I tested Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on three laptop GPUs so you don't have to

Microsoft's Flight Simulator series is notoriously GPU-hungry, so naturally, I had to test Flight Simulator 2024 on multiple gaming laptops to see what performance is like with various RTX 40-series GPUs.

Launched on November 19, 2024, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 received largely negative reviews as it was functionally unplayable at launch. The official Steam listing has now recovered to "Mixed" reviews, as the game still suffers from connection issues, poor optimization, and other bugs.

With things steadily improving, maybe you're eyeing Asobo Studio and Xbox Game Studios' latest flight sim, wondering if your GPU can handle the game. I've spent hours testing it using recently released gaming laptops featuring Nvidia RTX 4070, 4060, and 4050 graphics cards. Microsoft's minimum requirements claim you can run Flight Simulator 2024 with a GPU as old as an Nvidia GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon RX 5700.

So, you'd think any RTX 40 series GPU should have no trouble with the game. But that's not exactly what I found during testing. So, let's get into it.

Microsoft Flight SImulator 2024: Official hardware recommendations

Microsoft published low minimum and recommended specs for Flight Simulator 2024, which means my review laptops should be able to play the game relatively smoothly. Sure, the specs are for desktop PCs rather than laptops, but when the recommended specs are a 7th generation Ryzen 7 or 10th generation Intel Core i7, my laptop variant 8th generation Ryzen 9 and 14-th generation Intel Core i9 should more than suffice.

Additionally, you'd expect the GeForce RTX 4070 and 4060 to have a decent time of Flight Simulator at 1080p resolution since the recommended GPU spec is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080. Again, the desktop 2080 will have additional VRAM compared to the laptop variants I'm running, but the extra couple of architecture generations should help mitigate that somewhat.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Hands-on testing and impressions

RTX 4070 Graphics

Booting up Flight Simulator 2024 on the Razer Blade 14 (early 2024) with an RTX 4070, Microsoft recommended I play the game on "High-End" graphics settings based on my GPU. For the sake of testing and witnessing pure chaos, I opted to start with "Ultra" settings and work my way down to test the game on all four setting profiles. I opted for Free Flight mode, with a path from Quintin Lodge Runway 01 to Chicago- O'Hare International Airport, flying the default Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

On the preset "Ultra" settings, even at 1080p, the Blade 14's fans kicked into high gear the moment the flight launched. I won't claim to be the best Flight Sim pilot by any metric, but trying to fly a Cessna with an inconsistent 30fps would be tricky by anyone's standards.

Dropping down to "High-End" 1080p, as recommended, I had a much smoother, more operable experience. Sure, the trees at Quintin Lodge didn't look as lush, but I could manage to get the Cessna off the ground. Unfortunately, Flight Simulator wasn't as smooth as I would like at "High-End" 1080p settings, as I noticed some significant frame drops, particularly during take-off at Quintin Lodge. I crashed at least a few times during testing.

I dialed the graphics back to "Medium" 1080p, which was the smoothest performance, without dropping the graphic quality too far from the "High-End" settings. The trees at Quintin Lodge looked a bit less crisp and lifelike but were recognizably trees made with modern graphics. The Cessna still had plenty of detail, and the instrument panel was lovingly rendered.

Dropping to "Low-End" didn't look great; the trees looked like they were built in Minecraft. The Cessna still had decent, but everything outside the cockpit looked grim. The performance was smooth, but the "Low-End" graphics are a massive step down from the "Medium" pre-set.

RTX 4060 Graphics

I then pulled up Flight Simulator 2024 on the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 9 with an RTX 4060, and I was prompted to play the game on "Medium" graphics settings based on my GPU. Just like with the Blade 14, I started with the "Ultra" preset and worked my way down, using a Free Flight from Quintin Lodge Runway 01 to Chicago- O'Hare International Airport using a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

The RTX 4070 struggled at "Ultra," so I didn't have a lot of hope for the Legion, and the slideshow experience at Quintin Lodge was basically unplayable. I don't think the Legion even cleared 30fps. The load time alone was game-breaking. It took more than 2 minutes to load the flight path on the Legion at "Ultra" settings.

I immediately dropped to "High-End" graphics and had a more stable experience, but it wasn't ideal. I got the Cessna off the ground, but I'd crashed back down into a lodge along the runway before I could dial in my ascent angle.

"Medium" was a more satisfying experience, even if the graphics quality isn't as nice as the higher settings. However, the trees look like they came out of a modern game and not something built for the original PlayStation.

Dropping down to "Low-End" graphics was the smoothest option, but again, the graphics outside of the cockpit looked wretched.

RTX 4050 Graphics

Lastly, I spun the game up on the Dell XPS 14 (2024, OLED) model, which isn't a gaming laptop, but it does sport an RTX 4050 inside. I have used the XPS 14 for graphics testing previously, and it did have some trouble with Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail's updated graphics. After all, the XPS 14 doesn't have gaming-level thermals, so it can thermally throttle when you're pushing the laptop to its limits.

Just booting up Flight Simulator had the XPS 14 struggling, and the game recommended I opt for "Medium" graphics settings, similar to the Legion 5i.

There was no prayer of booting up a flight in "Ultra" settings on the XPS 14. I toggled the graphics preset to "Ultra" and couldn't even get the Free Flight menu to launch smoothly, so I dropped down to "High-End," which wasn't much better. I hit the runway only once I dropped the XPS 14 to "Medium" settings.

I'm pretty sure the XPS 14 was trying to achieve flight on its own; the Dell's fans were running so hard. "Medium" settings were workable, and I could get the Cessna off the ground without much in the way of framerate drops, so a more gaming-focused laptop running an RTX 4050 should be able to play the game on "Medium" presets pretty comfortably.

Dropping down to "Low-End" was smoother, and I felt less like I was actively melting the insides of the XPS 14. Sure, the trees look like low-poly game art from 2002. I got Flight Simulator 2024 working, and I figure that's better than expected. So, after a few minutes of decently satisfying flight time, I ended my testing.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Outlook

The moral of this story is not to reinvent the wheel. If Microsoft recommends a settings profile to you, it's probably best to stick with that. And my personal recommendation for laptop users is to drop your resolution. You don't need to opt for 1080p, but any cuts you can make to your VRAM requirements will get you a much smoother experience.

Outside of the XPS 14, I was running modern Nvidia GPUs with high-end Intel and AMD processors. If a Ryzen 9 8945HS and an Intel Core i9-1400HX struggle with Flight Simulator 2024, you know the game's not exactly well optimized. So, be conservative about your graphics load.

If you have an RTX 4080 laptop, you'll likely have a smoother experience at higher graphics settings than I did. Still, even then, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has bugs and optimization issues that impact all levels of GPU, so you're not in for a smooth ride no matter what gaming rig you have.

If you were thinking of playing Flight Simulator 2024 on an older gaming rig with a GTX 1060 GPU or an ultra-portable laptop with an integrated GPU, I recommend sticking to a console. Alternatively, go for an older copy of Flight Simulator or the original Infinite Flight.

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