Best gaming PC for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

What Microsoft says Flight Simulator 2024 needs, and the fastest PCs on sale today with at least its recommended graphics card. We don't benchmark it, so this page shows no FPS numbers.

What matters

Graphics card: Microsoft's minimum is a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon RX 5700; recommended, a GeForce RTX 2080 or Radeon RX 5700 XT; ideal, a GeForce RTX 4080 or Radeon RX 7900 XT. (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)
Video memory: 4GB minimum, 8GB recommended, 12GB ideal. (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)
CPU: Minimum: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6800K. Recommended: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X or Intel Core i7-10700K. Ideal: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X or Intel Core i7-14700K. (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)
RAM: 16GB minimum, 32GB recommended, 64GB ideal. (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)
Storage and system: 50GB of storage, DirectX 12 and Windows 10 with the latest update or Windows 11. (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)

Recommended graphics cards

Recommended: RTX 2080 class. Microsoft's recommended card (or a Radeon RX 5700 XT), 8GB of video memory (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01). 3193 PCs on sale today have one at least this fast, from $949.00.
Ideal: RTX 4080 class. Microsoft's ideal card (or a Radeon RX 7900 XT), 12GB of video memory (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01). 867 PCs on sale today have one at least this fast, from $1,949.99.

No PC at $800 or less on sale today has a graphics card at least as fast as an RTX 2080 with 8GB of video memory or more (Microsoft's recommended), and 16GB of RAM or more. Try a higher budget.

Only new PCs that clear our quality bar, at stores we link to. 2706 PCs on sale today have a graphics card at least as fast as an RTX 2080 with 8GB of video memory or more (Microsoft's recommended), and 16GB of RAM or more.

Questions

What's the fastest gaming PC for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for $800 or less today?

None on sale today at $800 or less has a graphics card at least as fast as an RTX 2080 with 8GB of video memory or more (Microsoft's recommended), and 16GB of RAM or more.

How much RAM does Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 need?

Microsoft lists 16GB as the minimum, 32GB as recommended and 64GB as ideal.

What graphics card does Microsoft recommend for Flight Simulator 2024?

A GeForce RTX 2080 or Radeon RX 5700 XT with 8GB of video memory; its ideal spec is a GeForce RTX 4080 or Radeon RX 7900 XT with 12GB.

Sources

Which Platform is Right for Me? (Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 PC specs) (Microsoft, checked 2026-10-01)