Maverick1202

After reviewing these comments but it's looking like I will go ahead with the purchase of the laptop. It looks like there were no hard "don't do it" responses but great advice around cooling and throttling. Thanks everyone!

So I reviewed Steve's channel. Yes most of the Dell/Alienware desktop OEM computers are not right out of the box and you have to do some things as an upgrade before even using them. The first upgrade is moding them to run cooler. If you go with one of their desktop computers, you have to make sure there is enough cooling in the system case and on the CPU. I would want to add more fans, etc. Most OEM computers (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) are not so flexible for upgrades. You can usually upgrade RAM, HDs, and video cards, but most often than not their proprietary system cases only allow their deigned custom components (motherboards, power supplies, etc.). It is not easy to upgrade core components of an off the shelf brand. It is costly to buy an Alienware desktop system and they should be designed better for the money they are asking. There is another market of prebuilt systems that are out there that directly compete with the Alienware desktops such as Corsair and Digital Storm that are way better gaming systems. I have been doing a fair amount of research on current laptops and Alienware seems to be respected. I would give an Alienware desktop PC away if it was given to me though.

What happened here? Was this is youtube?

Yes I meant that I have been thinking about traveling in a motor home and the Laptop seems like the most portable solution. I have not thought a lot about a mini ITX solution but this next computer I go with will not be a dedicated flight sim computer. I will also be using it to create content , building WBT courses, and using it as an overall personal computer. I can take a laptop into Starbucks to use their WiFi while traveling much easier than a mini ITX. the real issue here is the newest fastest gaming laptops are actually a cheaper and easier way to go vs. building a gaming desktop when you consider the current cost of GPU and DDR5 RAM prices. What happened here? Was this is youtube?

I have always heard that it's best to have a dedicated boot drive and a separate drive dedicated for the game for the best performance. Is that right? Does it matter?

It's all about making the $$$. there is a backlog of people that are waiting for cheaper prices. Screw the miners, sell to more gamers!

You said "i went to VR and well it's not the same." Do you mean the 1440P monitor (and probably TrackerIR) are a better solution than VR?

That is a good system. I would think about 2 1TB drives though instead of the 1 2TB drive.

Seems like maybe his bottleneck is the GPU. From what I have researched, you really need a GTX 3060 or higher to run VR... Everyone is recommending going with the RTX 3080 for VR now. From everything I reading, they all say that VR works best with the most powerful GPUs and at least 32GB RAM. Does he run DCS with a monitor? Does it crash still? Upgrading a desktop is hard right now. Good luck finding a desktop GPU if you can even afford it or you want to spend the money on it.

He has a 17 inch M17 R5? What are his system specs? CPU (i7 10, 11, 12 Gen? 16 or 32 GB RAM? GPU (30XX)? VR in single player or multiplayer? What brand/model VR? What resolution in VR? What are his settings set at (Ultra, High, Medium)? Is he running it on a cooler pad? What is making it crash? It's not that much more up front cost because of the cost of the GPU and monitor if you are going the desktop route. You actually can save money going down the laptop route vs. a spec'd out prebuilt gaming desktop rig. It's about the same cost for a prebuilt desktop right now with the prices of the GPUs being so high.

thanks! good to know.

You can run discord for comms and or music player to listen to itunes… pandora music streaming, watch a movie while taking a long flight….

This is a great build. Although, I would go for the 15" screen myself and spend the extra money on the monitor.

Yes. Heat can be a constant issue. I don't know if the laptop cooler pads help but I'm thinking about traveling on the road in an RV with this setup... I know Internet might be an issue too.

So, I need to upgrade my old system and get a new PC for DCS but I also do some content creation and digital photography and it would be great to have the portability. I know most games run great using a gaming laptop but flight sims (DCS, MS2020, Il 2), eh, not so much. I am looking at an Alienware M 15 R7 - i7 12700H, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 3070ti or 3080ti GPU, 1 TB M2.PCIe SSD. I would use a cooler pad to help keep the temps down. I might be looking at VR in the future but not right now. If I go with a solution for right now I will probably go with a 34" Ultra Wide monitor and Alienware has a sexy one of those too. I have a pretty good budget (3k-4k) so $$ is not an issue. I know that laptops will be about 30% slower than a comparable desktop configuration but the portability factor and sexy small thin and light laptop pleases the eyes. How bad is it in DCS with a laptop vs. a desktop build? I'm trying trying hard to not get sucked into all of the marketing and the idea of the laptop.