain and photogrammetry data Microsoft Flight Simulator loads in real time. The 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs handle the simulator's heavy draw calls, while the 170 RT cores assist with any ray-traced effects if enabled. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz (base 2017 MHz) sustains high throughput across all tested settings.

The data shows the RTX 5090 D's strength in this game: at 4K Ultra, it still produces 84 FPS average, which is higher than what most GPUs achieve at 1080p in this simulator. The 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute gives it raw horsepower to process the complex shaders used for atmospheric scattering, water reflections, and aircraft lighting. The 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth is particularly important—Microsoft Flight Simulator is known for loading textures directly from storage to VRAM, and the 32 GB capacity means the GPU rarely needs to evict data, reducing stutter.

Comparatively, the RTX 5090 D's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6) and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct -2.4), but the RTX 5090 D leads them by a small margin in synthetic tests. In this game, the GPU's performance is well above the CPU's capability at lower resolutions—at 1080p Low, the 177 FPS average suggests the CPU is nearing its limit, as the GPU could likely push higher if unconstrained.

The GPU's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures it can communicate with the CPU at full bandwidth, though the Ryzen 5 5600GT only supports PCIe Gen 3. This mismatch does not appear to bottleneck the results, as the measured FPS at 4K (88 FPS High) indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor at that resolution. The card's 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU are high, but for a simulator that rewards maximum visual fidelity, the power draw is justified by the 4K Ultra performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost up to 4.60 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne, 7 nm) has 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth. For Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is known to be more GPU-intensive than CPU-intensive, this processor is sufficient but not exceptional—its benchmark scores show it at the 74th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20733.

The CPU's role becomes evident when comparing resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck: Low settings produce 149 FPS, Medium 118 FPS, and High 88 FPS—the scaling is consistent with GPU load. At 1080p, the picture changes: Low hits 177 FPS, Medium 161 FPS, High 145 FPS, and Ultra 142 FPS. The smaller gap between High and Ultra (145 vs 142 FPS) suggests the CPU is starting to limit frame rates at lower resolutions, where the GPU has more headroom. The 3dmark single-thread score of 913 and multi-thread score of 5554 indicate modest single-core performance, which matters for the simulator's main thread.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600GT is closely matched: the Intel Core i5-12490F has an average score of 20802 (deltaPct -0.3), and the Intel Xeon 6325P scores 20821 (deltaPct -0.4). This means the CPU is not a weakness in this combo—it performs on par with similarly priced alternatives. The 12 threads help with background tasks and loading scenes, but the simulator's frame generation is largely dependent on the GPU.

For this game, the CPU's 4.60 GHz boost clock is adequate for maintaining 100+ FPS at all resolutions. The 6 cores are enough because Microsoft Flight Simulator does not scale linearly beyond 8 threads in most scenarios. The data shows that even at 1080p Low (177 FPS), the CPU is not completely maxed out—otherwise the frame rate would be lower. However, if you were to pair this CPU with an even faster GPU, the 1080p results might not improve much, as the 177 FPS ceiling appears CPU-bound.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 89th out of 2996 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the top 3% of all systems tested. This is a strong result, driven primarily by the RTX 5090 D's exceptional performance. The rank reflects the GPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the CPU's limitations are less impactful.

For context, this rank means the combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but it is not the absolute top—likely due to the CPU's mid-range positioning. If the Ryzen 5 5600GT were replaced with a higher-end processor, the rank could improve, particularly at 1080p where the CPU has more influence. However, the data shows that at 4K, the combo already achieves 84-88 FPS on Ultra/High settings, which is excellent for a simulator.

The rank of 89 suggests that most of the 2996 tested combos use either lower-end GPUs or CPUs that bottleneck more severely. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile GPU performance and the CPU's 74th percentile performance combine to create a system that excels at high resolutions. If you are targeting 4K gaming, this combo is well-optimized; if you are targeting 1080p esports-style frame rates, the CPU may hold back the GPU slightly, but 177 FPS is still very high.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows the combo performs well at all resolutions, but 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best balance: 150 FPS average with a minimum of 128 FPS. At 4K, Medium delivers 118 FPS average, which is also excellent for a simulator.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the 177 FPS average is the highest measured across all settings, suggesting the CPU may be limiting frame rates at that resolution. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the 88 FPS on High versus 149 FPS on Low.

Q: Is the 32 GB VRAM on the RTX 5090 D necessary for this game?

A: Microsoft Flight Simulator loads large texture sets, and the 32 GB GDDR7 memory ensures the GPU can hold them without eviction. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth prevents texture streaming stutters, which is critical for smooth flight over detailed terrain.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 89th out of 2996 combos, placing it in the top 3%. The GPU's 92nd percentile performance drives this rank, while the CPU's 74th percentile performance is adequate but not class-leading.

Q: What settings should I use for a 60 Hz 4K display?

A: Ultra settings at 4K produce 84 FPS average, which exceeds a 60 Hz display's refresh rate. You can use Ultra for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600GT sufficient for this GPU?

A: The CPU's benchmark scores are within 0.5% of its nearest rivals, and the measured FPS shows it supports the GPU well at 4K. At 1080p, the 177 FPS ceiling indicates some CPU limitation, but it is not a practical concern for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers its most demanding results. Low settings produce 149 FPS average, Medium hits 118 FPS (minimum 100, maximum 135), High drops to 88 FPS, and Ultra falls to 84 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is 31 FPS, while Medium to High is 30 FPS, and High to Ultra is only 4 FPS—indicating diminishing returns at the top end. The 100 FPS minimum on Medium ensures smooth gameplay even in dense scenarios.

At 2560x1440, performance improves significantly. Low achieves 165 FPS, Medium hits 150 FPS (minimum 128, maximum 173), High reaches 120 FPS, and Ultra produces 114 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 30 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 6 FPS. The 128 FPS minimum on Medium makes this the recommended preset for 1440p displays, as it keeps frame rates above most 120 Hz monitors' refresh rates.

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its highest frame rates. Low tops out at 177 FPS, Medium delivers 161 FPS (minimum 137, maximum 186), High reaches 145 FPS, and Ultra hits 142 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is just 3 FPS, suggesting the CPU is becoming a limiting factor. The 137 FPS minimum on Medium is excellent for 144 Hz displays, and even High's 145 FPS average is sufficient for most users.

Across all resolutions, Medium settings provide the most consistent experience, with minimums that are at least 100 FPS at 4K, 128 FPS at 1440p, and 137 FPS at 1080p. Ultra settings are only recommended for 60 Hz displays at 4K, where the 84 FPS average still exceeds the refresh rate. The data confirms that this combo is best utilized at 1440p or 4K with Medium settings, where the GPU's power is fully leveraged without CPU-induced frame rate caps.