Openai/694987c8-da48-800d-87eb-15c875008f80

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gpt-5-2

User: We have a fellow with a AMD7800X3D, RTX5080, 32B system ram.

We have a fellow with a AMD7800X3D, RTX5080, 32B system ram. He says MSFS 2020 ran very well on this system. In moving to MSFS2024 he's finding in the plane a terrible frame rate which actually went down from 40-60 on the ground to 14FPS a few thousand feet up. DevMode's FPS counter says he's GPU limited, and yet the Main Thread is at 40ms. What might he start looking at?

Assistant: That combo should not behave like that in MSFS 2024, so this is almost certainly a configuration / engine-interaction p…

That combo should not behave like that in MSFS 2024, so this is almost certainly a configuration / engine-interaction problem, not raw hardware. The key clue is this:

GPU-limited, yet Main Thread ~40 ms, and FPS drops after takeoff

That pattern narrows things down a lot.

Below is a prioritized checklist, starting with the most common MSFS 2024–specific traps I’m seeing.

1. Frame Generation / Upscaling mismatch (VERY likely)

MSFS 2024 changed how DLSS, Frame Generation, and V-Sync interact.

What often happens

• FG is enabled, but: - V-Sync is on (in sim or NVCP), or - A frame limiter is active (RTSS / NVCP / in-sim), or - G-SYNC + V-Sync combination is wrong

This can cause:

• GPU shows “limited”
• Main thread time inflates
• FPS collapses once airborne (more GPU work → worse feedback loop)

What to test (clean baseline)

In MSFS 2024:

• DLSS: ON
• Frame Generation: OFF (temporarily)
• V-Sync: OFF
• In-sim frame limiter: OFF

In NVCP:

• V-Sync: Off
• Low Latency Mode: Off
• Max Frame Rate: Off

If FPS suddenly normalizes → FG pipeline conflict confirmed.

Once stable, re-enable FG carefully (no other limiter active).

2. Render Scaling / TAA carry-over trap

MSFS 2024 does not reset all 2020 carry-over settings cleanly.

Common issue:

• Render Scaling ends up >100 (sometimes 130–200) combined with DLSS

This explodes GPU cost once clouds + terrain stream in at altitude.

Check:

• Render Scaling = 100
• If using DLSS: never stack high render scale on top

If he’s running 1440p or 4K, this alone can explain 14 FPS.

3. Clouds & Weather (big airborne FPS killer)

MSFS 2024’s volumetric clouds are much heavier than 2020, especially aloft.

Symptoms:

• FPS fine on ground
• FPS tanks climbing through weather layers
• GPU-limited reported

Test:

• Set Cloud Quality = High or Medium
• Temporarily set Clear Skies
• Retest same flight path

If FPS jumps back → clouds are the culprit.

4. Terrain / Object LOD imbalance (7800X3D trap)

The 7800X3D masks CPU bottlenecks until it doesn’t.

At altitude:

• Terrain radius increases
• Object streaming spikes
• Main thread balloons to ~40 ms

But DevMode still flags GPU-limited due to pipeline wait.

Recommended starting point:

• Terrain LOD: 100–150
• Object LOD: 100
• Avoid “Ultra” Object LOD

This alone can cut main thread time in half.

5. Rolling Cache / Streaming regression

MSFS 2024 streaming is more aggressive and less tolerant of:

• Slow SSD
• Old rolling cache
• Network jitter

Steps:

• Delete Rolling Cache
• Recreate at 16–32 GB
• Ensure it’s on NVMe, not SATA
• Test with Bing Data ON, Photogrammetry OFF (temporarily)

Streaming stalls often show up after takeoff, not on the ground.

6. Background hooks (overlays, capture, RTSS)

MSFS 2024 is more sensitive to:

• RTSS
• GeForce overlay
• Discord overlay
• Recording hooks

RTSS especially can:

• Break FG
• Cause false GPU-limited states

Test:

• Fully exit RTSS / Afterburner
• Disable GeForce Experience overlay
• No capture tools running

7. Known 2024 DevMode reporting weirdness (don’t trust it blindly)

DevMode in 2024:

• Frequently mislabels the limiting factor
• Reports GPU-limited even when the render queue is stalling on CPU or memory

The 40 ms main thread is already a red flag:

• That caps him at ~25 FPS even under ideal conditions

So treat “GPU-limited” as symptomatic, not causal.

What I’d do in 10 minutes (fast triage)

1. Clear skies preset
2. Render scale 100
3. Clouds = High
4. Terrain/Object LOD = 100
5. DLSS ON, FG OFF
6. No V-Sync or limiters
7. Kill RTSS / overlays

If FPS recovers → re-enable features one at a time.

Bottom line

This is not a weak system and not a “7800X3D can’t handle MSFS 2024” issue.

It’s almost certainly:

• Frame generation conflict
• Excessive render scaling
• Cloud + LOD overload
• Overlay / limiter interference

If you want, tell me:

• Resolution
• DLSS mode
• FG on/off
• Clouds setting
• Terrain/Object LOD

…and I can pinpoint the exact offender very quickly.