Numerous issues with the sim - updating graphics driver solved a lot

Have had numerous issues with the sim over the past several months, including the low bandwidth issue, memory leak after 1 hour of play with gradually slowing the sim to a crawl after 2-3 hour flights, random graphics card just not running properly - the fan would just shut down and the computer would perform like it didn’t have a graphics card at all - a stuttering slide show.

Stayed away from the sim for 2 months and after updating to SU12, it would not load. CTD galore. After 4 tries with CTD, finally got a message that my “graphics card encountered a problem”. Went and checked the graphics driver, and realize that the graphics driver had never been updated. It was running the original Nvidia driver from mid 2021. I didn’t realize I had to manually update this vs. the rest of the system either having auto updates or at least notifications to update.

Did some searching and went with the most recent consistently stable game ready driver from the forums here, I think it was the Feb 2023 game ready driver.

Let’s just say it felt like a whole new system - the system I actually purchased. Silky smooth on all Ultra. It’s the best the sim has ever played for me. Very stable, no memory leaks, no low bandwidth message, no graphics card error message. Multiple flights, both short and long haul. Had the ability to run back to back flights without having to first exit the sim to desktop. That has never happened before, the secondary flights would always have performance degradation.

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Open Device Manager
Expand ‘Display Adapters’
Right-click on your card.
Click on ‘Properties,’
Click on the ‘Driver’ tab.
Your driver version is the last 5 numbers. In this example, the driver version is 528.49

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Yup - that’s the same driver I updated to.

That screenshot is from my laptop, which I use for surfing the web, emails, and business.
My gaming computer is on 531.29, which many users have reported is the last stable release for MSFS.

Use DDU to do a clean uninstall. Pay close attention to the instructions. Run it in Safe Mode.

“How to start Safe Mode in Windows 10/11.”

  1. Restart the computer.
  2. At the sign-in screen, hold the Shift key down and then click Power > Restart.
  3. After the computer restarts to the ‘Choose an Option’ screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart.
  4. After the computer restarts, a list of options should appear. Select ‘4’ to start the computer in Safe Mode. Then run DDU.

Download and install 531.29
Clear your DX Shader Cache

Fly.