Cheapest Zwift laptop/tablet

Morning,

I ordered a kickr core last week, with plans for using zwift. Turns out my laptop is a bit old and struggles a bit. It has 4gb of RAM.

Is there a cheap way of getting something that would work just for zwift. Not too keen on spending another £500 on something after just buying a home trainer.

Do tablets suffice or do i need a laptop or computer. I guess an amazon fire tablet is not powerful enough?

I dont really understand the whole computer jargon so any help would be appreciated!!

Thanks in advance

Go to gigarefurb.co.uk and get a refurbished laptop or all in one if you have he space, spec’d with 8gb (memory) and an SSD (solid state disk, rather than an actual disk which spins, which is much slower) Both of those things are clearly shown on the specifications, and the option to add more memory – should you find something you like with only 4gb, is on the pages as you order.

I’ve had a laptop then a dell all in one from them which I’ve had for a couple of years now, it’s a no fuss principle comes in a box you plug it in, connect to wi if download Zwift and it works.

There’s a Zwift PC page on Facebook dedicated to advising on speccing a PC for Zwift.

Robbo from the forum pointed me to it; zpcmr – zwift PC master race.

You can get a decent specced PC for under£300 if you concentrate on the bits you need for good Zwift performance. Obviously this will cost a bit more if you need a monitor to go with it. Currently the high price of GPUs might be an issue.

You need to be careful with Android tablets. Some work and some won’t (won’t even have Zwift available to download in the Play store) if the chipset etc isn’t compatible.
I’ve got a Galaxy S6 Lite which works fine. I’ve never tried to connect it with a cable to an external screen, but have seen complaints that it won’t work.
But it loads Zwift quickly and runs OK. Small screen though so not ideal.

@slowpuncheur recently got a good deal on a Zwift PC from Amazon I think. He might be able to post a link…

Do you have a smartphone- most of these will run Zwift.
Otherwise Apple TV runs it well and is probably the best bang for buck if you’ve got a tv or monitor to use with it- you’ll need a 4th generation or later, around £100-110 secondhand off ebay.

I use an iPad – the base spec one from a few years back. Works perfectly. It’s mounted on a cheap Amazon bar mount.

If you don’t have a smartphone that will run Zwift (I frequently run it on my Mi A2), an Apple TV box is ~£150 and once connected to a TV or monitor you’re sorted.

I have a huawei p30 lite, does it work quite well with a handlebar mount and just on a phone?

Once you identify the spec of PC you need you could look second hand. A second hand gaming laptop might be a good option. People sell on computers like they’re food going off. You don’t need a big or fast hard drive for Zwift as its not data intensive. It needs a good Graphics card (GPU) to display the graphics.

My 12 year old Mac runs Zwift perfectly with a 1GB GPU. My Phone does too. But my old old ipad won’t even install the app.

Just get apple tv. Teh cheapest and often best way of running Zwift.

As above, Apple TV looks like the cheapest way in.

Zwift does most of the graphics settings automatically based on your hardware, so you can’t select super high detail levels on it, but above the minimum it should just run with the cartoonish trees etc.

The CPU just runs on a single core and does a lot of the physics stuff for all the other riders in shot so any stuttering is likely to be the result of that. The software just isn’t very optimised, and I think Zwift are on record as saying they’re not going to fix it in a hurry as most users are on low end kit.

I’d just get Apple tv and stick it on an old tv unless you want/need a new laptop for other stuff.

You could get a PC with a 1030 graphics card for about the same price as a AppleTV and if set up in the right way this would be far superior to a AppleTV.

AppleTV is ok for Zwift – the remote is awful so use your phone if that’s what you go for. It’s fairly stable – depending on how many Bluetooth connections you want you may have to use the companion app to connect everything.

Couple of questions

1. what is your budget?
2. Do you already have a TV or monitor to use for the screen?
3. Do you want to use the device for something else?

I wouldn’t say a laptop is a good option. 10th and 11th gen intel CPU’s can have random crashes and Zwift don’t advise using these if you are going to use integrated graphics.

The below shows what you can get graphics wise on the different options. Not sure if this is important to you or not.

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Hi

Thanks for all the replies. My budget is basically as low as possible, it will work on the phone, however i do have a spare 32 inch tv so the apple tv option is interesting. I take it there is a zwift app for the apple tv that i just download?

Thanks again

the apple tv option is interesting. I take it there is a zwift app for the apple tv that i just download?

Exactly that. There’s an App Store on the appleTV. Free app download.

I’ve used an appleTV 4K for a while and it’s been great – stable and looks good enough for me (especially when I’m struggling to breath). Intrigued to see what it looks like on a faster laptop but not sure I can be bothered to plug it in.

You could cast the phone screen to a tv/monitor with a Chromecast or similar (if there is nothing already available).

I went through the same options a couple of months ago and eventually bought a 2nd hand gaming laptop. More expensive than the Apple TV route but it also has more utility.

You could get a PC with a 1030 graphics card for about the same price as a AppleTV and if set up in the right way this would be far superior to a AppleTV.

I think the caveat to this is:

Yes, but 2020.

Even a gx1030 card which is the “i just want to plug a screen in and dont have on-board graphics” card in their line-up is >£100.

You could cast the phone screen to a tv/monitor with a Chromecast or similar (if there is nothing already available).

Thats an interesting idea, i am pretty sure i have a chromecast lying around somewhere….

As above, AppleTV works fine, but as mien is in the lounge I get disapproving looks from MrsMomo and the kids if they’re home. We bought a couple of Lenovo M10 tablets last year for our kids (mainly to keep them quiet on long journeys) so I pinch one of them and it runs zwift just fine.

I run it fine on a probably five year old Samsung S2 tablet, which I bet you can pick up for peanuts on fleabay

Sorry I’m later to this after Stumpy referenced me. I bought a reconditioned PC for £130odd quid here: amazon

I then got a GT1030 for about £100 (I know, silly money now) and I’ve got a dedicated Zwifting PC that runs at 1080p and around 60fps. I think it’s medium profile but loads better than the laptop I used to run it on. The key for me is its upgradable if I or my son wants to improve graphics down the line (Small Form Factor aside).

Even a gx1030 card which is the “i just want to plug a screen in and dont have on-board graphics” card in their line-up is >£100.

You can get them between £75 and £85 at CCL at the moment.

SFF PC: £65 on Ebay
4 GB additional RAM: £15
120GB SSD: £20
GT1030: £85

Comes in at the same price as AppleTV 4K with better graphics and more upgradable and adaptable in the future.

I bought a second hand iPad Air 2 specifically for zwifting. It’s fine, graphics are good enough for me, it doesn’t crash and it was about £200. Plus when I’m not on zwift I use it to watch Eurosport player.

If I had more money I’d buy a newer iPad with a bigger screen, or maybe an Apple TV and a big tell, but the iPad works perfectly for me, because my turbo is set up in the shed ans I wouldn’t want to leave expensive electrical stuff (other than the turbo obvs) in there long term.

You can get a lightning to HDMI adapter for £16 on amazon.

The genuine apple one is £44

Thanks very much for all the help, i found my chromecast and can can cast zwift from the phone to the tv. Seems to work fine. Ordered a handlebar mount for the phone and should all work well hopefully!!

Thanks again

A load of second hand parts and some good luck might get you something equivalent to a new apple tv 4k for £180 with a warranty from John Lewis that you will never have to get a windows licence or update its drivers mid way through your ride.

Apple TV for the cheapest win, imho.

Apple TV works fine, for me.
Bluetooth connections can be tricky, but I’ve had good results using a 4iiii Viiiva HRM strap, which acts as a bridge to the cadence sensor, and that’s been rock solid – along with a Tacx Flow trainer