To determine whether your computer meets the minimum system requirements, use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (Dxdiag.exe). To start the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, follow these steps:
- Click Start
, type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation. - Note the values for Processor and for Memory.
- Click the Display tab.
- Under Device, note the values for Name and for Approx. Total Memory of the video card.
Minimum system requirements
Flight Simulator X
| Component | Minimum system requirement |
|---|
| Operating system | Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) |
| Computer processor | 1.0 gigahertz (GHz) |
| Memory | 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM for Windows XP SP2 |
| 512 MB RAM for Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Hard disk space | 14 gigabytes (GB) available hard disk space |
| Video card | 32 MB DirectX 9-compatible video card |
| DVD drive | 32x speed |
| Sound | Sound card, speakers, or headset |
| Pointing device | Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows) |
| Internet connection for online play | Network adapter for LAN multiplayer gameplay |
| Broadband Internet access for Windows Live multiplayer gameplay |
Flight Simulator X Acceleration Expansion Pack
| Component | Minimum system requirement |
|---|
| Operating system | Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) |
| Computer processor | 2.0 gigahertz (GHz) or more |
| Memory | 1 gigabyte (GB) or more of RAM |
| Hard disk space | 4 gigabytes (GB) available hard disk space |
| Video card | DirectX 9 (or later version)-compatible video card |
| 128 MB or more video RAM, Shader Model 1.1 or later version |
| DVD drive | 32x speed |
| Sound | Sound card, speakers, or headset |
| Pointing device | Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (such as Xbox 360 Controller for Windows) |
| Internet connection for online play | Network adapter for LAN multiplayer gameplay |
| Broadband Internet access for Windows Live multiplayer gameplay |
The Acceleration Expansion pack requires that the original Flight Simulator X program is installed. All system requirements for Flight Simulator X must be met or exceeded for the expansion pack to function correctly.
Supported graphics hardware
To play Flight Simulator X, the computer must meet the minimum system requirements. Additionally, the hardware must pass a system check when you start the game. If you experience slow performance in the game, the in-game settings must be adjusted.
For more information about how to improve game performance, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
927286 Flight Simulator X: Game performance is slower than expected
If you receive an error message that states that your video card or your video drivers are not working with the game, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
925722 Troubleshoot graphics issues in Flight Simulator X
Unsupported hardware
The following video cards are known to be incompatible with Flight Simulator X and with the Acceleration Expansion Pack:
- Intel 845/910/945/965 series
- sis650_651_740, or via
- s3g unichrome igp
This list may not be exhaustive. Visit your video card manufacturer’s Web site to search for any known compatibility issues. Some video cards may not work with Flight Simulator X Acceleration Expansion Pack because they do not support Shader Model, as the game requires. If you have a video card that does not meet this requirement, you may have to purchase a different video card to play the game.
If the computer does not meet the minimum system requirements, you will receive an error message that states that your hardware is not supported or is incompatible. To resolve this problem, upgrade the hardware components on the computer.
To do this, contact the computer manufacturer.
Additionally, you can view and compare features and prices of different video cards. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site, type
video cards in the
Search box, and then press ENTER: