BARGAIN Gaming laptop, Dell/Walmart.

[Fielder 3,673]

4K UHD display.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 4GB GPU

Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor: 3.5GHz, 6MB Cache

16 GB ram

 

128GB solid state drive + 1TB hard drive

 

$899

 

(click READ MORE to see all specs, the GPU, HDD , etc).

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-Inspiron-15-Gaming-Edition-Gray-15.6-7559-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-Processor-16GB-Memory-touch-screen-128GB-Solid-State-Drive-and/47431721

[Dave_YVR 973]

  The thing to keep in mind the i7 6700HQ is still mobile cpu, it's a 6700 by name only. Just for benchmark reference, it often scores lower than an i7 2600K from 2010. The GPU as well is the GTX 960M which only resemble's a 960 also by name only, scoring quite low in benchmarks.

[Raven9000 272]

Can't speak for the CPU, but regarding the graphics card:

 

 

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/568656-what-is-a-960m-equivalent-to-for-a-desktops-gpu/

[dbw1 445]

The processor is fine but I suspect you'll be disappointed with the gpu.

 

Check out MSI gaming laptops. For a little more you can now be into a 10 series nvidia.

 

I've been using laptops for 15 years in gaming and one thing I have learned is buy as much horsepower as you can. That way you'll get the longest life out of it. Also, something that's not widely known is that more than a few MSI laptops are built so as to be able to upgrade the gpu down the road with MSI upgrade kits..

 

Last winter I bought a MSI GT72...I7-6820, nvidia 980m-4gig (10 series were not yet available) and I am running the dell 34" curved monitor from it when home just fine. Where I'm going with this is that the 980m prices have really fallen and if you hunt around who knows what you might find. If you can squeeze this gpu into your budget you will be happy.

 

Good hunting.

 

Dave

[nealmac 260]

In theory the processor is absolutely fine. However, in reality, it's a laptop. Laptops have poor cooling systems (yes, even proper "gaming" laptops) when compared to what you can have on a desktop. When the CPU starts overheating, the cooling system usually isn't strong enough, so the CPU actually throttles itself back in order to cool down. Of course this will result in a huge loss in performance. I'm not saying it would happen with this particular machine, but it's just something to be wary of. We all know how demanding FSX/P3D is on system resources when running a lot of high end addons.

[dbw1 445]

Some are better than others for sure. Cooling pads help. I use one at home. Something I used to do when travelling was bring along a couple of 1"x1" sticks to raise the laptop off the desk to get more air underneath. One thing that will be noticeable is the louder fan noise compared to desktop when the machine is under load. I'm okay with it.

 

The laptop I had before the MSI was an Alienware 14"...I7-3840, nvidia 650-2gig and it ran fsx fine though I never plugged an external laptop in as it was my travel machine only....that laptop did get hot but to be honest I didn't notice any degradation in performance though it may have been happening. I was on the whole pretty happy with it. The only reason I replaced it with the MSI was retirement was approaching and if I was going to get something like the MSI I had to do it before the income reduction that comes with retirement.

 

The MSI has a program to monitor a bunch of parameters including temps of the gpu and cpu....just starting P3d brings a big temp increase but then I activate the heavier cooling and they come right down. The new gpu's are supposed to draw even less power and run cooler and I suspect the same is true of the cpu....I7-7700 is starting to become available.

 

I'd suggest getting a name brand "gaming" machine if the budget will work for it. Also, check out all the reviews you can.