Portable Laptop - will it run the sim?

Disclaimer: This will NOT be my primary MSFS2020 device. I already have a gaming rig and looking to update that rig next year.

For my travel/portable laptop, I currently have a 6 year old i5 13" touchscreen that is getting long in the tooth and won’t run Win 11.

I was thinking of just getting a basic 13" touchscreen with Intel Iris Xe graphics. I know for sure that CANNOT run the sim and would never think of it. However, I see for a few hundred more, there is an HP Envy 14 that can be fitted with 11th gen i7, 16GB RAM, Nvidia Ge Force 1650 Ti MaxQ (4GB VRAM). Is it possible to run the sim with playable performance on that rig on low graphics settings while fully plugged in? If not, what about X-plane 11?

I run MSFS on a Razer gaming laptop - 10875h/2080S-maxq/32Gb RAM.

I play at mostly Ultra and LODs at 300 at 30FPS. My display is 4K so Render Scale is at 70.

Comparing our processors, mine is ~15% faster. Comparing GPUs, mine is 125% faster. (just looking at userbenchmark.com).

On paper, the GPU is where you lose the most. You might be able to get away with medium or medium+high at 30fps

One last thing, heat matters. So, if that laptop can’t get the heat out, none of the above really matters. You will be throttled so much it’ll be a slideshow.

Maybe look for a good return policy?

Wow. For sure. If I wanted a laptop specifically to run the sim, I’d get an actual large gaming rig laptop, such as what you have or maybe an Alienware or Omen.

I’m looking to replace a portable 13-14" ~3lb laptop with good battery life. The primary purpose is to have a modern Win11 portable travel laptop with good battery life. There are tons of those. However, for a few hundred more, there is the HP Envy 14, which seems unique, and offers the 1650 Ti Max Q. If I can play the sim on low or even medium settings when traveling for just a few hundred more, that would be fantastic. Reviews say it has excellent thermals in its class, although I’m sure it’s nowhere near a dedicated gaming laptop. Considering it’s either that or something that definitely cannot play the sim, that is promising.

Anything else that would play the sim better would compromise on the size/portability/battery life.

I think it’s just a matter of testing it. Only way to be sure. And able to return it if you need something more. Good luck!

I bought this one specifically for this game. Routinely I am hitting 82C in GPU, with fan set to performance mode, If I turn it up to turbo cool, I can knock that down about 5C. I believe the question has been answered above, heat in the GPU is going to be your limiting factor. So what I would do is get on e-bay, order DVD version of FSX with the acceleration pack, find and download the two SP’s so you have them, and play FSX on the light laptop you want to get. I run both on here, and for most part FSX is as much fun as MSFS, because all the systems work, and no hair pulling out from crazy ATC calls, and downloading issues. Trust me, a lite laptop, while traveling, and trying to ge an update, you will see mud harden faster than that is going to happen. FWIW-This is a gaming laptop, but when I’m traveling, getting any update or patch just does not work ever. So you might be in downloading loop and cause more issues than you want. I never try to update this game on the road. I revert back to FSX and wait till home. Other people might have different experience, but in end, it’s your decision.

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Which laptop do you have? How does the sim run on it? If MSFS too much, what about X-plane 11 or Prepar3D, as that’s modern software?

Primary purpose of the machine I’m looking for is travel/portability/battery life, etc. However, the specific one I’m looking at seems to be able to handle some light gaming. There are many laptops that for sure will play the sim well (Alienware x17, 3080, i9, etc.), but are much less portable, double to triple the price, and terrible with battery life. There are also many laptops that are portable, small, and with good battery life that won’t play anything. If that specific one can play the sim (or XP11 or P3D) at least on Low (Medium would be fantastic, but will take Low), I’ll be happy with it for just a few hundred more and essentially similar size and portability for one that cannot play anything.

I will probably only play the sim (or XP11 or P3D) on the laptop if I’m traveling. I have a dedicated rig to play the sim when not traveling.

Of course, if the sim does run on it, I will make sure it is updated before traveling. I normally purchase the fast internet packages at hotels, but that’s probably not all that great.

I got ASUS Scar Strix III - Intel I-7-9750, 32GB System Ram-RTX-2070 8GB Video Ram, 1TB SSD, 1 TB Secondary Drive, and dedicated HDMI port plus a USB-C Display port. I also got second Power Supply so I could keep in bag. It’s the 17" screen with 240HZ refresh rate, like I said for this game. I use a 32" external 1080P monitor out of the HDMI port, the USB-C port is powering a hub with all my perhiprels hooked to it. Never have issues with this laptop, have issues with ther game all the time. Not running it, getting it to update, and ATC calls in the game. Think you would be better served with maybe XP-11 or P3D on cheaper unit while traveling. This one was close to 3K uS.

Oh OK thanks. Yes, that is a really good gaming laptop. I think the issues you’re having are due to the sim itself, not that you’re using a laptop. Those of us with powerful desktops still have those issues.

Yeah, i just was told by one person in email to turn of ATC and the game would run better. Maybe going to do that and see what happens.

It will run and I think you’ll be surprised with some settings adjustments.

I run the sim with Asus Rog 1060 6gb 32gb ram laptop with no problems. Every setting is low or off except clouds, grass, buildings, glass cockpit and water. They are medium or ultra. 1080p 40" tv monitor looks good enough to create an immersive experience for me. I use laptop monitor as mfd. I haven’t had any issues.

Absolutely it will run, and possibly better than you would have thought.

I run a MSI GS75 with an i7 8750, RTX 2070 max-q, 16Gb Ram (could do with more), and a 2Gb Samsung 970 EVO Plus nVME SSD. Screen is 17", but res is only 1080p, so that helps.

Generally have high settings and get smooth 30+ fps everywhere except the densest locations (NYC etc.)

As with all laptops, the real performance issue is throttling due to high temps. Because of this I spec’d my laptop with liquid metal paste on the CPU/GPU & high quality thermal pads elsewhere. Combined with a -100mv undervolt and a custom fan profile, my highest temps are in the 80°-85° range, which avoids throttling completely.

As long as you keep that HP Envy powered externaly you will able to run MSFS2020 on medium to high settings.
If you disconnect it you will notice a rapid drain of batterylife and reduced performance of the GPU.
I have a Lenovo IdeaPad S540 with i7, 1650 Q-max, 12 GB Ram and a 1 TB SSD and it runs pretty well, as long as I keep it powered externaly.
Happy :small_airplane:

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Awesome. Yes of course, will only sim with the power plugged in. The majority of the time I’ll actually use this to sim when visiting one particular relative that appreciates simming. Traveling with a proper gaming laptop is a bit onerous - I need a smaller laptop to watch movies on planes in Windows Netflix/Prime apps ever since Samsung got rid of the headphone jack :frowning: ) and also have need for a small/portable with excellent battery life.

That said, when visiting that relative (spend about 3-4 weeks a year there), I’d plan to keep both a decent cooling pad and a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro flight stick (cheapest one that is half decent) at that location for the sim.

Two questions:

  1. What is the best cooling pad recommended for a 14" size laptop
  2. That HP Envy has a 16:10 screen ratio 1920 x 1200. Would a non-standard screen aspect ratio be difficult in watching movies (e.g. Netflix/Prime) on windows apps? I don’t mind black bars, but I do not want it stretched or cropped. What about running the sim? For Netflix/Prime apps, will need to run the Windows apps directly, since that’s the only way to access previously downloaded content.
  3. For that HP Envy, would sim performance be just as good if using HDMI out on a 1920 x 1080p external monitor vs. the internal display? I would keep the lid open with a cool pad below to maximize cooling.

Thanks!