Laptop

[mmisiak]

Can I use a laptop to run MSFS 2020? If so could someone recommend one?

 

Thanks

[NFM]

Hi!

Yes you can run MSFS on a laptop. But it has to be quite a good laptop. These are the requirements to run MSFS according to Steam:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.
• OS: Windows 10.
• Processor: Intel i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200.
• Memory: 8 GB RAM.
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 770 | AMD Radeon RX 570.
• DirectX: Version 11.
• Storage: 150 GB available space.

If the laptop meets those requirements, than you're good to go. 
And it's definitely helpful if the laptop is even better than just the requirements...

[dmthorson]

I have been running MSFS on a laptop since shortly after its release, and I have had very few problems (that were not of my own making.)  It probably helps that I run an essentially "clean" copy with no add-ons or third-party software, and I have very few other programs or apps on the laptop, pretty much just Microsoft's Office suite and a couple of browsers.

 

FWIW, my laptop is a Dell Alienware m17 R3

 

Windows 11 Home 64-bit, x64-based processor

Intel i9-10980HK CPU @ 2.40GHz (16 CPUs)

32GB RAM

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super

DirectX 12

1.5 TB disc space, >700 GB available after installing MSFS (and everything else on the computer)

 

As you might expect, I spent about twice as much as I usually have for laptops in the past, more than $3000 a few years ago.

[Rodriguez Benjamen]

Hello,

 

You've had a positive experience running Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) on your laptop, but are you experiencing performance issues like dropped frame rates or stuttering during gameplay?

 dinosaur game

Edited January 26 by Rodriguez Benjamen

[dmthorson]

The only performance issues have been traceable to my internet provider (or the Microsoft servers.)  Even then, MSFS seems to continue to run smoothly except for a popup letting me know that I'm now in offline mode.  These interruptions rarely exceed a few minutes, so they don't really even affect the live weather.