Best Laptop for FSX from 2018/2017?

Hey guys!

So I'm currently looking to replace my ageing laptop which is a Samsung PC with Intel i3-2370M @ 2.40Ghz and has an Intel HD 3000 graphics card.

I need suggestions as to which laptop would be the best one to buy for that can run FSX decently. I don't need a gaming-specific laptop, just one that would have enough specifications to run FSX smoothly. As far as I'm aware an Intel i5 or i7 coupled with a Nvidea or intel graphics card should be good to go. My budget would be a maximum of $600.

I've had a look at 2 laptops so far, one being a HP Pavillion with intel i5 6200 processor and 6GB of RAM (a sacrifice I'm willing to make because I don't add heavy add-ons like PMDG/Aerosoft scenery or anything of the sort) with an intel Graphics 520 card and has a 2.3Ghz capability.

(An alternate to this is another Pavillion with Intel i5-7200U with 8GB of RAM and an Intel Integrated Graphics card.)

and

a Acer Aspire E15 with yet again an intel i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM and coupled with a powerful Nvidia 940MX graphics card -- the Ghz I'm not sure of.

Do these options seem good for FSX performance? What would the otherwise average to ideal specifications be? Any laptop suggestions at all are welcome, but please take note that they should be under $600.

Also, should I buy a slim laptop with a powerful processor but with no DVD drive, will using an external plug in drive affect my FSX installation at all? I theorize that it won't, but does anyone have information regarding if the installation would have problems?

Thanks in advance!

The Acer is the one you want of these 2.

Jorgen

Generally speaking, laptops are made to be portable and not performance therefore are not ideal for flight simulation.

You would be much better with a desktop PC.

My 5 cents...

+1 to that, but when you're on a budget of $600.....

Jorgen

i3, i5, and i7 processors have varying speeds. The 7200U will vary between 2.5 and 3.1 ghz

3.1 when it needs to do a lot. (turbo frequency)

2.5 when it is idle. (base frequency)

when it starts to get hot, the processor will slow down. Running slower it produces less heat, and gets cooler that way. To prevent overheating.

At first it will slow down to 2.5

If that still isn't enough it will go to half that.

After a few minutes, once it has cooled down a bit, it will start to speed up again.

Desktops have good cooling. They will run at the top speed most of the time. (3.1 in this example.)

Laptops quickly overheat, because all parts are packed closely together, and air is not blown through with a big Fan.

This especially happens with gaming. You usually play a game for several hours, and the computer/processor heats up and slows down.

2.5 to 3.1 ghz isn't much speed to begin with.

For the 600$ you could probably buy a much faster desktop, that also won't slow down when gaming.

about the U7200:

https://ark.intel.com/products/95443/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz

[quote=Airplane;2051998.....

Also, should I buy a slim laptop with a powerful processor but with no DVD drive, will using an external plug in drive affect my FSX installation at all? I theorize that it won't, but does anyone have information regarding if the installation would have problems?

Thanks in advance!

Using an external drive will not cause any issues. However, 'bigger' problems WRT using a slim laptop are a possible lack of available USB ports and the aforementioned problems with heat - less space for the heat to dissipate in.

So I suggest going with the Acer - I actually run FSX on two Acer laptops with no issues -

Rig 1 - an 9 Y/O Acer 8943G with an Intel i5-450M @ 2.4Ghz, 8Gb RAM (upgraded from the original 4Gb fitted) and a ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 GPU with 2GB RAM

Rig 2 - An 4 Y/O Acer Aspire V3-772G with an Intel i7-4702MQ @ 2.2Ghz (with TurboBoost upto 3.2Ghz), 16Gb RAM and a Nvidia Geforce GT 750M with 4Gb RAM

Both rigs give me a constant 30 FPS in FSX but laptop 1 will sometimes drop 4-5 FPS when encountering some of the more complex scenery that I have. However, I don't suffer blurries or stutters. Laptop 2 has shown that it can actually give me a constant 50 FPS without issues but anything over this will cause drop rates and sometimes stutters. I also use laptop 2 to play other high performance games such as Fallout 4, Metro 2033, Dying Light, Elder Scrolls V5 etc

Whilst a desktop is preferable, especially in terms of upgrade options and cooling - although you can have the same issues regarding heat and heat dissipation - using a laptop for FSX is very doable. I have run FSX on two laptops for many years now and have never encountered any issues/slowdowns related to 'heat' issues.. Most heating issues occur due to the way a user positions the laptop (and desktop).

Whilst being portable, laptops are designed to best function whilst placed on hard surfaces. This ensures that there is sufficient airflow under and around the case for cooling. Likewise, desktops also need 'space' around the box for the most efficient cooling. If required, you can buy additional cooling aids such as cooling pads or fan units. A even simpler solution is to prop up the rear of the laptop using a book.

If only I had the money:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3280999/laptop-computers/alienware-17-r5-review-core-i9.html

Using an external drive will not cause any issues. However, 'bigger' problems WRT using a slim laptop are a possible lack of available USB ports and the aforementioned problems with heat - less space for the heat to dissipate in.

 

So I suggest going with the Acer - I actually run FSX on two Acer laptops with no issues -

 

Rig 1 - an 9 Y/O Acer 8943G with an Intel i5-450M @ 2.4Ghz, 8Gb RAM (upgraded from the original 4Gb fitted) and a ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 GPU with 2GB RAM

 

Rig 2 - An 4 Y/O Acer Aspire V3-772G with an Intel i7-4702MQ @ 2.2Ghz (with TurboBoost upto 3.2Ghz), 16Gb RAM and a Nvidia Geforce GT 750M with 4Gb RAM

 

Both rigs give me a constant 30 FPS in FSX but laptop 1 will sometimes drop 4-5 FPS when encountering some of the more complex scenery that I have. However, I don't suffer blurries or stutters. Laptop 2 has shown that it can actually give me a constant 50 FPS without issues but anything over this will cause drop rates and sometimes stutters. I also use laptop 2 to play other high performance games such as Fallout 4, Metro 2033, Dying Light, Elder Scrolls V5 etc

 

Whilst a desktop is preferable, especially in terms of upgrade options and cooling - although you can have the same issues regarding heat and heat dissipation - using a laptop for FSX is very doable. I have run FSX on two laptops for many years now and have never encountered any issues/slowdowns related to 'heat' issues.. Most heating issues occur due to the way a user positions the laptop (and desktop).

 

Whilst being portable, laptops are designed to best function whilst placed on hard surfaces. This ensures that there is sufficient airflow under and around the case for cooling. Likewise, desktops also need 'space' around the box for the most efficient cooling. If required, you can buy additional cooling aids such as cooling pads or fan units. A even simpler solution is to prop up the rear of the laptop using a book.

I actually do just that -- prop a thick enough book to incline the fan area so that air is allowed to dissipate and get out of the system.

The acer laptop does seem to be the winner I suppose. Plus the i7 and the Nvidea graphics card is bound to give me good frame rates with the proper settings, that is.

I realize I'm a little late to the party, but take a look at the HP Omen line. I bought one a couple months ago specifically to get back into simming.

In hindsight, I should have spent a few hundred more and gotten the fastest processor speed version, but it does well for what I do with it. I don't fly big iron, only general aviation, and I don't have a lot of hyper intensive graphics add-ons. But sliders are set to max, a decent amount of airline and GA traffic and everything is adjusted so that I get a steady and smooth 30-31fps, I lose about 5-7 fps over downtown Mobile, Alabama with Mobile Freeflow Redux (made for FS9, but works in FSX) installed, but still pretty smooth. And I also propped my laptop up at an angle, not initially for heat but for a better sight picture and reaching the keyboard.

As for FS9's performance, wow! Everything turned to max and still blisteringly smooth and high FPS.

PS- I am using Steve's DX10 fixer in FSX... HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Acer Aspire E15 with yet again an intel i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM and coupled with a powerful Nvidia 940MX graphics card -- the Ghz I'm not sure of.

I have a similar laptop, but mine is an ASUS, and (right now) only has 6 GB RAM. This week it will be upgraded to either 12 or 20 (I don't know yet). As long as you keep it easy on the settings (not that much AI), you'll have decent performance. On the other hand, FS9 runs like a dream there.

i3, i5, and i7 processors have varying speeds. The 7200U will vary between 2.5 and 3.1 ghz

3.1 when it needs to do a lot. (turbo frequency)

2.5 when it is idle. (base frequency)

This TurboBoost thing is good for office applications, but it's the worst thing ever made for gaming, IMO. Laptop OEMs design their cooling systems for the base frequency, not for the Turbo one. The good thing is that Turbo Boost can be disabled. I had to do so on my laptop; somehow it used to throttle when CPU temperature reached just 80ºC (maybe some overzealous ASUS cooling policy). Without TB, I'm getting up to 70ºC only :D

Also, should I buy a slim laptop with a powerful processor but with no DVD drive, will using an external plug in drive affect my FSX installation at all? I theorize that it won't, but does anyone have information regarding if the installation would have problems?

 

Thanks in advance!

Well, my laptop HAD a DVD drive. Since I use FSX-SE, I have no need for the DVD drive, and replaced it with an SSD.