Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a demanding flight simulation title released on 2020-08-17, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a dataset with distinct performance characteristics across resolutions and presets. The measured frames per second data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by both CPU and GPU capabilities, depending on the workload. This analysis walks through the specific numbers, contextualizing them against the hardware's theoretical benchmarks and its standing among other tested combinations.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 74th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of all systems tested for this specific title.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance?

A: The CPU's single-threaded score in Cinebench R23 is 2622, which is proportionally strong. Its multi-threaded score of 18578 is about 7 times higher, reflecting the 6-core, 12-thread design.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between the Ultra and Low presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields an average of 129.4 FPS, while the Low preset yields 176.9 FPS. This represents a performance headroom of 47.5 FPS when switching to the lowest settings.

Q: According to the benchmark data, does the GPU have a high memory bandwidth?

A: Yes, the RTX 4090 features a 384-bit memory bus with GDDR6X memory, resulting in a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The memory operates at 1313 MHz with a 21 Gbps effective speed.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600X has an average benchmark score of 20680, which is 0.3 percent lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT's score of 20740. This places them in the same performance tier.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 176.9, achieved at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 74 out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This rank places the system in the 95.9th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that it delivers performance that is superior to the vast majority of other hardware pairings in this specific simulation. The ranking reflects the system's ability to handle the game's complex rendering workloads, although the specific bottleneck varies by resolution and settings.

While the absolute rank is high, the data suggests that the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The CPU, with a 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs, can become a limiting factor. In contrast, the GPU's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs shows it has more headroom relative to other graphics cards. The gap between the CPU's and GPU's percentile positions is notable, as it implies that the system's overall rank is constrained by the CPU's performance in certain scenarios. The measured FPS data supports this, showing that the performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p is not linear with the GPU's capabilities alone.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 917 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2622. This is crucial for Microsoft Flight Simulator, as the game's core simulation logic often relies on single-threaded performance.

In this game, the CPU's role is evident when examining the FPS delta between settings at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, reducing the settings from High (136.5 FPS) to Low (176.9 FPS) yields a 40.4 FPS improvement. This indicates that the CPU can push more frames when the GPU is not heavily burdened by graphical details. However, the CPU's multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18578, is also relevant, as the simulation processes various subsystems in parallel. The 32 MB of L3 cache helps keep data accessible for the cores, which is beneficial for the game's asset streaming.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600X has an average benchmark score of 20680. This is 0.3 percent lower than the Intel Core i7-10700's score of 20746 and 0.5 percent lower than the Intel Core i5-12490F's score of 20794. These small differences indicate that the CPU is competitive with other mid-range processors of its generation, but its performance ceiling is well-defined. In the context of this game, the CPU's single-thread strength is a critical asset, but it ultimately limits the maximum frame rate achievable at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of the system's performance scaling. At 3840x2160 (4K), the system achieves an average of 77.7 FPS on High settings. Dropping to Medium settings yields 104 FPS, while the Low preset produces 135.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces 77.4 FPS, which is nearly identical to the High preset's 77.7 FPS. This slight difference suggests that the High and Ultra presets impose a similar load on the GPU, with the performance being more limited by the graphics card's fill rate and compute capabilities at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales as expected. The High preset delivers 108 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 105.3 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 143.9 FPS, and the Low preset jumps to 167.3 FPS. The gap between the Low and Ultra presets at this resolution is 62 FPS, indicating that the GPU has more headroom to work with when the CPU is less constrained. The relative performance difference between 4K and 1440p on the same preset shows that the GPU's workload decreases with resolution, allowing the CPU to feed frames faster.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The High preset averages 136.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 129.4 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 159.8 FPS, and the Low preset is the highest at 176.9 FPS. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets is 47.5 FPS. Interestingly, the difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 7.1 FPS, which is smaller than the 14.6 FPS difference at 1440p and the 0.3 FPS difference at 4K. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is increasingly becoming the limiting factor, as the GPU can render the frames quickly enough but the CPU cannot supply them at a higher rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a flagship graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 16384 shading units and 128 RT cores. It has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The GPU's memory subsystem is substantial, with 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This high bandwidth is critical for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams large amounts of terrain and texture data.

The GPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a passmark_g3d score of 38194 and a geekbench_opencl score of 317684. Its percentile ranking of 91 among all GPUs shows that it outperforms the vast majority of graphics cards. However, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU's power is not always the deciding factor. At 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the relatively small difference in FPS between the High and Ultra presets (77.7 vs 77.4 FPS). This indicates that the GPU is saturated and cannot push more frames regardless of the CPU's capability.

As the resolution drops to 1440p and 1080p, the GPU's workload decreases, but the FPS gains are not proportional. For example, moving from 4K High (77.7 FPS) to 1440p High (108 FPS) is a 30.3 FPS increase. Moving from 1440p High to 1080p High (136.5 FPS) is a 28.5 FPS increase. While these gains are substantial, they are less than what the GPU's raw compute power might suggest, confirming that the CPU's single-thread performance is beginning to limit the frame rate at lower resolutions. The GPU's 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's assets, ensuring that memory capacity is not a limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and performance target. At 3840x2160, the High preset (77.7 FPS) and the Ultra preset (77.4 FPS) are nearly identical in performance. The data indicates that the Ultra preset offers no measurable advantage over High, suggesting that the extra graphical features are not worth the negligible FPS cost. For a smoother experience, the Medium preset at 104 FPS provides a significant performance boost while maintaining better visual fidelity than Low. Given the high resolution, Low settings (135.9 FPS) may introduce visual artifacts that are more noticeable, so the Medium preset appears to be the most balanced choice at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (108 FPS) and Ultra preset (105.3 FPS) are again close, with a difference of 2.7 FPS. The Medium preset at 143.9 FPS offers a substantial FPS increase over High, making it an attractive option for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the Low preset at 167.3 FPS provides the fastest frame rate, which could be beneficial for competitive play or for minimizing input latency. For most users, the High preset provides a good balance of visual quality and performance, as the 108 FPS average is above the standard 60 FPS threshold and is suitable for a smooth experience.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 129.4 FPS, which is already very high. The High preset at 136.5 FPS is also excellent, and the difference between the two is only 7.1 FPS. The Medium preset at 159.8 FPS and Low preset at 176.9 FPS offer even higher frame rates, but the visual quality trade-off becomes more significant. Since the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, the GPU has spare capacity, meaning that users can choose the Ultra preset without worrying about a major FPS penalty. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is the recommended choice at 1080p, as it provides the best visual experience while still maintaining an average FPS above 120, which is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays.