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Overview
Photorealistic sim — CPU, GPU, RAM, and bandwidth hungry. Use the resolution tabs below to see estimated hardware for a steady 60 FPS. This title does not support ray tracing — use the RT off tab for accurate recommendations. CPU and RAM matter more here than in most action titles, especially in large scenes.
Test preset
Ultra baseline — use Low–Ultra toggles below, traffic and terrain density medium–high
Upscaling
DLSS, FSR 2
Hardware by target FPS
Pick a resolution, 60 or 120 FPS target, quality preset (Low–Ultra), upscaler (Native, DLSS, FSR, or XeSS), upscaling quality when applicable, and ray tracing — specs update to match. Minimum gets you close to your target; recommended holds it with headroom.
Ray tracing not supported
1080p · 60 FPS · High · Native · Ray tracing off
High preset, simulation density medium–high, ray tracing off, Native
CPU and GPU estimates for Microsoft Flight Simulator at 1080p, 60 FPS, ray tracing off. Based on extreme demand tier and typical simulation workloads — verify against your in-game settings. Hardware adjusted for high preset.
Graphics card
Minimum
RTX 3060 12 GB / RX 6600 8 GB
Recommended
RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB / RX 6700 XT 12 GB
Processor
Minimum
Ryzen 5 5600 / Intel Core i5-12400
Recommended
Ryzen 7 5700X / Intel Core i5-13400
Memory
Minimum
16 GB (dual-channel)
Recommended
16 GB (dual-channel)
16 GB prevents stutter when multitasking or using mods.
Storage
Minimum
50 GB SSD
Recommended
50 GB NVMe SSD
SSD recommended for faster load times.
Optimization tips
· Drop shadow quality or volumetric effects first if FPS dips below 60.
· At 1080p, lower post-processing before touching texture quality.
· Lower unit density or simulation rate if CPU usage stays at 100% in large scenes.
Performance notes
· This game does not support ray tracing — specs below reflect the RT off configuration.
· Late-game scenes with many units or vehicles stress CPU cores — a 6-core/12-thread CPU is a practical floor.
· RAM speed and capacity help more here than in pure GPU-bound shooters.
· 16 GB RAM is the minimum for modern AAA titles; 32 GB helps at 4K, with mods, or while streaming.
· Simulation titles benefit from fast storage for cache files and large asset packs.
What affects performance
GPU (primary)
Still important for high resolutions, but not always the first limit in huge CPU-heavy scenes.
VRAM
Higher resolutions and texture packs need 8 GB minimum, 10–12 GB for 1440p/4K Ultra. Ray tracing adds VRAM pressure.
CPU (secondary)
Large battles, traffic sims, and simulation ticks scale with CPU core count and single-thread speed.
