Microsoft Flight Simulator

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking for Microsoft Flight Simulator among tested hardware combinations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1647th out of 3714 tested combos for this game, placing it in the 56th percentile of all tested configurations.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600X has an average benchmark score of 27,636, which is 0.2% ahead of both the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K (both at 27,578), and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27,535). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27,712) by 0.3%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5060 sits at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26,331. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, which is 1.2% behind, while the AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550 are both 0.3% ahead.

Q: What are the best and worst measured average FPS results across all resolutions and settings?

A: The best result is 127 FPS at 1920x1080 on Low settings. The worst is 42 FPS at 3840x2160 on Ultra settings. The spread between these extremes is 85 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU have a higher single-thread or multi-thread benchmark score?

A: The CPU's multi-thread performance is significantly stronger, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,236 compared to 1,965 for single-core. Similarly, Geekbench multicore scores 13,858 versus 2,603 for single-core.

Q: What memory bandwidth and PCIe capabilities does the CPU support?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and provides PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes from the CPU. It also includes Radeon integrated graphics.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. For a 60 FPS target, the sweet spot varies significantly by resolution.

At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS. Low delivers 127 FPS, Medium 99 FPS, High 74 FPS, and Ultra 71 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is just 3 FPS, making Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p users who want maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The difference between Low and Ultra is 56 FPS, indicating substantial headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture tightens. Low achieves 103 FPS, Medium 80 FPS, and High 60 FPS, while Ultra drops to 57 FPS. For a strict 60 FPS experience, High is the highest preset that maintains the target. However, the 57 FPS at Ultra is only 5% below 60 FPS, and the visual improvement may justify the slight compromise. Medium at 80 FPS offers a comfortable buffer for demanding flight scenes.

At 3840x2160, only Low (76 FPS) and Medium (59 FPS) reach or approach 60 FPS. High produces 44 FPS and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. For 4K users prioritizing fluidity, Low is the only preset that provides substantial headroom. Medium at 59 FPS is effectively at the 60 FPS threshold but may dip below in complex scenery. The step from Medium to High costs 15 FPS (a 25% reduction), which is a steep price for the visual upgrade.

The data suggests that Medium is the best overall balance across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides 99 FPS with room for demanding add-ons. At 1440p, it delivers 80 FPS, well above the 60 FPS target. At 4K, it hits 59 FPS, essentially at the target. Users with 4K displays who prioritize frame rate over visuals should consider Low, but Medium offers the most consistent experience across the board.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael), built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 105 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is primarily in physics simulation, flight model calculations, and scenery generation. The game is known for being CPU-intensive, particularly at lower resolutions and settings where GPU load is reduced. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 127 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed frames quickly when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The single-thread performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,965 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,603. This matters for Flight Simulator, which relies heavily on a few main threads for core simulation logic. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,060 and 2-thread score of 2,028 indicate solid per-core efficiency.

Multi-thread performance is equally robust. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,236 and Geekbench multicore of 13,858 show that the 6-core configuration can handle parallel workloads. The 3DMark scores scale well from 2 threads (2,028) to 8 threads (5,715) and max threads (6,845), demonstrating good thread scaling. This helps in scenarios with heavy AI traffic, weather systems, and complex airport environments.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 79 among all CPUs places it in the top quarter of processors. Its average benchmark score of 27,636 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals—the Ryzen 7 5700X, Core i5-12600K, Ryzen 5 8500GE, and Ryzen 7 5800 all fall within 0.4% of its score. This indicates that the 7600X is well-matched to its competition in synthetic benchmarks, which translates to consistent performance in Flight Simulator's CPU-bound sections.

Given the measured FPS results, the CPU appears capable of sustaining high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 127 FPS result suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at that setting. Even at 4K Low (76 FPS), the CPU maintains adequate performance. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU as resolution and settings increase, which is typical for this title.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 7600X and RTX 5060 achieves a combo rank of 1647 out of 3714 tested configurations for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the middle of the overall ranking distribution, at approximately the 56th percentile of all combos.

This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The CPU's percentile of 79 is higher than the GPU's percentile of 72, suggesting the CPU is slightly stronger relative to its peers than the GPU. However, the combo rank of 1647 indicates that many other configurations outperform this pairing in Flight Simulator specifically.

The measured FPS data shows that the combo can produce playable frame rates across most settings, but struggles at 4K Ultra (42 FPS) and 4K High (44 FPS). These results likely contribute to the mid-tier ranking. Combos ranked higher probably include more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can maintain higher frame rates at 4K Ultra settings.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU's closest rivals are all within 0.4% in average score, meaning the 7600X is representative of a broad performance tier. The GPU's nearest rivals show a wider spread, from 1.2% ahead (Radeon RX 6750 XT) to 0.8% behind (Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary). The RTX 5060's position at the 72nd GPU percentile suggests it is a solid mid-range performer.

For Flight Simulator, the combo rank of 1647 out of 3714 implies that roughly 44% of tested configurations perform worse. This is a reasonable mid-pack position, though enthusiasts seeking high-refresh-rate 4K experiences would need to look at higher-ranked combos. The data indicates this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with acceptable but not stellar 4K performance.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture (GB206 chip), manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

The GPU features 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 19.18 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16, a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s. The card has a 145 W TDP and requires a 300 W suggested PSU.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the GPU handles rendering tasks including terrain tessellation, lighting, shadows, and post-processing effects. The 8 GB VRAM is a consideration for 4K textures, though the measured results suggest it is sufficient for the tested settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores show strong DirectX 11 performance (200 in PassMark) but weaker DirectX 12 (77) and DirectX 10 (127) results. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 112,787 and Vulkan score of 113,321 are robust, indicating good compute and API support. The PassMark G3D score of 20,891 places the GPU at the 72nd percentile overall.

The RTX 5060's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, is 1.2% behind in average benchmark score. This close competition suggests similar real-world performance in many titles. The Radeon 860M and GeForce MX550 are both 0.3% ahead, though these are likely integrated or low-power parts in different performance tiers.

In Flight Simulator, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 42 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The 15 FPS drop from 4K Medium (59 FPS) to 4K High (44 FPS) shows the significant cost of higher quality settings at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM may also contribute to performance degradation at Ultra settings if textures exceed available memory.

At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, with 74 FPS at High and 71 FPS at Ultra. The small 3 FPS difference between these settings suggests the GPU is not heavily stressed at 1080p, and the CPU or other system components may be the bottleneck.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS
• High: 74 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings. The jump from Low to Medium costs 28 FPS (22% reduction), while Medium to High costs 25 FPS (25% reduction). The transition from High to Ultra is minimal at just 3 FPS (4% reduction). This suggests that Ultra is nearly free at 1080p, and users should not hesitate to enable it.

2560x1440:

• Low: 103 FPS average
• Medium: 80 FPS average, with a minimum of 68 FPS and maximum of 92 FPS
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

At 1440p, performance remains strong. Low provides over 100 FPS, and Medium offers 80 FPS with a comfortable minimum of 68 FPS. High hits exactly 60 FPS, while Ultra dips slightly below at 57 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS (22% reduction), Medium to High costs 20 FPS (25% reduction), and High to Ultra costs just 3 FPS (5% reduction).

3840x2160:

• Low: 76 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

At 4K, the combo struggles at higher settings. Low maintains 76 FPS, and Medium achieves 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. High drops to 44 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS. The step from Medium to High is a 15 FPS (25% reduction), while High to Ultra is only 2 FPS (5% reduction). This pattern mirrors the lower resolutions, where the Medium-to-High transition is the steepest penalty.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions. The 4K Medium minimum of 50 FPS represents a 15% drop from the average, while 1440p Medium minimum of 68 FPS is 15% below average, and 1080p Medium minimum of 84 FPS is 15% below average. This consistent 15% variance suggests stable frame pacing across resolutions.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU.

At Low settings, performance drops from 127 FPS at 1080p to 103 FPS at 1440p (19% reduction) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (40% reduction from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K drop is 26% (27 FPS). This pattern suggests that at Low settings, the GPU becomes more stressed as resolution increases, but the CPU still contributes significantly to the overall frame rate.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 99 FPS at 1080p drops to 80 FPS at 1440p (19% reduction) and 59 FPS at 4K (40% reduction from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K drop is 26% (21 FPS). The consistency of these percentages across Low and Medium settings indicates that the workload scales predictably with pixel count when the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

At High settings, 1080p yields 74 FPS, 1440p drops to 60 FPS (19% reduction), and 4K falls to 44 FPS (41% reduction from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K drop is 27% (16 FPS). This pattern continues the trend, with roughly equal percentage reductions at each resolution step.

At Ultra settings, 1080p produces 71 FPS, 1440p drops to 57 FPS (20% reduction), and 4K falls to 42 FPS (41% reduction from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K drop is 26% (15 FPS).

The consistent ~19-20% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and ~40-41% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the limiting component scales uniformly with resolution. This suggests that neither the CPU nor GPU is disproportionately bottlenecked at any specific resolution, but rather the system as a whole responds predictably to increased pixel counts.

However, the absolute FPS values tell a different story. At 4K Ultra (42 FPS) and High (44 FPS), the system is clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 1,965) should not constrain these settings. The 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 5060 likely play a role in the 4K performance ceiling.

The scaling data indicates that the RTX 5060 is the primary limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU (with its 79th percentile ranking) is more likely to be the constraint. The 127 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can drive high frame rates, but the 71 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows the GPU's workload increases with settings. The balanced scaling across resolutions makes this combo predictable: users can expect roughly 20% FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 25-30% loss from 1440p to 4K, regardless of settings preset.