Microsoft Flight Simulator

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Microsoft Flight Simulator with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and AMD Radeon RX 6600 shows a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 93.4 FPS. Dropping to 2560x1440 Low reduces that to 76 FPS, a 17.4 FPS loss. Moving further to 3840x2160 Low yields 56.1 FPS, meaning the 4K figure is roughly 40% below the 1080p Low result.

The pattern becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 54.5 FPS at 1080p to 42.3 FPS at 1440p, then to 32.9 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings show a similar trajectory: 53.9 FPS at 1080p, 41.9 FPS at 1440p, and 28.1 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra represents a 25.8 FPS drop, which is nearly half the original 1080p value.

These results indicate the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (93.4 FPS) and Ultra (53.9 FPS) is 39.5 FPS, suggesting the GPU is already under meaningful load but the CPU can still feed frames. At 4K, the spread between Low (56.1 FPS) and Ultra (28.1 FPS) is 28 FPS, and the absolute numbers are low enough that the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The RX 6600's 8 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated by the flight simulator's terrain and weather rendering at higher resolutions.

The data shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for smooth play. At Medium settings, 1440p delivers 57.8 FPS, which is playable, while 4K Medium at 43.8 FPS is borderline. Low settings at 4K at 56.1 FPS are the only way to get near 60 FPS at that resolution, and that requires sacrificing the visual fidelity that makes the sim immersive.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 is the most balanced choice. At Medium settings it delivers 57.8 FPS, and at High it achieves 42.3 FPS. Both are more playable than 4K, where even Medium only reaches 43.8 FPS and Ultra drops to 28.1 FPS.

Q: How much FPS do you lose going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The drop is 25.8 FPS. At 1080p Ultra the combo averages 53.9 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 28.1 FPS. That is a 48% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5900X hold back the RX 6600 in this game?

A: The CPU appears sufficient at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 93.4 FPS, which is close to the GPU's practical limit. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads with a 4.80 GHz boost clock are not the primary constraint; the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 1792 shading units are more likely the limiting factor at higher settings.

Q: Can this combo run 4K at all?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings with 56.1 FPS. Medium yields 43.8 FPS, High 32.9 FPS, and Ultra 28.1 FPS. If 4K is required, Low settings are the only viable option for fluid gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest rivals in general GPU benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 25235. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 890M, scores 25246 with a deltaPct of 0. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 25287 (deltaPct -0.2), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M scores 25180 (deltaPct 0.2). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 25120 with a deltaPct of 0.5. This places the RX 6600 in a tightly packed performance band.

Q: What is the ranking of this combo among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1428 out of 1795 tested combinations. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, reflecting that while the CPU is strong, the GPU limits the overall result in this simulator.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock is 2491 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz. The GPU has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 28 ray accelerators.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, the measured FPS data shows the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions and settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 39.5 FPS (93.4 vs 53.9), which is a large gap that cannot be explained by CPU limitations given the Ryzen 9 5900X's capabilities. At 4K, the gap narrows to 28 FPS, but the absolute values are low, confirming the GPU is saturated.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is relevant here. Flight simulators stream large textures for terrain, aircraft, and weather. At 4K Ultra, the VRAM requirement likely exceeds what the 128-bit memory interface can efficiently feed, contributing to the 28.1 FPS result. The bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is modest by modern standards, and the data suggests this is a bottleneck when the sim loads high-resolution scenery.

The GPU's benchmark scores support this interpretation. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1492, and its PassMark G3D score is 15096. These are mid-range results. In the context of this game, the RX 6600's percentile ranking of 69 among all GPUs means it outperforms 69% of GPUs in general benchmarks, but in this specific simulator, the measured FPS shows it struggles at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 93.4 FPS, Medium 73.9 FPS, High 54.5 FPS, and Ultra 53.9 FPS. The step from Medium to High is a 19.4 FPS drop, while the step from High to Ultra is only 0.6 FPS. This suggests that High and Ultra are nearly identical in cost, and the GPU is hitting a similar workload ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 76 FPS, Medium 57.8 FPS, High 42.3 FPS, and Ultra 41.9 FPS. The Medium to High drop is 15.5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 0.4 FPS. The pattern holds — High and Ultra are nearly indistinguishable, while Low to Medium is a 18.2 FPS drop.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 56.1 FPS, Medium 43.8 FPS, High 32.9 FPS, and Ultra 28.1 FPS. Here the High to Ultra drop is 4.8 FPS, larger than at lower resolutions, indicating the GPU is running out of headroom. The Low to Medium drop is 12.3 FPS, and Medium to High is 10.9 FPS. This is the only resolution where every preset step is meaningful.

The 1080p data reveals a quirk: High (54.5 FPS) and Ultra (53.9 FPS) are nearly identical, while Medium (73.9 FPS) is much faster. This suggests that the difference between High and Ultra in this game is minor in terms of GPU load, but the jump from Medium to High is substantial. At 1440p, the same pattern appears with High at 42.3 and Ultra at 41.9. At 4K, the pattern breaks, and Ultra costs 4.8 FPS over High, showing the GPU is fully utilized.

Overall, the 1080p Low result of 93.4 FPS is the only figure above 90 FPS. The 1440p Low result of 76 FPS is the only other number above 70. This combo is best suited for 1080p Medium or High, or 1440p Low to Medium, depending on the user's frame rate preference.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1428 out of 1795 tested combinations in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This places it in the 21st percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 79% of tested combos perform better. The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU, as the Ryzen 9 5900X is a strong CPU.

The CPU alone ranks in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39453. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4245P (39383, deltaPct 0.2), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS (39747, deltaPct -0.7), the Intel Core i7-13700F (39095, deltaPct 0.9), and the Intel Core i7-13700 (39857, deltaPct -1). The CPU is clearly not the weak link.

The GPU ranks in the 69th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of its score, indicating a very competitive mid-range segment. The RX 6600 is a capable 1080p card, but in a simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, which has high rendering demands, it drags the combo down to the 1428th position.

This ranking means users should expect a middle-of-the-pack experience. The 1080p Medium result of 73.9 FPS is respectable, but the 4K Ultra result of 28.1 FPS is below what many users would consider playable. The combo's rank reflects this: it is not a high-end system, but it is also not at the very bottom of the database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer). It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform and has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. It has 64 MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 105 W.

In terms of raw compute, the 5900X is far more powerful than the GPU. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 33150, and its single-core score is 4680. The Geekbench multi-core score is 11877, and the single-core score is 2202. These are top-tier numbers for a desktop CPU, and the 90th percentile ranking confirms it.

For Microsoft Flight Simulator, the CPU's role is to handle the simulation logic, including flight dynamics, weather systems, and AI traffic. The 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for these tasks. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 93.4 FPS, which is a high number. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across all resolutions at Low settings. Instead, the 4K Low result is 56.1 FPS, a 37.3 FPS drop, proving the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark results also support this conclusion. Its 3DMark 16-thread score is 9075, and its max-thread score is 10075. These are strong multi-threaded results that would not limit a mid-range GPU in most scenarios. The single-thread score of 941 in 3DMark is also solid, which matters for a simulator that relies on single-threaded performance for the main simulation loop.

The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is sufficient for the CPU's needs. The GPU's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is separate and more relevant to texture streaming. In this combo, the CPU is effectively waiting on the GPU at higher resolutions, which is why the frame rate drops so consistently as resolution scales up. The 5900X could support a much faster GPU without becoming a bottleneck, but with the RX 6600, it is the GPU that determines the final FPS numbers.