Second Life and Laptops

I'm looking for a new laptop computer, but if it doesn't support SL, it will be a paperweight.

I've found one with a great CPU, etc., but the Video Card is an ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics RS780M, with 1 gig video memory and 8 gigs ram.

Sounds awesome, but that is not one of the video cards listed on the System Requirements page.

Does anyone have any experience with this card?

You would save yourself a world of possible troubles by getting a laptop with a Nvdia card.

Also, just searching the forums for ATI will come up with a host of trouble calls from people.

Is it possible for you to get a lappie with an Nvidia option?

The Radeon 3200 is an integrated graphics option which, while better than Intel graphics, still shares system memory. It is a good option for HD video playback, but it is not a great 3D chip.

If you can give an idea of your budget and the size of laptop you are looking for, it would be possible to recommend a better solution. In general, avoid any integrated graphics chip, especially from Intel. From Nvidia, anything 8000 or 9000 series where the second digit is 6 or higher (8600 GT; 9600 GS for example) will work. Newer Nvidia use a different numbering scheme, but the 130 or higher or 230 or higher will run well. The GTX 260m or GTX 280m are the top cards for notebooks,but the cheapest notebook to have one is the Asus G51 at Best Buy for $1049.

ATI will work, but is more problematic due to poor OpenGL support. Anything 3600 or better or 4600 or better will work, but be prepared for more tweaking with your setting to get everything up and running smoothly.

While SL is more CPU intensive than most games, you will still find the graphics card is more limiting than the CPU. Depending on budget, you might want to back down on the CPU to get a better GPU for a more balanced machine.

You might try posting at Notebook Review in the "What Notebook Should I Buy" section (http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16)...there is a form you can fill in with your requirements and usually you'll get some good options to consider.

Thank you both, Brianna and Veritable.

Your input has been really helpful. And I will check out the "What Laptop Should I Buy" site.

The bottom line for me is that if it doesn't work for SL, it is useless to me...LOL

heres 2 ends of what your looking around

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115594

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101176