Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - What are your MSFS2020 Settings? I feel like I can get more out of my computer

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | What are your MSFS2020 Settings? I feel like I can get more out of my computer

DVA9655
Senior Captain, B747-400
360°
OLP

Joined on January 01 2011
50 State Club
Everett 500 Club
Golden State Club
Globetrotter
Online Double Century Club
Millennium Club
Three Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"DAL9655, you are cleared for takeoff"
New York, NY

1,228 legs, 7,842.9 hours
243 legs, 904.1 hours online
1,028 legs, 6,902.0 hours ACARS
13 legs, 61.8 hours event

Posted onPost created on August 23 2026 13:35 ET by Remy Mermelstein

I recently got a new computer build, its pretty good, specs below:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (12-Core) 5.5 GHz Turbo (3D V-Cache) (Zen 5)
Motherboard: MSI PRO X870E-P (Wi-Fi) (AMD X870E) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) (DDR5)
System Memory: 64GB DDR5 6000MT/s Kingston FURY RGB
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 5080 16GB (VR Ready)
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Performance Series (Semi-Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 990 PRO) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 990 PRO) (NVM Express)
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: TRYX Panorama SE 360 Liquid CPU Cooler (Triple Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (64-Bit)

I have no issues with the computer, and everything runs really smoothly, I just feel like I could get more performance out of MSFS2020 - I average 30-50FPS, 25-40 at heavier airports. I have a cap set to 75FPS, but it rarely reaches 75FPS - and I am almost positive that this kind of system should have no problem reaching that.

So I start this thread hoping to learn a little more what others are running as far as settings.

Eventually I will get MSFS24, but not until PMDG/Inibuilds comes out with 747/a380/a350v2

Thx!

For ref, some q's:
DX11 vs Dx12 - when I run DX12, I notice much more memory usage and stuttering at heavy airports like NYC area. what do you use?
For some reason I cannot change the DLSS model preset - if I change from the apps recommended, MSFS crashes.
Running latest NVIDIA Game Ready Drivers.

Running GSX, and all the popular aircraft addons: inibuild, pmdg, etc.

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

DVA1562
Senior Captain, DC-6
Diamond
OLP

Joined on March 06 2004
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Everett 500 Club
DVA Fleet Master
US Mountaineer Club
US Coastal Club
Bi-Millennium Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary
Three Million Mile Club

"Semper Paratus"
Yellowstone National Park, WY

2,996 legs, 8,769.8 hours
81 legs, 119.2 hours online
2,779 legs, 7,882.0 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on September 08 2026 18:32 ET by Tim Knight

See my post in this thread about the SayIntentions AI System Optimizer. Works for 2020 too. Works great for me in both 2020 and 2024. It will give suggestions on what settings to use to make it run better.

Tim Knight

Senior Captain, DC-6

DVA12793
Captain, B737-800
Diamond

Joined on October 29 2015
Globetrotter
South American Samba Club
Everett 500 Club
50 State Club
US Capital Club
Two Million Mile Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
Nine Century Club

Regina, SK Canada

926 legs, 5,215.0 hours
926 legs, 5,215.0 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on September 09 2026 16:41 ET by Steven Jones

boy this is a serious rabbit hole, have you identified your bottleneck, ie CPU or GPU, figure out which is maxed and that will help point where you can try to tweak. Have you done overclocking of CPU or GPU ? AutoFPS I find as a must have which comes with its own set of tweaks to fine tune it in, example having GPU Z and CPU Z both running in the foreground greatly improves its performance

I personally have found Islandsimpilot on you tube has allot of useful tweaks and settings outside of MSFS that have helped me out quite a bit, especially in dialing in DLSS. It took quite a bit of time and research ( big reason I havent jumped to msfs 2024 yet ) to dial things in, but I run 4k with most setting maxed out in MSFS2020, very stable system, my flights average 30-35 FPS over an entire flight according to my Delta Virtual flight reports. I fly PMDG and Ifly products

Steven Jones

Captain, B737-800

Posted onPost created on September 09 2026 20:40 ET by Steven Jones

mispoke, forgot ACARS picks up my FPS and half its actual rate, so average around 60 FPS

Steven Jones

Captain, B737-800

Posted onPost created on September 12 2026 15:35 ET by Remy Mermelstein

Steven Jones wrote:

boy this is a serious rabbit hole, have you identified your bottleneck, ie CPU or GPU, figure out which is maxed and that will help point where you can try to tweak. Have you done overclocking of CPU or GPU ? AutoFPS I find as a must have which comes with its own set of tweaks to fine tune it in, example having GPU Z and CPU Z both running in the foreground greatly improves its performance

I personally have found Islandsimpilot on you tube has allot of useful tweaks and settings outside of MSFS that have helped me out quite a bit, especially in dialing in DLSS. It took quite a bit of time and research ( big reason I havent jumped to msfs 2024 yet ) to dial things in, but I run 4k with most setting maxed out in MSFS2020, very stable system, my flights average 30-35 FPS over an entire flight according to my Delta Virtual flight reports. I fly PMDG and Ifly products

No overclocking, but the bottleneck seems to be the CPU according to MSFS. I have AeroTune, is that better or worse than AutoFPS? Have not tried that.
I will check out Islandsimpilot!

I do want to get MSFS2024... might be soon.

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

For flight simulation purposes only. Not a commercial website. In no way are we affiliated with Delta Air Lines, its affiliates, or any other airline. All logos, images, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Delta Virtual Airlines is a non-profit entity engaged in providing an avenue for flight simulation enthusiasts.