Massive apollogies as I have done searches both in the community and on the web.
Im thinking about comming back to MSFS after using it during my high school years and a few years after ie 1985 - 1994. Did dabble in 2000 but PC wasnt really up to it.
So In short I have a meta quest 3 and would be using that as a preference to using a screen. (I dont want to go down the game pass road on the quest since you cant use peripherial devices)
So Im looking for a laptop that would be suitable.
Im UK based
Budget as little as possible ÂŁ300 ?? Please stop laughing. My thoughts are if Im given a realistic price and links to a suitable Laptop, I could do that thing us old people do and save up for it.
As I say the aim is to run it in VR so Im not sure if screen quality is even something I should be looking at
Graphics card
Hi! You’re going to be very hard pushed to find a laptop that can handle VR satisfactorily without also seeing an eye-watering price to buy.
Any reason it must be a laptop?
Main reason for a laptop is portability. I could go down the base station route but then it would also be used for ham radio stuff in the radio room which could double as a sim room as it has 5 monitors in there all 1080p. current pc in that room are all acient windows 7 or Raspberry Pi under test.
I am guessing if you want to use VR, you will have physical controls too? Yoke? Throttle? Pedals? HOTAS? Just saying as the portability kind of diminishes with any of that gear 
Even so, I don’t know if you really meant the £300 as a budget? Not laughing… see, no LOL’s. Oooops I just lol’ed didn’t it!?
I mean, a decent enough GPU is going to cost at least double that, and that is before you get to the rest of the machine. And that is “enough” not “the best experience”. It really takes some horsepower to run VR I am afraid 
Thanks for that.
So yep your probbably right.
so I suppose I should then be asking about a starting point UK premade machine capable of Low to mid end VR.
Even if I have to save for another 12 months or so
Thanks again
Prices are coming down all the time but I’d say you should budget in the ballpark of £2k GBP as a solid build.
Here are some popular UK based pre-built suppliers:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/gaming-pc
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No chance, sorry. You might get X-Plane 11 possibly running on such hardware, but that might even struggle. Steam FSX would probably run on it well enough, but despite it’s many strengths it’s old now.
I’d really try to avoid the laptop if at all possible, as one suitable for MSFS would be very expensive. You’re paying through the nose for the form factor, the size. Modern high power graphics cards have big fans and heatsinks and it’s difficult to make them small without excessive costs. Fast CPUs have the same problem. If you want to upgrade 16-32-64 Gb RAM you can’t just buy them and plug them in (easily)
Even if you do save and buy one, top tier hardware depreciates in value rapidly. It’s always been this way, the latest tech is very expensive, and the mainstream equivalents tend to catch up. MSFS does require a lot of computer clout.
It could actually be cheaper to have a desktop purely for MSFS and a laptop for everything else. Most things people do outside gaming, video processing, development don’t really require any power at all. I’ve got a repurposed 10 year old Chromebook running Linux and that’s fine for browsing and the like. Or you could use a tablet which wouldn’t be that expensive either.
Another possible way in might be by buying an XBox. I’ve never owned one (any of them) but they are closer to your budget. I’m not sure what limitations that has or how well it runs but I’m sure someone can fill you in. We also know 2024 runs on the XBox (I think !)
I had an Xbox series X bought for MSFS as after years of simming on PC I just couldnt afford another PC at the time. The Xbox exceeded my expectations flying in MSFS. I only moved over to PC a few months ago after spending ÂŁ2500.
Agree, do NOT get a laptop for VR in MSFS! It’s just more expensive yet weaker.
Your budget is way too low (like by at least 5x) for a good experience with VR in MSFS. For 300 pounds you’d be better off getting an Xbox and forget about VR.
Ok the ÂŁ300 was a bit of a joke.
So Ive now thrown the ÂŁ300 and the laptop out the window.
Im still keen on VR though and going down a dedicated PC for MSFS and Amatuer radio stuff as it will be in the “Radio Room”
So looking at the Desktop and VR what should my budget be, Ie low end to get a feel
For VR? I think the 2000GPB stated earlier would be a good starting point - for VR, even low end, you need a really beefy computer unfortunately.
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Main thing is you want a GPU with at least 16gb VRAM so be weary of those that only have 12gb.
For CPU, obviously the more you can throw at it the better but you would probably get a good deal on a top of the range but last gen system (e.g AM4 platform with a 5800X3D).
If you are only considering buying in 12 months though a lot of this is moot as the situation would have changed considerably by then.
EDIT: you could always look at a used one on eBay to same some money!
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Yeah there’s some amazing second hand deals on ebay for hardware if you select carefully. I know because I often sell top of the line stuff there 
And have bought some too.
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