Works on a cheap laptop?

[plaindavid]

I have a few questions regarding FS 2020. Windows 11 runs great on my laptop. So does MS FSX, flawlessly - high frame rate, for several years now. Will FS 2020 run on my laptop? Or do I need a gaming computer? Or do I need X-Box to run FS 2020? I put my laptop resources in the bottom paragraph.

I don't want to get it from Steam because, I think, the download time goes against game usage time, and if it's over 2 hours usage, then you can't get a refund (I think). And it's going to take a few hours to download and install. Will the download time be counted as time used by the sim in case I have to get a refund? What is the refund policy if it won't run on my laptop?

My resources are 20GB RAM, i5-1035G1, Win11. Task manager says I have 9.9GB of "shared" video RAM. I've read the minimum requirements, but I don't know for sure that it WON'T run on my laptop.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any and all info that anyone can give. Thanks!

[Sandhill]

Download time does not count against your 2 hours.
What graphics are in your computer?

[Phantom_Wolf]

Whew, 20GB of RAM? Sounds like you had a 16GB and a 4GB RAM sticks. Task manager's "shared" VRAM is actually a combination of both iGPU (if any) and dGPU VRAM, so it could be a lot lower. Does your laptop have a dGPU? (I'd guess yes, but I don't know the model)

As for the two hours refund issue, I think Valve actually expanded on that specifically for MSFS 2020 so you can still refund it even above two hours if you spent that much time downloading it. (I can't guarantee that it's still like that though)

Overall I'd recommend trying it on XBox Gamepass if possible, you can buy cheap 14 day access pass coupons from some places

Enjoy the flight!

Also, come to think of it, getting an XBS and the flight controls might actually be cheaper than a dedicated computer if all you want to do is play MSFS 2020

[plaindavid]

Originally posted by Sandhill:

Download time does not count against your 2 hours.
What graphics are in your computer?

Thanks for the reply. The graphics are only "Intel UHD Graphics." But I run Windows 11 and MS FSX very nicely on this laptop. I guess I'm hoping that it will work on this Acer Aspire 3. I beefed it up with a 1TB SSD and added 16GB RAM.

[plaindavid]

Originally posted by Phantom_Wolf:

Whew, 20GB of RAM? Sounds like you had a 16GB and a 4GB RAM sticks. Task manager's "shared" VRAM is actually a combination of both iGPU (if any) and dGPU VRAM, so it could be a lot lower. Does your laptop have a dGPU? (I'd guess yes, but I don't know the model)

As for the two hours refund issue, I think Valve actually expanded on that specifically for MSFS 2020 so you can still refund it even above two hours if you spent that much time downloading it. (I can't guarantee that it's still like that though)

Overall I'd recommend trying it on XBox Gamepass if possible, you can buy cheap 14 day access pass coupons from some places

Enjoy the flight!

Also, come to think of it, getting an XBS and the flight controls might actually be cheaper than a dedicated computer if all you want to do is play MSFS 2020

Yeah, I had 8GB RAM when I bought it a year ago, but I put 16 in after removing the "top" 4GB stick. I can't get to the "bottom" 4GB stick, so hence the 20GB RAM. I also upgraded the SSD to 1TB. I don't know if this Acer Aspire 3 (I forgot to mention that) has dGPU or iGPU. It's just the one that came with this. I really appreciate you replying, and letting me know that the 2 hour limit with the refund. Awesome that they increased it for FS 2020. I think I'm gonna go ahead and get it, and if it doesn't run, I'll either ask for a refund, or keep it and eventually get a more powerful computer. Thanks for the reply and info. I really appreciate it.

[ZombieHunter]

Heat will be your enemy. Laptops heat up and this forces the CPU to get throttled back. So while you might have an awesome CPU 75% of the time it isn't being utilized to its max b/c of heat. Add in a dedicated video card with the CPU and an SSD and you essentially have a portable furnace. The number one enemy of all things silicon is heat.

So I will say no it won't run that well on a laptop.

[plaindavid]

Originally posted by ZombieHunter:

Heat will be your enemy. Laptops heat up and this forces the CPU to get throttled back. So while you might have an awesome CPU 75% of the time it isn't being utilized to its max b/c of heat. Add in a dedicated video card with the CPU and an SSD and you essentially have a portable furnace. The number one enemy of all things silicon is heat.

So I will say no it won't run that well on a laptop.

Well, I went ahead and bought it and it's downloading and installing right now. The installer (small prog) told me before it started downloading that I have below the minimum reqs, and that it might mess up a little. But that sort of told me that it will run on this laptop - just a few possible quirks. I totally appreciate your reply and input! Oh, regarding the heat, I fly with FSX every day and I occasionally feel the case by the fan to check for excessive heat. So, I guess I'll do the same with FS2020. Thanks again.

[Manwith Noname]

I think your biggest problem is going to be that integrated GPU but you get to try it out and decide if what you experience in terms of performance is acceptable to you.

[Twelvefield]

On the lowest settings, the game is well-optimized. It will look something like FSX on high or max settings. You might have to stay out of New York or other large metropolitan centers, but above Wilkie, Saskatchewan you'll likely be okay.

I'm going to go along with the skeptics: while there are parts of the game that run decently on low, there are other parts like the menus of all things and the map that are crashy. It's been a while since I investigated what MSFS can do on Low, so I can really only go by my gut which says you are going to run into issues.

Buying it now, of course if you upgrade later you can always get it from STEAM when you have more horsepower to run the game. Even so, maybe there will be a discount on Winter Sale or even the GOTY which comes out in a few days? Likely not more than 10%, though. Bill has alimony now.

[svennoj]

I play on a gaming laptop and am limited by heat. Fans are on close to full blast (5800 rpm), CPU is at 82c, GPU 84c (GTX 1060) but I do run at a mix of high and ultra settings. I disabled boost (keeping my cpu at 2.2 ghz) as with it boosting to 3.5ghz I start getting throttled with frequent severe fps dips as result.

It works fine otherwise, runs smoothly, looks amazing, rendering at 1440p downsampled to 144hz 1080p ips panel.

So yes, it can work very well on a laptop (while keeping your hands nice and warm lol) but most non gaming laptops are not made with high speed fans, and even a lot of gaming laptops have bad cooling. You mileage may vary, a lot.

Btw, off power is definitely not recommended. When I had a power failure I had about 50 minutes to find a place to land. Only running at half my normal fps, after dialing back the render resolution to 1080p and setting the draw distance to minimum. But I did land the plane safely! Ermergency power failure landing in Resolute Bay
https://i.imgur.com/cNMZXIa.png
That's how it looks without online map data :/

[plaindavid]

Originally posted by svennoj:

I play on a gaming laptop and am limited by heat. Fans are on close to full blast (5800 rpm), CPU is at 82c, GPU 84c (GTX 1060) but I do run at a mix of high and ultra settings. I disabled boost (keeping my cpu at 2.2 ghz) as with it boosting to 3.5ghz I start getting throttled with frequent severe fps dips as result.

It works fine otherwise, runs smoothly, looks amazing, rendering at 1440p downsampled to 144hz 1080p ips panel.

So yes, it can work very well on a laptop (while keeping your hands nice and warm lol) but most non gaming laptops are not made with high speed fans, and even a lot of gaming laptops have bad cooling. You mileage may vary, a lot.

Btw, off power is definitely not recommended. When I had a power failure I had about 50 minutes to find a place to land. Only running at half my normal fps, after dialing back the render resolution to 1080p and setting the draw distance to minimum. But I did land the plane safely! Ermergency power failure landing in Resolute Bay
https://i.imgur.com/cNMZXIa.png
That's how it looks without online map data :/

Good info. Thanks! Yeah, this isn't a gaming laptop, and FS2020 just closes sometimes without any warning or error message. So, I asked for a refund, but they say that I have 9 hours playtime. They counted the 5-6 hours downloading and installing as playtime! That ain't right. If I don't get a refund, then maybe I'll eventually get a faster computer. Thanks again!

[svennoj]

Originally posted by plaindavid:

]
Good info. Thanks! Yeah, this isn't a gaming laptop, and FS2020 just closes sometimes without any warning or error message. So, I asked for a refund, but they say that I have 9 hours playtime. They counted the 5-6 hours downloading and installing as playtime! That ain't right. If I don't get a refund, then maybe I'll eventually get a faster computer. Thanks again!

They'll eventually give you a refund but you need to get past the bot and in touch with a real person. It's a pita but people have managed. Keep trying.

[plaindavid]

Originally posted by svennoj:

Originally posted by plaindavid:

]
Good info. Thanks! Yeah, this isn't a gaming laptop, and FS2020 just closes sometimes without any warning or error message. So, I asked for a refund, but they say that I have 9 hours playtime. They counted the 5-6 hours downloading and installing as playtime! That ain't right. If I don't get a refund, then maybe I'll eventually get a faster computer. Thanks again!

They'll eventually give you a refund but you need to get past the bot and in touch with a real person. It's a pita but people have managed. Keep trying.

Thanks again. Yep, they did refund.

[ZombieHunter]

Originally posted by svennoj:

I play on a gaming laptop and am limited by heat. Fans are on close to full blast (5800 rpm), CPU is at 82c, GPU 84c (GTX 1060) but I do run at a mix of high and ultra settings. I disabled boost (keeping my cpu at 2.2 ghz) as with it boosting to 3.5ghz I start getting throttled with frequent severe fps dips as result.

It works fine otherwise, runs smoothly, looks amazing, rendering at 1440p downsampled to 144hz 1080p ips panel.

So yes, it can work very well on a laptop (while keeping your hands nice and warm lol) but most non gaming laptops are not made with high speed fans, and even a lot of gaming laptops have bad cooling. You mileage may vary, a lot.

Btw, off power is definitely not recommended. When I had a power failure I had about 50 minutes to find a place to land. Only running at half my normal fps, after dialing back the render resolution to 1080p and setting the draw distance to minimum. But I did land the plane safely! Ermergency power failure landing in Resolute Bay
https://i.imgur.com/cNMZXIa.png
That's how it looks without online map data :/

Very good info. And very true.

I'm on a liquid cooled CPU and air cooled GPU and if I close my door and run FS 2020 or RDR 2 for any length of time it really begins to heat my room up. My wife will come in and tell me 'man it's hot in here'. I tell her it is b/c I'm in it but that doesn't go over well. So yeah FS 2020 is going to tax your system and that means a lot of heat.

[Twelvefield]

Originally posted by ZombieHunter:

My wife will come in and tell me 'man it's hot in here'. I tell her it is b/c I'm in it but that doesn't go over well.

SHE: Gosh, it's hot in here, don't you think?
ME: Only because you just stepped in. (looks up from gaming) Aiyee! (shields eyes) It is the goddess of the sun!!! I must protect my weak man flesh before it is seared off by the scorching heat of her unparallelled beauty!!! Too late!!! For I am lost!!! If it be my fate to die now, at least I do with you being the last I see in life!!! Aiyeeee!!!

↑↑↑↑
THIS
IS
HOW
IT'S
DONE.

[KatanaDV20]

I am on a 13 year old PC (1st gen Nehalem architecture) and MSFS runs on this a million times better than FSX ever did. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes I do have limitations - cant fly the airliners and cant fly over cities. No big deal because neither of those are my thing.

But out over the boonies & smaller towns in the smaller airplanes I can get upto 45FPS. No settings are on low. Everything's on High with a few on Ultra.

i7 920 @ 3.8Ghz
12GB DDR3
GTX1060 6GB
Win10 Pro