After a period of abscence I am returning to fly FS9 but on a laptop. Just wondering what spec to get so that I fly the PMDG B744. Last time I tried this on a friends laptop it kept crashing to desktop, although the default aircraft were fine.Appreciate any help guys.Many thanks,Chris EGBB

Im not sure exactly for the PMDG 747 but I can assure that when people say that fs cant be run or shoukdnt be run on a laptop, I disagree with them 100%, I have been running fs9 on a laptop for the last 4 years, And absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!I have a mid range laptop and can run the leveld, IFLY etc with gepro, activesky, addon scenery etc very well, and my laptop is far from the top.I know its not the answer to the question your asking, but I just wanted to say that fs9 can definetly e run on a laptop, and very well to boot(no pun intended)

... FS9 but on a laptop.

chris:in general FS doesn't do well on a laptop for a few reasons -* less powerful CPU. those CPUs that are specifically made for 'mobile' are scaled down.* less powerful and non-existent videocard. yes, FS is CPU bound, but a good quality card is needed.* overheat problems as when running FS and CPU and GPU will be running hard and most laptops are prone to overheatingnow, with with the above being stated, many of the 'gaming' laptops can run FS9 fine (not FSX) if you keep your expectations for good, not excellent performance.be aware, for the cost of a 'gaming' laptop you can build a desktop computer that would be of top of the line components and run FS9 to the max and FSX extreamly well FOR A LOWER COST.basically you need -*fastest CPU you can buy. the intel i-series chips are the best for FS at this time (on a home-built desktop you can overclock for ever better performance).*a good quality GPU. a super high-end GPU isn't needed for FS as the game is old and doesn't gain much from the latest hardware (ie, SLI).*4-6 GB of memory (RAM).note: anything with 'm' in the series name means mobile and in general do not play well with FS. --

The most important thing in your laptop (apart from a good cooling pad) is a dedicated GPU. An integrated Intel video processor is not enough for some models. For example, running the DA Fokker 100 in my laptop (Inspiron 11z, SU4100, 4GB RAM) is impossible in spot view. Even with Project Fokker, FPS go down when I turn NAV lights on. However, I only fly in my laptop when I travel, so I can live with that. The rest of the time, my desktop can do better, even with a worse CPU. What about CPUs? Well, I think almost every brand new laptop CPU (except the Atom) is faster than the P4 3.0 recommended by PMDG... but you know, the more, the merrier: you may want to fly the 744 to complex sceneries filled with lots of AI aircraft. Hope this helps.Best regards from Colombia,Luis Miguel

chris:in general FS doesn't do well on a laptop for a few reasons -* less powerful CPU. those CPUs that are specifically made for 'mobile' are scaled down.* less powerful and non-existent videocard. yes, FS is CPU bound, but a good quality card is needed.* overheat problems as when running FS and CPU and GPU will be running hard and most laptops are prone to overheatingnow, with with the above being stated, many of the 'gaming' laptops can run FS9 fine (not FSX) if you keep your expectations for good, not excellent performance.be aware, for the cost of a 'gaming' laptop you can build a desktop computer that would be of top of the line components and run FS9 to the max and FSX extreamly well FOR A LOWER COST.basically you need -*fastest CPU you can buy. the intel i-series chips are the best for FS at this time (on a home-built desktop you can overclock for ever better performance).*a good quality GPU. a super high-end GPU isn't needed for FS as the game is old and doesn't gain much from the latest hardware (ie, SLI).*4-6 GB of memory (RAM).note: anything with 'm' in the series name means mobile and in general do not play well with FS. --

+1I'd say the most important thing would be the overheating. Laptops with their tiny fans shouldn't be advised to run for long periods of time, and so long haul flights can be a problem...

Gents many thanks for your kind replies !What sort of CPU and GPU should I go for.Someone has suggested this is the sort of spec I should go, but I am completely new to laptops so have no idea!http://www.lpc-digital.com/store/3302695/product/sa-221-6Thansk Again,Chris EGBB

Someone has suggested this is the sort of spec I should go, but I am completely new to laptops so have no idea!http://www.lpc-digital.com/store/3302695/product/sa-221-6

5.2 kg??? Ouch... my back is already hurt after seeing the weight of this thing. I don't know how does this laptop behave thermally. Judging from the specifications, this laptop can fly your 744 easily in FS9. But 5.2 kg and USD 2300? A desktop can do better IMO, I don't know what do others think.Best regards from Colombia,Luis Miguel

What sort of CPU and GPU should I go for.

CPU over 3GHz.a real GPU, not a 'mobile' or 'onboard card'. a good quality GPU will work with FS fine as the 'excellent' cards have abilities that FS cannot use as the program is legacy and uses old code.--

5.2 kg

that laptop weighs more than the anchor i use for my boat.

and USD 2300?

good lord! for 1/2, yes HALF, the money you could build a system that would rock FSX and blow the doors and wings off of FS9.if you need mobile computing buy a netbook. perfect for www-browsing and word processing (use openoffice.org and don't even pay for MS work/excel/etc). a netbook is ~$300 USD. i use a netbook for 90% of my computing. LIGHT, small and simple. with a 6-cell battery i have 6+ hours of battery life.spend $1100 USD and build a 'super FS computer'.use the remaining $900 to buy LOTS of addons.--

What Scoob said is 100% correct.Buy a basic laptop/note book and use the rest for a Sooped up desktop PC.

chris:in general FS doesn't do well on a laptop for a few reasons -* less powerful CPU. those CPUs that are specifically made for 'mobile' are scaled down.* less powerful and non-existent videocard. yes, FS is CPU bound, but a good quality card is needed.* overheat problems as when running FS and CPU and GPU will be running hard and most laptops are prone to overheatingnow, with with the above being stated, many of the 'gaming' laptops can run FS9 fine (not FSX) if you keep your expectations for good, not excellent performance.be aware, for the cost of a 'gaming' laptop you can build a desktop computer that would be of top of the line components and run FS9 to the max and FSX extreamly well FOR A LOWER COST.basically you need -*fastest CPU you can buy. the intel i-series chips are the best for FS at this time (on a home-built desktop you can overclock for ever better performance).*a good quality GPU. a super high-end GPU isn't needed for FS as the game is old and doesn't gain much from the latest hardware (ie, SLI).*4-6 GB of memory (RAM).note: anything with 'm' in the series name means mobile and in general do not play well with FS.--

Have to disagree. I have a mid range Laptop (2.3gig duel core, 3 gig ddr3, Radeon 4250) I run activesky, Megascenery so cal, ultimate terrian, Pmdg 737 with radar Contact and have no problems at all. Have frame rates locked at 25 and it stays steady running all the above.

Have to disagree. I have a mid range Laptop (2.3gig duel core, 3 gig ddr3, Radeon 4250) I run activesky, Megascenery so cal, ultimate terrian, Pmdg 737 with radar Contact and have no problems at all. Have frame rates locked at 25 and it stays steady running all the above.

I too run fs9 on a modest laptop. Compromises have to be made e.g. VC's are a no-no but running a 2D cockpit with weather and AI kept to a minimum does fine for me ...Alan

More than 4 years flying the PMDG-744 (FS9) in a modest 6 years-old laptop myself. Only using the 2D cockpit and with no 3D clouds, of course.I´m normally getting about 20 fps even in some complex airports like KBOS or ISD italian sceneries. The same with LevelD-767.I use Game-booster and AVG identity protection disabled.Processor: Intel Pentium M 725 1.6 GHz CentrinoRAM: 1024 Mb DDRGraphic card: Intel integrated chipset 64 Mb (!!!)

5.2 kg??? Ouch... my back is already hurt after seeing the weight of this thing. I don't know how does this laptop behave thermally. Judging from the specifications, this laptop can fly your 744 easily in FS9. But 5.2 kg and USD 2300? A desktop can do better IMO, I don't know what do others think.Best regards from Colombia,Luis Miguel

Just imagine the young girls jaws dropping at your biceps ;-)And for the laptop I would not spend more than $1000. I am going to build a budget PC as I usually do. I NEVER build a performance system unless I have the time and money to waste which I don't.My new one will be on an older P5N-E SLI ASUS MB with 4-8GB RAM (maybe 8) with a Nvidia 220 Video Card, 1TB HD and 22 Full HD monitor. I will probably get a new LG Burner or Blu Ray combi (know any good combis?) for it and I will need a case.My +5 year old Toshiba laptop can run FS2004 fine so running a PMDG 747 shouldn't have dramas. I might even be able to run my PMDG 737 on it. Really just buy a Core2Duo laptop 2.0Ghz with 2Gb or more RAM and 500Gb or more HD with a video card. you can't go wrong. FS2004 is good.Daniel M

More than 4 years flying the PMDG-744 (FS9) in a modest 6 years-old laptop myself. Only using the 2D cockpit and with no 3D clouds, of course.I´m normally getting about 20 fps even in some complex airports like KBOS or ISD italian sceneries. The same with LevelD-767.I use Game-booster and AVG identity protection disabled.Processor: Intel Pentium M 725 1.6 GHz CentrinoRAM: 1024 Mb DDRGraphic card: Intel integrated chipset 64 Mb (!!!)

Oh wow I'll have to try my Level D 767 on my laptop. I don't use it much.

that laptop weighs more than the anchor i use for my boat.good lord! for 1/2, yes HALF, the money you could build a system that would rock FSX and blow the doors and wings off of FS9.if you need mobile computing buy a netbook. perfect for www-browsing and word processing (use openoffice.org and don't even pay for MS work/excel/etc). a netbook is ~$300 USD. i use a netbook for 90% of my computing. LIGHT, small and simple. with a 6-cell battery i have 6+ hours of battery life.spend $1100 USD and build a 'super FS computer'.use the remaining $900 to buy LOTS of addons.--

why $1100? I can build one cheaper and still get the same result.