Laptops known to run FlightGear
This page is intended to provide a reference for those looking to buy a notebook for running FlightGear. Unlike a desktop system, where you can just plug in a NVidia card and expect things to work, laptops often don't have good OpenGL support.
The frame-rate quoted below is for the C172P at KSFO with the default options. E.g. no command-line arguments, options selected in the launcher or .fgfsrc file. However, as most people don't run at 800x600, there is also an entry to record the typical frame-rates you see and your typical graphics settings.
If not on the list
If you went ahead and bought a notebook or laptop without consulting this, or did not have a chance, you might find that airplanes are missing texture shapes. This is due to the graphics card, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or driver/software not supporting and drawing certain faces/textures/sides of the model. You can try adjusting notebook and FlightGear settings to maximize performance even with notebook/slower graphics cards (see Settings for slower graphics cards).
FlightGear 2.2.0 systems
Manufacturer | Model | CPU | RAM | GPU | OS | fps | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dell Studio | 1555 | Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 | 4 GB | ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 512MB | Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) | 10 | FlightGear 2.2 from git [commit 65607d4a7b8576905bb08f68a506aa87db258368] @1440x900: 10fps (driver xorg-radeon from git [commit 903e90c31cf0319be9297529aa7b8daa1756cf63] with "mid" profile) with maximum details. |
Lenovo | Y550 | Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 | 4 GB | GeForce GT 240M | Freebsd 8 ,ubuntu | 90 |
FlightGear 2.0.0 systems
Manufacturer | Model | CPU | RAM | GPU | OS | fps | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dell Alienware | M15x | Intel Core i7 Q720 (8 core) | 4 GB | Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M | Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) | 56 | Fullscreen (1920x1080) : 60fps, 30fps @KSFO with lots of traffic. |
Sony | VPCCW13FX | Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 (2 core) | 4 GB | nVidia GeForce G210M | Windows 7 Home Premium | 50+ | Default settings. |
HP | Pavilion dv6500 | Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2GHz | 2 GB | nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS | Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2 | 30fps+ | @ KSFO 28R with shaders on, in the rain. |
Dell | Precision M4400 | Intel Core2 Extreme X9100 3.1Ghz | 4 GB | NVIDIA Quatro FX 770M | Vista Business 64-bit SP2 | 20+fps | @ KSFO 28R (frame rate throttled to 20). |
Toshiba | Satellite A500-18T | Intel Core2 Duo P7450 2.13Ghz | 4 GB | NVIDIA Geforce GT 230M | GNU/Linux Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 64 bits | 30+fps | @ KSFO 28R, shaders on. |
Acer | Aspire 9420 | Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1,66Ghz/2M) | 1 GB | NVIDIA Geforce Go 7300 | Vista Ultimate 32-bit SP2 | 25+fps | @ KSFO 28R (shaders on). |
Acer | Aspire 4530-6823 | AMD Athlon 64 X2 QL-62 2.0 GHz | 3 GB | NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G | Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64-bit | 10-15+fps (Win), 20-25+ (Ubuntu) | Frame rate is significantly better at high altitudes, sometimes breaking 40+ FPS |
System76 | Pangolin Performance PanP7 | Intel Core i5 520M 2.4 GHz | 2GB | ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 | Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) 64-bit | 40+fps | Tested only at native resolution(1366x768). Flightgear was self-compiled (build-script). Bonobo Performance Laptop has identical hardware. Similar Performance Expected. |
ASUS | U30X-A5 | Intel Core 2 Duo U7300 1.3 GHz | 4GB | Intel Graphics 4500MHD (integrated) | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | 10+fps | Frame rate best at high altitudes over unpopulated areas. |
APPLE | MacBook Pro 15 | Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz | 4GB | NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256 MB | Mac OS X 10.6.6 | 33 fps | Windowed 1440x900 |
System for FlightGear 1.9.1
system 1d
- same system as below, updated FlightGear 1.9.1 from [1]
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): 17 in 800x600x32 window, but once the plane starts moving (applied some throttle), even slightly, rises to 19-20 as before. Stays there even after applying break and throttle down; 16-17 in 1280x800x32 full screen, also raises to stable 18 after moving/stopping
- other relevant comments:
- It seems that the FPS measure is unstable again, and needs some "warming up"
System for FlightGear 1.9.0
system 1d
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: Apple
- make/model: MacBook 3.1
- specs
- cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz (T7300)
- ram: 2GiB
- opengl: 1.2 APPLE-1.5.36 on Intel GMA X3100
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): stock configuration, plus rolling updates to OSX 10.5.6
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: OSX 10.5.6
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): 19-20 in 800x600x32 window, 18-19 in 1280x800x32 full screen
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments:
- Same configuration as below, but with the updated OSX. It seems that driver revision 1.5.36 has some optimizations.
- Using FlightGear 1.9.0 pre-compiled binaries from FlightGear for Mac OS X
- Rendering options:
- Show frame rate On
- Show chat messages On
- Sun/Moon horizon effect off
- Use Point Sptites for Runway Light On
- Enhanced runway lighting off
- Runway light distance attenuation off
- Specular reflections on objects off
- Particles On
- Precipitation off
- Lightning off
- Bump mapped clouds off
- Random vegetation On
- Enable 3d clouds off
- Shadows/transparency: all off
system 1c
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: Apple
- make/model: MacBook 3.1
- specs
- cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz (T7300)
- ram: 2GiB
- opengl: 1.2 APPLE-1.5.30 on Intel GMA X3100
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): stock configuration, plus rolling updates to OSX 10.5.5
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: OSX 10.5.5
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): 16-17 in 800x600x32 window, 15-16 in 1280x800x32 full screen
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments:
- In windowed mode the measure seems unstable, as it will rise to 19-20 after a 2-3 minutes wait, and stay there
- Using FlightGear 1.9.0 pre-compiled binaries from FlightGear for Mac OS X
- Rendering options:
- Show frame rate On
- Show chat messages On
- Sun/Moon horizon effect off
- Use Point Sptites for Runway Light On
- Enhanced runway lighting off
- Runway light distance attenuation off
- Specular reflections on objects off
- Particles On
- Precipitation off
- Lightning off
- Bump mapped clouds off
- Random vegetation On
- Enable 3d clouds off
- Shadows/transparency: all off
system 1b
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: Apple
- make/model: MacBook 3.1
- specs
- cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz (x86 family 6 Model 15 Stepping 10) T7300
- ram: 2GiB
- opengl: 1.2 on Intel GMA X3100
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): Apple Software Update for Windows 2.1.1.116 (intel driver v6.14.10.4897)
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 3 Boot Camp
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): 5-6 in both windowed 800x600x32 or full screen 1280x800x32
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments:
- Using FlightGear 1.9.0 pre-compiled binaries from FlightGear home
- Command-line parameters used: --timeofday=noon --disable-save-on-exit
- Rendering options:
- Show frame rate On
- Show chat messages On
- Sun/Moon horizon effect off
- Use Point Sptites for Runway Light On
- Enhanced runway lighting off
- Runway light distance attenuation off
- Specular reflections on objects off
- Particles On
- Precipitation off
- Lightning off
- Bump mapped clouds off
- Random vegetation On
- Enable 3d clouds off
- Shadows/transparency: all off
Systems for FlightGear 1.0
system 1
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: Apple
- make/model: MacBook 3.1
- specs
- cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz (T7300)
- ram: 2GiB
- opengl: 1.2 APPLE-1.5.28 on Intel GMA X3100
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): stock configuration, plus update to OSX 10.5.4 via dmg package from Apple
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: OSX 10.5.4
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): Starts at 25, then slowly drops to 18-19, probably due to AI traffic/chatter
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments:
- Using FlightGear 1.0.0-r154 pre-compiled binaries from FlightGear for Mac OS X
- Command-line parameters used: --timeofday=noon --disable-save-on-exit
system 1a
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: Apple
- make/model: MacBook 3.1
- specs
- cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz (x86 family 6 Model 15 Stepping 10) T7300
- ram: 2GiB
- opengl: 1.2 on Intel GMA X3100
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): Apple Software Update for Windows 2.1 (intel driver v6.14.10.4897)
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 2 (5.1.2600) Boot Camp
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): Starts at 12-13, then drops to 9-10, probably due to AI traffic/chatter
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments:
- Using FlightGear 1.0.0 pre-compiled binaries from FlightGear home
- Command-line parameters used: --timeofday=noon --disable-save-on-exit
system 2
- Type: Laptop
- manufacturer: HP
- make/model: Pavillion dv9000 (dv9660eg)
- specs
- cpu: AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-58
- ram: 4GiB
- opengl: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 177.13
- sound: on, build-in
- required drivers, updates/upgrades (firmware/BIOS): nvidia driver
- supported OS (Win32, Linux, MacOS) & version: Ubuntu 8.04 (2.6.26.2-sigsiu #2 SMP x86_64 GNU/Linux)
- average framerate for default startup situation (c172-3d @ KSFO,28R): Between 20 and 35 (resolution 1440x900)
- possible optimization settings:
- other relevant comments: