[stunna]

Hey guys. I'm looking for a laptop that can run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and Microsoft Flight Simulator X good. My limit is $1200, and i was thinking of getting something with a GeForce 9800M GT SLI or a Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 or something of that sort. I prefer HP's or Sony VAIO's. I'm looking for something that can run Flight Sim but has a sleek look. Can someone please help me choose?

[Smith6612]

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 honestly doesn't need one heck of a system to run at all. Looking at the specs, it looks like it can be ran on my 10 year old Dell Inspiron 3800GT laptop, and also looks like something my gaming computer would overload. If anything, any laptop with a decent video card should run it, but I'd shoot at a system with 2GB of RAM, a decent nVidia/ATi card, and a high RPM S-ATA drive, and a good dual core processor.

But if anything, I wouldn't shoot for a laptop geared at the minimum requirements. If you can, a system at or above the recommended specs would be best. Also, considering what you might be playing in the future can and should be a factor. Otherwise, I'll see what I can find. I'm almost positive I'm not going to find any 9800M GT cards or even Radeon 3870s in SLi/Crossfire for your budget. However there is a chance that I may.

EDIT: Right now in searching, the cheapest system with a 9800M GT is starting at $1,300, certainly over your budget. This was from HP. I did find a system with an 8600M in it that was under your budget though. Let me check VAIO now...

EDIT2: VAIO seems to have some pretty good systems there as well. The only systems I can find under your budget all have Intel Media Accelerator cards though. If you want me to check out other brands, I can do that.

[intertec]

Well, if you willing to wait and get extra $120 to make your limit $1320. I have found a perfect laptop with 8800 GTS.

Technical Specifications:

Specifications
Condition: New

Operating Systems: Windows® Vista™ Ultimate

Platform: Notebook PC

Expansion Ports: 1 - Express Card Slot/54

PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: N/A

PS/2 Mouse Connectors: N/A

Serial Communication Ports: N/A

Parallel Ports: N/A

USB Ports: 3

FireWire Ports: 1

Fast Infrared Ports (FIR): N/A

LAN Ports: 1

Modem Ports: 1

Audio Out Jacks: 1

Line In Jacks: N/A

Microphone Jacks: 1

VGA Ports: 1

S-Video Connectors: N/A

DVI Video: N/A

Port Replicator/Connector: N/A

Processor Brand: Intel

Processor Class: Centrino Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500

Processor Speed: 2.2GHz

Processor FSB: 800MHz

Processor Cache: 4MB

Additional Technologies: Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology

Memory Type: DDR2

Memory Size: 4GB

Memory Speed: PC2-5300

Memory Slots (Total): 2

Memory Slots (Available): 0

Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB

Capacity: 200GB (7200 RPM)

Optical Drive Type: Dual Layer DVD±RW/RAM with LabelFlash

Supplemental Drive Type: Media Reader

Capacity: 5

Media Types: SecureDigital
Memory Stick
xD-Picture Card
Memory Stick PRO
Multi Media Card

Audio Description: Integrated Audio

Audio Chipset: Hi-Definition (HD) Audio Support

Graphics Description: Dedicated Graphics

GPU/VPU: NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800M GTS

Video Memory: 512MB GDDR3 Video Memory

Video Interface: HDMI, VGA

Communications Description: Integrated LAN
Integrated Modem
Integrated Wireless LAN
Integrated Bluetooth

Interface Type: RJ-11 Phone Connector
RJ-45 Ethernet Connector
802.11b/g Wireless Networking
Bluetooth™

Data Transfer Rate: 56Kbps Modem
10/100/1000Mbps Network
54 Mbps
Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR

Protocols: V.92
802.11b
802.11g

Width: 15.75", 400 mm

Height: 1.3" - 1.7"
33 - 43 mm

Depth: 11.75"
298 mm

Weight: 9.2 lbs

Mouse Type: Touch Pad

Buttons: 2

Scrolling Capability: Vertical Scroll Up/Down

Keyboard Type: Fullsize with Numberpad

Display Type: Widescreen Ultrabright TFT WXGA+

Viewable Screen Size: 17"

Maximum Resolution: 1440 x 900

Battery Type: 9-Cell Lithium-ion

Battery Life: N/A

[Spartan Erik]

IMO I have had way better experiences with Dell laptops than Sony or HP laptops in terms of customer support and lifetime functionality

[Twinkie]

Originally Posted by stunna

Hey guys. I'm looking for a laptop that can run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and Microsoft Flight Simulator X good. My limit is $1200, and i was thinking of getting something with a GeForce 9800M GT SLI or a Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 or something of that sort. I prefer HP's or Sony VAIO's. I'm looking for something that can run Flight Sim but has a sleek look. Can someone please help me choose?

Would be so much easier if you got a desktop. I assembled one my self for about $675 that is a gaming computer.

2.4Gz Quad - Was overclocked to 2.6Gz

500GB Western Digital Hard Disk

512Mb HD ATI Graphics Card with HMDI

4GB 1066Mz Ram

Missing only OS and monitor which I get for free, and I have a monitor already. You can get everything easily within your budget.

PS: All items purchased from Newegg.com, not even on sale.

~Twinkie

[charithjperera]

Originally Posted by Twinkie

512Mb HD ATI Graphics Card with HMDI

If its for FSX, you might want to go with an nvidia card; they seem to be better for FSX.

[bnex10]

Have you tried FlightGear? http://www.flightgear.org

[Sharky]

FSX is in a whole league of its own way above FlightGear. I'd say the most noticable thing for me about FSX is the loading times. My Core2 Duo @ 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM and nVidia GeForce 8600GT can cope easily with moderate-to-high settings, but it looks nowhere near as good as it could. So you'll probably be wanting more than that.

I just hope you're not expecting this laptop to have much of a battery life!

[Olliemon]

I run fs2004 at full spec on my 2yr old Acer lappy, it has a 2.0Ghz processor and 1gb ddr2 RAM and it runs fine on that, I'm upgrading it to 4gig this year and that wil hopefully run FSX smoothly. ---------------- Now playing: Metallica - Master Of Puppets via FoxyTunes

[PatrickH]

You can always get a laptop from MSI, they seem to have more features than the other leading brands without the cost.

Is the thread starter in the US?