Improving your simulator performance doesn’t always mean investing in expensive hardware upgrades. While a high-end rig can definitely help in improving simulator performance, it’s not the only way to achieve a smoother and more immersive experience.

By tweaking a few sim software settings, running a couple of benchmark tests, and installing some quality-of-life add-ons on your current rig, you can vastly improve your sim experience without breaking the bank. As such, in this article, we provide you with all the tips for improving your simulator performance in a thorough step-by-step guide. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Adjust Simulator Game Settings

Let’s start with sim software setting tips for improving your simulator performance. While exact settings availability will depend on a particular sim software, we can generalize some of these settings found across multiple sim titles. You should follow this section if replacing older hardware components with newer, more expensive parts is not feasible for you.

Here's a guide to adjusting sim software settings to improve simulator performance:

Terrain Level of Detail (LOD)

LOD affects the distance at which objects retain their detail. Recommended is 100-150 for mid-range GPUs and 200+ for super high-end GPUs. However, the lower this number, the better the FPS, especially for flight sims that can render scenery for miles.

Volumetric Clouds

Clouds take a good chunk of GPU rendering power. Set this to one tier below the maximum level supported by the sim software. For example, set it to “High” instead of "Ultra" to maintain visual quality without sacrificing FPS.

Screen Space Reflections and Ambient Occlusion

These two settings allow for a more realistic world but drastically reduce performance. This is especially noticeable in cloudy weather (flight sims) or rainy conditions (racing sims). Reducing them to “Low” or disabling them altogether can help vastly improve FPS.

Anti Aliasing (AA)

A balanced setting (like TAA or 2x-4x MSAA) provides smooth edges without overloading the GPU. Higher settings, like SSAA, look great but demand significant power, especially in VR racing setups.

Shadow and Reflection Quality

Shadows are often a major FPS killer in both flight and racing sims. Reducing them to “Low” or “Medium” significantly boosts performance. In racing sims, reflections (especially on wet tracks) are demanding—turning them down can prevent frame drops.

Water Detail and Civilian Traffic

Setting water detail to "Medium" and civilian traffic to "Low" or "Off" can free up GPU resources, as water rendering is particularly demanding due to reflections.

DLSS/FSR for NVIDIA/AMD Cards

Some sims such as DCS World and iRacing allow for DLSS (for NVIDIA cards) or FSR (for AMD cards). This scaling option offers an incredible FPS increase for not many visual downgrade sacrifices, which is important for a mid-range GPU.

Preload Radius/World Detail

Preloading avoids stutters because everything is preloaded instead of being rendered and loaded in real time; however, it also requires more RAM. Flight sims like DCS recommend a 50k-60k preload radius, while racing sims have world/track detail to adjust depending on how much VRAM one has.

Mirror Quality and Visibility

Mirrors in racing sims can cause a significant performance hit especially if there are multiple cars on the track behind you. Lowering the resolution on mirrors or turning them off is better for the GPU. Plus, there’s little to no need for it if you are playing single-player.

Foliage and Grass Details

Many racing titles have grass/foliage, and high/max settings for them can be outrageous for your FPS. Lowering them keeps higher FPS with no detriment to racing.

Post-Processing Effects

Post-processing (motion blur, depth of field) adds enhancements but is not necessary; lowering post-processing increases FPS without dramatically negative consequences for graphics.

Number of Visible Opponents

The more opponent cars driving around and people walking, the more the game has to render all the AI. Less traffic creates a better control situation for the game and thus better FPS.

Resolution Scale

Adjusting the resolution scale below 100% can improve performance but may reduce image clarity. Find a balance that maintains acceptable visuals while boosting FPS.

Track & Car Detail

High-poly car models and detailed tracks strain performance, especially in multiplayer. Lowering these settings can smooth out frame rates without affecting driving physics.

Particle Effects & Weather Effects

In Assetto Corsa Competizione and iRacing, rain, tire smoke, and dirt particles impact FPS. Lowering these settings helps maintain smooth performance in wet conditions.

Install Recommended Hardware Components

Our next tip for improving your simulator performance is to install the recommended hardware components into your current sim rig. If you have a low-end or mid-spec sim build, then upgrading your core components is key for improving simulator performance. Although it will set you back a couple of hundred or maybe a few thousand bucks, the trade-off will be worth it, especially if you are into VR.

CPU

For simulator games, CPU performance is just as important as GPU power. Many sims are CPU heavy, and if a gamer does not have a sufficient processor, the entire system will bottleneck itself, no matter how decent the graphics card is. For example, Intel Core i3 processors should not be used—these cannot process fast enough for everything needed for larger sims. Intel Core i5 is sufficient for average gaming builds, but always try for an i7 or i9, if possible.

For AMD, Ryzen 5 processors are sufficient for average builds for decent play, but if one wants to go the extra mile, try to find Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 processors. The more cores and managed clock speed, the better frame rates, less stuttering, and overall better play experience for CPU heavy sims like iRacing and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

GPU

Your GPU is the most crucial component for high-resolution and VR gaming. A GPU VRAM plays a key role here because as soon as your VRAM becomes insufficient, the sim software will start stuttering, loading textures will take longer, and you'll notice FPS drops especially if the scenes are complicated and have multiple environments.

As such, if you're gaming at 1080p, you need a GPU with 8GB of VRAM. If you game at 1440p, get something with at least 10GB of VRAM. If you're gaming at 4K or in VR, aim for a GPU with at least 12GB of VRAM. If you ask us, we’ll recommend NVIDIA’s RTX 4070, 4080, and 4090 GPUs while on the AMD side, RX 7800 XT and 7900 XTX are great choices.

Storage

When it comes to loading and performance, the type of storage drive matters. An HDD is considerably slower than an SSD, meaning more prolonged load times, pop-ins, and micro-stutters. Sim games like Microsoft Flight Simulator run best with NVMe SSD drives which provide lightning-fast access to game data files. So if possible, put your simulator on a 1TB+ NVMe SSD. The SATA SSD is a good second choice for those with more affordable setups. An HDD, however, should only be used for storing non-critical files.

RAM

Simulator games are RAM intensive because of physics and AI requirements, as well as the additional open-world aspects. While a standard gaming rig should possess 16GB of RAM, 32GB RAM is recommended for a more stable, future-minded gaming experience. Additionally, 4K or VR games might function best with 64GB. Anything lower than 16GB will result in gamers suffering frame drops, stuttering, and lagging textures.

Network

Stable and consistent internet access is also necessary, especially if you stream online or in real time. For instance, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has an online requirement bandwidth of up to 180 Mbps when streaming high-resolution scenery. iRacing has a minimum online requirement of 256 Kbps to play, but the better, more stable connection you have, the more immersive experience you'll get. If these needs are accommodated through your home network, gameplay will be smooth.

Consider Simulator Rig Add-Ons

Even if you have the best hardware and maxed-out simulator settings, there’s still room for improving simulator performance. How? By adding high-quality sim rig add-ons that take immersion to the next level.  So if you think your setup is already at its peak, these enhancements might prove you wrong!

Motion Platforms

A motion platform recreates the movement of what it feels like to drive or pilot an aircraft. With a sim racing rig on a motion platform, every turn, every gas pedal pressed, and every brake applied is as if you're really behind the wheel. You also experience G-forces at those tight turns as well as hitting potholes. For sim flight rigs on a motion platform, you experience the pressure of takeoff and the rattling of turbulence.

Haptic Feedback Systems

Adding a haptic feedback system allows you to physically feel the terrain, road surface, or aircraft vibrations in sim setups. It features little motors or actuators to generate realistic effects. So, for instance, when your tires hit a pothole in a sim racing rig; you'll feel it as if you hit a pothole in real life. Similarly, you’ll feel engine vibrations in a sim flight setup when the airplane engine vibrates in the cockpit.

Triple Monitor Setups

If you are an avid sim racer, a triple monitor setup works wonders. This configuration basically provides a broader field of view so among many other things, you can see rearview mirrors, side mirrors, and opponents without having to turn the camera. The more fields of view and awareness you have, the more you'll succeed in competitive multiplayer sim racing.

Flight Panels

For sim flight enthusiasts, dedicated flight panels with switches, knobs, and screens of their own offer realistic access to real-world airplane navigation, engine management, and autopilot functions. You no longer have to use those unnatural PC shortcuts on your keyboard when you literally have everything at your fingertips right in front of you. It's like you're in the cockpit.

VR Headsets

But if you truly want the next level of immersion, VR is the way to go. A good quality VR headset makes you feel like you’re actually sitting inside the cockpit or seat of a racing car by giving accurate true depth perception and a realistic scale of things.

So, what do you think of these tips for improving your simulator experience? Share your thoughts with us and let us know in the comments down below!