Will adding RAM help MSFS2020 much

[johnyyz]

will upgrading from 16GB to 32GB RAM and from 1600mhz to 2400 mhz help much against game freezing for 5 secds every few mins ????

Thanks

[Wilhelm]

I have a i7 3770k@4,8ghz with 16gb G.Skill TridentX2666@2600. I notice such freezes for about 2-3sec ~3 times since the install of MSFS. Faster and more ram could help a little bit but first take a look in the manual of your Mobo what ram is supported. Also if you should use 2 or 4 sticks is important for max speed. Google for ram sets that fit your mobo best.

[Elvensmith]

I have 24Gb of RAM running at medium settings (I7 4770, GTX1650 4Gb).

 

During a typical flight, Windows Game Bar tells me the CPU is running ~40%, the GPU at 99% and 60% of RAM is being used. So it might make a slight difference but it appears the bottleneck of this program at present, is the GPU.

[P.e.g.a.s.u.s]

I recently bought a new PC, a shop build with 16 GB RAM (2x8GB). In addition to adding Nvme sticks, I added 32 GB (2x16) of the cheapest G.Skill variety i could find, and I have no freezing issues. For optimal speed and stability, as I understand it, it would be better to use faster sticks of the same model, but I am very happy with mine as I do not play much else.

In my case the CPU appears to be more of a bottleneck - I suppose this comes down to raw clock speed. The sig is correct except that the GPU is a 'Super' variant. Will fixit.

 

David

[wout123]

will upgrading from 16GB to 32GB RAM and from 1600mhz to 2400 mhz help much against game freezing for 5 secds every few mins ????

Thanks

 

a lot depends on your settings how much is downloaded, i run on medium , lods at 100 and i never

ecxceed 10g sofar, this at kjfk.

if you run on high you will need more.

use developer mode, show fps to see how much ram is uses.

[W2DR]

The answer is probably no. I have the same CPU with 16 GB RAM and an old GTX970 and I don't see any freezing, pausing, or stuttering. I did a "RAM test" a couple of days ago by flying the length of Manhattan island and also up the Thames from EGLC over downtown London. Both times using Ultra settings. Those are about the most dense scenery situations I can think of. Over Manhattan the max. RAM used was 11.4GB and over London it was 13.6GB. My take is that the problem you're having is caused by something other that insufficient RAM..........Doug

[efanton]

Start with the basics.

Before you can fix a problem you need to understand what the problem is.

 

Windows believe or not has the solution to this.

Start up windows with nothing else running and then open up TASK MANAGER (right click your task bar and you will see it there).

It will start up on the Processes tab and this will show you how much CPU, Memory, disk read/write, network, and GPU is being used be each program. What you are looking to do here is get a feel for how much of you PC's resources windows uses before you launch any other program. You can sort processes based on a particular resource usage to make it easier to identify what is chewing up the CPU, memory etc (you will see a down arrow above CPU, memory, disk etc.)

Now click the PERFORMANCE tab and you will see the total usage for your different resources.

Click back to you performance tab before going on to the next step

 

Now launch FS 2020 and again look at you task manager. Again look to see what is using most CPU, memory disk or network. Now click the performance tab to see to total amounts of each resource being used.

 

Now leave the task manager open and fly FS 2020 and as soon as you encounter a freeze or low performance switch to you task manager and look to see what is chewing up you resources.

Dont forget to switch to your performance tab and look there too.

 

It should be obvious what you problem is from what you can see in task manager.

If your CPU is maxing out then additional ram is not going to help. What might help is closing programs that run in the background such as email, skype, discord or even you antivirus

 

If your memory is above 85% then you do need additional memory.

[Art_P]

Tom's Hardware study of hardware requirements for MSFS 2020, found that increasing memory from 16 GB to 32 GB did little to improve framerates, but increasing the memory speed did have a substantial effect.

[DominicS]

Moving from 16GB to 32GB makes a lot of difference, especially in large detailed areas (major cities for example).

 

Before upgrading to 32GB, I had 16GB of RAM installed, and whilst flying over London (using the "High" preset), my usage varied between 10 and 14GB. However, after moving to 32GB, memory usage rose to 18GB + and this was over the same areas. The sim is now smoother as a result as the additional memory allows for a greater number of textures to be loaded into RAM.

 

Yes, you can get away with 16GB, but 32GB makes for a more enjoyable experience.

 

Dominic

[FrankR409]

will upgrading from 16GB to 32GB RAM and from 1600mhz to 2400 mhz help much against game freezing for 5 secds every few mins ????

Thanks

 

Do those ram sticks have a picture of President Lincoln on the side of them? Yes, if your motherboard supports it go with 32gig of 3200 ram at least.

[bugdozer]

Moving from 16GB to 32GB makes a lot of difference, especially in large detailed areas (major cities for example).

 

Tom's Hardware study of hardware requirements for MSFS 2020, found that increasing memory from 16 GB to 32 GB did little to improve framerates, but increasing the memory speed did have a substantial effect.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, a perfect example of how this question cannot be given a definitive answer.

[DominicS]

Ladies and gentlemen, a perfect example of how this question cannot be given a definitive answer.

 

The title of the thread is "Will adding RAM help MSFS2020 much", to which the short answer is yes.

[bugdozer]

The title of the thread is "Will adding RAM help MSFS2020 much", to which the short answer is yes.

 

Or no, depending on whether your post is correct or the one above it. The ACTUAL answer is "it's impossible to know because people are not getting consistent results from adding more memory."

[DominicS]

Have a look at the all important one percent lows in this video (this is where you get stuttering):

 

 

Some clarification...

 

 

Regards

 

Dominic

[loki]

The title of the thread is "Will adding RAM help MSFS2020 much", to which the short answer is yes.

 

As with many things computer related, it isn't quite so black and white and depends on the specific system and settings the user is trying to use. At lower resolutions I don't think more RAM is going to make as big of a difference compared to running on a 4k screen, for example.

 

Guru3D did some testing and found that the amount of RAM didn't make a big difference.

 

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/microsoft_flight_simulator_(2020)_pc_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,5.html

 

I suspect that even this isn't entirely accurate either as where and how you fly will certainly affect performance. Low and slow in a Piper Cub is going to be different than low and fast in a jet.

[DominicS]

Yes you're right; I was using my own settings as a reference point (high/ultra).

 

If you're using medium to low, then it's quite possible you're not going to hit that 16GB limit. However, when using higher end settings, you probably will.

 

There is another point I would like to make though, and that's if you happen to use other programs in the background. I quite often have my browser and multiple tabs open (flight planner, etc), and these alone can sometimes use up to 2/3GB of memory.

 

When you factor all of this in, that 16GB of RAM doesn't really have that much breathing space...so it pays to be smart.

[bam1220]

I just built a new system as I also play a lot of other games. I am trying out MSFS via the $1 XBox for PC deal. I switch between High and Ultra and do not experience any stutters. But I also do not have any other programs running in the back round.

In case it helps my system is a Ryzen 3800x running at 4.3ghz. 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM at 3200mhz. And a Radeon 5700 GPU. I have a 2TB M.2 MVNE but I'm not sure if this even matters with the $1 trial.

[johnyyz]

I have 24Gb of RAM running at medium settings (I7 4770, GTX1650 4Gb).

 

During a typical flight, Windows Game Bar tells me the CPU is running ~40%, the GPU at 99% and 60% of RAM is being used. So it might make a slight difference but it appears the bottleneck of this program at present, is the GPU.

 

 

So i added more RAM up to 32GB (but was advised NOT to overclock RAM as it is very risky)

Did not get more FPS but sim seems to run stable at 30 FPS.

[stempski]

Just believe what you wanna believe... It helps some people...but doesn't help other people.

 

I have nearly the same set (cpu and MB) but with a rxt2060S, and using the setting I had with 16gb of ram, I got nearly double the fps when I went up to 32gb. Of course, I upped a bunch of settings, one at a time, with a short, low and slow over an urban area, to get a solid, reliable 35-45 fps. I don't really care that I can't run at Ultra. My view is as good as it can be for the hardware I have.

 

In your case, if you want more fps, I would recommend a better gpu.

[efanton]

Or no, depending on whether your post is correct or the one above it. The ACTUAL answer is "it's impossible to know because people are not getting consistent results from adding more memory."

 

You are absolutely right Bugdozer. People will have different CPU's, different chipsets on the motherboards, and different graphics cards.

Each possible configuration would have to be evaluated individually.

 

this is why I stated the best place to start is using TASK MANAGER to see if the OP can identify a bottleneck.

 

No doubt adding 16GB of RAM would improve his systems performance, but without identifying the bottleneck first its just as likely that it will not address his particular problem of stutter or short freezes.

 

If you have money to burn throw in the extra RAM hoping it will fix the problem but be prepared to spend more money addressing the real issue if that doesn't fix it.

If you haven't got money to burn maybe trying to identifying the problem with the free tools provided with windows might be more sensible.

Edited August 30, 2020 by efanton

[FastnBulbous]

Something that might help people decide if they should expand their ram is to monitor page file activity, where the OS uses a portion of your storage effectively as ram because it can't do so on the system memory.

 

Here's how to do it.

 

Inspecting Page File Usage in Performance Monitor

 

The results I was getting when running FS2020 on a combination of high and medium settings was quite extreme.

 

My system...

R7 1700 OCed to 4ghz

16gb of 3200hz ram

gtx 1660ti OCed;

 

...all running at 1440p resolution.

 

I compared the readings with running Death Stranding on high and very high settings the difference was massive.

 

So I've ordered another 16gb. I don't expect the max FPS to improve much, if at all, but I'm pretty sure I'll get a much smoother experience.

[NDGraham]

Thank you, Dominic. I just ordered 32GB RAM for MSFS.

[jamiej]

I was suffering all sorts of crashes on MSFS 2020, I noticed my RAM on loading and Ingame on heathrow deluxe map going up to and over 15GB when connect to ADDON Air online company was so fustrated crashes on l;oading and approaching runway CAMERTA shake then crash. I have 1080ti and i8700k Cpu with 16 gb and ssd m2. Upgrade today to 32gb ram made a huge difference, have not had a single crash in 10 consecutive games since. Very happy and I notice its a much smoother experience no doubt about it. 16GB ram would usually be plenty but not with MSFS 2020. 32GB is very much need on 4k with settings. I noticed what resolution you choose makes no difference to ram capacity no Impact at all.

[dogdish]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here, if your buying a new system, be sure to go with quad channel memory. I think MSFS responds well with it.

[KiloWatt]

One thing I didn't see mentioned here, if your buying a new system, be sure to go with quad channel memory. I think MSFS responds well with it.

 

I've no definitive information on this, other than my own quantitative experience. I have an old Xeon E5-1620, which like many Xeons, have quad channel memory.

 

Even my 16GB, bog-slow 1600 MHz DDR3, setup gives an admirably good experience. I get up to 40FPS over Toronto with mostly high and some ultra (trees and clouds) settings on 1080p. Graphics card, too, is straight from Noah's ark: GTX 970, 4GB. I started out with a 4GB GTX 770, which was very playable and I only upgraded because I got the 970 on a massive bargain.

 

So I would think memory channels has some affect.