This comprehensive online course is designed to become your new central hub for flight simulator performance optimization 🚀✈️. Instead of scattered articles, outdated tweaks, and conflicting advice, the course brings everything together into a structured, continuously evolving learning platform built specifically for serious sim pilots who want reliable, long-term results.

At its core, the course focuses on performance, stability, and long-term simulator health across the two most popular modern platforms: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (and 2020) and Laminar Research X-Plane 12 🕹️🖥️. Whether you fly casually or operate complex airliners into highly detailed airports, the course gives you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to tune your simulator correctly—based on how the simulators actually work, not myths or one-size-fits-all presets ⚙️🧠.

In addition to the learning material, the course includes access to a dedicated community 💬🤝 where you can discuss performance topics directly with the course creator and connect with other participants. This allows you to ask questions, share experiences, compare results, and stay up to date as simulators evolve—turning the course into an interactive and supportive environment rather than a one-way learning experience 🌟✈️.

Module 1 is a comprehensive introduction to optimizing performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (and 2020) 🕹️🖥️. By completing Module 1, you will gain a solid technical understanding of how MSFS 2024 performance works under the hood 🧠, along with a repeatable method for tuning and maintaining your simulator over time 🔁. This strong foundation will not only improve your current flying experience 🎮✈️, but also prepare you for more advanced modules focused on performance refinement, realism, and long-term simulator stability 🏗️🌟.

Applying various tricks and tweaks to Windows 11 (and 10), as well as to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (and 2020), can significantly enhance overall performance by optimizing how the game uses system resources. By making targeted adjustments, players can achieve smoother frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. Similarly, optimizing Windows settings can free up more processing power for the simulator, allowing it to run more efficiently and responsively.

Performance Optimization Guide - Part 1

<h2>Add an Exclusion in Windows Defender</h2>Windows Defender&nbsp;constantly scans files and processes in real time. Excluding MSFS prevents Defender from scanning the game’s large number of assets and background file reads while flying. This can eliminate small micro-freezes or frame drops when new scenery or textures are loaded. Removing Defender’s scanning frees up CPU cycles for the simulator, leading to smoother frame times.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + I&nbsp;to open&nbsp;Settings</li><li>Go to&nbsp;Privacy &amp; Security → Windows Security → Virus &amp; threat protection</li><li>Under&nbsp;Virus &amp; threat protection settings, click&nbsp;Manage settings</li><li>Find&nbsp;Exclusions&nbsp;and click&nbsp;Add or remove exclusions</li><li>Click&nbsp;Add an exclusion&nbsp;→ choose&nbsp;Folder</li><li>Navigate to your&nbsp;MSFS installation folder</li><li>MS Store version it’s usually under&nbsp;<code>C:\Users\&lt;YourName&gt;\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_&lt;...&gt;\LocalCache\Packages</code></li><li>Steam version it’s usually under&nbsp;<code>C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\MicrosoftFlightSimulator</code></li><li>At the&nbsp;MSFS installation&nbsp;folder, click&nbsp;Select folder</li></ol> <h2>Disable Background Recording</h2>Disabling&nbsp;Windows Background Recording (Game DVR)&nbsp;can noticeably boost&nbsp;Microsoft Flight Simulator&nbsp;performance because it stops Windows from continuously capturing and encoding gameplay in the background—a process that consumes CPU, GPU, memory, and disk resources. MSFS is heavily CPU-bound, especially on the main simulation thread, so even a small amount of overhead from video capture can lead to micro-stutters, delayed texture streaming, or reduced frame rates. By turning off background recording, you ensure that all available processing power, VRAM, and disk bandwidth are dedicated to the simulator itself rather than to background video buffering, resulting in&nbsp;smoother frame pacing, faster loading, and more stable FPS.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + I&nbsp;to open&nbsp;Settings</li><li>Go to&nbsp;Gaming → Captures</li><li>Toggle&nbsp;“Record what happened”&nbsp;(Background recording) to&nbsp;Off</li></ol> <h2>Disable Driver Verifier and Run File Checker</h2>Disabling&nbsp;Windows Driver Verifier&nbsp;can significantly improve performance because Driver Verifier adds extra checks, logging, and stress tests to every driver call, which consumes CPU cycles and slows memory and I/O operations. These overheads introduce latency and reduce frame rates. By turning Driver Verifier off, you restore normal driver performance, reduce stutters, and free up system resources—allowing the simulator to run smoother and achieve higher FPS. The&nbsp;System File Checker&nbsp;(SFC) scans Windows system files for corruption, damage, or missing components and automatically replaces any problematic ones with clean, cached versions. This helps fix stability issues, crashes, or errors caused by corrupted system components.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + S, type&nbsp;<code>cmd</code></li><li>Right-click&nbsp;Command Prompt&nbsp;→ choose&nbsp;Run as administrator</li><li>In the Command Prompt window, type:&nbsp;<code>verifier /reset</code></li><li>Press&nbsp;Enter, you should see “Driver Verifier was reset.”</li><li>Then, in the Command Prompt window, type:&nbsp;<code>sfc /scannow</code></li><li>Press&nbsp;Enter&nbsp;and wait until the verification scan reaches 100%</li><li>Restart your computer to apply changes</li></ol> <h2>Disable High Precision Event Timer</h2>Disabling High Precision Event Timer, aka HPET, can dramatically lower system input/output delays—which cuts down on micro-stuttering and screen tearing and improves responsiveness overall. Users have reported a measurable boost in frame rates—10–20% improvement, smoother input, and reduced CPU pressure while GPU usage improves.<ol><li>Right-click the&nbsp;Start&nbsp;button and select&nbsp;Device Manager</li><li>Expand&nbsp;System devices, then find&nbsp;High Precision Event Timer</li><li>Right-click on it →&nbsp;Disable device&nbsp;→ Confirm when prompted</li><li>Reboot your PC to apply changes</li></ol>Optional, but recommended, is to disable HPET in BIOS/UEFI. This ensures the OS doesn’t fall back to HPET unexpectedly.<ol><li>Restart your PC (to enter BIOS)</li><li>While it’s starting, press the BIOS key repeatedly (usually&nbsp;DEL,&nbsp;F2,&nbsp;F10, or&nbsp;ESC&nbsp;— it shows briefly on screen)</li><li>Locate the HPET setting (probably under&nbsp;Advanced&nbsp;or&nbsp;Chipset), and disable it</li><li>Save changes and reboot</li></ol> <h2>Disable Network Data Usage Monitoring</h2>NDU&nbsp;is the Windows&nbsp;Network Data Usage Monitoring Driver, tracking per-app network usage for things like Task Manager’s “Network” column and the “Data usage” page. Disabling it stops that tracking. The change is flipping the&nbsp;Start&nbsp;value of the&nbsp;NDU&nbsp;service from&nbsp;2 (Automatic)&nbsp;to&nbsp;4 (Disabled)&nbsp;in the registry. If NDU misbehaves on your system (historically there have been reports of memory spikes/leaks), disabling it can free RAM and reduce background overhead, which may smooth out main-thread stutters—especially on RAM-constrained machines. Some users reported&nbsp;no change&nbsp;or even&nbsp;worse stutters, so this is very system-dependent and not a guaranteed FPS boost. If performance degrades, revert immediately.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + R&nbsp;→ type:&nbsp;<code>regedit</code>&nbsp;→ Enter</li><li>Go to:&nbsp;<code>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Ndu</code></li><li>Double-click&nbsp;Start&nbsp;(REG_DWORD) → change&nbsp;2&nbsp;to&nbsp;4&nbsp;→&nbsp;OK&nbsp;→ Reboot</li><li>To revert, change&nbsp;4&nbsp;back to&nbsp;2&nbsp;and reboot</li></ol> <h2>Enable (or Disable) Game Mode</h2>Game Mode&nbsp;prioritizes your game&nbsp;by allocating more CPU and GPU focus to the foreground application.&nbsp;Pauses or suppresses non-essential background activities, like notifications, updates, or background app refreshes. Enabling Game Mode can improve performance, particularly by reducing stutters. But the impact is&nbsp;system-specific. For some users, it made a meaningful difference; for others, the gains are subtle. Microsoft guidance suggests testing both Game Mode&nbsp;On and Off&nbsp;to determine which yields better results for your system.<ol><li>Right-click the&nbsp;Start&nbsp;button and select&nbsp;Settings</li><li>Navigate to&nbsp;Gaming&nbsp;→&nbsp;Game Mode</li><li>Use the toggle to switch Game Mode&nbsp;On&nbsp;or&nbsp;Off</li><li>Changes apply immediately—no restart needed</li></ol> <h2>Set Power Plan and USB Selective Suspend</h2>The Windows&nbsp;Power Options&nbsp;→&nbsp;High Performance&nbsp;mode can make MSFS smoother, mainly by keeping the CPU ready and reducing stutters in CPU-heavy scenarios. FPS gains are usually small, but frame time consistency often improves noticeably. Additionally,&nbsp;USB Selective Suspend&nbsp;enabled can sometimes cause devices to disconnect or fail to wake up during MSFS in-flight. Disabling USB Selective Suspend can improve&nbsp;stability&nbsp;and prevent immersion-breaking device disconnects.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + R, type&nbsp;<code>control</code>, press&nbsp;Enter&nbsp;and select&nbsp;Power Options</li><li>Select&nbsp;High performance&nbsp;to activate it</li><li>Click&nbsp;Change plan settings&nbsp;next to your active power plan</li><li>Select&nbsp;Change advanced power settings</li><li>In the Advanced settings window, scroll down and expand&nbsp;USB settings&nbsp;→&nbsp;USB selective suspend setting&nbsp;and set to&nbsp;Disabled</li><li>Click&nbsp;Apply&nbsp;→&nbsp;OK</li></ol>

Over time, experimenting with these tweaks allows players to find the ideal balance between visual quality and performance that suits their specific hardware setup. Since no two PCs are exactly alike, the “perfect” configuration often varies, meaning small changes can lead to substantial improvements. Ultimately, this process of continuous tweaking ensures that players get the most out of their simulator, allowing them to enjoy its realism without being hindered by performance bottlenecks.

Performance Optimization Guide - Part 2

What makes Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (and 2020) particularly fascinating is the continuous exploration for improvement. With each update, community discoveries, and personal experimentation, new methods emerge to push performance even further. This iterative process of trial, observation, and adjustment demonstrates a dynamic relationship between the simulator and its players, highlighting both the complexity of modern simulation and the dedication of the community. Over time, these refinements not only enhance the flying experience but also reflect a culture of persistent curiosity and technical creativity.

Performance Optimization Guide - Part 3

Module 1: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Module 2 is a focused and practical introduction to optimizing performance in Laminar Research X-Plane 12 🕹️🖥️. The module is structured into three clear and progressive lessons 📚, each building on the previous one to create a complete optimization workflow. In these three lessons, you will learn how X-Plane 12 uses your CPU, GPU, and memory 🧠, how to identify performance bottlenecks, and how to fine-tune graphics, rendering, and simulation settings for the best balance between visuals and performance ⚙️🚀.

<h2>Add an Exclusion in Windows Defender</h2>Windows Defender&nbsp;constantly scans files and processes in real time. Excluding X-Plane 12 prevents Defender from scanning the game’s large number of assets and background file reads while flying. This can eliminate small micro-freezes or frame drops when new scenery or textures are loaded. Removing Defender’s scanning frees up CPU cycles for the simulator, leading to smoother frame times.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + I&nbsp;to open&nbsp;Settings</li><li>Go to&nbsp;Privacy &amp; Security → Windows Security → Virus &amp; threat protection</li><li>Under&nbsp;Virus &amp; threat protection settings, click&nbsp;Manage settings</li><li>Find&nbsp;Exclusions&nbsp;and click&nbsp;Add or remove exclusions</li><li>Click&nbsp;Add an exclusion&nbsp;→ choose&nbsp;Folder</li><li>Navigate to your&nbsp;XP12 installation folder</li><li>At the&nbsp;XP12 installation&nbsp;folder, click&nbsp;Select folder</li></ol> <h2>Disable Indexing</h2>Disabling&nbsp;indexing&nbsp;can boost X-Plane 12 performance because it reduces background disk activity that competes with the simulator for storage bandwidth. Windows Search indexing constantly scans and catalogs files on your drives so you can quickly search for them later — but X-Plane 12 frequently streams large scenery files, textures, and assets from disk while you fly. If the indexer is running in the background, it can create extra read/write operations and increase drive latency, which may slow down scenery loading or cause micro-stutters when flying over detailed areas. This effect is more noticeable on slower HDDs, but even SSDs can benefit<ol><li>Right-click the&nbsp;Start&nbsp;button and select&nbsp;File Explorer</li><li>Right-click the hard drive where XP12 is installed →&nbsp;Properties</li><li>Uncheck&nbsp;Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed&nbsp;→&nbsp;Apply</li></ol> <h2>Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling</h2>Enabling&nbsp;HAGS&nbsp;(Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling) can boost X-Plane 12’s performance because it changes how Windows handles graphics workload scheduling. For X-Plane 12, this can translate into slightly higher and more consistent frame rates, particularly if your CPU is already near its limit managing scenery, physics, and AI traffic. Reducing CPU overhead gives the simulator more processing time for its critical threads, resulting in smoother camera motion and fewer micro-stutters during flight. The benefit tends to be most noticeable on systems with powerful GPUs paired with mid-range CPUs or when flying in complex scenery areas where CPU bottlenecks are common.<ol><li>Right-click the&nbsp;Start&nbsp;button and select&nbsp;Settings&nbsp;→&nbsp;System&nbsp;→&nbsp;Display</li><li>Scroll down and click&nbsp;Graphics&nbsp;then&nbsp;Advanced graphics settings</li><li>Toggle&nbsp;Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling&nbsp;to&nbsp;On</li><li>Restart your PC&nbsp;to apply the change</li></ol> <h2>Set GPU Preference</h2>Setting the&nbsp;GPU Preference to “High Performance GPU”&nbsp;in Windows 11 ensures that&nbsp;X-Plane 12&nbsp;always uses your most powerful graphics processor—typically the dedicated NVIDIA or AMD GPU—instead of an integrated or energy-saving chip. This setting forces Windows to allocate rendering and shader tasks to the full-capacity GPU, unlocking more processing cores, higher VRAM bandwidth, and better driver optimizations. Without it, X-Plane 12 might default to an integrated GPU or switch dynamically to save power, which can cause severe FPS drops, stuttering, and slower texture or terrain loading. By explicitly choosing the high-performance GPU, you guarantee&nbsp;maximum graphics throughput, smoother frame pacing, and more stable performance, especially in demanding environments like photogrammetry cities or complex airport scenes.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + I&nbsp;to open&nbsp;Settings</li><li>Go to&nbsp;System → Display</li><li>Scroll down and click&nbsp;Graphics&nbsp;(near the bottom)</li><li>Under&nbsp;“Customised settings for applications”, choose&nbsp;Add Desktop app&nbsp;(for the X-Plane.exe)</li><li>Browse and select the&nbsp;X-Plane 12 executable&nbsp;(e.g.,&nbsp;<code>X-Plane.exe</code>) and click&nbsp;Add</li><li>Select the newly added X-Plane entry, for&nbsp;GPU preference, choose&nbsp;High performance</li><li>Disable&nbsp;“Optimisations for windowed games”&nbsp;option</li></ol> <h2>Set Power Plan and USB Selective Suspend</h2>The Windows&nbsp;Power Options&nbsp;→&nbsp;High Performance&nbsp;mode can make X-Plane 12 smoother, mainly by keeping the CPU ready and reducing stutters in CPU-heavy scenarios. FPS gains are usually small, but frame time consistency often improves noticeably. Additionally,&nbsp;USB Selective Suspend&nbsp;enabled can sometimes cause devices to disconnect or fail to wake up during X-Plane 12 in-flight. Disabling USB Selective Suspend can improve&nbsp;stability&nbsp;and prevent immersion-breaking device disconnects.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + R, type&nbsp;<code>control</code>, press&nbsp;Enter&nbsp;and select&nbsp;Power Options</li><li>Select&nbsp;High performance&nbsp;to activate it</li><li>Click&nbsp;Change plan settings&nbsp;next to your active power plan</li><li>Select&nbsp;Change advanced power settings</li><li>In the Advanced settings window, scroll down and expand&nbsp;USB settings&nbsp;→&nbsp;USB selective suspend setting&nbsp;and set to&nbsp;Disabled</li><li>Click&nbsp;Apply&nbsp;→&nbsp;OK</li></ol> <h2>Set Virtual Memory Manually</h2>If you run out of physical RAM, Windows uses&nbsp;virtual memory&nbsp;to keep apps running instead of crashing. Virtual memory uses your disk (SSD/HDD), which is much slower than RAM. More virtual memory allows you to have many browser tabs, programs, or background services open without freezing. If you have&nbsp;less than 32 GB of RAM&nbsp;then you should set virtual memory manually. Don’t set both initial and max size too low — Windows needs virtual memory even with a lot of RAM. If you experience crashes or “out of memory” errors, increase the maximum size.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + R, type&nbsp;<code>sysdm.cpl</code>, and press&nbsp;Enter</li><li>Go to the&nbsp;Advanced&nbsp;tab</li><li>Click&nbsp;Settings&nbsp;under&nbsp;Performance</li><li>In the new window, go to the&nbsp;Advanced&nbsp;tab</li><li>Click&nbsp;Change…&nbsp;under&nbsp;Virtual memory</li><li>Uncheck&nbsp;Automatically manage paging file size for all drives</li><li>Select the drive where Windows is installed (usually&nbsp;C:)</li><li>If you have&nbsp;32 GB of RAM or more, select&nbsp;System managed size&nbsp;and skip to step 12</li><li>If you have&nbsp;less than 32 GB of RAM, select&nbsp;Custom size</li><li>Initial size (MB):&nbsp;Same as your installed RAM (e.g., 16 GB RAM →&nbsp;16384&nbsp;MB)</li><li>Maximum size (MB):&nbsp;1.5x to 2x your installed RAM (e.g., 16 GB RAM → 24576 MB to&nbsp;32768&nbsp;MB)</li><li>Click&nbsp;Set, then&nbsp;OK</li><li>Close all windows and&nbsp;restart&nbsp;your PC for changes to take effect</li></ol> <h2>Use Windows Defender Firewall Only</h2>Modern Windows systems come with&nbsp;Windows Defender Firewall, a built-in, lightweight, and optimized firewall solution running natively with minimal resource usage. Using additional third-party firewalls can sometimes degrade system performance. Running multiple firewalls can lead to conflicts, such as&nbsp;duplicate network filtering&nbsp;or blocked connections. These conflicts can cause delays in opening apps, connecting to the internet, or gaming. Using only Windows Defender Firewall avoids these conflicts entirely. For the majority of users, Windows Defender Firewall provides strong protection against inbound and outbound threats.<ol><li>Press&nbsp;Win + S&nbsp;and type&nbsp;“Windows Security”, then open it</li><li>Click&nbsp;“Firewall &amp; network protection.”</li><li>You’ll see your current network profiles:&nbsp;Domain, Private, Public</li><li>Click the network you are using (usually&nbsp;Private&nbsp;or&nbsp;Public)</li><li>Toggle&nbsp;“Microsoft Defender Firewall”&nbsp;to&nbsp;On</li><li>Uninstall third-party firewalls completely</li></ol>

The following are the most effective performance optimization tips discovered so far for X-Plane 12 and on a Windows 11 (and 10) environment. These tricks can help improve frame rates, reduce stuttering, and enhance overall smoothness. Since every system is different, apply these changes carefully and test after each adjustment. If you notice worse performance, simply revert the setting to its default.

Optimizing Windows 11 (and 10) for X-Plane 12 can significantly improve performance, reduce stutters, and create a smoother flying experience. Together, these tweaks transform Windows into a lean, flight-sim-focused environment that lets X-Plane 12 use as much of your system’s power as possible, resulting in a noticeably smoother, more immersive simulator experience.

Together, these tweaks turn X-Plane 12 run closer to its full potential. If you discover a new method to improve performance or find a helpful tweak while following this guide, we’d love for you to share it with the community. Please consider leaving a comment to the author to let others know about your findings. Your insights can help fellow pilots optimize their systems more effectively and contribute to a richer, more collaborative learning experience.

Module 2: Laminar Research X-Plane 12

🇺🇸 🕹️ Optimize MSFS and X-Plane for smooth performance. 🚀 Learn proven tuning methods for stable FPS, fewer stutters, and immersive flying. ✈️

Flight Simulator Masterclass

Description

Modules

Module 1: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Module 2: Laminar Research X-Plane 12