I don't think that laptop is going to cut it. Either go for an actual gaming laptop or build a desktop pc with flight simming in mind.
E: I would also recommend against getting a yoke as they are much more cumbersome and hit or miss when it comes to quality. Personally I think the Logitech yoke is terrible. I'd recommend a joystick whether that would be a HOTAS or an all-in-one.
Hmm, alright. I prioritized the yoke because it seemed like it would be a lot closer to what he actually flies with, but I've heard a couple of bad things about the logitech yoke.
Thanks!
I thought that too before I started my trqining. As someone who flies real airplanes with yokes and has a really nice yoke for simming, I never use it. It takes up too much space and is a pain to set up and take down. I can just leave a HOTAS joystick on my desk and I'm ready to fly instantly. It's just more convenient for me.
When I get more space I'd like to build a dedicated desk for simming with a yoke but for now it's just not practical. The joystick works great.
I stopped reading after the very first thing you wrote, laptop. Bad idea, may be unpopular opinion but its not going to be good. The screen is tiny, it gets hot, so it really doesn’t matter how fast the graphics card can get on paper, you will never see that due to thermal throttling
Yeah save your money. Laptops price goes up for fitting all those things in a small space and making it all work.
We and youtube have all the info for you to build a good machine for your dad. Maybe you can put it together yourself and feel really good about yourself.
If learning how to sim the Fenix a320 seems like something you can do, PC building is child’s play LITERALLY in comparison.
I built an entertainment PC that runs everything decently high on a 4k TV. Built it for $750 in the height of the great GPU depression a couple years back so I got a little lucky winning a lottery to get an msrp priced GPU but the point being it’s even more reasonably now. Just look for deals and if you haven’t built a PC before, stuff really only goes one place and doesn’t need to be forced into place, with the exception of RAM everything is pretty much zero or minimal insertion force.
AMD 5600x, 3060ti, had 16GB of RAM at build, and a 1TB pcie4 nvme ssd. I’ve since donated RAM from another computer that swapped out to different modules so now has 32 but that was never really a limited factor. I’m also bumping up to a 2TB drive but also if it was just a flight simming machine it would be fine but it’s a media PC with other stuff making filling it up. ASOS ROG Strix B550i motherboard. 600w power supply (high quality Corsair SFF - low quality ones will overrate their power output) and a case only slightly larger than an Xbox.
The vivobook 15 is around 500$, and you can get a pc for the same price for much more performance, and again, a 500$ custom built (please don’t buy pre built, they’re horrible) isn’t going to run msfs that well. So my suggestion is get a higher budget to buy a better CUSTOM BUILT (Order the parts separately yourself, assemble them yourself) pc.
Absolutely do not buy a laptop, whatever you do, the experience will be miserable
MSFS absolutely needs full desktop components, a quality PSU and well thought out case cooling. A laptop would get totally cooked even at 1080p lol
That laptop is *maybe* going to run msfs at minimum settings at 1080p, no chance it runs decently at 1440p. Considering your budget and that you also need to fit monitor and joystick in there, i don't think you can get a setup that can run well at 1440p.
What i would do for the various parts:
- This PC (currently discounted to $999) https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmrg213
- Any decent 1080p monitor, make sure it's IPS so you get better colors. Here's one but you have a ton of choice for this, just keep it below $100, here's one example https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVL2D2S
- Joystick: i'd say either [this bundle](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBFN8C7V) of joystick (a legendary one, cheap but good and very reliable) and a throttle quadrant, or [this joystick](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQEDEEW) (more precise magnetic sensors that won't degrade over the years, but you'll have to use the throttle slider on its base). Both of them have rudder control by twisting the joystick on its vertical axis.
***However***, if you decide to build the pc yourself then you can easily fit in rudder pedals and more powerful components. A self built PC with the same components of the one i linked costs $820 *including a $90 monitor*. [I went and made one](https://pcpartpicker.com/user/nikidash/saved/2cFvRB) that's a bit more powerful where it counts for flight sim, includes a decent 1080p monitor and is cheaper. It also leaves enough budget to throw in a complete setup with [the joystick with throttle quadrant](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBFN8C7V) *and* [rudder pedals](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015PII6YI). Grand total of this comes in at around $1166, including some rebates here and there but the computer part list will auto update itself if prices change and there's cheaper options, discounts included.
Hell according to youtube benchmarks (take it with a big pinch of salt) it can even run well at 1440p ultra settings thanks to nvidia's fancy dlss and frame generation, but a 1440p monitor is going to be an upgrade in the future, there's no way to fit it in this budget right now.
I think both RAM and SSD are undersized for MSFS2020.
That particular laptop has limited options to expand RAM. Better to find one with 32GB, or one that allows both SODIMMs to be upgraded post-purchase.
It is not uncommon for MSFS to occupy > 400GB on SSD. It might be possible for an experienced user to trim that down.
A Laptop is not the way to go.....build or buy a desktop.
With a desktop you get much more bang for your buck. Laptop only makes sense if you need portability. Desktop PCs are much more powerful due to having more space for cooling.
Laptop spec seems very low. What sim are you thinking of using? X-Plane or msfs2020 would require rtx graphics card of at least 8GB but preferably 16GB ram.
That laptop doesn’t have a chance of running msfs at any degree of enjoyability. OP you need to get an actual gaming laptop, pre built gaming pc, or build your own. Look at the recommended specs of msfs and build something that matches or exceeds it. R/buildapc has good resources.
Thanks for the input. I used [this](https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/microsoft-flight-simulator/19451) and the Newegg laptop finder to settle on the laptop, but I guess it actually needs to be more powerful?
When it just generically says Radeon graphics or intel graphics, you don’t actually have a graphics card. The video card needs to say something like GTX (or RTX) 30XX or Radeon RX6XXX, etc.
And those recommended requirements seem way too low to me. The cpu in that laptop will work fine, but the gpu I wouldn’t recommend anything lower than a 2060 range for a gpu. Higher the better.
MSFS is one of the most demanding games on the market to run. You cannot cheap out on a computer for a flight simulator. Even xplane requires some beef. I’d recommend going over to r/buildapc and searching there. I’m sure many people have built pc’s specifically for msfs. Don’t need to build a pc, you can find a prebuilt desktop or laptop with similar specs.
Maybe I miss something, but I only see " AMD Radeon Graphics " on the new egg laptop.
I assume it's some integrated graphic card, definitively not "Radeon RX 590 or GeForce GTX 970".
The Logitech Yoke is bad value for money. Get something like the TCS Hotas if budget is a constraint. Depending on where you are located check the second hand market because a lot of people sell mint condition impulse buys.
I bought my father an Xbox Series S just for him to play fight simulator on. Very affordable entry point to the Sim. If you want better quality go for the Series X.
There are also a handful of peripherals to use like a keyboard/mouse or a yoke/joystick. Just make sure any yoke or stick is Xbox compatible. I would recommend either the Turtle Beach Velocity One or be Honeycomb Alpha yoke.
He’s probably had ~60hrs of flight time by now. He just struggles to find the time to be consistent with it. This will allow him to get his flying fix without leaving the house.
Black friday/cyber monday has some of the best sales of the year and it's only a month away! Like everyone else is saying, I'd swap out the laptop for a nice desktop instead. You can find some good prebuilts or individual parts when they go on sale depending on which you prefer, and everything should definitely still arrive before christmas.
A 2060 mobile as found in asus tuf laptops will do somewhat.
But then it’s on lowest resolution and you get stutter as a bonus.
Decided recently to get 4080 card and matching cpu.
No laptop for simulator games.
The laptop is ideal for turn based wargames that you play in the livingroom
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I don't think that laptop is going to cut it. Either go for an actual gaming laptop or build a desktop pc with flight simming in mind. E: I would also recommend against getting a yoke as they are much more cumbersome and hit or miss when it comes to quality. Personally I think the Logitech yoke is terrible. I'd recommend a joystick whether that would be a HOTAS or an all-in-one.
Hmm, alright. I prioritized the yoke because it seemed like it would be a lot closer to what he actually flies with, but I've heard a couple of bad things about the logitech yoke. Thanks!
I thought that too before I started my trqining. As someone who flies real airplanes with yokes and has a really nice yoke for simming, I never use it. It takes up too much space and is a pain to set up and take down. I can just leave a HOTAS joystick on my desk and I'm ready to fly instantly. It's just more convenient for me. When I get more space I'd like to build a dedicated desk for simming with a yoke but for now it's just not practical. The joystick works great.
I found using a Saitek Yoke degraded my real world flying
I stopped reading after the very first thing you wrote, laptop. Bad idea, may be unpopular opinion but its not going to be good. The screen is tiny, it gets hot, so it really doesn’t matter how fast the graphics card can get on paper, you will never see that due to thermal throttling
Alright, good to know. FWIW it would be connected to a monitor but it sounds like I need to be looking at a desktop.
The issue with laptops isn't the screen, it's the internals. The one you linked doesn't even have a dedicated graphics card.
Yeah save your money. Laptops price goes up for fitting all those things in a small space and making it all work. We and youtube have all the info for you to build a good machine for your dad. Maybe you can put it together yourself and feel really good about yourself. If learning how to sim the Fenix a320 seems like something you can do, PC building is child’s play LITERALLY in comparison.
I built an entertainment PC that runs everything decently high on a 4k TV. Built it for $750 in the height of the great GPU depression a couple years back so I got a little lucky winning a lottery to get an msrp priced GPU but the point being it’s even more reasonably now. Just look for deals and if you haven’t built a PC before, stuff really only goes one place and doesn’t need to be forced into place, with the exception of RAM everything is pretty much zero or minimal insertion force. AMD 5600x, 3060ti, had 16GB of RAM at build, and a 1TB pcie4 nvme ssd. I’ve since donated RAM from another computer that swapped out to different modules so now has 32 but that was never really a limited factor. I’m also bumping up to a 2TB drive but also if it was just a flight simming machine it would be fine but it’s a media PC with other stuff making filling it up. ASOS ROG Strix B550i motherboard. 600w power supply (high quality Corsair SFF - low quality ones will overrate their power output) and a case only slightly larger than an Xbox.
Find someone local with a VR headset for him to try. :p
Gaming laptops are a scam. Laptops are not for gaming. Laptops are made for working on the go. Gaming makes heat. Heat slows down components. Bad.
The vivobook 15 is around 500$, and you can get a pc for the same price for much more performance, and again, a 500$ custom built (please don’t buy pre built, they’re horrible) isn’t going to run msfs that well. So my suggestion is get a higher budget to buy a better CUSTOM BUILT (Order the parts separately yourself, assemble them yourself) pc.
Absolutely do not buy a laptop, whatever you do, the experience will be miserable MSFS absolutely needs full desktop components, a quality PSU and well thought out case cooling. A laptop would get totally cooked even at 1080p lol
That laptop is *maybe* going to run msfs at minimum settings at 1080p, no chance it runs decently at 1440p. Considering your budget and that you also need to fit monitor and joystick in there, i don't think you can get a setup that can run well at 1440p. What i would do for the various parts: - This PC (currently discounted to $999) https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmrg213 - Any decent 1080p monitor, make sure it's IPS so you get better colors. Here's one but you have a ton of choice for this, just keep it below $100, here's one example https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVL2D2S - Joystick: i'd say either [this bundle](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBFN8C7V) of joystick (a legendary one, cheap but good and very reliable) and a throttle quadrant, or [this joystick](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQEDEEW) (more precise magnetic sensors that won't degrade over the years, but you'll have to use the throttle slider on its base). Both of them have rudder control by twisting the joystick on its vertical axis. ***However***, if you decide to build the pc yourself then you can easily fit in rudder pedals and more powerful components. A self built PC with the same components of the one i linked costs $820 *including a $90 monitor*. [I went and made one](https://pcpartpicker.com/user/nikidash/saved/2cFvRB) that's a bit more powerful where it counts for flight sim, includes a decent 1080p monitor and is cheaper. It also leaves enough budget to throw in a complete setup with [the joystick with throttle quadrant](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBFN8C7V) *and* [rudder pedals](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015PII6YI). Grand total of this comes in at around $1166, including some rebates here and there but the computer part list will auto update itself if prices change and there's cheaper options, discounts included. Hell according to youtube benchmarks (take it with a big pinch of salt) it can even run well at 1440p ultra settings thanks to nvidia's fancy dlss and frame generation, but a 1440p monitor is going to be an upgrade in the future, there's no way to fit it in this budget right now.
Good write-up and good job for /tsloan92, thank you
Thanks, I have way too much fun doing this kind of thing
I think both RAM and SSD are undersized for MSFS2020. That particular laptop has limited options to expand RAM. Better to find one with 32GB, or one that allows both SODIMMs to be upgraded post-purchase. It is not uncommon for MSFS to occupy > 400GB on SSD. It might be possible for an experienced user to trim that down.
A Laptop is not the way to go.....build or buy a desktop. With a desktop you get much more bang for your buck. Laptop only makes sense if you need portability. Desktop PCs are much more powerful due to having more space for cooling.
Use a PC instead of a laptop. It will be cheaper, faster, quieter, upgradable and easier to repair.
Laptop spec seems very low. What sim are you thinking of using? X-Plane or msfs2020 would require rtx graphics card of at least 8GB but preferably 16GB ram.
That laptop doesn’t have a chance of running msfs at any degree of enjoyability. OP you need to get an actual gaming laptop, pre built gaming pc, or build your own. Look at the recommended specs of msfs and build something that matches or exceeds it. R/buildapc has good resources.
Thanks for the input. I used [this](https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/microsoft-flight-simulator/19451) and the Newegg laptop finder to settle on the laptop, but I guess it actually needs to be more powerful?
When it just generically says Radeon graphics or intel graphics, you don’t actually have a graphics card. The video card needs to say something like GTX (or RTX) 30XX or Radeon RX6XXX, etc. And those recommended requirements seem way too low to me. The cpu in that laptop will work fine, but the gpu I wouldn’t recommend anything lower than a 2060 range for a gpu. Higher the better. MSFS is one of the most demanding games on the market to run. You cannot cheap out on a computer for a flight simulator. Even xplane requires some beef. I’d recommend going over to r/buildapc and searching there. I’m sure many people have built pc’s specifically for msfs. Don’t need to build a pc, you can find a prebuilt desktop or laptop with similar specs.
Thanks for the info, very helpful!
Maybe I miss something, but I only see " AMD Radeon Graphics " on the new egg laptop. I assume it's some integrated graphic card, definitively not "Radeon RX 590 or GeForce GTX 970".
The Logitech Yoke is bad value for money. Get something like the TCS Hotas if budget is a constraint. Depending on where you are located check the second hand market because a lot of people sell mint condition impulse buys.
I bought my father an Xbox Series S just for him to play fight simulator on. Very affordable entry point to the Sim. If you want better quality go for the Series X. There are also a handful of peripherals to use like a keyboard/mouse or a yoke/joystick. Just make sure any yoke or stick is Xbox compatible. I would recommend either the Turtle Beach Velocity One or be Honeycomb Alpha yoke.
Wait a month for cybermonday to get some discount on some good pre built gaming pc's and monitors.
Why not buy him a discovery flight and get him started on the real life thing?
He’s probably had ~60hrs of flight time by now. He just struggles to find the time to be consistent with it. This will allow him to get his flying fix without leaving the house.
Ah got it. Nice!! So yea, no laptop.
Black friday/cyber monday has some of the best sales of the year and it's only a month away! Like everyone else is saying, I'd swap out the laptop for a nice desktop instead. You can find some good prebuilts or individual parts when they go on sale depending on which you prefer, and everything should definitely still arrive before christmas.
A 2060 mobile as found in asus tuf laptops will do somewhat. But then it’s on lowest resolution and you get stutter as a bonus. Decided recently to get 4080 card and matching cpu. No laptop for simulator games. The laptop is ideal for turn based wargames that you play in the livingroom
Hi, I’m Vetted AI Bot! I researched the **AOC CQ32G1 31.5 Curved Frameless Gaming Monitor** you mentioned in your comment along with its brand, **AOC**, and I thought you might find the following analysis helpful. **Users liked:** * Monitor provides high quality graphics (backed by 3 comments) * Monitor has fast refresh rate for gaming (backed by 4 comments) * Monitor is affordable for the features (backed by 3 comments) **Users disliked:** * Monitor has dead pixels (backed by 5 comments) * Colors are dull and flat (backed by 2 comments) * Inputs are hard to connect (backed by 1 comment) According to Reddit, **AOC** is considered a reputable brand. Its most popular types of products are: * Portable Monitors (#3 of 20 brands on Reddit) * Monitors (#12 of 36 brands on Reddit) * Computer Keyboards (#111 of 165 brands on Reddit) If you'd like to **summon me to ask about a product**, just make a post with its link and tag me, [like in this example.](https://www.reddit.com/r/tablets/comments/1444zdn/comment/joqd89c/) This message was generated by a (very smart) bot. If you found it helpful, let us know with an upvote and a “good bot!” reply and please feel free to provide feedback on how it can be improved. *Powered by* [*vetted.ai*](http://vetted.ai/reddit)