32GB vs 64GB: Do you REALLY need 64GB in MSFS 2024?

Summary

In this video by AirNOTT, the necessity of having 64GB of RAM for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS 2024) is weighed against the practicality of sticking with 32GB. Through a series of tests in various scenarios—whether default or add-on heavy—the video reveals that while 64GB provides some buffer and can improve performance, it doesn't completely eliminate all issues such as stuttering and FPS drops. The main bottleneck seems to be the CPU's main thread, rather than RAM alone. The video offers insights for both budget-conscious and hardcore flight sim enthusiasts.

Highlights

• Testing JFK airport in the Airbus A330: RAM usage stays around 30GB, FPS issues are CPU-related. 🚀
• Checked the Boeing 737 Max at a third-party airport—32GB suffices, but performance woes persist due to CPU limits. 🛫
• Swapping out to Edinburgh in a Phoenix A320: High RAM consumption hits near 41GB, stressing the need for more RAM with heavy add-ons. 🗺️
• Dropping graphics to 1080p reduces RAM pressure slightly, but not by enough—GPU settings require consideration. 🎥
• Switching to 1440p helped but performance issues weren't entirely resolved—even with 64GB. 💾

Key Takeaways

• More RAM isn't always the solution; sometimes the CPU is the real bottleneck.🧠
• 32GB of RAM can squeeze through many scenarios, but you'll be cutting it close! 😬
• For heavy add-ons, 64GB of RAM offers some breathing space. 🌬️
• It's easy to assume RAM is the problem, but performance issues can persist even with 64GB. 🤔
• Good graphic settings can also help manage RAM usage effectively. 🎮

Overview

AirNOTT dives into a heated exploration of whether one should go for 32GB or 64GB of RAM when running Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. With a mix of add-ons and default settings, the video tests different RAM capacities and showcases if and how additional RAM impacts game performance. It's not your RAM that always slows down the fun—surprisingly, your CPU may be the sneaky bottleneck!

Starting off with the Airbus A330 at JFK Airport, AirNOTT highlights how simulated RAM use may not reflect total system use, cautioning viewers against over-relying on just one tool. Even when piling on the graphical extras, sometimes it’s the processor workload that throws a wrench in the gears—not merely the available RAM.

As the journey continues, the setting shifts and technical tweaks attempt to grasp at smoother skies. While 32GB might cut it on a basic level, it’s pushing the limits when you venture into more complex or custom configurations. The added 64GB might ward off some RAM warnings, but prepare for other twists in this technical tale, as those little FPS hiccups could still pop up uninvited.

32GB vs 64GB: Do you REALLY need 64GB in MSFS 2024? Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 all right today we are testing 32 versus 64 gigs of ram in Microsoft flight simulator 2024 do you really need 64 or is it just a nice to have well as is often the case with these things the answer is it depends so let's dig in and hopefully you can get an idea of whether a 64 gig upgrade might help you we'll run these tests using mostly my preferred optimized graphic settings you can find a link to the video uh detailing those in the description I'll also try and leave a little card thing up top there too um although I should
• 00:30 - 01:00 note that since making that video I have made one change in that I've turned down my texture resolution to high I found that Ultra was eating too much vram in certain scenarios it's not just as simple as running the Sim though because like a lot of you I have a lot of apps that I run alongside the Sim when I fly so I have these apps open on another monitor in the background and they are new Sky which is how we run the air not virtual Airline feel free to join head over there get yourself an account come join us we're also going to have valan open uh navigraph ch vpilot which is how
• 01:00 - 01:30 I connect to vatom or albeit we're not going to be connected to vatom and I'll also have a web browser which I have a couple of tabs open one for vat Sim radar and another one for Sim brief uh this is generally typical of how I run when I'm streaming as for my system I'm running a AMD 5800 x3d with a 480 super the Sim is installed on my Western Digital SN 850x Ford terab SSD and we'll be switching out between 32 and 64 gigs of course a ddr4 30 600 cl16 Ram which
• 01:30 - 02:00 subscriber philli was super kind to send me which was like seriously seriously cool of him so let's see some love for Phillip in the comments thank you mate I really do appreciate you okay that's enough Preamble let's get into it so we're starting out here in JFK for our default test that is a default airport with a default plane and we're in the Airbus A330 at JFK New York we've got 64 gigs of RAM installed and we've got an FPS counter on the right that comes from the SIM itself and we've got MSI After
• 02:00 - 02:30 Burner there on the left and right now we're looking all right here sat at the end of 31 left looking at the metrics on the right hand side which the Sy provid you can see that it's keeping RAM usage inside of 30ish GB though look at that FPS it's terrible at first I was a bit disappointed to see this I was kind of hoping that 64 gig would solve everything and I could be like look guys it works but it seems that the main thread on my CPU has other ideas I guess so at least we know now that it's not
• 02:30 - 03:00 due to a lack of ram um as if I had 32 gigs installed right now I know pretty much for a fact I'd be blaming my lack of ram thinking maybe my CPU is working double time swapping data in and out of my SSD from the ram accounting for the Slowdown turns out that's not the case here it just kind of sucks coming back into JFK now on what could Loosely be described as a landing you can see that the ram is still kind of under control but be careful not to just look at the Sims metrics there on the right hand side cuz you see it says um around about
• 03:00 - 03:30 30.5 GB but look over on the left at MSI After Burner it's reporting nearer to 32.5 I'm not 100% sure why this is my best guess is that MSI After Burner is looking at the system Ram as a whole and the number you're seeing from the Sim on the right hand side is what the Sim itself is using if you know for sure um leave a comment share the knowledge the point is 32.5 gig reported by MSI After Burner is more than 32 so even though it's not by much the extra Ram is coming into use here despite my main thread
• 03:30 - 04:00 still not being very happy moving on to our next test we're at inbuild standed which any build say is compatible with Microsoft light Sim 2024 and we're using the questionable Boeing 737 Max that comes with the SIM so a default plane at a third party airport this time again it looks a similar story to before the Sims FPS counter is reporting a sensible amount of ram being used by the Sim around about 29 gig as we line up but again MSI afterburner reporting nearer to 30 33 gigs in use presumably due to
• 04:00 - 04:30 taking a more holistic view of the RAM usage on the system as a whole so again 32 gigs would be a squeeze here and again as we take off the performance is not good once again caused by the main thread of my CPU once we get clear of the airport things do start to improve but again I suppose at least we know it's not the lack of ram causing it um I wonder what is doing it though I mean it is super super annoying and now let's go all out custom we're at the handcraft version two of Edinburgh airport in the
• 04:30 - 05:00 Phoenix A320 and we're using GSX to push us back from the gate so lots going on here and already you can see the ram is being gobbled right up the Sim is reporting nearly 38 gigs used while MSI After Burner is uh reporting almost 41 gigs so suffice to say that extra Ram is absolutely needed here as we start to pile up the add-ons you'll have to forgive the screens on the Phoenix I'm running the latest update to the Sim which came out uh late here in the UK on
• 05:00 - 05:30 November the not November December the 10th and it seems to have completely broken the screens although as for RAM usage I did a few like preliminary tests uh prior to recording this video on the prior update and yeah RAM usage was the same so getting pushed back from the gate and RAM is starting to settle just a little bit but there's not a huge amount of change we still would not be good on 32 gigs of RAM though as we get to the runway away from the terminal building things have changed a little bit though we're still well above 32
• 05:30 - 06:00 gigs of RAM at 36 again though check out this rubbish performance on takeoff it's back again it's so annoying um but again I guess we can take some comfort that it's not the lack of ram causing it um so just removing half of my Ram quickly and dropping down to 32 GB you can see that when we respawn at the gate in Edinburgh immediately we're getting all sorts of warnings that we don't have enough RAM so quite clearly the Sim wants the extra Ram it's just unfortunate that even with 64 G gigs of RAM we're seeing such shocking
• 06:00 - 06:30 performance on takeoff I guess another way to look at the situation is um you know how far do you need to drop things in order to survive with 32 gigs of RAM so let's uh start by keeping our graphic settings the same but let's drop the resolution to 1080P and yeah okay it has seemed to have dropped RAM usage a little bit um but it hasn't dropped by enough so I think what we're going to have to do is look at graphic settings here as well so on that basis let's go back up to our 4K
• 06:30 - 07:00 resolution this time uh so rather than using our kind of ultra tweaked settings let's drop down to the high-end preset at 4K can that get us below 32 gigs uh no you can still see the Sim is trying to use nearly 34 gigs of RAM willbe it there isn't 34 gigs of RAM for it to have okay so uh what about the medium preset at 4K and yeah okay we are getting closer now with the SIM reporting nearer to 31 GB finally a value within 32
• 07:00 - 07:30 um it's still a bit tight isn't it so let's stick with our medium preset and let's go back to 1080p let's pair the two together will that get us where we need to be and it looks like we're starting to see some more sensible numbers 28 GB used by the Sim that seems much more like it can we stretch it to high let's go to high at 1080P and yeah we're we're kind of back just under that 32 gigs of RAM being used and while technically it's okay don't know that's a bit close for my
• 07:30 - 08:00 liking and just finally to prove a point I wanted to drop from 4K with my ultra tweaked graphic settings to something more reasonable like 1440p high and rerun that takeoff roll um at Edinburgh to see if that poor performance comes back just to roll out you know me pushing my system too hard with 4K we'll do it first with 32 gigs of RAM installed and as you can see we're well into the 20s before we've even gotten off the ground um then as we start to climb it
• 08:00 - 08:30 recovers um we are under Ram pressure here though so let's do the same test again this time with 64 gigs of RAM and you can see we're still seeing a drop in fps but not to the same extent as we were before and the recovery seems to happen sooner too which is good now this got me thinking again if uh if we were to stick with the 1440p high settings and then go back to our default plane at our default airport would that then be enough to give us a smooth takeoff roll unlike what we saw 4K with ultra Rish
• 08:30 - 09:00 settings at the start of the video and cutting to that the answer would be a big fat no so to conclude yes it would seem like the Sim very much likes to gobble up more than 32 gigs of RAM however don't be thinking that it's somehow going to make you immune from poor performance stutters FPS dips and all the rest of it I think given the price of ram it's probably a sensible place to spend some money given you know what flight simmers are likely to spend
• 09:00 - 09:30 on other things the ram could by comparison be quite cheap but you need to keep in mind that you know we're seeing some very strange things with flightsim 24 at the moment and its performance so while 64 gigs of RAM May well help you it's not going to magically cure a poorly performing Sim keep in mind I'm on a 480 super 5800 X 3D not the highest end I'll Grant you but it's still pretty decent and even at 1440p high we're seeing issues on takeoff in both add-on and default airports and aircraft so I guess I can
• 09:30 - 10:00 only apologize for the lack of clear-cut conclusions um here but I'll let the data speak for itself and I hope you found it useful and I hope you can take something from it if you have leaving a like helps the video and the channel a ton but I'll leave this one here if you've got any further questions leave them in the comments below either myself or a lot of knowledgeable others out there I'm sure we'll be able to help you um until next time though folks look after yourselves be good to each other and as always happy flying