Severe GPU spike to 99% when looking at specific airport areas at night + progressive FPS degradation

User Support Hub Install, Performance & Graphics
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1

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Severe GPU spike to 99% and massive FPS drop when looking at specific airport areas at night (regression since December)

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

Every time fly in the simulator and there is a day-night transition

MY SETTINGS

  1. CPU: Intel i7-12700KF
  2. GPU: RTX 5070 12 GB (triple-fan, good thermals)
  3. RAM: 32 GB
  4. Resolution: 1080p
  5. API: DX12
  6. Anti-aliasing tested: DLAA, DLSS Quality, and TAA (same issue occurs with all of them)
  7. Temps always normal (GPU ~60–65°C, CPU ~60–67°C

What happens

  • During the entire flight, performance is excellent and stable

  • GPU usage stays around 60–80%, FPS locked and smooth

  • Upon landing at the destination at night, performance suddenly collapses

What happens

  • During the entire flight, performance is excellent and stable

  • GPU usage remains around 60–80%,

  • CPU usage and temperatures remain normal at all times

  • Upon landing at the destination at night, performadegrade

  • In external view, when looking at avery specific area of the airport (behind the aircraft / terminal area):

    • GPU usage instantly spikes to 99%

    • FPS drop sharply to 20–30 FPS (or

  • After this spike occurs:

    • Performance does not

    • Even when returning to cockpit view, FPS r

    • Over time, perf, e

  • The longer I remain at the airport at night, the

  • This behavior is reproducible andconsistent

This indicates that rendering a specific airport area at night triggers an excessi, after which resourno,progressi.

Why this is a regression

  • I have flown this exact type of route many

    • Sun

    • N

    • Same aircraft (Fenix A32

    • Similar addons and setting

    • Same hardware

  • Before mid, thisneve

  • Night arrivals at the same airports were previously sm

  • No major hardware

  • The issue started sudd anconsistently reproducible

  • The problem appears only after recent updates and was not pr

Because:

  • This behavior did not exist previously

  • It occurs under the sam

  • And it now happens reliably

This strongly suggests a regression introduced by a rec, likely related to night.

1 Like
2

So this is a GPU-spike only, no CPU spike at same time?

3

This sounds like it might be TLOD / LOD related things.

What is your MSFS Graphics preset (Ultra, High, Medium)? The MSFS injected traffic can cost performance if the quantities are set too high…

As a test, under Graphics Preset, try turning off (or lowering)

  • Aircraft Traffic Quantity (try off first)
  • Parked Aircraft Quantity (try off first)
  • TLOD (try reducing as a test)

Also, I’ve learned that the TURBULENCE settings actually use a LOT of resources calculating the CFD air flow, which would happen around landing, so try reducing or turning those off as well (as a test), in Settings > Assistances:

  • Turbulence
  • Wake Turbulence
1 Like
4

Yes, only GPU

5

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it
I just want to clarify a few important points, because I think there may be a misunderstanding about when and how the issue occurs.

This does not happen during the approach or landing itself.
Approach, flare and touchdown are usually smooth and stable.

The problem starts after I am already on the ground, once I am taxiing or parked at the airport at night.

Key clarification

  • Performance is initially fine

  • The issue is triggered when looking at a very specific area of the airport

  • At that moment, GPU usage jumps instantly to 99%

  • FPS drop sharply

  • After this spike, performance does not fully recover, and FPS may continue degrading over time, even when returning to cockpit view

This makes it not a general landing or approach performance issue, but a camera-dependent hotspot, likely related to a specific object, light, or LOD in the airport scene.

Regarding TLOD

  • Terrain LOD is set to a moderate value (around 90)

  • I have already tested lower TLOD values, and the issue still occurs

  • Since the GPU spike is triggered only when looking in a specific direction, it does not seem consistent with a general TLOD overload

Regarding traffic

  • MSFS injected traffic is fully disabled

  • Parked aircraft are also disabled

  • This effectively rules out AI traffic density as the cause

Additional important notes

  • The issue occurs with DLAA, DLSS and TAA

  • GPU and CPU temperatures are normal

  • CPU is not the bottleneck

  • This behavior did not exist before mid–late December

At this point, it strongly appears to be a regression, possibly related to night lighting, object rendering, or GPU resource handling when certain airport areas enter the camera frustum.

I will continue testing the suggested settings and report back, but I wanted to clarify that this is not a normal performance limitation, but a reproducible and localized GPU overload.

Thanks again for taking the time to help

6

I sometimes see similar effects but with insane and dense CPU spikes.

7

I have the very same problem!!! I am so glad i found someone with the same issue as me. I am tired of testing things… I can’t find anything… It started around dlss 4.5 but i don’t know it’s the problem… Did you find a solution?

8

Just did a test and it got good results. I unchecked hdr in windows, i unchecked variable refresh rate in windows and i unchecked optimazations for windowed games… anyone tried this? For me it seems to work way better with all theese unchecked…

9

This did not resolve the problem. Further testing ending up with the same problem… Anyone with a solution so far?