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I would go with the model with 16GB of RAM. Most modern games only use 8GB-16GB of RAM and if you're wanting to play more demanding titles its best to have a better performing CPU as well. Going with 32GB of RAM is really overkill and wouldn't make any sense with a budget CPU.
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“I would go with the model with 16GB of RAM. Most modern games only use 8GB-16GB of RAM”

 

Go with 32Gb if you can, as you are hoping to run MSFS on it aren’t you? A laptop is not the best choice but as you have said, you are buying a laptop anyway.

 

Regards

Steve

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I think the need for RAM is way overrated. Go with the faster processor. If you run MSFS on Medium settings, which is probably about all the laptop will do, you be fine. I just did a short test flight from LGA to EWR using Medium settings and the RAM utilized never exceeded 9 GB. And not to worry, even on medium settings everything still looks really good.....Doug
Intel 10700K @ 5.0 Ghz, Asus Maxumus XII Hero MB, Noctua NH-U12A Cooler, Corsair Vengence Pro 32GB 3200Mhz, Geforce RTX 2060 Super GPU, Cooler Master HAF 932 Tower, Thermaltake 1000W Toughpower PSU, Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit, and other good stuff.
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Why even compromise?

Seriously RAM is so cheap these days.

 

A 16GB SODIMM memory module is going to cost you £50 to £75 extra.

I am absolutely certain whoever you buy that laptop from will happily install the additional 16GB of RAM.

 

Personally I would buy the laptop with the better processor and just upgrade the memory.

 

Remember that FS 2020 is video intensive. What most people forget is that a GPU is useless without an equally matched CPU.

 

The CPU draws the wire frame that the GPU then fills out. If you had a GTX 2080ti graphics card and a pentium processor the likelihood is that your video performance and experience would be abysmal even though the RTX 2080ti is the best video card that money can buy at the moment

 

Think of it like drawing a picture. you have to draw the image first with a pencil (the CPU does this) and them colour it in or shade it with paints or colouring pens (the GPU does this). The GPU is totally incapable of drawing the outline or wire-frame. If drawing the picture takes forever then it really doesnt matter how good your video card is.

 

Also bear in mind that with a laptop you are likely to be using the onboard GPU built into the CPU. Generally the better the CPU the better the onboard GPU in that processor will be.

Putting 32GB of ram in a laptop for FS2020 is not going to make it any better if the CPU and GPU cant generate the video output fast enough. Extra RAM will not have any effect on this problem.

 

Seriously think about this.

Dont fall into the trap in thinking extra RAM is going to fix a PC or laptop that simply is not capable of handling the graphics demands of a game like FS 2020.

If you cant afford the additional RAM now then just make sure when buying a laptop it has a free memory module slot available for an upgrade later.

 

Buying the laptop with the better processor is my advice.

Edited by efanton
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Thanks everyone! I took as much advice as I could under my budget and went a bit beyond it to ensure I got a good processor and graphics card. Only got 16 GB RAM but hopefully I can upgrade that if I need to. According to Gaming Debate I should be in good shape. Really looking forward to Flight Simulator. Only problem now is I have to go with the Xbox pass version now rather than Deluxe to save money for the processor.

 

Hopefully I can figure out how to get my joystick running. Thanks again everyone!

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The 9 pages in this article will show you what different graphic cards will do. They are all using the same cpu processor however. Notice where they talk about RAM: it made no difference whatsoever if 16 or 32 GB system RAM.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/microsoft-flight-simulator-(2020)-pc-graphics-performance-benchmark-review.html

 

But I see you already purchased, still an interesting article.

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I would have thought that MSFS2020 is quite cpu/processor intensive and as such would choose a PC/laptop with a faster CPU. 16GB is not huge but you would then end up with a system which is recommended rather than one which is minimum requirements for CPU.

 

Whenever I see this question type raised the usual answers are to divert as much money as can to a faster CPU and GPU (video card) before considering other things as they affect fps (frames per second) more than other things.

 

As already pointed out RAM is relatively cheap and you may be able to upgrade the RAM later.

 

Do both laptops have the same video card? It also is important as already pointed out.

Edited by jparnold
change last sentence

John

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Personally I would go for a decent desktop rather than a laptop to run this new sim.

 

I engaged Windows Game Mode last night briefly while in mid flight - CPU (I7 4770) was running at 36%, GPU (GTX 1650 4Gb) was on 98%. My RAM (24Gb) was about 40% utilised.

Vern.
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