I wanted to put this out there because I’m really curious how everyone else is running MSFS2024. Are most of you fully downloading the sim, or are you mainly streaming everything as you fly? I’m trying to get a proper idea of who’s doing what and what the actual performance differences are between the two setups.
For me, I’ve gone all-in. I’ve got almost 800GB downloaded on my end, and I keep it updated and just keep adding more content. Yeah, it takes longer to load the sim at the start, that part is definitely slower. But once it’s loaded, I don’t get delays, pop-ins, or anything messing around with loading data. It’s just smooth from that point on, even though my internet is 500mb. So for my setup, the long startup is the only downside.
But I really want to know how many people are doing it this way compared to those who keep their install light and just let MSFS stream everything. What are the pros and cons you’re seeing? Does streaming feel smoother for some of you? Or do you get stutters and loading issues when the sim is pulling data in the background? And for those who fully download everything as I do, is your experience basically the same as mine, or totally different?
I’m also trying to figure out which method is actually better in terms of performance, not just FPS, but the whole experience. Loading times, scenery pop-ins, stuttering, everything. Is it worth having a massive install, or is streaming better overall if your connection is fast enough? And how do server speeds affect people who rely on streaming?
So basically I’m asking:
– Who’s downloading everything?
– Who’s streaming most of it?
– What are the pros and cons for you?
– And what’s the actual performance difference you’re noticing?
Just want to hear real experiences from everyone running MSFS2024 in different ways.
I’ve yet to identify a single issue resolved by downloading content locally versus having it initially streamed and then loaded through rolling cache. The only exception I’ve made was to locally install PMDG aircraft initially acquired via the Marketplace as that’s the only means to use community liveries for them.
I’m streaming nearly everything with absolutely satisfactory performance. Most of my DLC is streamed as it was purchased during my Series X days, so I see no reason to download any of that. There are a few new aircraft models that live in my community folder, so those are downloaded. With 497 Mbps down and 143up, I see no reason to download the game or anything that is streaming to me. I recently updated 2020 in my Series X which I keep around, just in case, and it was a big reminder why I am letting 24 do the streaming, instead of me doing the updating! Cheers!
I’ve tried downloading various elements and found no discernible advantage, all it means is you now have to manage keeping it up to date. Streaming works fine for me, their maybe individuals with low bandwidths that changes that situation but streaming is the way to go if you can.
I’m running a mix of downloaded and streaming. In practice, most of the aircraft I fly and airports/sceneries I use are things I have purchased externally, so they’re stored locally in my Community folder. However, this is not exclusive - I do have a number of sceneries I purchased from the Marketplace fairly early in my MSFS 2020 experience which work well in 2024, so those are streamed (e.g., Drzwiecki’s KMDW and KDCA for instance). I have noticed no issue with streaming content, though to be fair, I have very solid internet service (gigabit fiber + Wifi7 connection to my router, which is actually faster than my fiber) and per various Azure speed tests, I have relatively low latency to the MS datacenters.
well what made me decided to download most of my MSFS 2024 content rather than rely on streaming, mainly because of the impact on CPU usage. Streaming constantly feeds terrain, photogrammetry, textures, and other assets in real time, which forces the CPU to work harder to decompress, process, and assemble all this data while also handling aircraft systems, physics, AI traffic, and weather. On my i7-10700K, I noticed that streaming caused noticeable CPU spikes, occasional stutters, and less consistent frame times, especially in dense cities or photogrammetry-heavy areas. By downloading and caching, the CPU doesn’t have to juggle network decoding, and data can load directly from the SSD, reducing main-thread stress. This results in smoother performance, more stable frame rates, and a better overall experience, allowing my system to focus on simulation rather than streaming overhead. Keep in mind that I have been doing it since SU3 Beta and into SU4, and since then, never gone back to testing the streaming part.
Then again, you can still ahve it all downloaded, then enable streaming again.
I stream everything other than the content of my community folder (i.e. all my adons). At peak times, I do notice that flights take a little longer to load in probably due to server overload or my ISP dropping my bandwidth by up to 30% (I have a 150 mbs connection btw).
It may be worth downloading a few things if your ISP connection is below 50 or 60 mbs I would think.
I tried having everything downloaded, but never really noticed an improvement in performance. Add on the hassle of having to constantly check for, download, then install updates, I ended up just switching back to streaming only. Seems to work for fluidly for me.
Now, if in the future it is found to make a significant difference in performance, I may revert back to downloading.
Interesting. While I am completely satisfied with 24su4 performance so far, I remain GPU limited with my 16GB 5070Ti while my 9800X3D has processing capacity to spare with 64GB to work with.
Not sure I follow - only downloadable content is downloadable. The client is always installed for everyone. Unless you mean cloud streaming vs. GamePass?
My CPU is the bottleneck XD. I’ve got a 3090 with 24 GB of VRAM, I’ve seen it use up to 18 GB (Like Lodon in the A350) and still have some headroom, but my 10700K, even at 5.1 GHz with eight cores, ends up being the limiting factor.
Never had any problems with the streaming - and happy they went for this solution: no more need to DL tons of stuff unneccesary for my present flight/location, no more need to constantly update stuff etc.
If it takes 5sec longer to initially load in a streamed AC, I really don’t care…
I stream everything - used to download as much as possible, but switched to streaming as it was suggested in a thread that this offered better performance. Can’t say I’ve noticed any difference at all, so content with streaming as this means my hard drive is less full.
I’m always impressed with streaming download times.
Streaming assets are cached locally anyway to some extent, so you get the benefits of downloading during the time you’re flying with something once it’s been streamed. The majority of the stuff that’s coming over your internet connection is the stuff that was always being streamed in real-time ie the terrain and PG etc.
That said, depending on your connection and server load, that initial stream to cache an asset may introduce a delay or stutter, and that’s something they need to work on (and not fixed, as far as I can see, in SU4, even if it’s improved).
For myself, I downloaded my marketplace planes and the AI models, but that’s all, and TBH I may un-download them because I’ve seen no real improvement doing that.
So basically, I’m ruining 2020 and 2024 together on the same drive. With a Terabyte of disk space.
Currently I am experiencing “unexpected error” code 2047 on a new installation of 2024.
I have deleted, and installed 2024 numerous times with no errors. But today and yesterday, I can’t get pass this error.
I have clicked the website the error code indicates to figure out if it’s my profile or not. Or let the dev’s know about the error. I have done the things this website from Microsoft indicates I should do regarding my profile. But to no avail.
2020 has no issues whatsoever. Even with the many deletes and reinstalls. Its just now 2024 doesn’t want to get pass this error.
When my installs in the past were working flawlessly, I had smooth gameplay installing both 2020 and 2024 full.
Anyone know what the issue is with this error: “Unexpected error, An unexpected cloud save error occurred and we couldn’t save your file. If the issue persists, scan the QR code or visit https://flightsimulator.zendesk.com/hc/en-us to find potential solutions or to contact support. Error code: 2047”