What are the best graphics settings for MSFS 2020?
For the best balance in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, start with the High-End preset, then use native resolution, TAA, 100 render scaling, Terrain LOD 100–150, Object LOD 100, High clouds and Ultra textures if VRAM allows. Lower LOD and traffic for CPU limits; lower clouds, shadows or render scale for GPU limits.
Recommended MSFS 2020 graphics settings
This configuration is a strong starting point for 1080p or 1440p on a reasonably capable gaming PC. Apply the High-End preset first, customise the settings below, and do not select another preset afterwards because that will overwrite your changes.
| Setting | Recommended starting point | When to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Display resolution | Monitor’s native resolution | Reduce only after trying an upscaler or lower render scaling |
| Anti-aliasing | TAA | Use DLSS or FSR Quality when the GPU cannot sustain native rendering |
| Render Scaling | 100 with TAA | Try 90, then 80, if GPU-limited; lower values soften instruments and scenery |
| Terrain Level of Detail | 100–150 | Lower at large airports when limited by the main thread |
| Objects Level of Detail | 100 | Raise only with spare CPU performance |
| Volumetric Clouds | High | Use Ultra only with GPU headroom; reduce to Medium for a substantial saving |
| Texture Resolution | Ultra | Use High if VRAM pressure causes stuttering or delayed textures |
| Anisotropic Filtering | 16x | Usually leave this high because its performance cost is modest |
| Shadow Maps | 1024 | Reduce when GPU-limited, especially around detailed cockpits |
| Terrain Shadows | 512 | Raise for better low-level terrain shadows if performance permits |
| Contact Shadows | Medium | Lower before sacrificing texture quality |
| Ambient Occlusion | High | Reduce to Medium when seeking more GPU headroom |
| Reflections | Medium | High or Ultra is costly around water, glass and wet surfaces |
| Offscreen Terrain Pre-Caching | Ultra | Lower only when memory is tight; reduced settings cause visible pop-in while panning |
| Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate | Medium | Lower in complex airliners when main-thread performance is poor |
| Airport and vehicle traffic | Low to Medium | Reduce first at busy airports; these settings can consume significant CPU time |
Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Lens Correction and Lens Flare are largely matters of taste. Disabling them produces a cleaner image, but they are not the first settings we would change to recover performance.
Which settings should you lower for more FPS?
The correct settings depend on whether MSFS 2020 is limited by the CPU’s main thread, the GPU or available video memory. Developer Mode’s Display FPS overlay identifies the limiting component instead of leaving you to guess.
- Limited by MainThread: reduce Terrain LOD, Objects LOD, road and airport vehicles, workers, AI or live traffic, and Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate.
- Limited by GPU: reduce Volumetric Clouds, reflections, ambient occlusion, contact shadows and shadow resolution. If that is insufficient, lower Render Scaling or use a Quality upscaling mode.
- Limited by VRAM: lower Texture Resolution, resolution or Offscreen Terrain Pre-Caching. VRAM pressure often appears as heavy stuttering rather than a simple, consistent loss of frame rate.
Terrain LOD is the setting people most often raise too far. Values above 200 can look attractive from altitude, but dense cities and large airports may become main-thread bottlenecks. Hardware also sets the realistic ceiling; our guide to matching MSFS settings with PC specifications explains the roles of the CPU, GPU, RAM and VRAM.
Should you use TAA, DLSS or FSR in MSFS 2020?
TAA at 100 render scaling normally gives the clearest cockpit displays at 1080p and 1440p. It costs more GPU performance because the simulator renders at the selected resolution.
At 4K, or whenever GPU load is the problem, start with DLSS Quality on supported NVIDIA hardware or the equivalent FSR Quality mode. Balanced and Performance modes recover more frames but make small glass-cockpit text, aerials and distant buildings less stable. Aggressive upscaling at 1080p is particularly prone to softness.
DLAA, if offered by the installed simulator build and hardware, prioritises image quality rather than performance. It is suitable when the GPU has headroom and you want less shimmering without reducing the internal resolution.
Is DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 better?
DirectX 11 remains the safer baseline for predictable MSFS 2020 performance, while DirectX 12 is required for frame generation and may perform better on some newer systems. Test both in the same aircraft, location, weather and camera view rather than assuming one is universally faster.
Frame generation can make camera movement appear smoother on supported hardware, but it does not remove a main-thread bottleneck or improve the simulator’s underlying response. Enable it only when the ungenerated frame rate is already reasonably stable. Return to DirectX 11 if DirectX 12 introduces memory pressure, stuttering or instability.
How should you test graphics changes?
A repeatable test flight is the only reliable way to tune MSFS 2020 because aircraft complexity, weather and airport traffic can change performance dramatically.
- Create a demanding test: load a complex cockpit at a large airport with the weather and traffic settings you normally use.
- Record the limiting component: check the Display FPS overlay and note whether it reports MainThread or GPU limitation.
- Change one group of settings: adjust CPU-heavy or GPU-heavy options, not both at once.
- Repeat the same view: test from the cockpit and while looking towards the terminal. Changing airport, aircraft or live conditions invalidates the comparison.
- Prioritise consistency: a stable frame rate with even frame times generally feels better than a higher figure that repeatedly stutters.
A mistake we see constantly is reducing every setting to Low while leaving Terrain LOD, traffic or render scaling at an unsuitable value. That damages the image without addressing the actual bottleneck.
Why does MSFS still look blurry or shimmer?
Blurry terrain is not always caused by the graphics preset. Render scaling, online data, photogrammetry, texture bandwidth and the rolling cache can all affect ground detail; our scenery clarity troubleshooting steps cover those causes without requiring every graphics option to be raised.
If buildings, aircraft edges or cockpit lines crawl and sparkle, concentrate on anti-aliasing, render resolution and sharpening instead. Our anti-aliasing and shimmering fixes for MSFS explain the useful combinations and the settings that can make oversharpening worse.