Microsoft Flight Simulator

# Microsoft Flight Simulator — AMD Ryzen 7 5700X + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a playable but demanding experience in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The measured data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the combo can push well past 100 FPS on Low settings, but Ultra presets at 4K drop to just above 30 FPS. The system ranks 1194th out of 1795 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, running Zen 3 architecture, provide solid computational headroom, while the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows across three resolutions and four settings presets provide a clear picture of what this combo can sustain. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 101.6 FPS average, which is the only setting in the entire dataset that clears the 100 FPS threshold. Medium at 1080p drops to 80.3 FPS, High to 60.9 FPS, and Ultra to 58.5 FPS. The data suggests that for smooth 60 FPS gameplay at 1080p, both High and Ultra settings are viable, though the margin is thin for Ultra.

Moving to 1440p, the situation tightens considerably. Low settings produce 80.8 FPS, Medium 62.8 FPS, and High 44.6 FPS. Ultra at this resolution falls to 47.5 FPS, which is interesting because it is actually higher than the High preset's 44.6 FPS. This anomaly in the measured data suggests that the High and Ultra presets may stress different aspects of the scene, but both remain below the 60 FPS target. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 62.8 FPS offers the best balance, as it is the only setting above 60 FPS while still providing acceptable visual quality.

At 4K, all presets fall below 60 FPS. Low achieves 58.8 FPS, Medium 48.8 FPS, High 34.1 FPS, and Ultra 33.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 10 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is negligible at 0.2 FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate at 4K, Low is the only realistic option, though it still dips below the 60 FPS mark. The recommended experience across the board is: 1080p High for a solid 60 FPS, 1440p Medium for the same target, and 4K Low if resolution is non-negotiable.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 101.6, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system run the game at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 58.5, at 1440p Ultra it is 47.5, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 33.9. None of the Ultra preset measurements reach 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's core count relate to this game's performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X has 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 921 in 3dMark single-thread and 6858 in 3dMark 16-thread tests, indicating strong multi-threaded capability that helps with flight simulation's complex physics and scenery calculations.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and does it limit performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 33.9, suggesting that the memory capacity and bandwidth become strained at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1194th out of 1795 tested combinations, placing it in the 33rd percentile of all tested systems for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Q: Does lowering resolution from 4K to 1080p double the frame rate?

A: No. At Low settings, 4K yields 58.8 FPS and 1080p yields 101.6 FPS, which is a 72.8% increase. At Ultra settings, 4K yields 33.9 FPS and 1080p yields 58.5 FPS, a 72.6% increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance scales across resolutions. At Low settings, the progression from 1080p to 1440p is 101.6 to 80.8 FPS, a drop of 20.5%, and then from 1440p to 4K is 80.8 to 58.8 FPS, a further drop of 27.2%. At Medium settings, 1080p yields 80.3 FPS, 1440p drops to 62.8 FPS (a 21.8% decrease), and 4K falls to 48.8 FPS (a 22.3% decrease from 1440p). At High settings, the pattern is 60.9 FPS at 1080p, 44.6 FPS at 1440p (a 26.8% drop), and 34.1 FPS at 4K (a 23.5% drop). At Ultra settings, 1080p produces 58.5 FPS, 1440p produces 47.5 FPS (an 18.8% drop), and 4K produces 33.9 FPS (a 28.6% drop).

The scaling pattern shows that the frame rate penalty for moving from 1080p to 1440p is consistently around 20-27%, while the penalty from 1440p to 4K is more variable, ranging from 22% to 29%. This variability indicates that the limiting component shifts depending on the settings preset. At Low settings, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads at 3.40 GHz base clock can maintain higher frame rates, and the resolution scaling is more linear. At Ultra settings, the GPU's 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become the bottleneck, causing steeper drops at 4K. The data suggests that the RX 6600 XT is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the CPU's benchmark scores (22620 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) indicate ample headroom for the game's computational demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 101.6 FPS average, which is the only triple-digit score in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 80.3 FPS, and High at 60.9 FPS. Ultra settings yield 58.5 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable. The spread from Low to Ultra is 43.1 FPS, indicating that settings have a significant impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades across the board. Low settings still manage 80.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. Medium drops to 62.8 FPS, maintaining playability. High falls to 44.6 FPS, and Ultra to 47.5 FPS. Notably, the Ultra preset outperforms High by 2.9 FPS at this resolution, which is an unusual result in the measured data and may reflect differences in how the presets handle specific scene complexity. The spread from Low to Ultra here is 33.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, all settings fall below 60 FPS. Low achieves 58.8 FPS, which is the closest to the target. Medium manages 48.8 FPS, High drops to 34.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 33.9 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal at 0.2 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution and additional settings changes have little effect. The spread from Low to Ultra is 24.9 FPS, the smallest of any resolution, confirming that 4K is a GPU-bound scenario where the RX 6600 XT's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, this system ranks 1194th out of 1795 total combos. This places it in the bottom third of all tested systems, with 601 combinations ranking below it. The percentileVsAllGpus for the RX 6600 XT is 71, meaning the GPU outperforms 71% of all GPUs in the database, while the CPU's percentileVsAllCpus is 83. The discrepancy between these percentiles and the in-game rank suggests that Microsoft Flight Simulator is particularly demanding on the combination as a whole, and that other factors beyond raw component scores influence real-world performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti with an average score of 27956 and a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the RX 6600 XT scores 0.1% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M395X is 0.4% behind, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is 0.9% ahead. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-11900KF with a deltaPct of 0.1, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X at -0.2, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500GT at 0.2. These close margins indicate that the components are well-matched to their immediate competitors, yet the in-game rank of 1194 out of 1795 shows that the overall system configuration, including the combination of CPU and GPU, is not optimized for this specific title's requirements.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: 22620 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 9500 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, and 6858 in 3dMark 16-thread. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with 3193 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 921 in 3dMark single-thread. The 32 MB shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for flight simulation workloads.

In the context of Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the frame rate data. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 101.6 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently to reach high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily burdened. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a capable processor, yet the in-game performance relative to other combos is lower. This suggests that flight simulation is more sensitive to the GPU's rendering capabilities, particularly at higher resolutions where the RX 6600 XT's 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become exhausted. The CPU's 4.60 GHz boost clock helps maintain playable frame rates at 1080p, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's limitations dominate, with the CPU likely waiting on the GPU to complete rendering tasks. The measured data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, as evidenced by the relatively small frame rate penalties when moving from 1080p to 1440p at lower settings, where the CPU has more headroom to push higher FPS before the GPU becomes the limiting factor.