I started simming with Flight Simulator 5.1 : pixelated textures, blocky buildings, squares, triangles to figure cities and mountains. All of that at an impressive 15 FPS in 640x480. 😆

30 years later I think I have reached a form of flightsim nirvana, combining performance, graphics and stability. I had never expected to be able to fly at major hubs with full AI traffic at stable 60 FPS.

Here is my detailed hardware and software setup. Not pretending to be the Holy Grail, I just wanted to share my experience. Keep in mind everything below is housed in an ITX NR200P V2 case, so ymmv.

 

• 📟CPU : 7800X3D
  • PBO negative -30 on all cores
  • SMT OFF (that's the equivalent of Hyperthreading on Intel CPUs)
  • Arctic Freezer 3 240mm cooling

→ CPU never exceed 72°C when benchmarking, and never abobe 65° when gaming

 

• ⚙️RAM : 32 Go DDR5 6000 MHz CAS 30
  • EXPO II

 

• 🎨GPU : PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper (bought at MSRP)
  • Voltage offset : -70mv
  • Memory frequency : 2700 MHz
  • Memory fast timing ON
  • Power limit : -20%
  • AMD Freesync forced ON
  • Resize Bar OFF

→ with these settings the perf loss is negligible (<2%) but the power draw falls from 300W+ to 240W and temperature barely reach 60°

 

•  📺 DISPLAY : Xiaomi G34WQI
  • I tried eye tracking, face tracking, VR. But to me an ultra-wide screen is the best immersion/convenience ratio.
  • Freesync ON

 

• 🪟WINDOWS : 11
  • Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling OFF (I have to try ON)
  • Game mode ON
  • MPO fix, corrects display artifacts especially on Chrome when playing and alt-tabing

 

• 🎮PERIPHERALS
  • Joystick Winwing URSA Minor Arline
  • Thrustmaster TCA + addons
    • Increased friction on all axis
    • Ultimate Detent and Tension mod for the Thrustmaster TCA Quadrant

 

• ✈️MSFS 2024
  • Everything high but clouds on ULTRA
  • TAA scaling 105
  • FSR3 framegen
  • MSFS traffic OFF
  • AIG Traffic 100%

Well, enough literature, this is the screenshots section, let's move on to the images😅

A replica of flight WK314 from Zurich LSZH to Bergen ENBR.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2025Aug 18 by RockOla

Nice job bud.  I personally use HAGS "on".   There is a noticeable difference in loading and performance.

 

Excellent post!

Do you use Auto FPS or just default settings?  What TLOD and OLOD do you use?  

Just now, Tony P said:

Nice job bud.  I personally use HAGS "on".   There is a noticeable difference in loading and performance.

 

We have to use hags for frame gen right?  Ive got a 4080 - its been a great card... wish it had more vram though hehe.

For easy changes to MSFS2024 settings, try out MSFS2024 Editor. Link: https://www.flightsim4fun.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=5059#p5059

34 minutes ago, ryanbatc said:

We have to use hags for frame gen right?  Ive got a 4080 - its been a great card... wish it had more vram though hehe.

For DLSS I think you're right, but not sure about FSR ; I have HAGS disabled but FSR on in MSFS.

You have 16 gig on your 4080 ? I hesitated between a 24-gig 7900 XTX and a 16-gig 9070 XT. I chose the latter, for the upcoming FSR4, and hoping Asobo will further improve VRAM management (seems quite the case in the latest beta).

53 minutes ago, ryanbatc said:

Excellent post!

Do you use Auto FPS or just default settings?  What TLOD and OLOD do you use?  

I use DynamicLOD_ResetEdition with the following settings:

 

• TLOD
  • 0 ft - 100
  • 2000 ft - 150
  • 5000 ft - 200
  • 10000 ft - 400
• OLOD
  • 0 ft - 100
  • 2500 ft - 150

9 hours ago, RockOla said:

✈️MSFS 2024

• Everything high but clouds on ULTRA
• TAA scaling 105
• FSR3 framegen
• MSFS traffic OFF
• AIG Traffic 100%

Very nice pictures! What do you use for ATC? I understand the traffic injected by AIG or FSLTL is not as heavy on the CPU as the one injected by FSHud or BATC.

For my use, AITC + default ATC is OK most of the time. My sole expectation of ATC is it gives me take-off clearance and landing clearance to avoid collision on landing.

FS 5.1…🙂…Was it not the one in also DOS? So, you’ve seen it all…🙂…(mine had started around FS 2002/2004).

Very nice. Great to hear your success story in MSFS2024.

BTW, lovely shots, and liked your choice of Edelweiss Air (had once done a story on it…🙂…) but hadn’t seen this livery with Red Hands on the nose…

Thanks for sharing this post…!

You can’t just barge into a Flight Sim forum spreading good news Willy nilly!!!!

🤪

We've certainly come a LONG way from the days of subLOGIC's ATP!

7 hours ago, P_7878 said:

FS 5.1…🙂…Was it not the one in also DOS? So, you’ve seen it all…🙂…(mine had started around FS 2002/2004).

Very nice. Great to hear your success story in MSFS2024.

BTW, lovely shots, and liked your choice of Edelweiss Air (had once done a story on it…🙂…) but hadn’t seen this livery with Red Hands on the nose…

Thanks for sharing this post…!

Yes, good old MSDOS days. I had time to serve and eat my cereal while my father's computer was booting 🤭

I had missed your post on Edelweiss, just read it, great post ! The livery "Helping hands" is one of the Fenixsim liveries available through their installer. The real one aims at supporting the Help Alliance which is defined like this "aid organization of the Lufthansa Group and their employees, and forms the central pillar of the Group's activities in the area of social responsibility.". Hands are supposed to represent hands of the contributors. You can read more here.

 

6 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

You can’t just barge into a Flight Sim forum spreading good news Willy nilly!!!!

🤪

Ahah, I know, but the desire to talk about trains running on time was too strong (in France, we say, ‘We only talk about trains that are late’).

1 hour ago, speedyTC said:

We've certainly come a LONG way from the days of subLOGIC's ATP!

I didn't know about this simulation, I just watched a video, the graphics remind me of the FS5.1 era.

2 hours ago, RockOla said:

I didn't know about this simulation, I just watched a video, the graphics remind me of the FS5.1 era.

Bruce Artwick and his company subLOGIC are accepted as the granddaddy of what we have available today.

 To be honest I don't remember having audio ATC but then again these brain cells are getting on in years.

My first proper PC flight simulator was FS4.0b and I managed to get my hands on the "aircraft and scenery designer" addon (I think it was called). There was another addon which finally allowed you to use a Soundblaster soundcard instead of the PC speaker for engines. The only caveat with that was when the ATC spoke, the sim would freeze until the audio finished 😅

Anyone remember battling himem.sys / emm386.exe  and autoexec.bat to squeeze a little bit more memory out of the PC for games?

Good times! It's very easy to complain nowadays but looking at what we have now I would have given my right arm to have it back then - we're a strange old lot.

Edited August 19, 2025Aug 19 by FPVSteve