I also find the SP7 and my old SP6 work fine for Zwift but I want to switch to the Apple TV for the remote to control instead of having to get off my bike. For me, I am less concerned about the graphics aspect vs convenience.
Search in forum before buying ATV - there seem to be serious issues with the remote!
The remote works, it’s just a bit of a pain.
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Have you perhaps tried using mobile companion app? It essentially controls what happens on the PC.
I have a fairly mid range laptop. Dell Inspiron 17, Intel core I7 processor 7th gen, 8gb of ram and a NVIDIA Graphics card GeForce 940MX. Runs Zwift on medium according to Zwiftalizer.
Worked perfectly until recently. I am now suffering with severe framerate drops which makes it unworkable. Even after tricking Zwift into running it Low settings and even trying to ride “offline”.
Runs flawlessly on my samsung S9 but obviously screen size is very bad. I am considering getting a tablet to run it after christmas, just seems more reliable.
Sure… a screenshot of what? Just Zwift in general?
There are some VERY cheap but comfortably powerful laptops on sale around Black Friday and before the Christmas holidays. Those might be a good bet for you, especially if you can snag a 2-in-1 (convertible).
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Yeah, to compare the graphics. Perhaps in the volcano or whatever other location.
Yeah agreed. However the thing that is bugging me is my current laptop albeit 4 years old, should be more than capable of handling Zwift.
When watching other riders it runs at 40-50 fps… as soon as I ride however and put power out it starts lagging. Might need to try the old uninstall and reinstall.
What about a lower or mid end gaming laptop? Will that support all the cooler graphical features like shadows, sun’s rays, etc? I am thinking of buying a low-mid range laptop to run Zwift. My Macbook Pro is old- 2010. I found some laptops (HP Omen and Lenovo Legion) that use a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. Will this card/laptop be adequate to get full graphics details like shadows, sun rays, etc on Zwift? Thanks!
A GTX 1660 Ti will get Ultra detail, yes. So that’s every lighting and shadow effect, high resolution textures and the maximum amount of ‘stuff’ going on and to look at (animals, foliage etc).
However gaming laptops are a terrible buy, if Zwift is the only gaming it’ll do and you’re just going to plug it into a TV. You’re much better off putting together a cheap dedicated Zwift PC and buying a normal laptop if you need one. You’ll probably save a fortune and get better results on both.
It was $400 off so $900 now. That is why I was considering it. It could be a backup laptop too and is portable at least. Good thoughts though.
Pretty easy to put together a PC that will max out Zwift in 4K 60fps for under $400 (edit: just made one on eBay for $360) with scope to upgrade in future. Then you could buy a nice laptop or Chromebook for $500+ that won’t be massively compromised on weight and battery life, and still have spent the same amount of money.
That’s good to hear. Would you mind sending me some specs on what you set up on eBay?
Pretty much any Haswell (4th gen) i3 desktop with space for a full size GPU and ability to take a standard power supply; i.e. 24pin motherboard power connector. GTX 1060 6GB or GTX 1650 Super. 8GB RAM. That’s all you need for 4K in Zwift, with maximum detail and highest quality textures, at 60fps in solo rides. In group events and around busy Pace Partners the frame rate tanks for everyone unless you have a high end CPU, so there’s no point chasing marginal gains (a better graphics card does NOT help in those circumstances). An SSD is best for faster Windows loading and updates, but optional. Windows+Zwift takes up about 40GB so the cheapest 120GB models are plenty big enough. That’s basically it.
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Thoughts on the following configuration.
IMO it is fine but I would look around for a 12 gen Intel. The i3-12100 would be a better option with a similar or better NVidia card. Cost more though.
If at the top of your budget already, maybe consider building with the 12th gen…
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12th gen i3 is the way forward for Zwift, whether it’s in a self-build or prebuilt. It’s staggeringly good for the money. I wouldn’t buy anything else right now if new is desired. Literally everything else is a ripoff by comparison.
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Thanks, appreciate the insight.
I will keep an eye out for something else.