In a few weeks will not have access to my normal VR gaming rig…or any desktop PC for that matter…for some indeterminate amount of time. So I’m getting a Laptop to hold me over.
The Laptop needs to do only two things:
1 - Run DCS in pancake modest reasonable frame rates - latest Intel processor (Core i7 ?) and capable NVIDIA card (GeForce RTX™ 2080? Works well enough on my normal rig) - minimum 16 GB RAM and 8 GB graphics memory?
2 - have a enough storage to easily hold two complete / separate DCS installs (think Stable and Beta) with about a dozen aircraft each and all the maps, except WWII - I want 2 TB but will likely have to settle for 1 TB.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated - especially if there s some company that specializes in such things.
I picked up a 17.3" MSI GP75 Leopard on sale a while back. I7-10750, 32gb 32000 DDR4, RTX 2070 (the only major change I’d have made is going to something with 2080), an NVME 2TB and 2TB SSD.
Honestly even with the 2070, I still get well over 100FPS on average in DCS with all the sliders all the way over. The 2080 would have be mainly for a bit of future proofing. It’s a bit loud if you let the fans spool up all the way, but a pair of head phones solve that problem. Even using the “silent” mode which limits the fan speed and thermal throttles everything I get around 80 FPS.
I got a Razor 15 inch for my travel… only 3 games installed Steel Beasts Pro PE, DCS and all the dlc/add-ons, and Microsoft Flight Simulator. All run on ultra at around 60 fps. I only have a 500 gb state drive… and 90% full…so buy bigger then that.
It fits in my saddle bag… use it for GoPro editing. jmo
Was wondering where you were at since I actually RTFM and have started designing missions. Been re-reading your threads on mission building - you need to write a Chuck_Owl’s type of guide to help fools like me. Please
To your question: since you’re a retired General, correct?-) you can afford it. Check out DigitalStorm.com
I don’t notice the smoothness that Victork2 refers to. Just that it doesn’t give me any problems and runs well. As an ex int Sgt and grunt Major I don’t do tech stuff. I have found the laptop is ok doing visual circuits but the screen is no good for ground targets or aircraft. At gunnyhiways recommendation I got a large 4k TV which works wonderfully with the laptop. The next few weeks should also bring a reverb g2
I’m still playing on a Razer blade 14 from 2016. Ever since I went 1440p I added an external graphics card (used 1080ti) because the included 1060 wasn’t enough (but for a pretty basic 1080p the 1060 did the trick). The laptop was plenty to got me hooked on the first FC3 Eagle training missions and campaigns.
But the downside of high power PC laptops is the ridiculously loud fans all the time. That has been something inevitable (not surprised Apple is changing the whole hardware ordeal, and not surprised they chased their macs to be mostly silent with such drastic measures). It seems pre-historical to be dealing with loud blowing fans into our electronics in 2020… I’d consider this to be the last piece of the laptop puzzle.
But still… with todays machines and mobile graphics chips, you will certainly run DCS beautifully in 1080p.
This is what I decided on:
New Alienware m17 R3 17.3 inch FHD Gaming Laptop (Luna Light) Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6.
Not quite the highest of the high ends, but it should serve my needs at a an affordable price.
The Chill Blast and Digital Storm offerings were awesome!…I almost shorted out my current laptop from drooling over them - a shout out thanks to @Scoop and @piper for the suggestions - will keep those at my fingertips for the future.
If you can still modify your build, I’d recommend going to 32gb of RAM. As we all know DCS is a hungry beast, and I certainly haven’t regretted having 32gb on my laptop. Plus it’s one of the cheaper up grades.
- thanks for the link!