Microsoft Flight Simulator

Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER presents a classic balance between a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU. The benchmark data indicates that the combination is generally capable but requires careful settings management to achieve smooth frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured results show that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom to handle the simulation's complex physics and AI.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with High settings, delivering an average of 58.5 FPS. This preset provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a playable frame rate. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p yields 58.3 FPS, which is nearly identical to High, indicating that the visual gains from Ultra come at almost no performance cost at this resolution. Therefore, for users prioritizing visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, Ultra at 1080p is the best choice.

At 1440p, the data shows a clear trade-off. The High preset averages 48.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for a flight simulator, but the Medium preset at 65.3 FPS offers a much smoother experience. Given the genre's pace, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended balance, as it provides a fluid simulation without the stutter that can occur below 50 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 77.3 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial. For 4K, the results are challenging. The High preset drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30.9 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for a comfortable experience. The Low preset at 4K achieves 57.4 FPS, making it the only viable option for 4K gaming, albeit with a significant reduction in visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this system's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's texture streaming at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU's architecture, based on the TU106 chip, features 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs. The boost clock of 1650 MHz helps drive the frame rates seen in the measured data.

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, showing that the RTX 2060 SUPER struggles to fill the increased pixel count. While the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is adequate for DirectX 12 titles, the data suggests that it is not enough to maintain high frame rates in a demanding simulation like Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K. The GPU's percentile rank of 63 against all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1227 out of 1795 tested combos in this game. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capability. The data suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU holds the system back from achieving higher rankings.

In comparison to other tested configurations, the ranking indicates that this combo is better suited for 1080p gaming. The CPU's high benchmark scores, such as 23794 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, do not translate into a top-tier gaming rank because the GPU cannot keep pace. The gap between the CPU's performance and the GPU's output is evident in the fact that the combo ranks significantly lower than what the CPU alone would suggest. This is a system where the GPU is the clear bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Microsoft Flight Simulator at 4K smoothly?

A: No. The measured data shows that at 4K, the High preset averages 35 FPS and Ultra averages 30.9 FPS. Only the Low preset reaches a playable 57.4 FPS, which requires a significant visual quality compromise.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the High preset achieves 58.5 FPS, and Ultra achieves 58.3 FPS, both providing a smooth experience. 1440p is playable with Medium settings at 65.3 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 2060 SUPER's performance drops significantly at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 7 5800XT has ample processing power. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and compute capabilities are strained by the game's demands.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival?

A: The benchmark data shows the RTX 2060 SUPER has an average score of 19774, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070's average score of 19680. This indicates they are nearly identical in overall performance.

Q: What settings should I use for a balance of visuals and performance?

A: For a balanced experience, the Medium preset at 1440p is recommended, yielding 65.3 FPS. If you prefer 1080p, the Ultra preset at 58.3 FPS offers the best visual quality without a significant performance penalty compared to High.

Q: Does upgrading the CPU improve the frame rate?

A: No. The data shows the CPU is not the bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 5800XT has a benchmark score of 29774, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE. The frame rates are limited by the GPU, so a CPU upgrade would not yield noticeable gains.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates the GPU's limitations. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 58.5 FPS at 1080p to 48.6 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 16.9%. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls to 35 FPS, which is a 40.2% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is struggling with the pixel throughput required at 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 102.8 FPS at 1080p to 77.3 FPS at 1440p and then to 57.4 FPS at 4K. This shows that even at the lowest graphical settings, the GPU's fill rate is a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution increases, which is expected given the GPU's mid-range positioning. The diminishing returns at 4K highlight that this combo is not designed for high-resolution gaming.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a high-performance processor that provides ample compute power for Microsoft Flight Simulator. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it can handle the game's complex simulation logic, including weather systems and traffic AI. The CPU's boost clock of 4.80 GHz and its 3Dmark single-thread score of 959 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for the game's main thread. The large 32 MB L3 cache also helps with data locality.

The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration. The CPU's average benchmark score of 29774 places it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, which is a strong showing. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, has a score of 29740, which is 0.1% lower. This indicates that the CPU is performing as expected. In the context of this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data, and the measured frame rates show that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU's performance varies significantly with resolution while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of the system's capabilities. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 102.8 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded. The Medium preset averages 80.7 FPS, while High and Ultra are nearly identical at 58.5 FPS and 58.3 FPS, respectively. This suggests that the Ultra preset offers minimal performance cost over High.

At 1440p, the frame rates scale down. Low averages 77.3 FPS, Medium 65.3 FPS, High 48.6 FPS, and Ultra 45.1 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 3.5 FPS, which is small, but the drop from Medium to High is 16.7 FPS, indicating a significant visual quality threshold.

At 4K, the performance becomes marginal. Low averages 57.4 FPS, Medium 47.2 FPS, High 35 FPS, and Ultra 30.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 10.2 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 4.1 FPS. This data shows that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K, and only the Low preset provides a frame rate above 60 FPS, which is still below the 1080p Low result by 45.4 FPS.