Which Laptop do I go with for any version of P3d and Fsx?

[Axle Gokeh 0]

I want to buy a laptop but not sure about specs and performance.

Any decent laptop that can run these flight sims with decent graphics would do as I have $900 cad to spend.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Dean33 69]

I use a laptop for P3D V4. Specs below.  Very happy with mine.

The general advice is if you don't need a laptop get a desktop.

If you need a laptop (as I do) you probably need to spend £1,400 (sterling) upwards to get good results.

Spend much less and it will not be sufficient.

 

[dbw1 445]

When laptop questions come up I sometimes respond as I've been using a laptop for flight sims since approx 2002.

First recommendation....Buy as much horsepower as you can afford. You'll get the longest useful life from it from a flight sim perspective. Upgrades other than ram or drives are usually not possible though some have had video card upgrades available in the past.

Second....research it in depth. Some do not cool as well as others. My last one I got about 1.5 years ago is a MSI GT73, I7-7700hq, nvidia 1070, 16 gigs of ram, M.2 drives. This one appeared to have the best cooling solutions of those I researched. It has enough power to drive a 34" dell ultra sharp (3415) monitor just fine when home.

Third....it is nice to be able to have it serviced locally if possible should you be unfortunate enough to have a problem. Where I got mine locally they are a MSI seller and the have one tech that specializes in MSI laptops.

Fourth.....If you travel get a good case such as something by pelican. My pic shows me in a CL215 which was one of the foresst fire suppression aircraft I flew over the years....Pretty much most mornings I packed up and put all my gear in the aircraft in case when we got launched on a fire(s) we didn't return to the same place at the end of the day which happened sometimes. The laptop was with me in the aircraft when on fires and sometimes it was on the rough side down low and I never had a problem using a Pelican case. They are robust, waterproof etc.

My current laptop is a 17" which is a fine screen size for a laptop though it is not small. That said I had a 14" Alienware I used for flight sim on the road for a few years and while small it was enough...it was real nice to pack and carry. I still have it and it will run fsx fine (I use P3dV4 in my MSI) with an I7-3840 and nvidia 650.

If you go back a year or two you can find deals with enough power to run flight sim fine and save a lot of money too.

Dave

[edpatino 1,964]

I bought a MSI GT72S 6QE Dominator Pro G in February 2016 and now, a bit more than two years ago, can resume the experience:

1. Excellent performance as a computer for both P3D and Aerofly FS 2.

2. Lost my boot drive (I think it was a M.2 drive) completely after one year (don't know why, it simply failed) and had to re-install everything from scratch to the only one HDD remaining.

3. The left side screen hinge recently broke-down and now I cannot close the laptop without risking the screen itself, so I keep the screen open and keep using the laptop as a desktop.

4. Several keys lost (the most used ones: E, A, S, and R) their protective layer, looking like they're scratched.

5. The internal fans are producing a abnormal noise when they're at the minimum rpm. I think they'll not last too much.

In short, these laptops are good performers, but the construction materials are of very, very poor quality. NOT A GOOD EXPERIENCE.

I'll replace my laptop in the following weeks, and I'm now mainly looking for the ACER Predator or an Allienware.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Ed

 

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by edpatino