would like to enjoy SL - settings pic attached

http://f1nd.org/romano/settings.jpg

The 1st pic is how I view SL on both my iMac G5 and iBook G4. All the sliders down, avatars, objects, terrain, etc.. all the shaders off, sun and moon only, etc..

On the iMac I have 1.8GHz and 2GB RAM.. not sure the video card, probably standard issue. I tried in the 2nd pic to turn everything up and was amazed at what I am missing with the environmental shaders and reflections, etc..

Do I need to build a gaming PC laptop to get the most out of SL? there's no way I can even move around with any of the settings turned up. I'm kinda missing out.

You can see what kind of graphics adapter your iMac has by using the System Profiler program in the Utilities folder. It's probably either an Nvidia 5200FX or ATI Radeon 9600, neither is that hot for 3D gaming.

Your options with the Macs are somewhat limited. Basically they amount to "forget it". Neither of those graphics adapters nor the G5 CPU have what it takes to deliver good performance at the higher graphics settings. You cannot upgrade them either.

So yeah, short answer, buy a new computer for the eye candy. Either a desktop PC (probably the best performance value), gaming laptop or a newer Mac.