Need Tips On Right Graphics Card

I am building/upgrading a desktop and I am looking for the right set up that will run second life with no lag. I am a novice/dipshit when it comes to system numbers on graphics cards and motherboards. Here are the motherboard and graphics card I am thinking of buying:

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

Graphics Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102794

If these are incapable of running second life, first, I apologize for my ignorance (and yes I have looked at the system requirements), and second, what do you recommend (product wise) on components that will run second life with no lag or problems at all.

Thanx,

Wolfe

I believe you're better off sticking with Nvidia graphics cards for Second Life. SL is an OpenGL game, and Nvidia's OpenGL drivers tend to perform better and have fewer issues than ATI's drivers.

For ~$60 from Newegg, I'd get a 9600GT. It'll serve you well for Second Life. If you loves teh eye candy, drop a few more bucks for an Nvidia GTS250.

I got a gts250, quite pleased with it for the money

No lag at all?
You can only do so much from your end to abate lag, the rest is firmly in the hands of the Internet as a whole and LL's systems.

nVidia graphics cards have better facilities and drivers for OpenGL. SL is a OpenGL platform.

What kind of numbers should I be looking for. I was told by a friend that for a card that will run SL and other games I need to go with about 512 MB and 128 or 256 bit. Should I go higher or is this fine?

Higher is better. But you can get really ridiculous on that too. Look for a card with at least 512 megs onboard RAM and 256 pipeline. NVidia is probably better if your main reason for getting a high end card is SL (it's the OpenGL support that has been mentioned). But ATI's work too..........a little tender loving tweaking is sometimes needed.

You are always going to have to deal with lag when using SL.........just too much happening graphics wise to expect perfection. On a consist basis, if you can maintain 25 to 30 frames per second you should not experience much graphics lag...........from your computer and it's hardware only. A card with ample RAM and speed will do that for you quite easily. Lag caused by other factors including server enduced lag, internet bottlenecks and your personal network will not change at all with a new card.

THIS.

With my 9500GT 1GB, on a 2.83ghz quad, i can run in ultra mode, with anisotropic on and antialiasing @ x8 with no noticeable client lag.


I cannot justify spending over $200usd on a video card, let alone 300-500 that the higher end geforce cost.

Ok. Key things that i looked for:

bits: 128bit v 256bit
ram: DDR2 v DDR3
Ram amount: 512mb v 1gb.

The 256bit and DDR3 are all newer cards, even some 9800's if i recall.

My 9500GT is a 128bit with DDR2-1GB ram.

If i were building a brand new system with the newer i7 stuff i would get a DD3/256bit video card just to keep it all newer technology like and all.

If you can get 1GB video ram do so. There are some SL clients that will use it.

I am looking at a Zotac with a 9500 GT: 1GB and 128 bit. The motherboard already has a video chipsit with a GeForce 8100. With these two working together, would this be enough.

They will not work together...I mean, they will not work like 2 vid cards processing together. I am pretty sure your motherboard will switch to the PCIe slot card as the "primary" automatically.

I have a Galaxy 9500GT, 1GB, 128bit - it will be a great card for you.

If you are using newegg.com - i suggest you pick a card of the model you want that has plenty of reviews as they could help you in your final decision.

9500GT is a decent starter card, its not overly large and doesn't suck every single watt out of your power supply

Well said, in fact, upgrading your graphics card can be the worst thing you can do in some circumstances. Always check your power supply ratings, not just watts, but the amps available per rail. Under estimate this and you could end up with a fried Motherboard and or Power Supply.

You probably know someone who squeezed a muti-cylinder engine into a small car, and never upgraded the chasis mountings and brakes.....

Very nice analogy. I relate very well to car stuff.

i lurked here and at tomshardware before i took the plunge and build a system for SL. I really recommend the toms's forums, though those guys get real technical real quick.

i use that motherboard, no complaints, what processor are you gonna be using? most people said that SL also eats up that too.

i went with this for my graphics card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150422
a steal at that price
beware though, 1) it's friggin massive, just ginormously huge 2) I'm guessing it's takes alot of power to run, it has 2 pci-express power plugs

The good news, runs ultra with anisotropic on and 16xAA just fine, on a good sim i can get 40fps.

The bad news, there is and always be lag.
on a bad day/sim i can drop as low as 15fps, on rare days sometimes even less

if you want to see what the world looks like on ultra though
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40956511@N03/3777477271/sizes/o/

That video card is looking for 450 watts minimum. I have that exact same card except it''s PNY. A great card, it did take a little rearranging in my case to get it to fit. It does take two spaces on your slots...........so beware of that. One up side besides the performance is that it runs about 20 degrees C less than the old XFX 8600GT I had before. The prices for that card are falling because the new generation cards are on the market now. I believe this card will still be more than enough for anything put to it for another 3 years minmum.

I am real happy with my 9800GTX+ (from what I could gather its the same chipset as all the new 2XX cards) but I picked mine up with COD # and $ for 119.00 USD from new egg..
Brand XFX
Model PVT98WYDFH
Interface
Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA
GPU GeForce 9800 GTX+
Core Clock 738MHz
Stream Processors 128
Memory
Memory Clock 2200MHz
Memory Size 512MB
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Type GDDR3
3D API
DirectX DirectX 10
OpenGL OpenGL 2.1
Ports
DVI 2
TV-Out HDTV / S-Video Out
General
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2560 x 1600
RoHS Compliant Yes
SLI Supported Yes
Cooler With Fan
System Requirements Minimum Power Supply Requirement 450 Watt
Power Connector 2 x 6 Pin
Dual-Link DVI Supported Yes
HDCP Ready Yes

and Ultra + some overclocking with the Ntune WOW!

yep, I got the same thing as a GTS250, cept it runs cooler and its a tad smaller for

-->104$ <--

tigerdirect.com

It's the same chip (G92) as the GTS250. It is not the same as the GTX cards.