I recently bought an HP dv7-2043 laptop. It features a 17" LCD 1600 x 900, 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.0 GHz, 4 GB DDR2, 4 GB SDHC card for Ready-Boost, 64-bit Vista, and 2 x 250 GB 5400 RPM hard drives.

It scores decent Windows Index numbers: Processor 5.0, Memory 5.3, Graphics 5.9, Gaming Graphics 5.6, and Hard Drive 5.5. I am playing FSX Deluxe & Accel. I have tweeked the settings and performance is okay I guess. At Medium to High settings it usually flutters between 15 - 20 FPS, but when landing Aerosoft's Bush Hawk on water, for example, it can dropped to 4 FPS and get very jerky. Problem is that I'd like to add GEX, UTX, FSG, plus some other addons--traffic, more advanced planes, scenery, etc. I'd also like to boost my frame rate and quality settings as much as I can.

While money IS a little tight, I can switch to a better model for $600 in a couple of weeks. One reason for doing so is to get an automatic upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released. I'd also like a system with a little longer life and better FSX performance! (My wife has already vetoed keeping the original notebook for general use and a separate desktop just for games. )

The new "laptop" (9 pounds, but still portable which I need) is an HP HDX18t with the following: 18.4" LCD 1920 x 1080p, Blue-Ray, 1 GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M, Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53 GHz, 4 GB DDR3, 4 GB SDHC card for Ready-Boost, 64-bit Windows 7, and 2 x 320 GB 7200 RPM hard drives.

All the benefits of the HDX seem well worth the extra cost. I am curious, however, what kind of performance enhancement in FSX I might expect. Any thoughts? Will I be able to install the addons and still see slightly improved frame rates at the same or better quality settings?

Thanks, DAB