I’ve been using Zwift for a while now, and as the platform continues to grow, I find myself pushing the limits of my setup. I’m currently looking for a new laptop to improve my Zwifting experience, especially as I move toward more demanding workouts and events. I’m curious if anyone has any recommendations on laptops with i7 processor for Zwift. I understand that the processing power is crucial for smooth graphics and seamless gameplay, and I want to ensure I’m getting the most out of the experience.
From what I’ve researched, laptops with i7 processor tend to strike a good balance between performance and price. An Intel Core i7 will not only handle Zwift’s graphics-heavy nature but should also be able to multitask without issues. If you’ve had good results with specific models, I’d love to hear about them—especially for those who game on the go.
If you’re using a laptop with an i7 processor, how does it handle longer rides or intense racing sessions? Are there any issues with overheating or lagging during peak times? I’m looking for something that will last for the long haul, as I intend to use Zwift for both cycling and running training.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to hearing your experiences!
Zwift will run pretty much on anything, but if you prefer a laptop over a PC, consider a gaming laptop with a high clock speed and a dedicated GPU (as opposed to sheer core count) and 8GB though 16GB RAM and a fast SSD. Once you get the laptop, you’ll want to manipulate the setting to obtain maximum system performance over battery life. I do have a laptop as backup setup that works fine with Zwift (I actually completed the PRL full on it), but I enjoy better the dedicated PC.
laptops are much more expensive, if you can use a dedicated PC you should be able to put something together relatively inexpensive. A friend of mine just built a dedicated PC with a used tower from Ebay and a used GPU, put an i7 4th gen in it and is getting ultra graphics with 60 fps consistently. I think he spent less than $300 total on the build.
I have a Legion laptop with i7-11700 or whatever the number is; but it is 11th gen. GPU is a 1660Ti and it runs pretty good. Note for laptops: The CPUs are pretty good but laptop GPUs are not as powerful as desktops. Current 4060 laptops are roughly equivalent to 2060 desktops…maybe even slower.
I switched to an i7-7700 SFF desktop laying around and dropped a 4060 Low Profile in it and it runs much better than the laptop above.
You can build a system listed by @Mike_Rowe1 or for a few bucks more build a 14th gen i-3 with a 1080 and be set. Or put a 4060 and be set for years and run 4K.
Note that 12th gen and above steps up Zwift performance. The 11th gen is not much better than a 4th gen unless you want Win11.
My wife and myself use a desktop as the ‘go to’ pc for Zwift, I think it’s an i5. As a back-up, or when we ride together I use an i5 laptop (Not expensive). Both have Nvidia graphic cards. Both work fine.