So I bought msfs-2024 for my son (from MS store) for him to play on my laptop (not a gaming PC). Thought I’d checked the specs appropriately but clearly not, the GPU is not good enough:
. All other specs are ok and there is more than enough storage. The game loads ok but crashes frequently. I am not a gamer so have not tried to alter settings etc. yet as I figure it is futile given the under-spec GPU. I also don’t want to buy an external GPU just for this one game.
Question 1: Would the msfs-2020 version perform better because it has different/lower PC specs required?
If so, do I need to uninstall msfs-2024 before installing msfs-2020? Do I need to pay again for msfs-2020 or can I get that for free/included given I’ve bought msfs-2024?
Question 2: Are there any other tips/tricks/settings/ things I should try to improve game performance and minimise crashing before installing msfs-2020 instead?
Thanks in advance from a non-tech/gaming person, I appreciate your advice
Unfortunately your laptop it’s not suitable for gaming - especially not for demanding titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. The integrated Intel Iris GPU are not capable of running games and you definitely won’t be able to play MSFS 2020 on that machine.
I recommend not spending any money on games or add-ons for this laptop, as it simply won’t deliver a playable experience. Instead, it’s best to save up for a proper gaming PC. Virtual flying/flight simulation are demanding and not a cheap hobby, so a solid hardware setup is essential.
Feel free to reach out if you need help planning a PC build when you’re ready.
I agree with @TenPatrol & @Nikita - the laptop will not run either MSFS 2020 or 2024. The issue is with the integrated Iris Xe graphics. It has no dedicated Video RAM (VRAM) of its own - it shares the 16 GB of main RAM. Your crashes are almost certainly due to memory exhaustion - i.e. Windows / MSFS is running out of memory when playing the game.
If you search for “New PC” on these forums, you will see there are many topics to peruse for ideas if you decide to purchase a PC: Search results for ‘new pc’
An Xbox is less expensive than a PC designed for MSFS, but has limitations - such as only being able to purchase addons from the MS store, no ability to install free addons available on the internet, limited peripheral choices (joysticks, yokes, rudders etc.) and fewer configuration / customization choices to name a few.
