Microsoft Flight Simulator: Minimum System Requirements

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a game that offers a relaxing experience with its slow-paced gameplay, but it may still pose some challenges to lower-end hardware configurations. In this article, we'll explore the minimum system requirements for the game and how they affect performance.

Targeting 30fps

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When testing the game's minimum requirements, I targeted 30fps as my main goal. This was because 6d, which is a more demanding setting, wasn't feasible at this resolution. However, 30fps felt fine to me, considering the game's slow pace. It's worth noting that there will be some frame dips, particularly when changing direction or entering new buildings.

Frame Dips and Load

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One notable example of frame dips was when landing assist markers appeared on screen. The load on the processor and graphics card increased, resulting in noticeable drops in performance. This issue is also apparent at 720p resolution, where the system memory and VRAM become limiting factors. At times, the game's minimum requirements might struggle to maintain a consistent 30fps.

Photogrammetry Setting

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I tested the game with the photogrammetry setting enabled, which, as I mentioned earlier, can cause more frame dips. However, this issue is similar to other areas of the game and not unique to this setting.

Less Populated Areas

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In contrast, less populated areas, such as taking an Airbus A320 over the Italian countryside, presented a smoother experience. The low preset settings allowed for a decent frame rate, ranging from 30 to 60fps. Capping the frame rate at 30 might be advisable for a smoother overall experience.

Hardware Inclusivity

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One of the aspects I appreciate about Microsoft Flight Simulator is its inclusivity with various hardware configurations. Players can adjust settings and still enjoy an enjoyable experience, even on older cards like the GTX 770 or RTX 2080.

Performance and Lag

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I replaced my GTX 770 with an RTX 2080 to test if this would help alleviate performance issues. However, I found that the 4460 GPU was still the culprit behind the problems. This highlights the importance of addressing system-specific bottlenecks rather than relying on hardware upgrades alone.

Building a PC for Microsoft Flight Simulator

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In conclusion, while the minimum system requirements for Microsoft Flight Simulator can run smoothly at lower settings and resolutions, it's essential to be aware that frame dips may occur, especially in busier areas. This might not be an ideal experience for everyone. If you're planning to build a PC specifically for this game, consider upgrading your hardware to ensure smoother performance. However, keep in mind that system updates can affect performance, and addressing specific issues is crucial.

Final Thoughts

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Microsoft Flight Simulator's minimum system requirements present some challenges, but the game still offers a unique experience with its relaxing gameplay and photo-realistic visuals. If you're interested in building a PC for this game or already planning to do so, be aware of the potential performance issues and consider upgrading your hardware accordingly. Thank you for watching!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone and welcome to another video now i've been having a lot of fun with microsoft flight simulator 2020. the fact that you've got the whole world to explore just makes the experience so realistic it's like i'm actually flying a plane hardcore flight team enthusiasts will have to forgive my lack of overall airport and in-flight etiquette for this video though as i was focusing more on performance than keeping both air traffic control and my passengers up to date with my antics not to mention the whole safety aspect went out the window a little bit it's probably a good job i'm not a pilot to be honest but who needs a pilot's license when you've got access to game pass for pc and a computer that just about meets the minimum stated requirements to run the game at least that's what microsoft and steam told me this is the flight simulator 2020 minimum system specs build can a combination of an i5 4468 gigs of ddr3 and a gtx 770 actually run the game in the last video we took a brief look at how well this card handled the game when paired with a more powerful ryzen processor but the i5 4460 is not only weaker than a 3600 but it's much older eight gigs of ram may also prove detrimental to performance in this case now to be fair the amd requirements would probably do better the rx 570 is certainly a better choice than the gtx 770 in 2020 but that's part of the reason why i went for the weaker specs it's more of a challenge to get things running well immediately opening the game with these specifications will get you a minimum specs warning which tells you that the hardware isn't quite up to scratch this is despite our test system meeting the minimum specs exactly this doesn't matter because the game will still start after clicking ok but the loading times will be quite slow i've noticed this with a wide range of hardware after choosing your settings aeroplane type and departure location i'd recommend waiting another minute once you spawn at your chosen airport just to allow everything to load properly my first chosen location was new york and i chose this because it's very busy with a lot going on at the airport and on the ground in terms of rendering buildings and stuff after all i figured it made sense to test the game both in densely and sparsely populated locations i also started with the high settings to show you what not to choose the high preset at 1080p will net you about 10 fps on average if you're lucky both the cpu and gpu are struggling here the problem is that when the processor struggles turning the resolution down only puts more of a strain on it causing more problems doing this is inevitable though when using a graphics card like the gtx 770 because that can't handle 1080p in a lot of games anymore due to the two gigabytes of vram and this title is no exception two gigs of vram is also a stated minimum requirement too by the way though it's worth remembering that the 770 also comes in a four gigabyte variant before dropping the resolution i tried both the medium and lowest settings as well both of these made no real difference likely due to the lack of vram for full hd the graphics card was simply how do i put it severely suffering if you are determined to fly over new york airspace though then you'll be pleased to know that 900p offers a somewhat playable experience i targeted 30fps today because 6d wasn't really doable and 30fps in this game feels fine to be honest it's quite a slow paced game as you would imagine and very very relaxing because of it 30 frames per second actually feels great there will still be some hefty frame dips here and there though particularly as you change direction and a set of new buildings start to make themselves known i noticed a large frame dip when the landing assist markers popped in as well these frame dips will also be noticeable at 720p because the load is once again increased on the processor and with four cores and no hyper threading it does suffer a little bit as you can see at this resolution our graphics card is only being pushed to around 50 utilization though the vram and system memory do still prove limiting as well so while you will be getting over 30 fps with the game's minimum requirements a lot of the time be aware that in busier town or city areas some big frame drops may occur or i should say will occur this may of course be improved in later patches and i can confirm the same thing happened with the photogrammetry setting off too if that's how you pronounce it i could still play it with these specs though the dips don't feel game breaking here as they would in a fast-paced action title for example but what about less populated areas i switched back to 900p and took an airbus a320 out for a spin i can't quite remember the airport name here but i was somewhere near italy and my flight path took me out over some blue blutiful beautiful blue waters in this case the game ran very well with the low preset and still looked okay most of the time our frame rate stuck firmly between 30 and 60 though capping it to 30 might be a good idea for an experience that feels a little smoother all round only because going from 30 to say 45 fps and then back down to 30 is definitely noticeable what i love about the game aside from the game itself is how inclusive it does seem to be of a lot of hardware you can adjust lots of settings and whether you're playing on a gtx 770 or rtx 2080 you should be able to get an enjoyable experience from flight simulator that is of course if you don't mind reducing the resolution as well with older cards now this title can look absolutely fantastic and at times photo realistic and even at its lowest settings it looks better than fine especially when you're 20 000 feet up in the air and soaring through the fluffy white clouds it's so much fun as well even for beginners like me who admittedly is using a controller to play and if you are getting lag with your system don't worry because i think everyone is at the moment so for the last bit of the video i replaced the 770 with the 1080 ti just to see if this would help things i pretty much already knew that the 4460 was the cause of the problems but i thought maybe we could squeeze a few more frames from the system with the 1080 ti in there and unfortunately this was not the case i also focused too much on the performance here the performance figures than i did actually taking off hence why i just ran my boeing 747 into the forest at the end of the runway so there we go microsoft flight simulator on the minimum system requirements will run at lower settings and resolutions but it's not an ideal experience you may be able to get 30 fps out of it in some instances but there might be a few stutters here and there but there we go this has been the microsoft flight simulator minimum system requirements build it be interesting to see how well the recommended system requirements will do so maybe i'll build a pc for that as well now usually i say it doesn't make much sense building a pc for a specific game but i remember a lot of people um actually built a pc specifically for the old flight simulator i've spoken to a few people who have done that and i can imagine that a few people would build a pc specifically for this game the game is so big and it's one of those ones that people just play forever so yeah i can really see people building a pc specifically for this so just don't build a pc catering to this game using the minimum specs however because as it gets updated you know i don't know how the performance will change whether it will be better or worse but thanks for watching if you enjoyed this video leave a like on it down below leave a dislike if you didn't let me know how it runs for you on pc and what specs you use of course subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already and hopefully i'll see you all in the next onehello everyone and welcome to another video now i've been having a lot of fun with microsoft flight simulator 2020. the fact that you've got the whole world to explore just makes the experience so realistic it's like i'm actually flying a plane hardcore flight team enthusiasts will have to forgive my lack of overall airport and in-flight etiquette for this video though as i was focusing more on performance than keeping both air traffic control and my passengers up to date with my antics not to mention the whole safety aspect went out the window a little bit it's probably a good job i'm not a pilot to be honest but who needs a pilot's license when you've got access to game pass for pc and a computer that just about meets the minimum stated requirements to run the game at least that's what microsoft and steam told me this is the flight simulator 2020 minimum system specs build can a combination of an i5 4468 gigs of ddr3 and a gtx 770 actually run the game in the last video we took a brief look at how well this card handled the game when paired with a more powerful ryzen processor but the i5 4460 is not only weaker than a 3600 but it's much older eight gigs of ram may also prove detrimental to performance in this case now to be fair the amd requirements would probably do better the rx 570 is certainly a better choice than the gtx 770 in 2020 but that's part of the reason why i went for the weaker specs it's more of a challenge to get things running well immediately opening the game with these specifications will get you a minimum specs warning which tells you that the hardware isn't quite up to scratch this is despite our test system meeting the minimum specs exactly this doesn't matter because the game will still start after clicking ok but the loading times will be quite slow i've noticed this with a wide range of hardware after choosing your settings aeroplane type and departure location i'd recommend waiting another minute once you spawn at your chosen airport just to allow everything to load properly my first chosen location was new york and i chose this because it's very busy with a lot going on at the airport and on the ground in terms of rendering buildings and stuff after all i figured it made sense to test the game both in densely and sparsely populated locations i also started with the high settings to show you what not to choose the high preset at 1080p will net you about 10 fps on average if you're lucky both the cpu and gpu are struggling here the problem is that when the processor struggles turning the resolution down only puts more of a strain on it causing more problems doing this is inevitable though when using a graphics card like the gtx 770 because that can't handle 1080p in a lot of games anymore due to the two gigabytes of vram and this title is no exception two gigs of vram is also a stated minimum requirement too by the way though it's worth remembering that the 770 also comes in a four gigabyte variant before dropping the resolution i tried both the medium and lowest settings as well both of these made no real difference likely due to the lack of vram for full hd the graphics card was simply how do i put it severely suffering if you are determined to fly over new york airspace though then you'll be pleased to know that 900p offers a somewhat playable experience i targeted 30fps today because 6d wasn't really doable and 30fps in this game feels fine to be honest it's quite a slow paced game as you would imagine and very very relaxing because of it 30 frames per second actually feels great there will still be some hefty frame dips here and there though particularly as you change direction and a set of new buildings start to make themselves known i noticed a large frame dip when the landing assist markers popped in as well these frame dips will also be noticeable at 720p because the load is once again increased on the processor and with four cores and no hyper threading it does suffer a little bit as you can see at this resolution our graphics card is only being pushed to around 50 utilization though the vram and system memory do still prove limiting as well so while you will be getting over 30 fps with the game's minimum requirements a lot of the time be aware that in busier town or city areas some big frame drops may occur or i should say will occur this may of course be improved in later patches and i can confirm the same thing happened with the photogrammetry setting off too if that's how you pronounce it i could still play it with these specs though the dips don't feel game breaking here as they would in a fast-paced action title for example but what about less populated areas i switched back to 900p and took an airbus a320 out for a spin i can't quite remember the airport name here but i was somewhere near italy and my flight path took me out over some blue blutiful beautiful blue waters in this case the game ran very well with the low preset and still looked okay most of the time our frame rate stuck firmly between 30 and 60 though capping it to 30 might be a good idea for an experience that feels a little smoother all round only because going from 30 to say 45 fps and then back down to 30 is definitely noticeable what i love about the game aside from the game itself is how inclusive it does seem to be of a lot of hardware you can adjust lots of settings and whether you're playing on a gtx 770 or rtx 2080 you should be able to get an enjoyable experience from flight simulator that is of course if you don't mind reducing the resolution as well with older cards now this title can look absolutely fantastic and at times photo realistic and even at its lowest settings it looks better than fine especially when you're 20 000 feet up in the air and soaring through the fluffy white clouds it's so much fun as well even for beginners like me who admittedly is using a controller to play and if you are getting lag with your system don't worry because i think everyone is at the moment so for the last bit of the video i replaced the 770 with the 1080 ti just to see if this would help things i pretty much already knew that the 4460 was the cause of the problems but i thought maybe we could squeeze a few more frames from the system with the 1080 ti in there and unfortunately this was not the case i also focused too much on the performance here the performance figures than i did actually taking off hence why i just ran my boeing 747 into the forest at the end of the runway so there we go microsoft flight simulator on the minimum system requirements will run at lower settings and resolutions but it's not an ideal experience you may be able to get 30 fps out of it in some instances but there might be a few stutters here and there but there we go this has been the microsoft flight simulator minimum system requirements build it be interesting to see how well the recommended system requirements will do so maybe i'll build a pc for that as well now usually i say it doesn't make much sense building a pc for a specific game but i remember a lot of people um actually built a pc specifically for the old flight simulator i've spoken to a few people who have done that and i can imagine that a few people would build a pc specifically for this game the game is so big and it's one of those ones that people just play forever so yeah i can really see people building a pc specifically for this so just don't build a pc catering to this game using the minimum specs however because as it gets updated you know i don't know how the performance will change whether it will be better or worse but thanks for watching if you enjoyed this video leave a like on it down below leave a dislike if you didn't let me know how it runs for you on pc and what specs you use of course subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already and hopefully i'll see you all in the next one\n"