The faster a computer can run X-Plane the more realistic and rewarding the simulation will be. Thus, generally speaking, the higher the rendering options are set, the lower the performance and frame rate achieved. It will be much harder for the computer to compute images when flying an airplane in 30-mile visibility with 8,000 3-dimensional buildings and cloud puffs than it would be if X-Plane were set up with only two or three miles of visibility and no clouds. There are two things that affect X-Plane’s frame rate: the computer’s capabilities and how much it is being asked to simulate (e.g., how much visibility is set, how many buildings, clouds, and other aircraft are being drawn, etc.). Obviously, X-Plane has to be tremendously flexible to be able to run on a three year old computer and also take full advantage of the latest and greatest hardware available. Each time the computer runs through the program it advances the aircraft and recalculates the images that are seen (cloud formations, scenery, aircraft instruments, other aircraft, etc.). This is how many times per second the X-Plane physics and rendering code (currently more than 700,000 lines of code!) can be run. The simulator’s performance is measured in frames per second (FPS, or frame rate). The Rendering Options window allows you to match X-Plane’s settings (and thus the demands the simulator puts on the computer) to you computer’s capabilities.

For this reason, this is one of the most critical parts of setting up the simulator on your computer. As such, X-Plane offers the ability to change numerous settings to optimize performance on your computer. X-Plane is a very advanced simulator that has been designed for use across a broad range of computers with varying specifications.

X plane 11 video rendering options