Whilst we still do not have a release date for Laminar Research’s X-Plane 12, we have now been provided with a detailed list of minimum and recommended requirements. Alongside the X-Plane 12 requirements, we have also been told what operating systems will be supported upon the release of the next-generation simulator.
In a new knowledge base document posted by Laminar Research, we now know the hardware requirements for X-Plane 12. Whilst the documented minimum and recommended requirements are there to help guide you for what hardware you will need to experience X-Plane 12, it should go without saying that more powerful hardware will yield better results.
Minimum Hardware X-Plane 12 Requirements
The below specifications are the absolute minimum requirements you will need to have in order to run X-Plane 12. These minimum hardware requirements are the very least you will need to have in order to run the simulator. If you don’t have them, then it’s likely the simulator won’t run at all.
Here are the minimum hardware X-Plane 12 requirements:
- CPU: Intel Core i3, i5, i7, or i9 CPU with 4 or more cores, or AMD Ryzen 3, 5, 7 or 9.
- Memory: 8 GB RAM.
- Video Card: A DirectX 11-capable video card from NVIDIA or AMD with at least 2 GB VRAM.
At this point, it’s unknown what size disk space you will need on your PC in order to install X-Plane 12.
Recommeneded Hardware X-Plane 12 Requirements
The below specifications are the recommended hardware requirements for X-Plane 12. This hardware should allow you to get the most from X-Plane 12 as a platform and enable you to have a good balance between visuals and performance.
Here are the recommended hardware X-Plane 12 requirements:
- CPU: Intel Core i5 8600k or Ryzen 5 3500 or better.
- Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more.
- Video Card: A DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA or AMD with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD).
At this point, it’s unknown what size disk space you will need on your PC in order to install X-Plane 12.
X-Plane 12 Supported Video Cards
X-Plane 12 will support both NVIDIA and AMD video cards. You can see the requirements below.
- NVIDIA: NVIDIA GeForce 900 or newer, driver version 470.82 or newer.
- AMD: AMD Radeon RX 500 or newer, driver version Adrenaline 21.11.2 or newer.
X-Plane 12 Supported Operating SYstems
X-Plane 12 supports both OS X and Windows, with some functionality also available for Linux (minus proper support). This will open up the simulator to as many users as possible across a number of operating systems.
- OS X: OS X 10.15 or newer (e.g. Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey).
- Windows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- Linux: Varies
- Laminar Research says that X-Plane 12 will run on Linux, but they don’t support specific distributions. X-Plane developers use Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04 LTS successfully.
- Linux users will require propreitary driver from NVIDIA to run X-Plane 12. The Mesa drivers are required for AMD to run X-Plane 12.
X-Plane 12 Demo
An X-Plane 12 demo has been confirmed and will be released once the simulator is ready for purchase. The full version of the simulator will perform exactly the same as the demo.
Update 12-Jan-2021 @ 22:40z: We have removed reference to an Intel CPU in the minimum requirement. This was a mistake initially from the developer and was corrected since. We have updated this article to reflect that new information.
