Wanting a new 17" Gaming Laptop specifically to play Microsoft Flight Simulator. I’m torn with getting a 10th gen i9 with 2080 Super vs. a newer 11th gen i9 with the 3080 mobile. I don’t think the 3080 mobile is all that much better than the 2080 Super mobile, other than the 16GB VRAM, but will the 11th gen i9 be a substantial improvement over the 10th gen i9? Both options have 32 GB RAM.
I want to run the sim in 1080p with Ultra settings and get tolerable playable performance in the urban photogrammetry areas unlike my current rig, which stutters and is borderline unplayable. For me >20 fps with minimal stutters is tolerable, whereas <10 fps (even 5 fps) with frequent stutters is not.
I currently have a 4 year old 17" gaming laptop with a i7 7700hq and a 1070 8GB mobile with 16 GB RAM.
I’d normally lean toward the 11th gen i9 and 3080 mobile, but the specific laptop I’m looking at DOES NOT HAVE A NUM PAD on the keyboard, while the older one does. External USB NUM PADs defeat the purpose of portability and still don’t have all the keys MSFS uses. I’m really ticked that manufacturer got rid of the NUM PAD.
However, I’m concerned that 11th gen i9 mobile vs 10th gen i9 mobile will make a difference where I need it most.
Can the laptop you’re looking at maintain FS2020 performance? Many laptops can’t cool well enough to do sustained compute loads like FS2020. When I run 2020 using a desktop PC, both CPU and graphics card turn into space heaters that big dedicated fans even have a tough go keeping up with and my cooling is way way better than a laptop.
I’m not sure how to answer that question. Multiple manufacturers have the 2080 available. However, the 3080 11th gen i9 combo is specifically Alienware x17 r1 with NO NUMPAD . I find their m51 r2 interesting, but can no longer get it with 2080, so not interested with only a 2070. Unfortunately they didn’t make an m51 r3.
I have 2 machines here ones a desktop i7-7 with a 1080ti card and a laptop with an i7-10 and a 1660ti, performance wise they both run the game. The notebook never gets too hot to run the sim. From what I remember the ‘Super’ version is a dumbed down Ti version. That being said, its kind of a bad time to buy new equipment due to the pandemic, prices are pretty high right now, you might be better off waiting a few months to see if the market balances out and things get a bit cheaper. If they do you might even get a better laptop for the $$$.
I went for a 10th Gen i7 over an 11th Gen i7. Runs MSFS like a dream and that’s before the performance tweaks and DX12. I understand Intel’s 11th Gen is a bit of an interim effort. Slight Sim Hangar did a MSFS bench test between the two generations on that You Tube but I’m struggling to find it.
Is that a laptop or a desktop? I read the 11th gen desktop chips aren’t all that much better than the 10th gen, but not sure about the laptop, specifically 10980hk vs 11980hk.
Interesting. I’m not sure the 1660ti mobile is that much better (if any) than a RTX 1070 mobile. Is my old i7 7700hq slowing me down vs. 10th gen or newer mobile i7 or i9 in the sim?
Looking at CPU benchmarking, there seems to be a substantial improvement in mobile 11th gen i9 vs mobile 10th gen i9. What I cannot tell is if that is short term sprint test, but not much noticeable difference in a sustained game such as MSFS. Desktops on the other hand do not seem to have much improvement with 11th gen i9 vs 10th gen i9.
Also the 10th gen mobile has 2667 MHz RAM vs 3200 MHz RAM in the 11th gen, if that makes a difference. But, is MSFS even playable without a full NUM keyboard?
The 3080 mobile does not have much performance improvement over the 2080 Super.
I’m on a Razer 15 10875h/2080S maxq/32Gb laptop. Msfs runs at a steady 30fps locked most places with exception of Atlanta and Chicago (lots of addons).
I think with the July 27 update coming msfs will run even better. I usually have one core pegged and always CPU bound. So, in my opinion, wait until after the July 27 release and see how the game compares bw 10th gen and 11th gen.
Its not a stepped down version of the 1660, its supposed to have the full specs as the desktop version.
for all intents and purposes the machines are basically the same, the laptop is just a little bit quicker on the benchmarks but its alot newer of a machine as well.
I have the new legion 5pro 3070, works wonders with 1440p 16" laptop screen or 1440p monitor plus numpad. Great value for money, or get legion 7 with 3080 but not too much extra performance although vram is 16 not 8…
If you are building something specifically for MSFS 2020 don’t build it with Micro Gear (IE: Laptop) you need 2020, 2021 or 2022 hardware and software PC Gear. Then ultimately get rid of every other app and program running in the background to make it work well!
I totally understand that a Desktop offers either 1) Best Performance Available or 2) Better Performance for same price vs. a laptop. No argument there. However, a desktop requires a lot more space, including peripherals, and ties the computer to a specific room.
I work from home, so I cannot have a desktop in the space - it would interfere with my work environment. Also we have unreliable power, so would need a really expensive high capacity sine-wave UPS vs the existing UPS that can easily support laptops.
I just want to run the sim in Ultra settings in 1080p with playable framerates in major photogrammetry cities.
The 3080 mobile does not seem to be that much better than the 2080 Super, but the 11th gen i9 seems like it may offer a noticeable performance improvement over the 10th gen i9.
So, for 1080p Ultra settings in the sim, will a 2080 Super mobile and 10980hk (10th gen i9 laptop) be CPU limited or GPU limited in the sim? If GPU limited, then better to save $$ and get the older combo.
in the i7-10 and 1660 with everything on ultra and the gods of the net smiling down on me I can at the sims current state pull a pretty steady 30fps (I can do the same with the desktop and the 1080ti as well).
But on the other hand there are times with the exact same settings/location the dam sim will only run at 15fps still trying to figure out this one…
Thank you all for the comments. What it comes down to is when running MSFS on a laptop in 1080p with Ultra settings with a 2080 Super Mobile and i9 10980hk, will it be CPU limited or GPU limited.
If GPU limited, the 3080 Mobile is marginally better than the 2080 Super Mobile, and better saving the $$ and get the 2080 Super with the 10th gen processor.
If CPU limited, the i9 11980hk seems to have meaningful performance improvement over the i9 10980hk and in that case better to wait for prices to improve and/or inventory/availability to increase.
Also remember to take into account hardware prices are kind of high right now, you might want to wait awhile for them to come back down before you spend any big money…It would really suck to pay 2500 dollars for a laptop only to see a better laptop 2-3 months down the line at 1800.
This is challenging. I can find the 10th gen processors available with 2080 Super from multiple vendors, but you’re right -it’s all mid $2ks. I can afford that if it gives the performance I want.
I’m concerned if I go for something else, it won’t be a 2-3 month wait, it might be a 6+ month wait, and I really want to play this sooner that that, specifically over the fall/winter holidays. For the 11th gen 3080 mobile, other than one particular expensive brand, others are out of stock, or are on 3-6 months wait (where prices can drop far after an order is placed), none of which is appealing.
. I find their m51 r2 interesting, but can no longer get it with 2080, so not interested with only a 2070. Unfortunately they didn’t make an m51 r3.