What are the best graphics settings for MSFS 2020 and 2024?
Use the best MSFS 2024 graphics settings for 1080p, 1440p and 4K, plus DLSS, frame generation, textures and an MSFS 2020 baseline.
For Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PC, start with native output resolution, TAA at 100% for 1080p or DLSS Quality for 1440p/4K, Terrain and Object LOD at 100, High clouds and textures, and low traffic. For MSFS 2020, apply the High-End preset, then use the separate baseline below.
MSFS 2024 best graphics settings for 1080p, 1440p and 4K
The best MSFS 2024 graphics settings preserve readable instruments and stable approach performance rather than chasing Ultra settings or peak frame rates over empty countryside.
| Setting | 1080p starting point | 1440p starting point | 4K starting point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output resolution | Native 1920×1080 | Native 2560×1440 | Native 3840×2160 |
| Anti-aliasing or upscaler | TAA; DLSS Quality only if GPU-limited | DLSS Quality on a supported RTX GPU; otherwise TAA or FSR Quality | DLSS Quality; use Balanced only if further GPU headroom is required |
| Render Scaling | 100 | 100; try 90 with TAA if GPU-limited | 100 with DLSS; 80–90 may be useful with TAA |
| Terrain Level of Detail | 100 | 100; try 150 only with CPU headroom | 100; output resolution does not remove its CPU cost |
| Objects Level of Detail | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Volumetric Clouds | High | High | High; Medium in demanding weather if necessary |
| Texture Resolution | High | High | High; Medium only when VRAM pressure is evident |
| Aircraft traffic | Low, or about 20 where a density slider is available | Low, or about 20 | Low, or about 20 |
| Airport and road activity | 10–20 where numeric sliders are available | 10–20 | 10–20 |
Use 16× anisotropic filtering, Medium shadow maps and terrain shadows, Medium contact shadows, High ambient occlusion and Medium reflections as additional starting values. Offscreen terrain pre-caching can remain High or Ultra if memory permits; lowering it may introduce visible scenery pop-in when the camera turns.
Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Lens Correction and Lens Flare are preference settings. We normally disable Motion Blur and Depth of Field for a cleaner cockpit image, but neither is a primary performance control.
These profiles are for PC. Console editions manage most renderer settings themselves and do not expose the same collection of resolution, LOD and upscaling controls.
Terrain LOD is the setting we see pushed too far most often. Raising it above 200 can improve distant scenery, but it can also overwhelm the main thread at detailed airports regardless of GPU power or output resolution. Identically named presets also create different workloads in the two simulators; our MSFS 2020 and 2024 performance comparison explains the CPU, GPU and streaming differences.
Separate MSFS 2020 graphics settings baseline
For MSFS 2020, apply the High-End preset first, switch to Custom and then make the changes below; selecting another preset afterwards will overwrite them.
| MSFS 2020 setting | Recommended baseline | Reason or exception |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-aliasing and Render Scaling | TAA at 100 | DLSS Quality is an alternative at 1440p or 4K on supported hardware, but cockpit text may be softer. |
| Terrain and Objects LOD | 100 and 100 | Increase Terrain LOD only after testing a large airport and dense city. |
| Volumetric Clouds | High | Medium is a useful GPU saving in overcast conditions. |
| Texture Resolution | High | Ultra is suitable only with enough VRAM for the aircraft, airport and output resolution together. |
| Offscreen Terrain Pre-Caching | Ultra | Helps prevent pop-in during rapid camera movement but consumes memory. |
| Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate | Medium | Lower it when a complex airliner is limited by MainThread performance. |
| Traffic | Low, with density around 10–20 | Aircraft and airport activity can be disproportionately expensive at major hubs. |
| Rendering API | DirectX 11 as the conventional baseline | Test DirectX 12 separately; frame generation requires it where that feature is supported. |
Return to DirectX 11 if DirectX 12 causes repeatable stuttering, instability or memory pressure. Our detailed MSFS 2020 graphics configuration guide covers its menu options and the settings to change for CPU, GPU, VRAM and streaming faults.
How can I tell whether MSFS is CPU-, GPU- or VRAM-limited?
Lower Render Scaling temporarily: if performance barely changes, Microsoft Flight Simulator is probably constrained by the CPU’s main thread rather than the GPU.
Use the simulator’s FPS or performance display where available and repeat the test with the same aircraft, airport, weather and camera. MSFS 2020’s Developer Mode FPS display identifies MainThread and GPU limits directly.
| Limit | Typical symptoms | Settings to reduce |
|---|---|---|
| CPU or MainThread | Frame rate falls at airports and over cities; reducing resolution has little effect | Terrain LOD, Objects LOD, aircraft traffic, airport activity, road traffic and Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate |
| GPU | Lower Render Scaling improves performance; clouds, shadows or weather have a large effect | Clouds, shadows, reflections, ambient occlusion, render resolution or the upscaling mode |
| VRAM | Heavy hitches while panning, late or degraded textures, or stutters that worsen after loading a dense airport | Offscreen pre-caching, shadow resolution, reflections, output/render resolution and then Texture Resolution |
| Scenery streaming | Photogrammetry remains malformed or terrain stays soft despite acceptable local performance | Online scenery data, bandwidth and rolling-cache behaviour rather than local texture quality |
A nearly full VRAM allocation is not proof by itself because the simulator may use spare memory as a cache. Look for repeatable visual degradation and frame-time spikes in the same location.
MSFS 2024 DLSS settings
On a supported NVIDIA RTX GPU, select NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution in the PC graphics options under the anti-aliasing or upscaling control, keep the monitor at native output resolution and begin with the Quality preset.
- Set native output resolution: do not lower the desktop or in-game output resolution before testing DLSS.
- Select DLSS Super Resolution: this replaces TAA as the reconstruction method; enabling DLSS does not necessarily enable frame generation.
- Choose Quality: inspect the primary flight display, moving map, avionics labels, thin cockpit frames and distant terminal buildings.
- Test motion: pan across the panel and watch moving aircraft, propellers, aerials and power lines for smearing, trails or unstable edges.
DLSS Quality is most useful at 1440p and 4K, where it has enough source pixels to reconstruct a stable image. It can still soften small glass-cockpit text and produce trails around moving display elements. At 1080p, TAA at 100 Render Scaling is usually clearer.
DLSS Quality versus Performance modes
DLSS Quality should be the default; Balanced is a fallback for a genuinely GPU-limited system, while Performance is chiefly for high-resolution output where the GPU still cannot meet the target frame rate.
| DLSS mode | When to use it | Image-quality trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Default choice at 1440p and 4K | Best cockpit text and distant scenery of the performance-oriented DLSS modes, though some motion trails and display softness can remain. |
| Balanced | Use only when GPU-limited after lowering costly clouds, reflections and shadows | More obvious softness on avionics labels, moving maps and distant buildings; thin geometry is less stable in motion. |
| Performance | Mainly for 4K or similarly high-resolution, GPU-bound setups | Noticeably softer instruments and terrain, with increased shimmer, breakup and ghosting around moving objects. |
Aggressive DLSS modes are usually poor choices at 1080p because they begin with too little internal image information. Performance mode may raise the FPS counter, but glass-cockpit text, runway markings, cables and distant airport structures can become visibly unstable. Reduce clouds, shadows or reflections before accepting that loss of clarity.
Render scaling and DLSS in MSFS 2024
Output resolution, Render Scaling and DLSS internal resolution are separate controls, and reducing all three at once produces an unnecessarily soft image.
- Output resolution is the final display resolution sent to the monitor. Keep it native for sharp menus, cockpit displays and consistent scaling.
- Render Scaling changes the resolution of the simulator’s 3D rendering relative to that output when the selected anti-aliasing method permits it.
- DLSS internal rendering is controlled primarily by the Quality, Balanced or Performance preset, which reconstructs a lower-resolution 3D image to the native output.
Safe combinations are TAA with 100 Render Scaling at 1080p, TAA at 100 or DLSS Quality at 1440p, and DLSS Quality at 4K. If the simulator still exposes Render Scaling while DLSS is active, leave it at 100 initially; some renderer combinations may lock or ignore that slider.
For 4K without DLSS, TAA at 80–90 Render Scaling is a reasonable alternative when GPU-limited. Do not stack a low Render Scaling value with DLSS Balanced or Performance unless you accept substantially softer instruments, distant scenery and moving detail.
How should I set up frame generation in MSFS 2024?
Enable frame generation only after MSFS 2024 can maintain a stable base frame rate with it switched off; frame generation improves perceived smoothness but does not accelerate the CPU’s MainThread work.
- Disable frame generation: tune the normal rendered frame rate first. A stable base near 30 FPS is a practical minimum, while 40 FPS or more generally gives better control response and cleaner generated motion.
- Resolve the active bottleneck: lower LOD and traffic for MainThread limits, or clouds, shadows, reflections and upscaling quality for GPU limits.
- Enable frame generation: use the dedicated option in the graphics settings on supported hardware. If it is absent, check that the simulator is using the intended GPU, the required renderer options and hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling where applicable.
- Repeat the same test: compare cockpit panning, approach stability and control response rather than relying only on the displayed FPS figure.
- Check display synchronisation: if enabling it introduces tearing or uneven pacing, test the monitor’s variable-refresh setting, V-Sync and frame cap without stacking conflicting caps.
| Symptom with frame generation | What it means | Correct response |
|---|---|---|
| High displayed FPS but pauses at a large airport | The base simulation remains MainThread-limited | Reduce Terrain LOD, Objects LOD, aircraft traffic, airport activity and glass-cockpit refresh demand. |
| Smooth camera movement but delayed controls | The generated output is hiding a low base frame rate | Raise the base rate by reducing the appropriate CPU or GPU settings; frame generation cannot create lower input latency. |
| Stutters, texture swaps or degradation after loading a hub | VRAM pressure | Reduce offscreen pre-caching, shadow resolution, reflections and other memory-heavy settings; use Medium textures if pressure remains. |
| Base FPS collapses in cloud or at 4K | GPU limit | Lower clouds, shadows and reflections, or move from DLSS Quality to Balanced before using Performance. |
| Wobbling around propellers, displays or moving labels | Interpolation artefacts | Raise the base frame rate or disable frame generation when image stability matters more than displayed smoothness. |
The FPS counter may include generated frames, which can make the improvement look larger than the change in simulation responsiveness. Frame generation does not repair scenery-streaming pauses, exhausted VRAM or work waiting on the main thread.
MSFS 2024 texture resolution: Medium vs High
High is the better default for MSFS 2024 because it preserves cockpit lettering, liveries and nearby airport detail; Medium is appropriate when repeatable evidence shows that High is exceeding the available VRAM budget.
| Texture setting | Choose it when | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| High | Frame times remain stable and textures do not degrade after loading a complex aircraft or airport | Sharper panels, aircraft surfaces and nearby scenery with little FPS cost while sufficient VRAM remains. |
| Medium | Dense airports, high-resolution output or memory-heavy add-ons cause persistent texture swapping and stutters | Lower VRAM demand, with softer close-up cockpit, aircraft and airport textures. |
VRAM pressure usually appears as heavy hitches during camera movement, textures loading late, abrupt changes to lower-detail texture levels or performance deteriorating after moving between dense areas. A third-party aircraft or airport can consume substantial memory independently of the global texture setting, so repeat the test with default content before blaming MSFS 2024 itself.
Before dropping High to Medium, reclaim memory by reducing Offscreen Terrain Pre-Caching one step, shadow-map and terrain-shadow resolution, reflections and unnecessary supersampling. At very high output resolutions, DLSS Quality can also reduce the framebuffer workload. If the same VRAM symptoms remain, Medium textures are the sensible compromise; texture resolution should not be lowered merely to fix a CPU limit.
How should I test MSFS graphics settings?
Use one repeatable, demanding scenario and keep the aircraft, airport, weather, time, traffic and camera views identical throughout every comparison.
- Create a controlled test: use a fixed weather preset rather than changing live conditions, and choose a cockpit position at a detailed airport that exposes both the instrument panel and terminal scenery.
- Warm the scenario: allow scenery and cockpit textures to finish loading before recording performance or judging sharpness.
- Establish the baseline: begin with TAA at 100 Render Scaling and frame generation off. Record the limiting component and observe frame-time consistency.
- Compare DLSS presets: test Quality, Balanced and Performance one at a time without changing the aircraft, weather, airport or camera. Read the same glass-cockpit labels and pan across the same distant structures.
- Compare frame generation: return to the chosen graphics profile, test it off and then on, and distinguish the base rendered performance from the displayed generated frame rate.
- Change one setting group: adjust CPU-heavy settings or GPU-heavy settings, not both together. Repeat the exact cockpit and external views after each change.
- Confirm difficult conditions: retest the finished profile at night, in broken or overcast weather and during an approach to a busy airport.
A mistake we see constantly is maximising LOD, traffic and clouds together, then reducing Render Scaling until every instrument and runway marking becomes blurry. Tune for stable frame times during approach and landing, not the highest FPS seen from an external camera over an empty area.
Do these MSFS graphics settings work for VR?
No single flat-screen profile transfers cleanly to VR because the simulator must meet a headset-specific resolution and frame-time target for two views.
Start with lower clouds, Terrain LOD, Objects LOD and traffic, then recover cockpit clarity through headset resolution and a conservative upscaler. Our dedicated MSFS 2020 and 2024 VR settings cover the separate headset, reprojection and cockpit-readability trade-offs.
Fixing blurry scenery after changing graphics settings
Restore native output resolution and TAA at 100 Render Scaling first; if the cockpit becomes sharp but the terrain remains soft, the fault may be LOD, scenery streaming, photogrammetry or cache behaviour rather than anti-aliasing.
Texture Resolution cannot repair scenery data that has not downloaded correctly. Use our blurry MSFS scenery and photogrammetry checks to separate low internal resolution from connection, cache and online-data problems.