What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

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rgenet
Airman Basic
Posts: 8
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 02:49

What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

Post by rgenet »

Hi All,

I am just returning to flying after several years and want to supplement my RP flying with sim time. Primary airplane I am flying is C 172, but will then fly C Centurion II. So far I've purchased FSX Steam, A2A 172, CH rudder pedals, yoke, and throttle quadrant, and a Saitek trim wheel. I have a 27-inch monitor at home. I am about to fire up the sim (when all the parts arrive) on my old HP Pavilion dv4 with 2 GHz Intel Core 2 and 4 Gigs of RAM. I don't expect too much performance wise, but will soon purchase a new laptop. I have to decide what laptop to get. I am hoping I could find a laptop that will work well for my general use (needs to be lightweight) and at least decently for 172 A2A training. How well would something like a top-end MS SurfacePro 4 with their top Intel i7 and HD 520 graphics chip work, or some similar computer with at least 8 Gig RAM and SS hard drive? I would really like a 2-in-1 unit like the SurfacePro. Perhaps there is another one that would work even better for 172 sim training? The other possibility is a laptop designed more for sims, and this would be okay if it wasn't too heavy. Also, I've read, briefly, about some external graphics units that plug into a laptop to give it some real power. A thurderbolt(?) connection or ... ? This might be ideal as I could have my lightweight 2-in1 when I am on the road, and real graphics power at home. (I would like to consider running three monitors.) Suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks and cheers,

Russ

kiwikat
Senior Airman
Posts: 167
Joined: 02 Oct 2007, 18:44
Location: Fort Worth, TX

Re: What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

Post by kiwikat »

Honest suggestion? Don't do it. The SP4's thermal profile isn't sufficient for heavy gaming like FSX. (I have tried)

You would be much better off building a cheap desktop. If it needs to be "portable" you could make a small micro ATX build. If you absolutely need a laptop, I'd go for one of the newer gaming laptops with a gtx 1060. ASUS and MSI make some halfway decent ones. I would avoid ultrabooks or other thin models. You're going to need room for a couple proper exhaust fans.

rlaycock
Airman First Class
Posts: 50
Joined: 24 Feb 2012, 15:11

Re: What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

Post by rlaycock »

I completely agree with kiwikat
I have a Surface Pro 3 which I love its, great as a tool but not for flight simming.

rgenet
Airman Basic
Posts: 8
Joined: 29 Sep 2016, 02:49

Re: What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

Post by rgenet »

Many thanks for your advice. Sounds like my best bet is to not mix my need for a lightweight laptop for work with what's really needed for a good FSX sim. In the end, I would like to have three monitors, perhaps 27 inch (max would be 32 inch unless I made side monitors smaller). It might make sense to do something that would be up-gradable over time. Would there be any serious disadvantage to going with a micro ATX?

I don't have the time and smarts to pull together a computer from components from scratch. Perhaps I would be better off to either buy some complete system off-the-shelf (any suggestions?), or at least purchase from a list of components that some knowledgeable FSXer has generated. I expect that students in the Aero, EE, or Computer Science Departments at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, CA) could give me a hand in pulling a sim computer together. Any suggestions on which direction I might go? Right now I don't want to spend too much $ as i need to see how much sim flying I'll be doing as opposed to flying a 172 (truly expensive these days).

Besides getting current again in a 172, I'm also working on a glider rating, flying with some of my Cal Poly student friends. I'm in the process of bringing up Condor, which appears to be the most popular soaring sim. I have both a yoke and joystick, so I'll just swap these out when going from FSX 172 to Condor glider, and just use the throttle for the speed brake. Any thoughts?

THANKS and cheers,

Russ

n421nj
Chief Master Sergeant
Posts: 3541
Joined: 17 Mar 2013, 18:01
Location: KCDW

Re: What lightweight laptop or 2-in-1 best for sims?

Post by n421nj »

I think my next computer will be one of the premade ones specifically for fsx.
Andrew

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