Laptop for basic flight sim

Wynnie12

Hi, could anybody recommend a laptop for some basic use of FSX with PMDG 737NG addon. I also have a desktop running the above but looking for something to use on the go.

Not looking for a high end gaming laptop as I will not be using it for any serious gaming.


Budget approx €500

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Alanstrainor

These are the requirements for FSX with this addon:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Simulator: FSX/FSX:SE
Hardware: Dual Core, 2.5 GHz or faster, 4 GB of RAM, A video card with at least 1 GB of VRAM, DirectX 9 compatible Nvidia or ATI card. Onboard motherboard or CPU video is not supported. Some of the newer Intel designs may work but we cannot guarantee compatibility.
Windows: Windows 7 64-bit (older OSes such as Windows XP may work, but we cannot guarantee compatibility or support)

Recommended

Simulator: FSX/FSX:SE
Hardware: A Quad Core, 3.0 GHz or faster processor, 8 GB of RAM or higher, a high-performance, DirectX 11-capable video card with at least 4 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM.
Windows: Windows 10 64-bit (older OSes such as Windows XP may work, but we cannot guarantee compatibility or support)

This is gaming laptop territory, and I your budget is for a low end laptop. I suspect it will be possible to find a laptop that will run this, but how well it will perform is a very different question.

here it is running on integrated intel graphics on an older i5 laptop (only dual-core chip) for the 2017 version of the software

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbSgk_5BTt0

apparently you just need to disable some of the add-ons to get a good experience

seems like this game is more cpu driven than gpu. with the sp2 updates it can use up to 4 cores but it's a very old bit of software that has not been well optimised.

so the one in currys
http://www.currys.ie/Product/lenovo-.../346520/401.10

is a very good deal and should run it.

it's over your budget at 580 but the specs are very good for the money and worth the extra 80 euro for the power and screen. (quad core i5 mobile chip, 1080p screen, ssd and 8gb ram)

John_Mc

FSX is poor for frame rates as it is. You should consider upgrading to P3D v4 as it's smoother and better at memory management.

The PMDG NGX is a resource hungry addon. I think you're going to really struggle to get acceptable performance from a laptop in that price range.

Wynnie12

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I would be willing to increase by budget if there are anymore suggestions.

John_Mc

Wynnie12 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I would be willing to increase by budget if there are anymore suggestions.

You'll get much better performance from a desktop, and also much better value. If you can go with a desktop instead then that's what I would do.

John_Mc

John_Mc wrote: »

You'll get much better performance from a desktop, and also much better value. If you can go with a desktop instead then that's what I would do.

OP already has a desktop. if you read the first post. laptop wanted.

this software relies mainly on cpu, unlike most games which would be gpu based

the 8250u chip is as powerful as the mobile HQ chips of the last gen so it's pretty powerful.

you could get a laptop with a graphics card - something like this link but it's more expensive and heavier. 2.5kg vs 1.7kg in the currys link

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/ZX553VD-DM969T-ASUS-Gaming-ZX553VD-DM969T_2246201.html