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Best Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 settings for the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti (2026)

On a NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-13500H (laptop)-class CPU), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 runs at roughly 67 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 67FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti is a mainstream 1080p graphics card with 11GB of VRAM, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is a demanding, graphically heavy game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-13500H (laptop), it runs well at 1080p — about 67 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings. That already clears a smooth frame rate on High, so our tuning keeps the visuals as high as possible instead of chasing extra frames.

Across resolutions you can expect around 67 FPS at 1080p and 62 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 61 FPS at 4K. The biggest free win is FSR upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.

ResolutionAll-High FPSOptimized FPS
1080p6767
1440p4062
4K2361
💡 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020: Often limited by the CPU main thread over cities - Terrain/Objects LOD are the real levers there, Volumetric Clouds the big GPU one.
Recommended settings
Upscaling — FSROff
MSFS supports DLSS and FSR (plus a Render Scaling slider). Big GPU savings — though note the sim is often limited by its main CPU thread, where upscaling doesn’t help.
Texture ResolutionUltra-1% FPS
Ground and aircraft texture sharpness. Needs VRAM more than GPU power — Ultra wants 10GB+.
Terrain Level of Detail100baseline
The most important setting in the sim — how far detailed terrain streams in. It loads the CPU’s main thread heavily; 100 is the sweet spot, 200 is for top-end CPUs only.
Volumetric CloudsHighbaseline
The heaviest pure-GPU setting. Ultra clouds look spectacular but can cost 20%+ FPS in overcast weather — High is the sweet spot.
Objects Level of Detail100baseline
Draw distance for buildings and scenery objects. Also CPU-bound — lower it together with Terrain LOD if your FPS is "limited by main thread."
BuildingsHighbaseline
Autogen building density and detail — matters most low over cities.
Shadow Maps1536baseline
Shadow resolution. 1536 looks nearly identical to 2048 from the cockpit.
Terrain Shadows256baseline
Shadows cast by mountains and valleys — subtle except at dawn/dusk.
ReflectionsMediumbaseline
Water and aircraft reflections. Medium is plenty at altitude.
Light ShaftsMediumbaseline
God-rays through clouds. Pretty at sunset, cheap to lower the rest of the time.
Glass Cockpit Refresh RateMediumbaseline
How often the digital cockpit displays redraw. Runs on the CPU — Medium frees main-thread time in glass-cockpit airliners with no real downside.

⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →

🎯 Can the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020? See the verdict →

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on other GPUs
Other games on the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
Frequently asked

What FPS does the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti get in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti averages around 67 FPS at 1080p in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 — up from about 67 FPS with everything on High.

Can the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti averages roughly 62 FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 — a smooth experience.

What are the best Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 settings for the NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti?

Use a balanced preset, keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Terrain Level of Detail and Volumetric Clouds down a notch. The full per-setting breakdown is above.

FPS figures are estimates from a generalized model (hardware tier × game load × per-setting weights), not live benchmarks — real performance varies by scene, drivers and game version.