I'm not really a techy guy. I'm looking into buying a flight simulator, preferably XPlane 10. However, looking at most forums, it looks like the simulator is normally in a desktop computer. So with the limited space of a laptop, would the game still run smoothly? and could I still use a joystick? Thank you.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
flyboy2016,
You would proably want tol as much ram as you can afford, so as to keep it running smooth, I have been using XPlane9 for a while and there is quite a lot of CPU going on, as well as a large application with the scenery loaded.(I installed to an external drive XP9 is 75GB) But it should run. You can go to About this Mac, under the Apple logo in the menu bar.More Info>system report, check memory in Hardware Overview, if you have 4 GB you should be OK, you can also find more of the hardware installed on you MBP in the left column as well. You can download the free trial and check how it does.
I would recommend a yolk and rudder pedal set which will need 2 usb ports which you should have. (I tried a joystick and it just never really seemed to have the control/resolution that was needed.
Really cool and lots of fun. Multiple monitors really makes for more fun, but that can wait.
Check requirements here:
http://www.x-plane.com/desktop/system-requirements/?AFFID=83402&gclid=CJCJvs7xyL cCFUyk4AodTmIASw
Hope this helps
flyboy2016 wrote:
I'm looking into buying a flight simulator, preferably XPlane 10.
13" MacBook Pro? I would think not.
XPlane is very 3D intensive and the 13" lacks a more powerful dedicated graphics.
The map files take ages to download and the program is hard to learn and master as it mimics a real cockpit and controls.
I have a hard time running it on a top of the line 17" MacBook Pro, but it's do-able with scaled down graphics the reaction time is quite a bit delayed.
IMMO don't bother or get a Windows 3D gaming tower with a seriously monster video card.
3D gaming on Mac's, what you need to know
If you want something light free and fun that will work on your non-gaming 13" I can recommend two programs
Cube 2 Sauerbraten and Nexius Classic
Diablo 2 or 3 supposedly can barely run on the 13" but I've heard it's got problems now as Apple changed something or another in 10.8, forget the details.
Can i run X Plane 10 on my 2012 13" Macbook Pro?
