WOW! SL under Win XP on the Core Duo iMac

I fired up SL on my Core Duo at work today under my new install of Windows XP.

I couldnt run it for long since I'm at work but I wanted to see how it performed.

In Lusk with a good dozzen avatars standing around on the main platform I saw a avarage of 20FPS.

In Lusk/Perry flying around the sim I saw 40FPS!

Ripple water, Wow I've never seen it until today, It looks neat but not like the screenshots I've seen of it?

I'd say SL is running better under XP than under OS X even with the universal binary sadly

Hi Gog. So you used Bootcamp to do this?!

Do you know if Apple Stores are going to be demo'ing Bootcamp?

I was about to buy a new computer in about a week, and this new ability to run XP on Intel Macs may get me to switch. I need the Apple video editing software for work, but need XP for pretty much everything else.

So XP performance is pretty good? What are your Mac specs?

Thanks for your time,
Aaron

Gog, whats the full specs of this duo core machine? and your mac? I remember you had some crappy videocard like mine XD. But dont know what monster ya got at work

Yeah I used Boot Camp to do this.

I wouldnt think the Apple Stores would do it but they did have VPC with Windows XP running on their demo machines for the longest time.

This is on a 20 Inch iMac 2GB of ram with the 2Ghz Core Duo and the 256MB Video card.

At home I've got a G5 1.8 Ghz with the GeForce 5200FX

I installed windows on my MacBook pro, but have yet to try SL on it, too much of a pain and i dont trust hooking Windows up to the outside world. I was playing aorund with it a bit, but in the about 30 minutes ive played with it after the install, I've already had it blue screen on me twice...

While Apple has a working video driver, i dont think its that good, and there are still other driver issues.

I don't suppose there's anyone available that could play test SL on a Mac XP vs. PC XP.

I've been gradually pushing myself toward buying a strictly gaming PC. But if XP on a Mac performs up to par with a comparably specced/priced PC, then I can remain a stubborn Mac user and still meet my gaming needs.

I installed all the drivers that came with BootCamp, and I have had no problems with windows on my iMac coreduo at all. In fact, it runs faster and smoother than I've ever really seen windows run.... and it's on a mac....

I've been quite happy with it so far, even though I probably will only use windows so that I won't have to wait for mac versions of games to come out. Other than that, it's still Mac os all the way.

You're probably better off just buying/building a gaming PC. After XP came out some of the newer PC games became "XP only", so when something like Vista comes out it'll then be "Vista only".

Then there's the drivers issue. Nothing beats up a computer like some of these newer games... Quake 4, Half-Life 2, etc.

Then you'd have to consider if it's an online game. Would it still work? Or would the game servers reject it? Some of these game servers register your system by the hardware in it in order to ban you if you become a "griefer" or get caught cheating.

SL should run fine tho. It's OpenGL, which is a pretty standard graphics format.

Until and unless Linden Labs releases a native powerpc version other than the current hobbled port from the windows side performance will suffer for all Mac users. This is directly the fault of poor code. I cannot recommend Second Life for the PowerPC as the frame rates at the client end are unacceptably slow. This improves somewhat with larger video cards but the FACT that beside texture rendering tyhe altivac engine in the G4 is used for NOTHING which is unacceptable. Theer should be altivec calls all over the software for any 3d vectors.........

...I would forget the Universal Binary version and just tell Mac users to use Bootcamp. I still haven't quite understod Steve Jobs' strategy here: why would anyone make a UB Mac version of software? (provided driver issues are sorted out of course).

Ick! I'm on a Mac so I don't have to do Windows. Dual booting is a pain in the butt, and generally not worth the hassle to me. I want my OS X system running all the time. Virtualization, within that, would be nice for the occasional time I need to run Windows.

Someone has used an Intel Mac to compare performance in the Mac version and in Windows on the same Mac.
OSX vs XP: Boot Camp allows easy comparison

As you can see the difference was marginal. Then on the Apple forums after Boot Camp came along a number of threads popped up on the matter of gaming in WinXP on an Intel Mac. Apparently they have been doing quite well and playing with the settings of a number current games turned right up. I'm just holding out for the Intel PowerMacs to come along before getting an Intel based Mac myself. My old gaming Windows PC is about to keel over but I really don't play many games on it (I use my Mac for SL) so getting a new Dell seems a waste. That news means I can just get a new Mac and Windows install disks.


Christopher Black:
Apple intends on making all Macs Intel based over the course of this year and is phasing out the PPC based ones last I checked. So demanding LL rewrite the PPC Mac client when that is going on and they are already busy working on the Linux and Mac UB version is rather foolish.


Dani Frua:
Boot Camp does not give us Windows, it just lets you install it so you would still need to go out and purchase the Windows install disks which aren't cheap. Many of us using SL on a Mac also have other apps we're using on a Mac in OS X. Boot Camp requires you to reboot your whole system which would make using those OS X apps together with SL impossible. Plus from what I remember of that Philip Linden town hall meeting last week they want SL working on all systems which would be why they're also doing a Linux version.

What Apple is likely banking on is that by being able to still use Windows when they need to and run those apps effectively they will be able to get more people to switch to a Mac. Many don't like all the problems in Windows but don't want to give up the Windows only software and games. Then Virtual PC would let you run Windows inside OS X but apps in it were run as if on a slow crippled machine so weren't of much use beyond simple Windows apps. Boot Camp should make the process of switching easier as they could use OS X for most things, Windows for what they need it for and slowly get Mac versions of Windows apps over time.

It is becaue WINDOWZ is the best ;D, better then mac and that other one that is the third part computer guys (whats their name again?) linkx or something. WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS WINDOWS >

It's just that kind of post that makes me wish to recant my position on a rewrite of the Powerpc client.

I now call on Linden Labs to write a proper Mac client rather than the unacceptable current version. I have along with everyone noticed an inordinate dissatisfaction with Linden Labs Mac version. I just hope they are listening.

What changed my mind, on this, other than the types of egos that have to depricate Mac users and such other disagreeable types, was that with a 2ghz athlon xp with 512mb system ram and an unsupported Radeon 7500 video card I was pulling very good performance around 20fps on average with a lowest sped of 8-9 fps.

Either Linden Labs is listening and ironing out their problems or there will be a significant number of people who will be unhappy with Second Life.

Linden Labs NEEDS to appreciate it's Mac clients fully in DEED not just words, and simple PORTS of windows clients with object openGL through the video gpu as an afterthought of code fragment. PLEASE!!!!

I am personally a bit surprised that you put a lightbulb icon on top of your post. This let's me think about requesting a rating feature in the forums...



You just make a fool out of yourself if you ask for optimizations for a deprecated cpu line. It's better to burry and forget your mac powerpc position of getting a full optimized client.



I am a bit suprised that a person who is at most willing to spend an aging and already underpowered super-low-budget pc expects anything to be given above the absoulute basics. SL is one of the rare worlds with a multi plattform client. I think this fact can be honoured. Everywhere else macs are ignored completely.

As apple delivers no self optimizationing compiler rather a *free one* why don't you just go there and ask them for this. Intel does so and compared to hand optimization it delivers quite good results as I heard.

Exactly mac powerpc is deprecated and discontinued by their own company. And in my eyes it's an open question if apple provides full and extensively optimized versions of new applications for an old cpu plattform. They say it will be supported, but they don't say how in exactly this situation.



There are not even words on what you request. The sl client was created with portability in mind. The drawback of this, as an it consultant you should know that, is that it is less optimized and can fullfill specific needs only limited.

I can just repeat myself. You are making a fool out of yourself. Better to stop this instead of letting your repeated whining and claiming slashing back on you as forum posts don't get archived for years.

My hardware isn't good performing either but I appreciate the overall offerings of sl and went off to invest bucks for getting better world experience.
But you sound to me like an annoying jerkass and tight-ass who want's to drive mercedes but who isn't willing to pay the fuel.
So stop whining, get yourself an intel iMac with enough memory, it delivers competing performance and get used to the *few* annoyences of the mac client. The windows interface sucks a bit as well, but windows people are used to use sucking software .

Regards,
Leff.

A radeon x800 agp 8x card might be a real fine upgrade for your G5 tower to run SL.

http://www.provantage.com/ati-100-435317~7ATIT42J.htm

http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=Video+Cards+%26+Adapters&category%5Fname=33g33c201s1002&product%5Fid=702864

Those are the two best prices I could find on that card. As SL for the Mac is very GPU dependent it will give you some improved performance.

Another cheaper way would be to download a ROM flash and use it in a PC with a pc x800xt the card can be gotten here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102363R

and the flashing file can be downloaded from strangedogs here

http://strangedogs.sytes.net/

And you can create a Mac video card from a pc video card. Just use the radeon x800XT flashing file on that page with the card loaded on a PC with at least agp4x and a good power supply.
Those would be your options.

But no thanks Linden Labs for not properly supporting the PowerPC. FOR every person thinks I need not ask to have code optimized ........realize a UB will run on Powerpc Macs running OS X Tiger 10.4 AND THEY will be using those machines for years AND they can see who at least stood up for their needs, unlike others.

Supporting the efforts of what at this time is the great majority of Mac users is noble and decent to do. Anyone with a differing opinion can just REALLY be the fools for speaking against Mac users. Bah!

I have heard so many opinions as to why Linden Labs can't won't or shouldn't optimize their code. Heres the only one that stands up to the light of reason.......

Second Life is a BUSINESS offering PRODUCT. If the PRODUCT is CRAP no one will RUN IT.

Hope that reaches everyone's ears. Fix it just because this is the proper and correct thing to do. Every other opinion is wrong...period. But you are SO welcome to it!

Just because it's a free country means you are all free to do what you want and not bother ME with what does not work.........and I am getting an Intel iMac core duo 2ghz 20 incher. Dosen't mean I approve of Linden Labs code for the powerpc. You know what? You don't either so just let it go. I have had NO ONE post that the PowerPC client is terrific......Its NOT about people with new intel Macs.....

I suggest you try the firmware update 1.01 for your Mac. There are some clock frequency issues with the MacBook and Core Duo Radeon x1600 gpu or memory not sure which. A client and friend had artifacts on his iMac core duo but the firmware patched it nicely.

Available here.........

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbookproearly2006firmwareupdate101.html

Please !!
Stop spaming every topic you can spam.
This thread is about "SL under Win XP on the Core Duo iMac"

I demand Linden Labs optimizes their code to run on an 8086 machine. If no one can run sl on their 8086 machines they will be pissed and and hate sl.

I hope LL gets their act together

Yes well Linden Labs dosen't claim that they offer 8086 support OR software.

Its so funny that Linden Labs can't write a few lines of code to fix it properly, as thats all it needs insert code after vector call to G4 velocity engine duhhhhhh. Oh and write texture calls to GPU, NOT cpu. It's not even difficult to do. But what we get is Zelig's humor *sheesh*

Oh and I suppose we all need to run windoze on our Intel Core Duos????

The actual state of the WinXP on Intel Core Duo is fast enough to do it. But it illustrates that the Mac client needs help as it runs so badly by comparison on the SAME hardware.