OK, please hear me out…I am downsizing my living situation and will have much less room for computer gear (Sigh…) So here’s my question: Does anyone here fly with MS2020 using a 17" gaming laptop? Sure, the move is currently to 32" screens and blazing desktops, but I just won’t have the room…There are some decent deals out there right now on gaming laptops with excellent components and beautiful screens…And, I will almost certainly be sitting closer to the laptop than I am my monitor…I will welcome any opinions or suggestions! Thanks…

Laptop user here. I use a Lenovo Legion 7 AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with Nvidia RTX 3070, 16gb ram. I run the sim on high/ultra. Would have loved a gaming pc but i'm going to be moving a lot in the next couple years and can't be carrying a big rig around with me. It has a 16" 1440p 165hz screen so is still small enough to fit into a rucksack so doesn't lose the portability like a 17" does. Prices seem to be good when comparing spec to spec with say an MSI or a Razer. Would recommend.

Thanks for the reply...Have you ever tried using your laptop on a separate, larger screen such as a TV?

Steve in Kansas

Hey bud,

I was in the same situation as you, actually I just moved country 2 weeks ago. But a gaming laptop was the only option for me and I've been getting on absolutely fine with my HP Omen 17. You can see my specs in my signature (I think 🤔), but I've not been having any issues running MSFS and any add-ons so far, and I have my settings on high/ultra 

I used laptops from approx 2002- 2019. My last one I bought about 5 years ago...I7-8700, 1070-8gig, 2 M.2 drives, 17" display.  When home I plugged my 34" Dell Ultrasharp in to it and with P3d got good results. have not used MSFS with it as in 2019 I had a mother of a desk top built and use the laptop sparingly now. 

Buy from a good name in gaming laptops. For me it was MSI as they have the cooling aspect figured out better than most and they stand behind their products when needed....I had a video card die and it was replaced within 5 days. That said your milage may vary but they are worth checking out. Also use a cooling pad underneath.

I was happy with the laptop. I travelled a lot for work till retirement 5 years ago and the laptop really was nice to have when spending time in hotels.

My main suggestion is to buy as much horsepower as the budget allows as upgrading most is not possible and you will get a longer useful life from a performance perspective.

Dave

Did any of you have over-heating problems with your gaming laptops? Thanks again...

11 minutes ago, LTCSZ said:

Did any of you have over-heating problems with your gaming laptops? Thanks again...

It certainly runs toasty compared to a desktop, but it hasn't actually affected any performance or overheated. Add the fact that I sit my laptop on a cooling pad (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MU2T4F6?pd_rd_i=B01MU2T4F6&pd_rd_w=KyRzh&pf_rd_p=3ec6df4b-16ab-45fd-a468-a6a02a2d3c02&pd_rd_wg=TvmOW&pf_rd_r=SSX0S2A6XAZFKB63PBCY&pd_rd_r=bef44d65-e8c8-4c03-a437-d5afd9d5342d), everything is fine 💪🏼

"gaming laptops" are a contradiction in terms and a waste of money. 

Though I have a large desktop I can't be bothered to fire it up most of the time and use a MSI GS65 with a lowly 1070 max q 95% of the time. 

It works great and I've no complaints. I have however had to replace the GPU fans twice but that might say more about MSI than anything else. 

Edited November 17, 20214 yr by superspud

5 hours ago, LTCSZ said:

OK, please hear me out…I am downsizing my living situation and will have much less room for computer gear (Sigh…) So here’s my question: Does anyone here fly with MS2020 using a 17" gaming laptop? Sure, the move is currently to 32" screens and blazing desktops, but I just won’t have the room…There are some decent deals out there right now on gaming laptops with excellent components and beautiful screens…And, I will almost certainly be sitting closer to the laptop than I am my monitor…I will welcome any opinions or suggestions! Thanks…

I've been running MSFS beautifully since the exact day it was released on my HP Omen 15 gaming laptop (which was not a waste of money). You certainly dont need to spend 2 or 3 grand on a gaming PC. I used to fly using the laptop's 15.6 inch screen and it was fine, but I bought a large monitor for $150 which makes a big difference. I'm sure itll look fine on a 17" inch laptop screen but bigger is generally better

Edited November 17, 20214 yr by NightOfDreams

49 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

"gaming laptops" are a contradiction in terms and a waste of money. 

not if you need to travel

1 hour ago, Ricardo41 said:

"gaming laptops" are a contradiction in terms and a waste of money. 

Well. Compared to a desktop if you don’t need to move - for sure. 
 

But for being mobile the gaming notebooks nowadays are pretty good. 

On 11/17/2021 at 2:52 PM, GuyFlyer said:

Laptop user here. I use a Lenovo Legion 7 AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with Nvidia RTX 3070, 16gb ram. I run the sim on high/ultra. Would have loved a gaming pc but i'm going to be moving a lot in the next couple years and can't be carrying a big rig around with me. It has a 16" 1440p 165hz screen so is still small enough to fit into a rucksack so doesn't lose the portability like a 17" does. Prices seem to be good when comparing spec to spec with say an MSI or a Razer. Would recommend.

GuyFlyer,

I have Legion 5 Pro. Can you share your settings of the MSFS2020?

Thank you

If you have to travel a lot and want to bring it with you, then certainly I would say go for it. But keep in mind you are going to be paying a huge premium for less performance. 

Flight Sims run your CPU to the max. There really is no good cooling solution for laptops when compared to desktops. You will run into thermal throttling all the time, slowing down the CPU. 

I say this as someone who bought an Origin gaming laptop and used it for years (because of the travel thing). Recently switched to a desktop and the difference is night and day in terms of temps.

If you absolutely must, then yeah laptops CAN work. But just be aware your performance will not be as high as a desktop.