Improve frame rate in MSFS 2020 by finding CPU or GPU limits, changing the settings that matter, testing add-ons and fixing common stutters.
To improve frame rate in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, first use Developer Mode’s FPS display to identify whether the MainThread or GPU is limiting performance. Lower CPU-heavy traffic and level-of-detail settings for a MainThread limit; reduce render scaling, clouds and shadows for a GPU limit, then cap FPS at a stable value.
How do I find the MSFS 2020 performance bottleneck?
The FPS display tells you which component is taking longest to produce each frame, preventing wasted changes to unrelated settings.
- Create a repeatable test: use the same aircraft, airport, weather, camera position and traffic conditions. A quiet rural flight cannot be compared meaningfully with a complex airliner at a major hub.
- Open the FPS display: enable Developer Mode under General Options, then select the FPS display from the developer menu. Look for labels such as
Limited by MainThreadorLimited by GPU. - Change one or two settings: repeat the same test before making another adjustment. Applying a preset changes too many variables to reveal what actually helped.
- Test the worst normal case: tune for the airports and aircraft you regularly use, not the unusually high FPS seen while cruising over empty terrain.
If the overlay gives mixed results, follow our CPU, GPU, memory and streaming diagnostic workflow before replacing hardware or stripping the simulator back unnecessarily.
Which MSFS 2020 settings improve FPS the most?
The most effective settings depend on whether MSFS 2020 is limited by its main simulation thread or by the graphics card.
| Performance limit | Settings to reduce first | Settings unlikely to help much |
|---|---|---|
| MainThread or CPU | Terrain Level of Detail, Object Level of Detail, AI or live traffic, airport ground aircraft, road vehicles and glass-cockpit refresh rate | Resolution, anti-aliasing and most shadow-quality options |
| GPU | Render scaling, cloud quality, shadow maps, terrain shadows, ambient occlusion, reflections and contact shadows | Traffic density and glass-cockpit refresh rate unless the CPU is also close to its limit |
| VRAM or memory pressure | Texture resolution, render resolution and high-resolution scenery or aircraft add-ons | Traffic settings, unless there is a separate MainThread limit |
For a MainThread limit, begin with traffic at busy airports and then reduce Terrain LOD in measured steps. Terrain LOD is one of the most common reasons a fast graphics card shows low utilisation: lowering GPU options cannot accelerate simulation work waiting on the CPU.
For a GPU limit, render scaling produces the largest immediate change. Keep the monitor at its native output resolution and lower internal render scaling, or try DLSS on supported NVIDIA hardware. DLSS can recover performance when GPU-bound, but it may soften cockpit displays or introduce ghosting; use TAA if panel clarity matters more than the extra frames.
Clouds, shadows, ambient occlusion and reflections are the next sensible reductions. Texture quality usually has little effect while everything fits in VRAM, but excessive texture use can cause severe pauses when panning or approaching detailed scenery. Our option-by-option MSFS graphics guide explains the image-quality cost of each setting.
Should I use DirectX 11 or DirectX 12?
Test both graphics APIs because neither is universally faster across every PC, driver and add-on combination.
DX11 can deliver steadier results on some systems, while DX12 may work better on others and is required for certain newer GPU features. Restart the simulator after changing the API, then compare the same route rather than judging the first few minutes after a driver or shader-cache change. Our DX11 and DX12 comparison for MSFS 2020 covers the practical trade-offs.
Do DLSS Frame Generation and upscaling fix low FPS?
Upscaling helps a GPU bottleneck, while Frame Generation improves displayed smoothness without fixing a slow MainThread or low underlying frame rate.
Frame Generation, when available on compatible hardware under DX12, inserts generated frames between rendered ones. It is most useful after the simulator already has a stable base frame rate. It can make camera movement appear smoother, but control latency, cockpit-display artefacts and MainThread limitations remain.
If lowering render scaling produces almost no FPS improvement, stop reducing graphics quality: the simulator is probably CPU-limited, capped by V-Sync, or being constrained by an add-on.
Why does MSFS still stutter after lowering settings?
Stuttering with an acceptable average FPS is usually a frame-pacing, add-on, memory or scenery-streaming problem rather than a simple lack of graphics performance.
- Test without Community add-ons: move the Community folder’s contents to a temporary location, then repeat the flight with a stock aircraft at an uncomplicated airport. Complex aircraft, detailed airports, traffic injectors and outdated scenery can all increase MainThread time.
- Separate network stalls from rendering: temporarily disable photogrammetry, live traffic or multiplayer one at a time. Online scenery interruptions can resemble graphics stutter.
- Rebuild a suspect rolling cache: delete and recreate it through the simulator’s Data settings if pauses began after scenery or cache problems. Rebuilding it routinely does not raise FPS.
- Check power and background load: connect a laptop to mains power, confirm MSFS is using the dedicated GPU, and close recording, monitoring or browser workloads that consume CPU, GPU or memory resources.
- Allow for storage limits: an SSD can reduce loading and asset-streaming pauses, but it will not cure a persistent MainThread bottleneck.
Should I cap the MSFS 2020 frame rate?
Yes, a sustainable frame cap often feels smoother than an uncapped rate that constantly swings between high and low values.
Choose a target the system can maintain during demanding flights and apply one limiter through either MSFS V-Sync or the graphics driver. Avoid stacking several limiters, which can create uneven pacing. A variable-refresh-rate display can tolerate more variation, but it still benefits from remaining inside its supported range; our frame-rate cap setup guide explains the available methods.
A cap does not increase maximum FPS. It reduces unnecessary GPU load, heat and frame-time variation, leaving a steadier experience where consistency matters more than a brief peak shown by the counter.