How to improve FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator (PC)
Microsoft Flight Simulator isn't just any flight simulator: it rebuilds the entire planet in real time using satellite imagery and elevation data from Bing Maps, combined with AI-generated buildings via photogrammetry. This means that, unlike almost any other game, your performance depends as much on your internet connection and SSD speed as on your GPU. Flying over rural areas or ocean is relatively light, but approaching cities with dense photogrammetry like New York or Tokyo can make even an RTX 4090 struggle to hold 60 FPS. Properly tuning data streaming, terrain level of detail, and volumetric clouds is the difference between a smooth experience and a slideshow with spectacular scenery. This guide covers the key settings to squeeze the most out of Asobo's engine without sacrificing the visual immersion that makes this game unique.
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Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks).
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +78% free FPS.
Render Scaling
Reducing render scaling below 100% lowers the internal render resolution before it's scaled to your display, directly easing GPU load. It's the setting with the biggest FPS impact in the whole game.
Terrain Level of Detail
This slider controls the density of the terrain mesh and how much geometric detail loads at different distances. Dropping it from Ultra to Medium drastically reduces CPU and network load.
Volumetric Clouds
Volumetric clouds are one of the engine's most expensive effects, since they're dynamically recalculated based on live weather. Dropping them from Ultra to Low or Medium frees up a huge amount of GPU load.
Anti-Aliasing (TAA/DLAA)
MSFS relies heavily on good temporal antialiasing due to the extreme contrast between horizon lines, instrument wiring, and distant foliage.
Objects Level of Detail
Controls the density and render distance of procedurally generated or photogrammetry-based buildings, vegetation, and objects. Reducing it from Ultra to Medium greatly eases load in dense cities.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Texture Resolution / Streaming
This setting determines the quality of aircraft and scenery textures, as well as how aggressively the game downloads them via live streaming.
Traffic Density AI
AI-simulated air, ground, and sea traffic constantly consumes CPU, especially near large airports. Reducing density frees up CPU threads.
Shadow Maps
Dynamic shadows for the cockpit, terrain, and clouds are expensive to calculate in real time, especially with the sun moving according to real simulated time.
Water Waves
Wave and reflection simulation on oceans and lakes uses a relatively heavy shader, noticeable on coastal flights or over large bodies of water.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
NVIDIA DLSS 2 (Quality)
+30% FPSDLSS 2 is the strongest scaling option in MSFS for RTX cards, generating a sharp image from a lower internal resolution.
NVIDIA DLSS 3 Frame Generation
+60% FPSAdded in later updates for RTX 40-series, Frame Generation doubles the perceived frame rate by generating interpolated frames.
AMD FSR 2
+22% FPSFSR 2 works on any modern GPU, including NVIDIA and Intel, and offers a solid performance improvement, though somewhat less sharp than DLSS.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •Enable DLSS in Quality mode as the first option before touching other graphics settings.
- •Use the NVIDIA control panel to force the power mode to "Maximum performance" to avoid clock drops on long flights.
- •On RTX 40-series, try DLSS 3 Frame Generation only in full-screen mode (not VR) for long-distance flights.
AMD
- •Enable FSR 2 in Quality mode if your GPU doesn't support DLSS.
- •Check that Smart Access Memory (SAM) is enabled if you have a recent Ryzen/Radeon CPU and GPU combo.
- •Lower volumetric clouds before texture resolution: on AMD GPUs, cloud cost tends to be proportionally higher.
Sistema
- •Install the game on an SSD (preferably NVMe) to minimize stutters caused by the local data-streaming cache.
- •A stable internet connection of at least 20-50 Mbps noticeably improves photogrammetry loading in cities.
- •Ensure at least 16GB of RAM (32GB recommended), since the engine aggressively caches downloaded terrain and texture data.
5. Known game issues
Stuttering from data streaming in dense cities
When flying over areas with intense photogrammetry like New York or Paris, the game can generate microcuts while downloading and processing building geometry in real time.
Memory leaks in long-duration flights
On flights lasting several real hours, some users report a progressive increase in VRAM and RAM usage that can lead to FPS drops.
Estado: Sim Update 15
Mod/addon incompatibility after major updates
Major Sim Updates frequently break compatibility with third-party aircraft and scenery.
6. Frequently asked questions
Why does my internet connection affect FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator?▾
Is it worth playing offline with locally downloaded data instead of streaming?▾
Which setting has the most impact on performance in MSFS?▾
Do I need a very powerful GPU to fly over cities like New York or Tokyo?▾
Want to know exactly how many FPS YOUR PC will get?
Enter your GPU and CPU in our calculator and measure the real impact of each setting.
Calculate FPS for Microsoft Flight Simulator →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →