Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 reveals a clear pattern of scaling across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 124.3 FPS, which drops to 100.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 72.2 FPS at 4K. This progression from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution shows how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU as pixel count increases.

Looking at the High settings tier, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is from 75.8 FPS to 57.8 FPS, a reduction of 18.0 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings brings the frame rate down to 40.3 FPS, another 17.5 FPS loss. The Ultra preset follows a similar trajectory: 70.3 FPS at 1080p, 54.0 FPS at 1440p, and 41.8 FPS at 4K. These consistent reductions indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution climbs, with the CPU maintaining enough headroom to keep feeding frames.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper in percentage terms. The 124.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 100.9 FPS at 1440p (a 23.4 FPS drop) and then to 72.2 FPS at 4K (another 28.7 FPS drop). This larger absolute decline at lower settings suggests that when the GPU is less stressed by visual effects, the resolution-dependent fill rate becomes more dominant. The Medium preset sits between these extremes, with 100.5 FPS at 1080p, 77.4 FPS at 1440p, and 58.3 FPS at 4K.

The 4K Ultra result of 41.8 FPS is notably close to the 4K High result of 40.3 FPS, differing by only 1.5 FPS. This near-convergence at the highest resolution and highest settings indicates that the combo is hitting a performance ceiling where additional graphical fidelity costs little relative to the pixel load. The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where every settings tier exceeds 70 FPS, making it the smoothest experience for this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 901st out of 1795 tested combos in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the middle of the database, with a percentile position that reflects its balanced mid-range standing. The combo rank of 901 means that roughly half of all tested pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title, while the other half deliver lower results.

Breaking down the components individually, the CPU sits at the 78th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 20680. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT, which scores 20740 (a 0.3% difference), and the Intel Core i7-10700 at 20746 (also 0.3% apart). The Intel Core i5-12490F trails by 0.5% with 20794, while the Intel Xeon 6325P comes in at 20538, which is 0.7% lower. These narrow margins show that the 5600X is tightly clustered with its direct competitors, offering essentially equivalent CPU performance for this game.

The GPU, meanwhile, achieves the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 30097, a complete 0% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 30158, which is 0.2% higher, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and RTX 5070 Mobile sit at 29969 and 29928 respectively, representing 0.5% and 0.6% gaps. The GPU's position relative to these rivals indicates that the RTX 5060 is a solid mid-tier performer, but not a standout in raw benchmark terms.

Given that the CPU is at the 78th percentile and the GPU at the 73rd, the combo's mid-pack ranking in this game suggests that Microsoft Flight Simulator's particular workload does not favor either component disproportionately. The game's reliance on both single-thread CPU performance and GPU rasterization means the combo lands in the middle of the field rather than near the top.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 124.3, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution with Ultra settings, the average drops to 70.3 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 41.8 FPS. This is the lowest measured result across all tested resolutions and settings combinations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra settings only reduces FPS from 124.3 to 70.3, suggesting the CPU has enough headroom to support higher settings. However, the CPU's 78th percentile ranking compared to the GPU's 73rd percentile suggests a slight CPU advantage.

Q: What are the nearest rival GPUs to the RTX 5060 in benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT matches the RTX 5060 with a 0% delta (30097 vs 30109). The AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 0.2% higher, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and RTX 5070 Mobile score 0.5% and 0.6% lower respectively.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600X compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 5600X's average benchmark score of 20680 is 0.3% lower than the Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i7-10700, 0.5% lower than the Intel Core i5-12490F, and 0.7% higher than the Intel Xeon 6325P.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game?

A: The combo ranks 901st out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator, placing it in the middle of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 124.3 FPS on Low, 100.5 FPS on Medium, 75.8 FPS on High, and 70.3 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 54.0 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the additional visual load without collapsing.

At 2560x1440, the results are 100.9 FPS on Low, 77.4 FPS on Medium, 57.8 FPS on High, and 54.0 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 46.9 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p. The High and Ultra settings at 1440p are only 3.8 FPS apart, suggesting that the Ultra preset's extra effects have diminishing returns at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 72.2 FPS on Low, 58.3 FPS on Medium, 40.3 FPS on High, and 41.8 FPS on Ultra. Notably, the Ultra result is actually 1.5 FPS higher than High at 4K, which is within the margin of measurement variance. The 4K Low result of 72.2 FPS is still playable, but the higher settings clearly push the GPU to its limits.

Comparing across resolutions, the 1080p Low result of 124.3 FPS is nearly double the 4K Low result of 72.2 FPS. Similarly, 1080p Ultra at 70.3 FPS is significantly ahead of 4K Ultra at 41.8 FPS. The Medium tier shows a more moderate scaling, from 100.5 FPS at 1080p down to 58.3 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 brings 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Microsoft Flight Simulator, which streams vast amounts of terrain and scenery data, this bandwidth is critical. The GPU's base clock of 2280 MHz and boost clock of 2497 MHz drive its 3840 shading units and 120 texture mapping units. The 48 ROPs handle pixel output, with a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS positions it as a capable mid-range part. Its 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores support the game's optional ray-traced effects, though the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing performance. The GPU's 145 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it can sustain boost clocks under load, which the FPS data confirms by showing consistent performance across settings.

In this game, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo achieves 124.3 FPS on Low, which is likely CPU-limited. At 4K with Ultra settings, the 41.8 FPS result indicates the GPU is the primary constraint. The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109, aligns with its mid-range positioning. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, scores identically, confirming that the RTX 5060 is a solid performer in its class.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's 4K textures, as evidenced by the playable 4K results. However, the 128-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth may limit texture streaming performance in densely detailed areas, though the measured data does not show a catastrophic drop at any settings tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is essential for Microsoft Flight Simulator's simulation logic. The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed flight data close to the cores, reducing latency.

The CPU's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 917 in 3DMark and 2622 in Cinebench R23, with a multicore score of 18578 in Cinebench R23. The Geekbench single-core score of 2111 and multicore score of 8673 further confirm its balanced profile. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node indicate efficient power delivery, allowing sustained boost clocks during long simulation sessions.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 124.3 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to exceed 120 FPS. The 12 threads handle the game's physics and AI calculations, while the 6 cores provide sufficient parallel processing for the game's threaded architecture. The CPU's 78th percentile ranking, with an average score of 20680, shows it outperforms about three-quarters of all tested processors.

The CPU's nearest rivals, all within 0.7% of its score, indicate that the 5600X is not a standout in its generation. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i7-10700 both score marginally higher, while the Intel Core i5-12490F is slightly lower. This clustering means that swapping the 5600X for any of these CPUs would yield negligible FPS differences in this game. The CPU's 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die, manufactured by TSMC, represent a mature design that has been in production since November 2020.