Microsoft Flight Simulator

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 currently sits at rank 1688 out of 1795 tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places the combo in the bottom 6% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the significant imbalance between the two components. The CPU is a modern 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and it scores in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. The GPU, however, is a legacy Polaris part from 2017, and its 74th percentile standing among all GPUs does not translate into competitive performance in this title. The data indicates a substantial bottleneck: the processor has far more headroom than the graphics card can utilize in this flight simulator.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the general benchmark database, the Ryzen 5 7600X posts an average benchmark score of 26272. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X scores 26214, a 0.2% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U scores 26262 with a 0% delta. This tight grouping shows the 7600X is well within normal variation for its class. The GPU's nearest rivals show a different story: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 30109 (0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097 (0.2% delta), and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29969 (0.6% delta). The RX 570's average benchmark score of 30158 is comparable to these modern parts in synthetic tests, but in Microsoft Flight Simulator, the measured FPS tells a far more constrained tale.

The rank of 1688 out of 1795 combos is not merely a function of raw compute. It reflects how the RX 570's 4 GB of VRAM and GCN 4.0 architecture interact with this game's demanding rendering pipeline. The combo's position is a warning for anyone considering this pairing: the CPU is capable of far more, but the GPU holds the entire system back. The measured FPS data corroborates this, with the highest average frame rate achieved across all tested settings and resolutions being only 48.7 FPS at 1080p Low. No configuration in the dataset reaches 60 FPS, and the 4K Ultra result drops to a barely playable 14.1 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting factor in this combination. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for older titles but severely constrained for Microsoft Flight Simulator's high-resolution textures and draw distances. The GPU's base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and it offers 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 159.2 GTexel/s. These figures place the RX 570 in a position where it can handle 1080p at lower settings but struggles as resolution and quality increase.

The memory capacity is the primary constraint. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 14.1, and even at 1080p Ultra, the average is only 29.5 FPS. The data suggests that the GPU's 4 GB VRAM is being saturated, causing the rendering engine to swap textures and geometry, which tanks frame rates. The FP32 compute of 5.095 TFLOPS is not the issue; rather, it is the combination of limited VRAM and the older GCN 4.0 architecture's inefficiency in this specific workload. The GPU's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface also limits data transfer speeds compared to modern standards, though the CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support offers no benefit here since the GPU cannot utilize it.

The measured FPS results show a clear pattern: the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 6879 for 16 threads and 1060 for single-thread, indicate a processor that could drive much higher frame rates. The RX 570, with its end-of-life production status and 150 W TDP, is simply not equipped for this game's demands. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU should shine, the combo only manages 48.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many users consider playable. This is not a CPU limitation; it is the GPU failing to keep up with the CPU's instructions.

FAQ

Q: Why does this combo rank so low in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: The combo ranks 1688 out of 1795 tested combinations. The primary reason is the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and GCN 4.0 architecture, which cannot handle the game's high-resolution rendering demands. The CPU is in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU's limitations cap the overall performance.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 48.7, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. No tested configuration reaches 60 FPS, and the lowest average is 14.1 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600X has an average benchmark score of 26272. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, scores 26262 (0% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 7 7735U scores 26305 (-0.1% delta). These differences are negligible, indicating the CPU is performing as expected.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark scores?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 30109 (0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097 (0.2% delta). Despite similar synthetic scores, the RX 570 underperforms in this game due to its older architecture.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this pairing?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 48.7 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 14.1 FPS. The CPU's high single-thread score of 3406 in Cinebench R23 suggests it has ample headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates.

Q: What are the measured FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings, the average FPS is 32.6. This is higher than the 1440p High result of 22 FPS but still below the 1080p Medium result of 35.6 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings levels, providing a comprehensive view of the combo's performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the results range from 48.7 FPS at Low to 29.5 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting yields 35.6 FPS, and High produces 30.4 FPS. These numbers show that even at the lowest resolution, the combo cannot maintain a smooth 60 FPS experience. The gap between Low and Ultra is 19.2 FPS, a significant drop that highlights the GPU's struggle with higher quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across all settings. Low yields 40 FPS, Medium drops to 32.6 FPS, High falls to 22 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 23.3 FPS. The Medium to High drop is particularly steep, a 10.6 FPS decrease, suggesting that the High preset introduces rendering features that the RX 570 cannot handle efficiently. The Ultra result at 1440p is only 0.3 FPS higher than the High result, which is within measurement noise and indicates the GPU is heavily bottlenecked.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low produces 29.8 FPS, Medium 24.9 FPS, High 18.5 FPS, and Ultra 14.1 FPS. The 4K Low result is actually lower than the 1440p High result, showing how resolution scaling taxes the GPU's 4 GB VRAM. The step from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings is a 7.7 FPS drop, and at Ultra, the drop is 9.2 FPS. These numbers confirm that the RX 570 is not suitable for 4K gaming in this title, regardless of settings.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and setting. The CPU's potential is wasted, as even the lowest settings fail to produce high frame rates. The measured FPS values are all below 50, and the majority are below 35, making this combo unsuitable for smooth gameplay in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 48.7 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p (a 17.9% decrease) and then to 29.8 at 4K (a 38.8% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern is steeper than what a CPU-bound scenario would show, indicating the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count and texture memory demands.

At Medium settings, the average FPS is 35.6 at 1080p, 32.6 at 1440p (an 8.4% drop), and 24.9 at 4K (a 30.1% drop from 1080p). The smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p compared to Low settings suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth is being taxed more heavily at higher quality settings, but the 4K drop is still severe. At High settings, the average FPS is 30.4 at 1080p, 22 at 1440p (a 27.6% drop), and 18.5 at 4K (a 39.1% drop from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K drop of only 3.5 FPS indicates that the GPU is already saturated at 1440p High.

Ultra settings show the most extreme scaling: 29.5 FPS at 1080p, 23.3 FPS at 1440p (a 21% drop), and 14.1 FPS at 4K (a 52.2% drop from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Ultra result, which is a clear sign of VRAM capacity issues. The 4 GB frame buffer is being exceeded, causing the rendering engine to fall back on slower memory paths. The data strongly suggests that the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM is the primary constraint, as the CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution in the same way.

The resolution scaling analysis points to a GPU-bound system. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 5715 for 8 threads and 6845 for max threads, show it can handle the game's simulation logic without issue. The FPS drops are directly proportional to the pixel count increase, which is characteristic of a GPU limitation. For users seeking higher frame rates, lowering the resolution to 1080p and reducing settings to Low is the only viable option, yielding a still-modest 48.7 FPS.