[TDV]

I use my trusty ol' Surface Pro 3 (bought in 2015) for GPL. It is great when driving alone. But in races, both off-line and on-line, the graphics often become choppy, especially when close racing with other cars. This makes driving difficult and is unpleasant, taking away the joy of driving GPL. I assume the issue is due to the limited power/capability of my little SP3 laptop (really a tablet-laptop hybrid).

I believe it is time to get a new computer that will overcome these problems for GPL. As I understand, most people here have desktops for GPL, but that laptops can also be ok. I would like to get a gaming laptop for my new GPL computer. As the old SP3 would be retired, it would also become my all-purpose computer. 

Can somebody provide some advice or recommendation on a suitable gaming laptop for GPL. I'm looking for one that works well with GPL and will overcome the frame rate and associated problems that have been a regular problem (mainly in races) for me up until now with the SP3. I realize I may need to spend a few bucks for a decent laptop and am ok to do that, especially given it will become my main PC. 

Looking forward to the advice & help of the community,

[Stefan Roess]

I have never tried GPL on a laptop, but I am sure someone here should be able to help you.

[Michkov]

I've been running GPL on a laptop (Asus A515) for years now. I use it more like a desktop with an external monitor and such, but it works like a charm, if Microsoft doesn't mess with the GPU drivers once again. It has a dedicated GPU, that appears to be the main difference in specs to the SP3 at a glance. Any medium specced machine at this time should be able to run GPL. I advise you get one with quicker CPU, because single thread performance since GPL isn't programmed to make use of multiple cores. Apart from that, look out for a dedicated GPU and you should be set.

PS: Ethernet port and lots of USB ports are a good idea too.

[Tony De_Vries_2]

Thanks for your advice Michkov, it's much appreciated.
I took the plunge & got the new laptop. It's working great. I know running GPL on laptops is not a big thing for the community, but I'll share some info on my experience here just in case it can helps someone in future.

HP Victus gaming laptop. Windows 11. 16GB ram. 13th Gen Intel i7-13700H, 14 core. ~500GB hard drive. 1920*1080 144Hz ips screen (~15.5in I think). Nvidia GeoForce RTX 4060 GPU, 8GB. 2*usb c. 1*usb a. SD port. Ethernet port.
GPL runs super smooth. The big test for me is an off-line race at Spa67 with full grid. I can do this with no stuttering of the video at all. Perfect.
On-line racing is good with no stuttering of my car or track surrounds. Still get bit of jumping of other cars, though not a big issue.
Couple of things regarding setup :
- I installed GPL from 1.08 installer and GPL secrets as normal. Then I just dropped my existing GPL and GPL Secrets directories into these. This gave seamless changeover.
- I had to put gpl.exe & gpl_mod.exe's in exceptions lists in antivirus and DEP.
- There were 2 important actions for the GPU interface (Nvidia control panel), both of which are mentioned in the setup/troubleshooting guide on new SRMZ,
(*) disable triple buffering for gpl.exe & the mod exe's.
(*) set V-sync to fast for all mods

Rasterizers:
I made an important discovery for me. On both my laptops, driving is perfectly fine with both Direct 3D V2 and Open GL V2. But when watching replays there is a definite stuttering with Direct 3D V2. Sometimes it's more obvious than others, but is always there. This doesn't happen with Open GL V2, which runs as smooth as silk. So, for me, Open GL v2 is clearly preferred. But before taking the triple buffering action as noted above, on Open GL v2 I would have the problem of the flickering menu screens. Disabling triple buffering fixed this - wonderful.

So there you have it. I've got the perfect, for me, GPL laptop now.
And as an added bonus, it runs indycar 2 (icr2) natively in windows. No need for dosbox or virtualbox.
So, for the 1st time ever, my 2 favourite racing sims operate with full function together on same machine.

Cheers, TD

[David Cheshire]

@Tony De_Vries_2
Thanks Tony,
Is this why you performed so well in last nights race in the 65's?
Trouble is you now have no excuses.
If you still experience jumping of other cars in online racing try using a wired ethernet connection rather than wifi - if you haven't already!

[Michkov]

On-line racing is good with no stuttering of my car or track surrounds. Still get bit of jumping of other cars, though not a big issue.

That has nothing to do with your machine. It is a connection issue, that is influenced by so many factors outside your control that you just have to live with it. Think of it as internet weather, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, you just have to deal with it. Assume the cars are a bit wider than they appear, and you should be good and be aware of cars popping in and out of existence.

[Cookie]

Wireless is a no go for online racing!
The signal has intermittend breaks, then you see all other cars jumping...