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Best Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 settings for the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) (2026)

On a NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 runs at roughly 61 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 26FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) is a entry-level graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is a demanding, graphically heavy game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it runs well at 1080p — about 61 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 26 FPS with everything on High.

Across resolutions you can expect around 61 FPS at 1080p and 46 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 26 FPS at 4K. With only 4GB of VRAM, keep textures a notch below max in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 at higher resolutions to avoid stutter. The biggest free win is FSR upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.

Resolution	All-High FPS	Optimized FPS
1080p	26	61
1440p	16	46
4K	9	26

💡 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.

🚀 Biggest free win: enable FSR (Balanced) — about +55% FPS for a small sharpness trade.

Recommended settings

Upscaling — FSRBalanced+55% FPS

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.

Terrain Level of Detail50+15% FPS

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.

Objects Level of Detail50+9% FPS

Draw distance for buildings and scenery objects. Also CPU-bound — lower it together with Terrain LOD if your FPS is "limited by main thread."

Volumetric CloudsMedium+7% FPS

The heaviest pure-GPU setting. Ultra clouds look spectacular but can cost 20%+ FPS in overcast weather — High is the sweet spot.

Glass Cockpit Refresh RateLow+5% FPS

How often the digital cockpit displays redraw. Runs on the CPU — Medium frees main-thread time in glass-cockpit airliners with no real downside.

BuildingsMedium+3% FPS

Autogen building density and detail — matters most low over cities.

Shadow Maps1024+3% FPS

Shadow resolution. 1536 looks nearly identical to 2048 from the cockpit.

ReflectionsLow+2% FPS

Water and aircraft reflections. Medium is plenty at altitude.

Texture ResolutionUltra-1% FPS

Ground and aircraft texture sharpness. Needs VRAM more than GPU power — Ultra wants 10GB+.

Terrain Shadows256baseline

Shadows cast by mountains and valleys — subtle except at dawn/dusk.

Light ShaftsMediumbaseline

God-rays through clouds. Pretty at sunset, cheap to lower the rest of the time.

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

🎯 Can the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020? See the verdict →

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on other GPUs

Other games on the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB)

Frequently asked

What FPS does the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) get in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) averages around 61 FPS at 1080p in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 — up from about 26 FPS with everything on High.

Can the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB) averages roughly 46 FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020; turn on upscaling or aim for a locked 60 for the best feel.

What are the best Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 settings for the NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB)?

Turn on FSR (Balanced), keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Terrain Level of Detail and Objects Level of Detail 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.