How important is GHz in a processor when looking at which laptops to buy? (not getting a desktop because of uni)

 

i want to get a laptop which runs FSX smoothly.

The more GHz the better

The more GHz the better

 

what would you suggest the minimum is that i should look at getting for smooth gameplay?

It depends on your expectations, how many add ons you plan to use, and how far right you want to push your sliders. If your expectations are high in all of those categories then you ll need a lot of ghz, like 4.6 to 5.0...

Most important factor is cpu speed, get the fastest, oc or not, you can afford. If you want to run FSX well and pretty, don't get a laptop, buy a desktop instead.

You can run a laptop, you will need a processor that is very high in speed. The new i5 or even better i7 processors run FSX pretty well. I run FSX on a MAC Book pro 17" with windows 7 64 bit running in Bootcamp. It has a Nvidia 630 GT video card and 16 GB or DDR3 ram. It runs with all sliders at 3/4 and scenery at max. I get steady 65 fps. I do not run the PMDG NGX but the I-Fly 737 runs very well. I also run ASE and REX textures. Now mind you this laptop brand new cost $2700.00. But for that you can look at a new Alienware by Dell for around $1900.00 . Do yourself a favor and do the research on what you will need before you spend a ton of money on a computer that will disapoint you.

 

FSX needs CPU more then graphics but you will still need a good graphics card to get good results. My personal choice for graphics cards are Nvidia. I have had nothing but one problem after the next with ATI cards. They just do not perform well at all and I never had one last over 24 months. Nvidia makes the best graphics cards hands down.

Memory I would get at least 8gb of ram. Granted FSX will only see 4 or 6 depending on what type of tweaks you perform with the FSX cfg file. But in order for your computer to see all 8 gb you will need to run windows 7 64 bit. So be prepared to have some issues with installing some addon sceneries and other software that is only supported by 32 bit operating systems. There are work arounds you will be googling your mind off to find solutions.

 

So do not listen to anyone who tells you buy a desktop, desktops are going away in the future. Manufactures are looking toward tablet computers.

 

Oh BTW search AMAZON.com or NEW EGG for your laptop, keyword GAMING LAPTOPS.

You can run a laptop, you will need a processor that is very high in speed. The new i5 or even better i7 processors run FSX pretty well. I run FSX on a MAC Book pro 17" with windows 7 64 bit running in Bootcamp. It has a Nvidia 630 GT video card and 16 GB or DDR3 ram. It runs with all sliders at 3/4 and scenery at max. I get steady 65 fps. I do not run the PMDG NGX but the I-Fly 737 runs very well. I also run ASE and REX textures. Now mind you this laptop brand new cost $2700.00. But for that you can look at a new Alienware by Dell for around $1900.00 . Do yourself a favor and do the research on what you will need before you spend a ton of money on a computer that will disapoint you.

 

FSX needs CPU more then graphics but you will still need a good graphics card to get good results. My personal choice for graphics cards are Nvidia. I have had nothing but one problem after the next with ATI cards. They just do not perform well at all and I never had one last over 24 months. Nvidia makes the best graphics cards hands down.

Memory I would get at least 8gb of ram. Granted FSX will only see 4 or 6 depending on what type of tweaks you perform with the FSX cfg file. But in order for your computer to see all 8 gb you will need to run windows 7 64 bit. So be prepared to have some issues with installing some addon sceneries and other software that is only supported by 32 bit operating systems. There are work arounds you will be googling your mind off to find solutions.

 

So do not listen to anyone who tells you buy a desktop, desktops are going away in the future. Manufactures are looking toward tablet computers.

 

Oh BTW search AMAZON.com or NEW EGG for your laptop, keyword GAMING LAPTOPS.

All I will say on this is that for $2700 you will probably get a desktop that runs FSX better than your laptop, or alternatively for less than $2700 you will probably get a desktop that runs FSX as well as your laptop. In short, desktops are cheaper when you only consider the specifications and performance gained from them. Portability is mostly subjective - I doubt I would ever move a gaming laptop from my desk if I owned one, so I see little point personally. For someone who travels a lot with their computer, the portability could be invaluable.

 

As for how much the clock speed of a processor matters - with FSX, due to its older coding, it matters a great deal - you want to get as high as is possible really.

 

Basically: the higher, the better! Try to get something that runs at 3GHz or higher, I would say. Might be harder for a laptop though.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/acer-aspire-v3-571g-refurbished-15-6-laptop-17291949-pdt.html

 

is that any good?

Pffffffffffff My core2duo runs The NGX fine! I bought my computer before i7/i5 were mainstream... Of course I'm now jealous of the people with REX UTX ENB etc...... But for now my setup will do fine

If you are good with building and computers, you can try self-building a desktop, but there are many affordable alternatives these days. Instead of spending a ridiculously amount of money on Alienware computers, you can just purchase a Dell XPS. These possess similarly powerful processors, but are not overclocked.

 

You can determine the strength of a certain processor by comparing it with others via processing benchmarks. Just search in Google for "processor benchmarks" and you can find several good web sites.

 

I would suggest purchasing a computer with a NVIDIA graphics card. My ATI card seems to be rather inflexible when it comes to tweaking.

http://www.currys.co...291949-pdt.html

 

is that any good?

It looks pretty good, yes. You could certainly do a lot worse for FSX at that price! I'm not too sure on the graphics card, you might want to search something like "GT630M FSX" and see what results other people have had. But certainly, you won't do much better for the CPU unless you spend a decent amount more.

Pffffffffffff My core2duo runs The NGX fine! I bought my computer before i7/i5 were mainstream... Of course I'm now jealous of the people with REX UTX ENB etc...... But for now my setup will do fine

Yeah, this is the main thing. If you want to run FSX with GEX, UTX, REX, the NGX (lots of Xs ), addon scenery etc. with everything turned up high then you will definitely need a rather powerful computer which will end up being expensive. If you're not bothered about having everything on high settings and using loads of addons, you don't so much.

If you are good with building and computers, you can try self-building a desktop, but there are many affordable alternatives these days. Instead of spending a ridiculously amount of money on Alienware computers, you can just purchase a Dell XPS. These possess similarly powerful processors, but are not overclocked.

 

You can determine the strength of a certain processor by comparing it with others via processing benchmarks. Just search in Google for "processor benchmarks" and you can find several good web sites.

 

I would suggest purchasing a computer with a NVIDIA graphics card. My ATI card seems to be rather inflexible when it comes to tweaking.

So do not listen to anyone who tells you buy a desktop, desktops are going away in the future. Manufactures are looking toward tablet computers.

 

Doesn't really matter what is going to happen in the future, if you want to get the most out of FSX now a desktop with a good overclockable CPU is the way to go. If it were possible to overclock laptops into the 4ghz+ range and keep it cool a laptop would be fine, the problem is that its not currently possible to do so. Not to say that you can't get good performance out of a laptop, but it wont be able to deliver the same performance you would achieve out of a desktop running over 4ghz. Not to mention that you could build or have built a faster desktop rig for less than the price of the fastest laptop.

 

Although if portability is a must a laptop would be the only choice.

What's uni?

desktops are going away in the future

As is FSX when (hopefully) an improved or new version comes out.

As is FSX when (hopefully) an improved or new version comes out.

Woaa, Don't be holding your breath waiting you may turn blue.