Does X- Plane work on this Asus ROG Strix GL703GS Laptop? Or what laptop do you recommend ?

Question

Hi,

I've always wanted to play X-Plane but my laptop was not good enough. Now I'm looking to buy another one (~<1600£).

I've found this one: Asus ROG Strix GL703GS Core I7-8750H 16GB 1TB + 256GB SSD 17.3 Inch GeForce GTX 1070 GDDR5 8GB Windows 10 Gaming Laptop

which seems to have good CPU, GPU, RAM, SSD+HDD but how can I be sure it will not crash while running X-Plane, as I've heard laptops usually crash..

Or Allienware 15 with  Intel® Core™ i5-8300HQ Processor, Quad-core,  3.9 GHz, 8 MB cache, 16 GB DDR4 (2400 MHz), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, 6 GB GDDR5, 1 TB HDD (7200 rpm) - 256 GB SSD?

If not, can you recommend, from your own experience, a laptop that can run it? 

Also, on the recommended specs says "CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster". Does this mean that only i5 6600 works well, or better versions too? 

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi IT315,

I am not with Laminar Research; just a flight simmer.  I am a windows based PC user not a laptop user for X-Plane.

Your first choice laptop ie the Asus unit, seems to cover what I consider requirements for a gaming laptop ie a minimum screen size of 17 inch plus good cooling.  Would I consider the unit?  Yes.  the important issue is it is a gaming laptop not a $20 unit from Aldi.

Although operating speed is important X-Plane generates a fair amount of heat so you need reliable fans. From all of my research into running X-Plane on a laptop points towards poor cooling.  The unit does have cooling but I would suggest in time you acquire a cooling tablet/pad to sit the laptop on as an additional safeguard.  Do this irrespective of what brand of gaming laptop you acquire.

I have seen from others in the X-Plane world you should have  at least a 17 inch screen when running X-Plane on a laptop just to be able to see anything.

Your second choice unit would be a downgrade in specifications from the Asus unit and the choice of an i5 6600K processor is also a further downgrade from your second choice.

The other suggestion I would offer is when you acquire the laptop is to run just X-Plane on the 250 GB ssd drive as a dedicated X-Plane drive and everything else including your operating system and other software on the slower 1 TB drive.  You will most likely have to discuss this with your retailer.

Have a look at the following link found at https://questions.x-plane.com/4636/does-anyone-recommend-good-gaming-laptop-brand-that-plane11   Although the original question was asked some time back (Nov 2016) and technology has improved it may be of some benefit.  My second preference would be a MSI unit because they are gaming machines but expensive.

Hope this helps.  Welcome to the world of X-Plane and enjoy the experience

Good luck

Glenn