Microsoft Flight Simulator is the flagship title for PC gamers, if only for those interested in the niche category of controlling realistic aircraft.
With the most recent release, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, now available, you might be looking for an awesome new laptop to power your experience.
I've rounded up my top picks based on the recommended specifications and some personal input from playing the game myself. With each update, more complex content is added to the game, and these low-end requirements don't always reflect the best-suited components.
I looked through more than 30 recent laptop reviews — totalling hundreds of hours of testing from the team at Windows Central — to find the best options for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
With everything from performance to display to port selection in mind, my top pick is the Alienware m16 R2, but there are great alternatives to check out.
Recent updates
March 31, 2025: I added the Razer Blade 18 as the top performance pick, and I updated Lenovo's gaming laptops with the latest models. — Cale Hunt
Best overall
Dell's gaming subbrand has its ups and downs, but the 16-inch Alienware m16 R2 (2024) is as close to perfect as it gets. It's not the cheapest, but it's not an overblown rip-off either, loaded with specs capable of handling even the most demanding simulations.
Best performance
The Blade 18 is a mighty 18-inch gaming laptop available with the latest CPU and GPU configuration option. The display is incredible, and the design is as slim as possible while fitting a ton of hardware inside.
Portable pick
For portable simulation, ASUS' compact 14-inch ROG Zephyrus G14 can handle practically anything you throw at it. The specs are far and above the recommendations for Microsoft Flight Simulator, and you can hook up an external monitor or play on the go.
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Mid-range pick
The Legion Pro 5i (Gen 9) is a 16-inch gaming laptop available with a mix of Intel and NVIDIA hardware, as well as a QHD+ display with up to a 240Hz refresh rate and G-Sync. It'll easily run Flight Simulator without costing as much as Lenovo's most expensive laptops.
Affordable pick
The Legion 5i (Gen 9) is one of Lenovo's more affordable gaming laptops, available with Intel and NVIDIA hardware up to an RTX 4070 Laptop GPU. Models are usually discounted, and I've spotted them as low as $1,300 for an RTX 4060 model in recent weeks.
My favorite gaming laptops for Flight Simulator in 2025
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Best overall gaming laptop for Flight Simulator
Alienware's m16 R2 is our current top pick for overall best gaming laptops, and its potency extends to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Windows Central Editor Rebecca Spear reviewed the Alienware m16 R2, noting:
"This laptop provides some of the smoothest gaming sessions I've ever experienced, thanks to its powerful RTX 40-Series GPU and Intel Core Ultra CPU. It's also much more compact than its predecessor and offers excellent battery life for a gaming laptop. Including a Stealth Mode hotkey makes it easy to turn off all distracting RGB in a public setting."
Dell's offering of up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and 8TB of M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage easily crushes system requirements, and the many config options mean you can spend less and still run the game smoothly.
The 16-inch display has a 2560x1600 (QHD+) resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate, providing plenty of ceiling for the laptop's performance. NVIDIA G-Sync helps keep everything looking smooth.
If you don't want to use the built-in display, the laptop's generous port selection is standing by. You get HDMI 2.1 and Thunderbolt 4 to handle external displays, and there are more than enough USB ports for the top Flight Simulator flight sticks and other accessories.
👉 Read our full Alienware m16 R2 review
Best performance laptop for Flight Simulator
Razer's Blade 18 is what you get when you take desktop-class performance and put it into a sleek 18-inch frame.
There are no worries here about Flight Simulator performance, as even the baseline Blade 18 models come with an RTX 5070 Ti and powerful Intel Core i9 or Core Ultra 9 CPU.
Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Razer Blade 18 (2024), remarking:
"It makes incremental improvements and delivers an ultra-powerful 14th Gen Intel HX processor with the latest Wi-Fi 7 tech and Thunderbolt 5 USB-C standard. The RTX 4090 inside is still the most powerful GPU you can get in a laptop, and it performs best in the Blade 18 (2024) with zero issues running any game you can think of. It'll cost you a fortune, but Razer isn't ripping you off — it's still the best gaming laptop in the world."
Wilson, of course, reviewed it before NVIDIA launched its new RTX 5000 GPUs, so performance has only improved.
For the 18-inch display, you have a choice between a QHD+ resolution with a mini-LED panel and 300Hz refresh rate or a dual-mode display that can switch between UHD+ at 240Hz and FHD+ at 440Hz. Either way, you're going to have a great time.
Ports include HDMI 2.1 and Thunderbolt 5 for strong external display support. Otherwise, you get three USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), 2.5Gb Ethernet, and an SD card reader.
👀 Read our full Razer Blade 18 (2024) review
Best portable gaming laptop for Flight Simulator
On the other side of the gaming laptop size spectrum is the compact ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, perfect for those who often travel with their PC.
It's a 14-inch PC that weighs just 3.31 pounds (1.5kg) and measures 0.63 inches (16.3mm) thin, yet it packs in up to an NVIDIA RTX 4070 Laptop GPU and an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU.
This combination will easily handle Flight Simulator. As Windows Central laptop expert Zachary Boddy puts it in their ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) review:
"ASUS set out to perfect its 14-inch gaming laptop and kissed the feet of sublimity with the latest version. It's a very different laptop from its predecessor with different focuses, but the result is one of the most refined and premium devices in this category. It's more than powerful enough to play all the latest and greatest PC games but trades top-end performance for a stunning, impeccably constructed aluminum chassis."
The 14-inch OLED display is a standout feature, offering incredible color and contrast at a sharp 2880x1800 resolution. The 120Hz refresh rate is more than enough for a smooth experience, and it hits 500 nits max brightness.
Port selection isn't bad either, especially for a smaller laptop. HDMI 2.1 and USB4 can handle external display duties, and you get multiple USB-C and USB-A for accessories.
👀 See our full ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) review
Best mid-range gaming laptop for Flight Simulator
The Legion Pro 5i is Lenovo's mid-range gaming laptop, starting at about $1,500 for a model with an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.
The entry-level hardware will get you off the ground with Flight Simulator, but you can always spec up as needed. Lenovo offers up to an NVIDIA RTX 4070 Laptop GPU and 32GB of RAM.
It handles heat very well and performs as expected. Windows Central Editor Rebecca Spear reviewed the Legion Pro 5i (Gen 9), saying:
"I really like the latest Lenovo Legion Pro 5i. The improvements to the design, the latest internals from Intel and NVIDIA, an attractive price point, and a roomy display make this a genuinely great premium mid-range gaming laptop. It's not the fanciest or most powerful, but it can play all the best PC games with few issues. For those not wanting to splash the cash on an exorbitant high-end gaming laptop, I strongly urge you to consider this one."
The laptop has more than enough ports to connect your favorite flight sim peripherals, and the built-in display does a great job even if you aren't using an external monitor.
It's sized at 16 inches with a 2560x1600 (QHD+) resolution, and it's available with up to 500 nits brightness, 240Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, NVIDIA G-Sync, and perfect DCI-P3 color reproduction.
👀 See our full Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (Gen 9) review
Best affordable gaming laptop for Flight Simulator
The non-Pro version of the Legion 5i (Gen 9) drops to an even more affordable price.
A model with an Intel Core i7-14650HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and QHD+ display starts, at the time of my most recent update, at about $1,300.
In usual Lenovo fashion, there's plenty of opportunity to upgrade hardware as needed. An Intel Core i9 CPU and RTX 4070 Laptop GPU will provide an even better Flight Sim experience.
Windows Central's Zachary Boddy reviewed the Legion 5i (Gen 9), noting:
"Performance is where you'll most wonder if you really need to spring for the more expensive Lenovo Legion Pro 5i, as the Legion 5i (Gen 9) boasts many of the same configuration options and is able to perform admirably with that hardware. Its only real flaw is that these fans are extremely loud, enough that the speakers aren't quite enough to drown them out. You'll want a headset for gaming."
The laptop's IPS display is quite good and gets the job done for those without an external monitor. It's sized at 16 inches with a QHD+ resolution, 165Hz or 240Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, NVIDIA G-Sync, and up to 500 nits brightness.
With multiple USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI, you should be able to connect all of your Flight Sim accessories and an external monitor without much trouble.
👀 See our full Lenovo Legion 5i (Gen 9) review
I'm a huge flight sim fan who enjoys getting the full setup with peripherals and the right display. With my own experience in tow, I can offer the right PC buying advice for anyone who wants to get started with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
I've been testing and reviewing laptops at Windows Central for more than 8 years, and my love for PC gaming extends to flight sims. I know what's required to run the game smoothly, and I know which gaming laptops are the best on the market today.
How we test gaming laptops at Windows Central
Many laptops come our way at Windows Central, and we apply the same testing process to each one.
Because we "adopt" the PC for regular use during the testing period, any quirks quickly become apparent.
We start with the outside of the PC, checking for design quality, hinge durability, port layout, exhaust, intake, and more. Because we actually use the laptop, the keyboard and touchpad are easy to analyze.
Beyond testing other hardware like the webcam, speakers, fingerprint reader, SD card reader, and more, we also use a colorimeter to measure a laptop's display color reproduction and brightness.
👉 Related: How we test and review laptops at Windows Central
For performance, a wide range of synthetic benchmark tests are applied, including those from Geekbench, Cinebench, CrossMark, CrystalDiskMark, PCMark, and 3DMark. Battery life is measured with benchmarking software, but we also pull averages from the Windows Battery Report during our time testing the PC.
In terms of gaming laptops, the CPU and GPU are put to the test in a variety of demanding titles. This gives us an idea of what sort of FPS you can expect when gaming.
With the laptop under load, we also test heat with a FLIR camera and system noise with a decibel meter.
I urge you to click through to the corresponding reviews on any of the laptops I've selected in this guide, as they have a ton of extra information that could be key in your buying process.
How to choose the best gaming laptop for Flight Simulator
We've moved up a couple of hardware generations since Microsoft Flight Simulator was first released in 2020, so even entry-level equivalents have a decent chance of running the game without much stress.
Razer's Blade 18, one of the best gaming laptops in general, is a gigantic beast that can play practically anything at maximum settings, including simulated flights with complex lighting effects.
Still, the Alienware m16 R2 (2024) offers a more realistically priced option as the best overall choice since it still packs a high-end CPU and strong RTX 40-Series GPUs.
Your choice ultimately comes down to your needs, so if you plan to enjoy some flight sim sessions on the go, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is far better suited to portability with its 14-inch chassis.
Even the most affordable Lenovo Legion 5i (Gen 9) comfigurations can handle the game with some of its fancier visual luxuries turned down or switched off completely, and once you've taken to the skies, the graphical demands of Microsoft Flight Simulator settle down by a fair margin. On the runway, mid-range picks and above start to shine by rendering airports and other buildings with lifelike qualities.
What are the Flight Simulator system requirements?
Flight Simulator 2024 is a direct follow-up to 2020's Microsoft Flight Simulator, but thankfully the minimum PC specs didn't change.
The game is listed as requiring at least an AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6800K CPU and NVIDIA RTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 GPU for Flight Simulator 2024.
Recommended specs go up as expected; listed is an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU with NVIDIA RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon RX 5700XT GPU. You'll also want at least 16GB of RAM.
As is the case with most games, buying a laptop with better performance hardware is only going to make Flight Simulator run more smoothly.
What about desktop PCs for Flight Simulator?
Desktop PCs, due to their higher performance potential and larger selection of ports, are generally the go-to hardware for die-hard flight sim enthusiasts.
You won't be able to carry your setup around as easily, but a desktop will serve as a much better permanent installment in your would-be cockpit.
Be sure to check out my picks for best desktop gaming PCs for Flight Simulator for more information.
