I finished a 4 hour flight today and my RAM usage in windows resource monitor showed that MSFS alone was using 26-27 GB of committed memory (landing at LA Guardia in New York). The actual in-use memory in the developer mode performance meter and windows task manager was much lower; don’t remember off the top of my head. This plus Windows probably sits right at 32GB, which is the current amount of RAM I have.
Is it worth upgrading to 64 GB if my committed memory is approaching 32GB?
Core i7 10700k
32 GB G Skill 3600 MHz RAM
Asus Z-590-A Prime
RX 6700 XT
2 TB NVMe SSD
I’m astounded and delighted to see MSFS suddenly using 25+ GB of RAM. Never came close to seeing RAM usage that high. Don’t check often though and will have an eye on it in the future.
More RAM will not automatically improve your performance but it gives you wiggle room if things get tight. So if it is no big strain on your wallet I’d say: go for it.
32GB is perfect you don’t need more, unless of course besides MSFS you are running a lot of other programs… As you can see I use about 9GB while running MSFS.
It’s generally in populated areas with payware airports (e.g. La Guardia in New York City, Miami International, etc.). Also, I think future-proofing is a decent argument, as I just built this PC and would like to get 5 years out of it.
I actually took the plunge last year going from 32gb to 64gb more out of curiosity but was actually pleasantly surprised I actually gained 3 to 5 fps at the same time was able to increase lod sliders without seeing worse performance on lower setting with 32gb. Also further reduced stutters in sim.
I think these things are hardware dependant and not necessarily going to make a difference for everyone. I did use matching ram same model version as noticed there is a difference between the newer corsair vengeance ram sticks and the ones i bought if I remember righty the timings were slightly faster on the version i had maybe that made a difference.
My specs are: Rtx 2070, I9-9900k 64gb 3200mhz corsair vengeance ram, rog maximus hero xi Motherboard. Running a full 4k monitor.
Maybe some setting in your sim .My sim never uses over 16gb of ram even on long flights and I own quite a good number of large payware US airports. Are you pushing the LOD to 400?
Negative I’ve got it at 200. But ultra on everything else. I will say the 64 GB ram decreased the main thread timing by about 15-20% though. It seems to load a bit faster too but that’s anecdotal.
But lowering the main thread timing really helps when it creeps up on final approach after long flights.
What fixed my main thread issue is completely turning off photogrammetry. I turn it on when flying GA. Airliners off it goes and my stuttering during final approach is gone even with the a3nx mod.
I have the same cpu except a lower spec gpu.
When its a software issue I tend not to bother upgrade any components.
I have the same RAM frequency specs.
Actually running 16GB @2666mhz.
Today I purchased two 16GB modules for 32 Gb upgrade.
I hope i will gain a little bit performance.
Recently I upgraded my monitor from 1080p to 1440p.
I have 32GB, never felt the need for more, at most I’ve seen MSFS use 16-17Gb but that was with LOD set to 7 - I was just trying it, I usually have it set to 3
Edit: What I need more of is VRAM, 8Gb in DX12 is not sufficient with my current DX11 settings. Bear in mind only 7.1GB approx. is available for MSFS.
Well… I just use this little freeware thing called ‘EmptyStandbyList’ that’s placed as an icon on my taskbar.
Sometimes, after a long flight, I simply pause for a sec, press the ‘empty standbylist button’ and it clears all ram/cache that is unneeded/that has nog active programs assigned to it. In just one click the PC feels about as smooth as when you first login into windows. Maybe that helps for others too.
