Building The Perfect Graphics Settings
Estimated Lesson Time: 50–60 Minutes
Lesson Overview
Congratulations.
You have reached the final lesson of Module 3.
Throughout this module, you’ve learnt exactly what every graphics setting in Microsoft Flight Simulator does.
You now understand:
- CPU settings.
- GPU settings.
- VRAM usage.
- RAM usage.
- Terrain LOD.
- Clouds.
- Shadows.
- Traffic.
- Reflections.
- Airport Detail.
- Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate.
- AI Traffic.
- Every graphics preset.
Now it’s time to apply everything you’ve learnt.
There is no single “best” graphics preset for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
A configuration that performs perfectly on one PC may perform poorly on another.
The key to optimisation is understanding your hardware and making informed choices.
In this lesson, we’ll build example configurations for four different classes of gaming PC and explain the reasoning behind every decision.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson you will understand:
How to optimise different hardware classes.
Which settings should be prioritised on lower-end systems.
Which settings high-end systems can comfortably increase.
Why CPU and GPU balance matters.
How to think like an optimiser rather than simply copying settings.
System 1 – Budget Gaming PC
Example Hardware
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600
GPU
RTX 3060 12GB
RAM
32GB DDR4
Resolution
1920×1080 or 2560×1440
Strengths
Good GPU.
Solid six-core CPU.
Enough VRAM for High textures.
Capable of smooth MSFS performance with sensible settings.
Weaknesses
Limited CPU headroom at large airports.
Can become MainThread limited.
GPU may struggle at higher resolutions with demanding settings.
Recommended Settings
Terrain LOD: 100–150
Object LOD: 100
Clouds: High
Textures: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 16×
Shadows: High
Reflections: Medium
Water: High
Glass Cockpit Refresh: Medium
AI Traffic: Low–Medium
Ground Aircraft: Low
Road Traffic: 20–30%
Airport Workers: Medium
Frame Generation: Not available on RTX 3060
DLSS Quality (where supported): Recommended at 1440p
Why These Settings?
This system has enough VRAM to use Ultra textures, but the CPU is more likely to become the limiting factor at large airports. Lowering CPU-heavy settings such as AI Traffic and Glass Cockpit Refresh Rate helps maintain smooth performance without a major loss in visual quality.
System 2 – Mid-Range Gaming PC
Example Hardware
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
GPU
RTX 4070
RAM
32GB DDR5
Resolution
2560×1440
Strengths
Excellent gaming CPU.
Strong GPU.
Large CPU cache benefits MSFS.
Frame Generation support.
Weaknesses
May become GPU limited at 4K with Ultra settings.
Recommended Settings
Terrain LOD: 200
Object LOD: 200
Clouds: Ultra
Textures: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 16×
Shadows: High–Ultra
Reflections: High
Water: Ultra
Glass Cockpit Refresh: High
AI Traffic: Medium
Ground Aircraft: Medium
Road Traffic: 30–40%
Airport Workers: High
Frame Generation: Enabled
DLSS Quality (where supported): Recommended at 1440p
Why These Settings?
The 7800X3D is exceptionally strong in Microsoft Flight Simulator due to its large L3 cache, allowing higher Terrain LOD and better performance in CPU-heavy scenarios. The RTX 4070 provides enough GPU performance for Ultra settings at 1440p while Frame Generation can further improve smoothness in GPU-limited situations.
System 3 – High-End Gaming PC
Example Hardware
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU
RTX 5080
RAM
32–64GB DDR5
Resolution
3440×1440 Ultrawide or 4K
Strengths
Outstanding CPU performance.
Excellent GPU.
Large VRAM capacity.
Frame Generation.
Excellent airport performance.
Recommended Settings
Terrain LOD: 250–300
Object LOD: 250
Clouds: Ultra
Textures: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 16×
Shadows: Ultra
Reflections: High–Ultra
Water: Ultra
Glass Cockpit Refresh: High
AI Traffic: Medium–High
Ground Aircraft: Medium
Road Traffic: 40%
Airport Workers: High
Frame Generation: Enabled
DLAA or DLSS Quality depending on performance goals.
Why These Settings?
This class of system has enough CPU and GPU performance to push visual quality much further while maintaining excellent frame pacing. At demanding airports, the simulator may still become MainThread limited before the GPU reaches full utilisation, so extremely high AI Traffic or Ground Vehicle settings should still be used thoughtfully.
System 4 – Ultra-End Enthusiast PC
Example Hardware
CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
GPU
RTX 5090
RAM
64GB DDR5
Resolution
4K
Triple Screens
Virtual Reality
Strengths
Maximum CPU performance.
Maximum GPU performance.
Excellent multi-tasking.
Large VRAM capacity.
Suitable for demanding scenarios such as VR and multi-monitor setups.
Recommended Settings
Terrain LOD: 300–400
Object LOD: 300
Clouds: Ultra
Textures: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 16×
Shadows: Ultra
Reflections: Ultra
Water: Ultra
Glass Cockpit Refresh: High
AI Traffic: High
Ground Aircraft: High
Road Traffic: 50%
Airport Workers: Ultra
Frame Generation: Enabled
DLAA or native rendering depending on resolution and personal preference.
Why These Settings?
Even with top-tier hardware, Microsoft Flight Simulator can still become CPU limited in the busiest airports with heavy traffic and complex aircraft. Rather than simply pushing every slider to its maximum, it’s still important to monitor MainThread performance and adjust CPU-heavy settings where necessary.
Comparing The Four Systems
|
Setting |
Budget PC |
Mid-Range |
High-End |
Ultra-End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Terrain LOD |
100–150 |
200 |
250–300 |
300–400 |
|
Object LOD |
100 |
200 |
250 |
300 |
|
Clouds |
High |
Ultra |
Ultra |
Ultra |
|
Textures |
Ultra |
Ultra |
Ultra |
Ultra |
|
Shadows |
High |
High–Ultra |
Ultra |
Ultra |
|
Reflections |
Medium |
High |
High–Ultra |
Ultra |
|
Water |
High |
Ultra |
Ultra |
Ultra |
|
Glass Cockpit Refresh |
Medium |
High |
High |
High |
|
AI Traffic |
Low–Medium |
Medium |
Medium–High |
High |
|
Ground Aircraft |
Low |
Medium |
Medium |
High |
|
Frame Generation |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
The Most Important Lesson
Notice something?
None of the systems simply use “Ultra Everything.”
Every configuration is balanced.
That’s because optimisation isn’t about chasing the highest settings—it’s about finding the combination that delivers the best experience for your hardware and the type of flying you do.
Student Exercise
Today you’re going to build your own graphics profile.
Step 1
Identify your hardware:
- CPU
- GPU
- RAM
- VRAM
- Monitor resolution
Step 2
Decide whether your system is:
- Budget
- Mid-range
- High-end
- Ultra-end
Step 3
Use the example profile that most closely matches your hardware as a starting point.
Step 4
Run your Module 1 benchmark flight and monitor:
- Average FPS
- 1% lows (if using external monitoring tools)
- MainThread status
- GPU utilisation
- CPU utilisation
- VRAM usage
- RAM usage
- Frame pacing
- Overall smoothness
Step 5
Make one adjustment at a time and repeat the benchmark until you achieve the balance that suits your system and flying style.
Student Checklist
Hardware identified.
Appropriate example profile selected.
Custom settings applied.
Benchmark flight completed.
CPU and GPU performance reviewed.
MainThread status checked.
Graphics profile saved.
Final Lesson Summary
Congratulations.
You have completed Module 3 – Graphics Settings Explained.
You now understand not just what each graphics setting does, but why it affects performance and how to tailor it to your own hardware.
The key principles to remember are:
- There is no universal “best” graphics preset.
- Every PC has different strengths and limitations.
- CPU-heavy settings and GPU-heavy settings should be balanced according to your hardware.
- Benchmark consistently using the same airport, aircraft and weather conditions.
- Change one setting at a time so you can clearly measure its effect.
- The smoothest simulator is not necessarily the one with every setting on Ultra—it’s the one that is configured intelligently for your system.
By applying the techniques you’ve learnt throughout this module, you’ll be able to create a Microsoft Flight Simulator experience that is not only visually impressive, but also stable, smooth and tailored to the way you fly.