X-Plane 12
- Developer
- Laminar Research
- Publisher
- Laminar Research
- Released
- 17 December 2022
- Age rating
- PEGI N/A
- UK price
- £49.99
Platforms: Linux, PC, macOS
Genres: simulator
X-Plane 12 is the world’s most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator for personal computers, and it offers the most realistic flight model available. X-Plane is not a game, but an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying qualities of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft with incredible accuracy.
Best gaming PC for X-Plane 12 in 2026
Full buyers guide →Below are the four PC tiers we'd actually recommend for X-Plane 12 today. These are our 2026 hardware picks, not the dated publisher minimums you'll find on Steam.
Budget
1080p · 40fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 8GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 1TB NVMe SSD
Mid-tier
1440p · 60fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
- RAM
- 32 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
High-end
1440p · 90fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB
- RAM
- 64 GB
- Storage
- 2TB NVMe SSD
Enthusiast
4K · 60fps
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB
- RAM
- 64 GB
- Storage
- 4TB NVMe SSD
Custom-built PCs for X-Plane 12
Full buyers guide →If you'd rather buy than build, these are the Create PCs machines we'd put X-Plane 12 on, cheapest first. Real specifications and current prices, each link lands on that exact build.
CREATE Flight Simulator PC
High-end
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8 Core AM5 CPU/Processor
- GPU
- INNO3D NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 X3 16GB Blackwell Graphics Card
- RAM
- Corsair Vengeance Black 64GB 6000MHz DDR5 Memory Kit
- Storage
- WD Black SN8100 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD / Solid State Drive
CREATE X-Plane PC
Flagship
- CPU
- Intel 24 Core Ultra 9 285K Desktop CPU/Processor
- GPU
- MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB VENTUS 3X OC Blackwell Graphics Card
- RAM
- Corsair Vengeance Black 64GB 6000MHz DDR5 Memory Kit
- Storage
- Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe 2.0 M.2 SSD / Solid State Drive
CREATE AIRBUS
Flagship
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 16 Core AM5 CPU/Processor Retail
- GPU
- ASUS ROG ASTRAL NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB GAMING OC Blackwell Graphics Card
- RAM
- 128GB (4x32GB) DDR5-5600 ECC RDIMM Workstation Memory Kit
- Storage
- Samsung 9100 PRO 4TB PCIe 5.0 M.2 NVMe 2.0 SSD / Solid State Drive
Prices from Create PCs, the UK builder we run, and include VAT. They're the price shown on arrival, not a teaser, but components get repriced, so treat them as current rather than fixed. Custom-built machines start around £2,400; below that a self-build is usually the better answer, and we say so on our budget guides.
Official system requirements
These are the minimum and recommended specs as published by Laminar Research on Steam. They tend to be conservative, usually "what ran the game at 1080p when it shipped". For what you should actually buy in 2026, see the tier cards above.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 / 11 | Windows 10 / 11 |
| CPU | Intel Core i3, i5, i7, or i9 CPU with 4 or more cores, or AMD Ryzen 3, 5, 7 or 9. | Intel Core i5 8600k or Ryzen 5 3500 or better |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | A Vulkan 1.3-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel Arc GPU with at least 2 GB VRAM | A DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA or AMD with at least 4 GB VRAM |
| Storage | 23 GB | 23 GB |
| DirectX | 12 | 12 |
Verified 23 August 2026 against the Steam store page.
Can your PC run X-Plane 12?
If your CPU is roughly equivalent to Intel Core i5 8600k and your GPU is at or above A DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, you'll hit recommended settings at 1080p/60. For 1440p or higher, look at the tier picks above.