Hey guys, I've got a Macbook Pro since like a year and made a partition for Windows since then. I like the versality of having Mac OS and Windows for flying also.

I feel like I wanna update a couple of things, a new graphics card like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M @ 1 GB and boost the RAM to 8 GB.

Now my current card is NVIDA GeForce 320M @ 256 MB and 4 GB RAM with a Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2,4 GHz.

Somebody has told me that only increasing the RAM to 8 GB will boost the performance, so what do you think?

Thanks  

Hi CoolP, I'm running W7 x86.
Yesterday I stopped by an iStore and they told me it's not possible to TurboBoost the procesor to any higher than 2,4 GHz... however, they told me I can actually update my graphics card and add other 4 GB RAM.

How does FSX run so far in my laptop?
Though I can't really complain I must say I avoid airports such as NRT, LHR, CDG, SYD, etc... with addons like the CS 767 I have a hard time in high-density airports as you might imagine. And that's without talking about weather hit.

I am looking for a smooth flight with very high graphics settings, but it wouldn't be too smart to buy and install a new graphics card and additional 4 GB RAM without being completely sure it will kick up the performance. Still doing some homework on different cards...

Lou once mentioned his laptop which seems to be good for FSX. But it didn't sound like being a normal 'portable' thingy like a slim Macbook would be.

Now I'm really no expert on Macbooks, but I still doubt that you can upgrade the graphics hardware on them. RAM and HDD, yes. When looking at the description here, this hasn't changed and, as said, upgradable graphics on mobile devices are a very niche market. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro Alienware featured them for example.

Even if you could upgrade (on the smaller/older Macs), those chips aren't what you are looking for when it comes to some gaming.

Either way, I'd say the main limit in FSX terms is the CPU of yours. The small graphics then add to it. I have a small laptop with FSX Vanilla, REX with lo-res textures and few planes installed, no scenery. For 'just flying', this works. But for everything else, I would have to get a bigger machine (which would contradict the actual use of that device for me) or just use my home PC with all the bells and whistles.

So if you wanna stay mobile and get better FSX results, maybe trade in for a (way) bigger laptop or stay away from the mobile path and build a mid-range home PC. That would be cheaper I guess and also more flexible when you want to upgrade. As Evan says too.

I saw some folks running Macbooks for FSX (from reading their signature). But, if I remember correctly, those were bigger models than yours is. Means some Core i7 Sandy Bridge and that bigger graphics card like GeForce GT 650M. From a desktop perspective, this still isn't stellar (as the freqs are pretty low on the CPU and the GPU's name looks more than it is), but it should work for FSX and some addons.

Won't be that cheap though. 

There you go.


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I'm planning to buy another laptop sometime in the (not too distant) future, but I guarantee you that I will make darn sure that is capable of running FSX well on it. I couldn't have it any other way.

Maybe you are lucky and they offer some 15" gaming rig too. Keeps the system more in the portable range. Well, I just saw that they all come in at some 4kg, which is a lot if you are mobile.   It doesn't mean much though when you just take it with you occasionally, find the next power outlet and play.

For FSX, just make sure you get a nice CPU. The bigger, the better so to speak. Means do NOT buy anything with Intel® Core™ i3 330M/350M/370M for example. In a CPU dependent game like FSX, that's the wrong choice. Even the (mobile 'M') i5 models may not be that good as they are all dual cores. Find a list of mobile quad cores 'QM' here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_i7_List#.22Ivy_Bridge_.28Quad-Core.29.22_.2822...

It's not that the quad core is the superior choice by design, but the setup with a higher clock (+turbo) freq, larger cache and other features render it the strongest mobile CPU. And a strong CPU, that's what you need for FSX.  

I'm just wondering what brands offer typical mobile gaming gear. I think the Asus and Alienware stuff is well known.
Asus ROG http://rog.asus.com/
Alienware http://www.alienware.com/

Other manufacturers may have decent models too. Some more normal models may come from Gigabyte or Lenovo for example. It's just that these two brands seem to have specialized on some things. With a mixed output I might add since the strange lights and 'gaming optics' are far away from my liking at times.

I think they e.g. took care of a system running at max for an extended time, so, as Lou said, the cooling setup can handle some hours of gaming while other laptops may end up with loud fans or some throttling setting in. Or just get very hot where your hands are touching the case.

R. Aranda S. wrote on Oct 21^st, 2012 at 7:26am:

If you went in such a shop and told them the product number from the Asus website, they should be able to get you that model I think.

Maybe you can ask them how they would handle (warranty and) things if you had bought the system in the US and approached the Mexican shop. This depends on the company, some may or may not make a difference then.

Where to buy? http://rog.asus.com/where-to-buy/; Dell (which owns Alienware) has a dedicated Mexican presence.

LOU wrote on Oct 21^st, 2012 at 3:31pm:


I caught that one 

R. Aranda S. wrote on Oct 24^th, 2012 at 4:11pm:

It looks like it would be a very good Laptop for FSX to me.