How Much RAM for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (2026)

Microsoft lists 64 GB as the ideal spec for Flight Simulator 2024, and that number has pushed a lot of people into a purchase they did not need. Here is the short answer to how much RAM you need: 32 GB of fast DDR5 clears the sim for most pilots, because measured total system RAM usage while it runs does not go much past 30 GB no matter how much you install.

64 GB is a headroom buy, not a capacity buy. It is the right call if you fly study-level aircraft, load heavy add-on scenery, fly in VR, or stream while you fly. If none of that is you, put the difference toward a better graphics card instead.

Quick verdict

A 32 GB DDR5-6000 CL30 kit is the answer for the majority of sim pilots, and the Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 32GB is the cleanest version of it: one EXPO or XMP toggle lands the speed band the sim is measurably sensitive to, and two DIMMs is the configuration AM5 trains without a fight.

CORSAIR Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) Up to 6000MHz CL30-36-36-76 1.40V AMD EXPO Intel XMP Desktop Computer Memory - Gray (CMH32GX5M2B6000Z30K)

$549.99$602.99

Buy the Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 32GB on Amazon

Verdict on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's official RAM tiers

At a glance

Verdict by how you fly

How we picked

The starting point is the gap between what Microsoft publishes and what the sim does in practice. The official tiers are 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended, and 64 GB ideal. Measured behaviour is flatter than that: total system RAM usage while the sim runs does not exceed roughly 30 GB regardless of installed capacity. Microsoft's own framing closes the loop, describing the ideal tier as the capacity that keeps 32 GB available to the sim while everything else you run stays resident.

So the extra capacity buys smoothness, not headroom the sim will fill. PC Gamer's testing found roughly 31 percent better 1% lows on a 96 GB configuration than on 32 GB, with averages moving much less. The mechanism is the terrain pre-cache. Their peak streaming bandwidth fell from 25 Mbps on a 32 GB system to 5 Mbps on a 64 GB one, which means more of the world was already sitting in memory instead of arriving over the wire mid-flight.

Speed matters here more than it does in most games. The same testing showed a notable drop moving from 6000 MT/s to 4800 MT/s, which is why both DDR5 kits below are 6000 CL30 rather than a cheaper 5600 part. Capacity still wins the tiebreak: 32 GB at 6000 beats 16 GB at 6400 every time, and the speed argument only starts once you are over the capacity line.

Enough for most sim pilots: Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 32GB

CORSAIR Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) Up to 6000MHz CL30-36-36-76 1.40V AMD EXPO Intel XMP Desktop Computer Memory - Gray (CMH32GX5M2B6000Z30K)

$549.99$602.99

Buy the Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 32GB on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

This kit lands exactly where the sim wants to be. DDR5-6000 at CL30 is the band the testing flags as load-bearing, and on AM5 it is also the band the memory controller runs at a 1:1 ratio without manual tuning. Set EXPO in the BIOS, reboot, done.

Two DIMMs rather than four is the other quiet win. A 2x16 kit gives the controller the easiest possible job, which matters on a platform where four-stick configurations routinely refuse to train at their rated speed.

What you give up

The RGB heat spreader stands 44 mm tall. Buyers have flagged clearance fights with wide tower air coolers, so measure before you order if you run something large over the socket. The low-profile alternative in the same family is the safer call in a tight case.

32 GB is enough, not generous. Load a study-level airliner, a payware airport, and a browser full of charts at the same time and you are working the top of the pool. Watch the Off Screen Terrain Pre-Caching slider in particular: it is the setting that decides how hard the sim leans on memory, and community reports flag Ultra as a stutter source on 32 GB systems. There is also no upgrade path here, because a 2x16 kit goes to 64 GB by being replaced rather than extended.

Who it's for

You fly default and stock-plus aircraft over stock or photogrammetry scenery, on a flat screen at 1080p or 1440p, with a browser and a chart app open beside the sim. That is most of the people asking this question, and this is the kit for them.

The step-up for add-ons and VR: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 64GB

CORSAIR Vengeance DDR5 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6000MHz CL30 AMD EXPO Intel XMP iCUE Compatible Computer Memory – Gray (CMK64GX5M2B6000Z30)

$1,277.19

Buy the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 64GB on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

This is the tier Microsoft described. It keeps a full 32 GB available to the sim while your add-on manager, browser, voice chat, and VR runtime all stay loaded, which is the whole point of the ideal spec.

The payoff shows up in the numbers that describe smoothness rather than speed. Better 1% lows, and a large drop in live streaming bandwidth because more of the world is cached locally. Over dense photogrammetry cities that is the difference between a clean approach and a hitch on short final.

What you give up

Dual-rank 2x32 modules are harder to train at 6000 CL30 than 2x16. Plan on a BIOS update before the kit arrives, and be ready to accept a slightly looser profile if your board is stubborn. Buy it as a matched 2x32 kit, too. Adding a second 2x16 kit to the sticks you already own fills all four slots, and four-DIMM DDR5 rarely trains at 6000 on any board.

It also costs materially more at 2026 memory prices, and it will not make your average frame rate jump. The sim still refuses to report much past 30 GB in use. If you were hoping to see a bigger number in the overlay, this is not the upgrade that delivers it.

Who it's for

Study-level aircraft, payware scenery libraries, VR, or flying with a stream running. In VR especially, be honest about which wall you hit first: reports point at VRAM at least as often as system memory, and a 12 GB card at high terrain detail breaks down no matter what is in the DIMM slots.

The DDR4 holdout: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 32GB

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX DDR4 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz CL18-22-22-42 1.35V Intel AMD Desktop Computer Memory - Black (CMK32GX4M2D3600C18)

Buy the Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 32GB on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

If you are on a 5800X3D or a 10700K with 16 GB, this is the cheapest real fix available to you. Doubling capacity lifts the machine over the recommended tier for the price of two sticks rather than a board, a CPU, and a new kit.

DDR4-3600 is the right speed to buy on AM4, because it keeps the Infinity Fabric at a 1:1 ratio. The low-profile spreader also clears tower coolers, which removes the one clearance question the RGB kits raise.

What you give up

DDR4 bandwidth sits well below DDR5-6000, and this sim is one of the few that notices. You clear the capacity gate without matching what the headline configurations do, and no amount of tuning closes that gap.

There is also no route onward. Most AM4 boards will not hold four DIMMs at 3600, so 64 GB is effectively off the table, and you are spending money on a platform with nothing left in front of it. Treat this as buying two more good years, not an upgrade.

Who it's for

Anyone still on 16 GB with a capable DDR4 CPU who wants the stuttering fixed this month instead of planning a rebuild. Fix the memory now, move platform when the GPU forces the issue.

Bottom line

If you fly default aircraft over stock scenery, buy 32 GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 and stop reading. If you fly study-level airliners, payware scenery, VR, or with a stream running, buy 64 GB and treat it as a smoothness purchase. If you are on DDR4 with 16 GB, double the capacity now and leave the platform question for later.

Nobody needs 96 GB. The sim will not use it, and the returns past 64 GB are thin enough that the money belongs in a GPU or an NVMe drive. Capacity first, then speed, then everything else.

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