Adjust MSFS graphics for steadier performance without lowering everything

Useful settings should remain comfortable during your usual flights, particularly while taxiing and approaching an airport. A result measured over the sea in a light aircraft does not represent a major airport with a complex airliner. The following method helps you compare changes without chasing a universal setting.

Make the comparison repeatable

1. Write down your current settings or take screenshots so you can restore them.
2. Use the same aircraft, departure, camera view and fixed weather. Keep traffic consistent during the test too.
3. Wait for initial loading to finish, then observe a short sequence: camera movement, taxiing and a flight close to the airport.
4. Change one setting, repeat the sequence and keep only changes that make a noticeable improvement.

In MSFS 2024, start in Settings > General > Graphics; expand Global Rendering Quality for detailed options. In MSFS 2020, start in Options > General Options > Graphics. See the 2024 settings overview and 2020 performance guidance.

Decide what to test next

• Temporarily reducing render scale makes movement steadier: that suggests a graphics limitation. Next, compare clouds, shadows and the upscaling mode, one at a time. Check instrument readability before keeping a lower internal resolution.
• Lowering resolution makes little difference, particularly at a busy airport: examine traffic and terrain and object detail levels. This can suggest a scene-processing limitation, but does not by itself prove the CPU is responsible.
• Pauses occur mainly while areas or add-ons load: also check memory, storage and the connection. Lowering every graphics setting will not isolate that kind of problem.

For MSFS 2024, airport, air, road and sea traffic controls are covered in the official traffic settings guide. Reduce the elements that matter least to your flight first.

Upscaling and frame generation do different jobs

Upscaling, such as DLSS Super Resolution, reconstructs the displayed image from a lower-resolution render. Frame generation adds intermediate images. NVIDIA describes these as separate features. For your baseline comparison, temporarily turn frame generation off if it is enabled, then assess it separately: camera movement, cockpit edges and control response, rather than the FPS counter alone.

Use the options available for your card and simulator version. The final release of MSFS 2024 SU6 added DLSS 4.5 and retained FSR 3 following beta tests of FSR 4. The official SU6 release notes explain the difference.

Reference information and links checked again on 5 November 2026.