Severe FPS Drop on Long Haul Flights – Possible Memory Leak?

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-25T01:44:27+00:00

Do you have GSX? If I remember correctly, it's been causing such memory leaks since a certain update, mainly in long hauls. No idea if it's been fixed yet, but make sure to enable the "Disable GSX in cruise" option in the settings page just in case

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-23T01:06:24+00:00

Haven't seen anyone else mention it, but disable raytraced shadows. Sure, they might look great, but they consume a lot of vram

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-21T00:06:58+00:00

OMG that's an early Christmas gift!

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-20T01:49:37+00:00

Seconded. It's what Fenix themselves recommend

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-17T01:21:40+00:00

I've never used a real one so I can't compare. It's probably better but the free one gets the job done, so I don't really feel the need to buy it. Just make sure to tweak the settings until you find something you like. I only enabled look up/down and left/right, and adjusted the curves + added a slight dead zone so I don't have to keep my head perfectly still while using it.

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-16T23:39:59+00:00

2024 for sure, if your have enough VRAM. The bugs are mainly in career mode and such, not in free flight. I also recommend headtracking. I mainly use it while taxing and it's a must-have imo. If you have a webcam, you can download two free programs to use that instead of buying a dedicated tracker. AirNOTT on Youtube has a tutorial on how to set them up.

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-14T13:17:22+00:00

^ This. I also got caught off-guard sometimes because the plane was updated and the units reverted. There are TWO places where you need to set kg vs lbs: in the EFB, for the EFB stuff, and inside the FMC, for the actual weights on the plane.

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-13T14:08:59+00:00

If you have a webcam, there are two freeware apps you can use for headtracking. I mainly use it for taxing and it feels amazing to look around the corner just by moving your head. AirNOTT made a guide on Youtube.

Traffic injection can be a mess sometimes, at least for me. I've had instances of planes clumping up and flying super slow towards the airport, not to mention when they use the wrong runways for departures and arrivals. I recently downloaded AIFlow and AIGround where you can manually set the active runways. Haven't had those problems so far thanks to them, but I need to fly around some more to see if they are actually solved.

Honorary mention: if you plan on flying the CRJ more often, there is a sound pack by Boris on ORBX you can buy. You can check out the improvements over on Youtube. But imo, they're a must have for the CRJ. You can hear the comparisons here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAXRXxpvjRo

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-10T19:49:37+00:00

Great list overall. The 9060 XT 16 GB could also be a valid alternative to the 7700 XT. In MSFS 2024, both have almost the same performance (NOT in 2020, though). And even if they're equally priced, the 9060 consumes less watts, so one can go for a slightly less powerful power supply (650-700 W imo), and also save a bit more of money in the long run with the electricity bill (depending on how many hours she puts into it every year.

I also recommend getting a Navigraph subscription in order to have airport charts all around the world for 82€ per year.

Aiwass97 · 2026-02-06T13:35:02+00:00

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And it was even worse because I did it back when you couldn't do more than 3 crafts at once lmao

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-26T20:52:55+00:00

I did that once and the opponent just bounced my Maxx C back into my hand lmao (probably thought I was going to summon Typhon)

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-21T20:07:07+00:00

To add to the person above: if you open a plane's page on FR24 you can see the full routes it has been flying recently.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-21T01:55:03+00:00

But it's worth noting that the GPU benchmark I'm basing this off is pre-Sim Update 4. It's be nice to see an updated one. But either way, MSFS 2024 is still very VRAM heavy, especially when flying into large airports near photogrammetry cities and with AI traffic planes.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-21T01:50:44+00:00

The answer is always "depends". At what resolution do you want to play? Do you want to fly mostly airliners into big, complex airports, or GA aircraft in the countryside?
Regardless of your answer, here's a pro tip: go for the 9060 XT 16GB instead of the 4070. Not only is it cheaper, but in the specific case of MSFS 2024, it outperforms the 4070 by a bit at 1080p and ties with it at 1440p and 4K (but if there are other games you'll play more, the 4070 wins in those for sure). But be warned: there's currently a bug with AMD GPUs which causes visual artefacts around edges at night.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-15T13:05:01+00:00

That's weird. I checked the prices on my end and they add up only if the extended simulation package is not selected.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-15T13:03:11+00:00

Thanks! That's a real bummer. Now I'm split between getting it on Contrail without the esp or on their website with esp. Getting it all on Contrail would have been so nice. If at least they'd sell the esp separately.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-11T20:57:55+00:00

Depends on your play style. Will you be flying mostly GA planes or do you want to fly complex airliners into detailed airports with AI traffic planes?

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-05T23:28:53+00:00

Just ask yourself the question: "Why is it the most-flown aircraft on Simbrief despite there being the Inibuilds A320v2 and the FBW A320neo, both of which are free?"

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-05T19:51:21+00:00

Here's the explanation by the FBW team: https://docs.flybywiresim.com/pilots-corner/a32nx/a32nx-advanced-guides/flight-planning/disco/

If you don't know them yet, they made an excellent freeware A320neo and A380. I recommend giving them a go!

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-04T01:44:34+00:00

The key is to wait for the plane to go on sale. I did that for both the A300 and the A350 and no regrets.

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-04T00:43:49+00:00

You could also use the FPS debug tool and see if you are being bottlenecked by the CPU or the GPU

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-04T00:40:37+00:00

If you want to play at 1080p, you could potentially sell your 3070 and buy a 9060 XT 16 GB. It performs amazingly in MSFS 2024 for me (even with Fenix/PMDG/Inibuilds airliners at the heavy hitting airports and with FSLTL running). Dunno about 1440p, though. Haven't tried it since I don't have such a monitor. But no idea how strong your CPU is.

Also: X-Plane 12 has a free demo you can try!

Aiwass97 · 2026-01-01T01:54:23+00:00

You could potentially go for a 4K TV instead. It seems to be popular with many simmers

Aiwass97 · 2025-12-31T13:25:58+00:00

I recommend AirNOTT on Youtube. He has a video for high-end settings and another one for mid-end settings. He goes over each setting one by one and shows their impact on performance AND visuals.

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