Optimise MSFS 2020 graphics with practical CPU and GPU tuning, stutter fixes, DX11/DX12 advice and repeatable FPS testing steps.
To optimise Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, identify whether the MainThread, GPU or VRAM is limiting performance, then lower only the settings that affect that bottleneck. Test at the same demanding airport and weather, target a stable frame rate rather than the highest peak, and cap it if frame pacing remains uneven.
How should I optimise MSFS 2020 graphics settings?
The fastest method is to change one category of settings at a time while repeating the same demanding test flight. Randomly lowering everything often damages image quality without fixing the real limitation.
- Create a repeatable test. Use the same aircraft, gate or runway, weather, traffic and cockpit view. A complex airliner at a large airport is useful for CPU testing; clouds and a wide external view put more pressure on the GPU.
- Measure the bottleneck. Enable Developer Mode and open its FPS display. Our explanation of how to enable and interpret the built-in MSFS FPS overlay covers the relevant timings.
- Read the limiting message.
Limited by MainThreadpoints mainly to CPU workload.Limited by GPUmeans the graphics card takes longer to render each frame. VRAM exhaustion usually appears as abrupt stuttering, severe frame-time spikes or poor performance after loading dense scenery. - Adjust the matching settings. Lower CPU-heavy options for a MainThread limit and GPU-heavy options for a graphics limit. Make changes in small steps rather than jumping from Ultra to Low.
- Retest the demanding moments. Pan around the cockpit, approach the terminal and fly through cloud. Average FPS alone can hide the pauses that make an approach feel rough.
- Set a sustainable limit. Leave enough headroom for busier airports, weather and add-on aircraft. A locked, evenly delivered frame rate usually feels better than one continually moving between high and low values.
Which MSFS 2020 settings improve FPS the most?
Render Scaling, Terrain Level of Detail, traffic and clouds are usually the most influential settings, but they affect different bottlenecks.
| Setting | Main pressure | When to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Render Scaling | GPU | Lower it gradually when GPU-limited. Keep the display at native resolution and adjust scaling first. |
| Anti-aliasing or upscaling | GPU and image clarity | DLSS Quality can help at higher resolutions. TAA often gives clearer cockpit displays at 1080p or when DLSS produces blur or ghosting. |
| Terrain Level of Detail | MainThread, with some GPU cost | Lower it when dense cities, large airports or low-altitude flying cause a MainThread limit. |
| Objects Level of Detail | MainThread and GPU | Reduce it when airport buildings and urban scenery cause frame-time spikes. |
| Volumetric Clouds | GPU | Drop one level if overcast or storm conditions are much slower than clear weather. |
| Traffic and airport activity | MainThread | Reduce aircraft, road vehicles, workers, boats and fauna when performance collapses at busy airports. |
| Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate | MainThread | Lower it for complex airliners when cockpit performance is worse than an external view. |
| Texture Resolution | VRAM | Leave it high if memory usage is comfortable. Lower it when the GPU memory budget is exceeded; it is not normally the first setting to reduce for raw FPS. |
| Off-Screen Terrain Pre-Caching | VRAM | Raise it to reduce pauses while panning if memory is available. Lower it if VRAM pressure is already high. |
| Shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion | GPU | Reduce these after render scaling and clouds if the GPU remains the clear limit. |
Settings such as anisotropic filtering normally offer a useful visual benefit at relatively little cost, so they should not be the first sacrifice. For practical starting values across the whole graphics menu, use our setting-by-setting MSFS graphics recommendations.
Should I use DirectX 11 or DirectX 12?
Use whichever API produces the most consistent frame times on your particular hardware; there is no universal winner in MSFS 2020. Restart the simulator after changing DirectX mode, then repeat the same test rather than comparing unrelated flights.
- DirectX 11 is the sensible baseline when stability and predictable memory use matter most.
- DirectX 12 may perform better on some modern systems and is required for supported frame-generation features, but it can expose VRAM pressure or shader-related stuttering on other configurations.
- Frame generation can make camera movement look smoother on compatible hardware, but it does not remove a MainThread bottleneck or improve the underlying simulation rate. It works best when the base frame rate is already steady.
Why does MSFS 2020 still stutter with good FPS?
Stuttering with an acceptable average FPS usually comes from uneven frame delivery, scenery loading, traffic, VRAM pressure or a slow MainThread rather than insufficient peak GPU speed.
- Stutters at major airports: reduce Terrain LOD, Objects LOD, ground aircraft and airport vehicles. Detailed add-on airports can magnify all four workloads.
- Stutters while turning the camera: check VRAM use and Off-Screen Terrain Pre-Caching. High-resolution textures plus detailed scenery can exceed the available memory.
- Stutters after a graphics-driver or simulator update: shaders may need to be rebuilt as scenes are encountered. Repeatedly deleting shader caches can prolong this behaviour rather than cure it.
- Stutters only with online scenery or weather: test photogrammetry, live weather and live traffic separately. Network or server delays cannot be repaired by lowering shadow quality.
- Stutters with one aircraft or airport: test a default aircraft at a default location. This distinguishes a base-simulator problem from a demanding or faulty add-on.
- Stutters after installing add-ons: test with the
Communityfolder temporarily empty. Outdated scenery, aircraft systems and overlapping airport packages are common causes. - Asset-loading pauses: an SSD helps scenery and aircraft files arrive promptly. Also check that background applications are not consuming CPU time, memory or GPU resources.
A corrupt rolling cache can cause local scenery problems, so recreating it is a valid diagnostic step. Making the cache extremely large is not an automatic performance upgrade, and disabling it can be preferable when storage or streamed scenery behaviour is being tested.
What frame rate should I target?
A stable 30 to 40 FPS is often more convincing in a flight simulator than an unstable output that repeatedly swings above and below the display’s refresh range. The right limit depends on the monitor and the worst conditions in which you fly.
On a fixed 60 Hz display, a steady 30 FPS gives even frame pacing. A 120 Hz display can present 30 or 40 FPS evenly, while a variable-refresh monitor offers more flexibility as long as the frame rate remains inside its supported range. Set V-Sync and frame limiting in one deliberate place rather than stacking conflicting controls in the simulator and driver.
NVIDIA users can consult our driver-level guidance for V-Sync, G-SYNC and frame caps. Leave anti-aliasing under application control; forcing unrelated driver overrides rarely improves MSFS.
Does the same tuning work in VR?
VR needs a separate performance profile because it renders a high-resolution view for each eye and is particularly sensitive to inconsistent frame times. Start with conservative render resolution, clouds, Terrain LOD and traffic rather than copying monitor settings unchanged.
Reprojection behaviour, headset refresh rate and OpenXR resolution also affect the result outside the normal graphics menu. Our VR-specific MSFS performance starting points cover those controls without mixing them into monitor tuning.
Which optimisation mistakes should I avoid?
The most common mistake is lowering GPU settings while the simulator is clearly MainThread-limited. This makes the picture softer but leaves busy-airport performance almost unchanged.
- Do not compare one clear-sky rural flight with a stormy approach into a detailed hub.
- Do not change ten settings together; you will not know which one helped.
- Do not use Ultra automatically. Several Ultra settings carry a substantial cost for differences that are difficult to see from the cockpit.
- Do not judge performance immediately after loading. Let scenery, traffic and cockpit systems settle before recording the result.
- Do not fill the VRAM budget completely. Weather, a different aircraft or a detailed airport can require the headroom that appeared unused during a simple test.
- Do not chase maximum FPS at the expense of frame pacing. Smooth delivery during turns and final approach is the more useful target.