Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a demanding game even on the highest-end hardware, partly due to poor optimization and the constant need to stream everything. We tested each of the game’s settings across different regions and landscapes to determine the best graphics settings for MS Flight Simulator 2024 on PC. This guide recommends the optimized settings for budget and low-end PC gamers. We tested the game using our sub-$1000 builds featuring an RX 6600, RTX 3060, and an RTX 4060.
Windows/System Settings to Optimize
- Enable Resizable BAR.
- Turn on Game Mode.
- Enable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) and Windowed Optimizations.
- Use the Windows “High Performance” power profile and set your GPU power management mode to the same.
- Disable Memory Integrity. Windows Menu->VBS->Device Security.
- Ensure you use the proper XMP/EXPO memory profile (if available).
- Overclock your GPU if you’re narrowly missing the 60 FPS mark.
- Here’s a guide with more detailed instructions.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: PC System Requirements
| Minimum Specs | Recommended Specs | Ideal Specs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Intel Core i7-6800K | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Intel Core i7-10700K | AMD Ryzen 9 7900X Intel Core i7-14700K |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon RX 5700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 5700XT NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |
| RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| VRAM | 4 GB | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| Storage | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Bandwidth | 10 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
| Operating System | Windows 10 with the latest update | Windows 10 with the latest update | Windows 10 with the latest update |
Our Test Setup
| Motherboard | CPU | GPU | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| GIGABYTE B450M DS3H WIFI ($84) | AMD Ryzen 5 5600 ($116) | NVIDIA RTX 4060 8 GB ($289) NVIDIA RTX 3060 12 GB ($269) AMD Radeon RX 6600 ($200) | 8GB x2 D4 ($40) |
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Low-end PC Benchmarks
MSFS 2024 has a very variable performance, due to its constant streaming of assets from the cloud. One second you’re getting a consistent 60 FPS, and the next a huge dip due to asset loading delays. On top of that, the local quality is also pretty demanding for any PC.
At 1080p, the Ultra preset nets a paltry 13 FPS with 4 FPS lows, which is unplayable. High is no better with a 28 FPS average, not going beyond a stable 30. Medium and Low give us 46.7 and 64 FPS respectively, which are playable framerates. However, Low ends up making everything look potato-like.
Using our optimized settings, we can achieve an almost 200% boost in FPS compared to the “Ultra” setting, still maintaining visual fidelity. Flight Simulator 2024 is a very cinematic and grounded simulator experience; we believe a minimum target of 30 FPS should be the goal. However, with these settings, it’s possible to get a constant 60+ FPS in the skies, with the drops only happening closer to the ground.
VRAM Usage & CPU Bottlenecks
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 uses 7-8 GB of graphics memory at 1080p on the RX 6600 8 GB (using our settings). The GeForce RTX 3060 uses slightly less VRAM, hovering around 6 GB in most scenes.
We see a mild CPU bottleneck especially when closer to the airport. Notice the spikes at the left and right edges of the graph. This is where the plane took off and landed respectively. While in the skies, which is the middle part, we barely observed any stutters. Assuming you’ll be flying most of the time, this is a very acceptable performance pushing 60 FPS constantly.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Performance Summary
- Trees: Can improve the average framerates by over 60%. Extremely CPU-taxing.
- Terrain LOD: Reducing it can grant a 36% performance boost. Quite CPU-intensive.
- Volumetric Clouds: Grants a 26% improvement when reduced to the lowest quality.
- Object LOD: Grants a 14% FPS bump. Mildly CPU-intensive.
- Ray-Traced Shadows: Disabling improves FPS by nearly 10%.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Best Settings for Low-end PC
| Optimized Settings | AMD RX 6600 | NVIDIA RTX 3060 | NVIDIA RTX 4060|RTX 3060 Ti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p (1920×1080) | 1080p (1920×1080) | 1080p (1920×1080) |
| FPS Target | 30 FPS | 30 FPS | 60 FPS |
| Anti-Aliasing/Upscaling | FSR 2 Quality | DLSS Quality | DLSS Quality |
| Frame Generation | Unavailable | Unavailable | On |
| V-Sync | Off | Off | Off |
| Terrain LOD | 10-50 | 10-50 | 10-50 |
| Off Screen Terrain Pre-Caching | Low | Low | Low |
| Displacement Mapping | On | On | On |
| Buildings | Low | Low | Low |
| Trees | Low | Low | Low |
| Plants | Low | Low | Low |
| Grass | Low | Low | Low |
| Rocks | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Objects LOD | 10-50 | 10-50 | 10-50 |
| Volumetric Clouds | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Texture Resolution | Medium | Ultra | Medium |
| Anisotropic Filtering | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
| Texture Supersampling | 2×2 | 2×2 | 2×2 |
| Water Waves | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Ray Traced Shadows | Off | Off | On |
| Shadow Maps | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Terrain Shadows | 1024 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Contact Shadows | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
| Windshield Effects | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Ambient Occlusion | High | High | High |
| Cubemap Reflections | 384 | 384 | 384 |
| Raymarched Reflections | Ultra | Ultra | Ultra |
| Light Shafts | * | * | * |
| Depth of Field | * | * | * |
| Motion Blur | * | * | * |
| Cockpit Refresh Rate | High | High | High |
| Characters Quality | * | * | * |
| Traffic Airport Quality | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Air Traffic | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Road Traffic | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Sea Traffic | Low | Low | Low |
| Fauna | * | * | * |
