Running SL Graphics on Ultra Setting

What would be the minimum PC requirements needed to run SL with the graphics preference set to ultra?

I'm not sure about 'minimum' but you're going to need a high end graphics card.......lots of memory and a high speed connection.

For example....I run mine on ultra and I use a Dell XPS410..... 2G memory.......nVidia8800 graphics card and cable internet. I keep my settings on ultra all the time.....the only thing I ever adjust to minimize lag in busier/high prim areas is draw distance.....I lower that if the lag gets too much. But....the look of ultra settings is always great. I don't believe I could do it with any less than what I currently have for an operating system.

But the three factors I mentioned are the important elements.......you've got to have more then what the web site reccomends as 'minimum' system requirements to run on ultra. Not sure if this helps.......and not sure what you'd need for a laptop.....that's going to be different.

This should do it:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.product-reviews.net/wp-content/userimages/2008/03/ati_radeon_hd_3850_graphics_card_in_a_quad_ati_crossfire_configuration_on_amd_790fx_chipset-based_motherboard.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.product-reviews.net/tag/download/&usg=__B_FenFYziomtGQeekK6zp3D74fk=&h=290&w=435&sz=37&hl=en&start=37&um=1&tbnid=K6S530EDGdbLrM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlargest%2Bgraphics%2Bcard%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D21%26um%3D1

Something like this should work; though it is low on the spec side:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/06/geforce_gtx_280_3way.jpg

My old card was an Nvidia 8600, and it was capable, though I also have a Q6600 quad core processor, and 2 gigs of RAM.

Currently, I run an 8800 GT OC, and 3 gigs of RAM, otherwise the same as before.

I have mine set on Mid. Anything higher makes whites glow like flourescent tubes. Even at the Mid setting I still get some glowing whites but not so intense.

overkill:
q6600, 3Gb Ram, GTX 280 oc on a 22" widescreen(1680x1050).

all maxed settings plus anisotropic filtering and 16x anti-aliasing

result:
cuts through SL like butter... sauce.

The can someone explain to me why, even though I have an Nvidia 8800 GTS, I watch a slideshow when I put it on Ultra. (Or High for that matter...or Mid for that matter.)

It all depends by you screen resolution (size), and also if you are running the app windowed or full screen (the difference may be huge).
The truth is that Second Life gfx engine simply sucks (at this stage), it does requires more resource than any recent videogame would require, because it's not even optimized. So in reality a consumer PC to have this run *always* smooth doesn't exists.
I'm running SL @ 2560x1600 with aniso on and 2xAA windowed (for convenience), it's all set on ultra with a std distance view (256m), on a Core i7 3.8Ghz on 2xgtx295 (SLI) ..you would expect some uber result, you don't? It's not: i could hit 70fps (or more) but in friendly enviroment, the reality is that i would float around 40fps on average, that would drops to 30 in certain situations (or less in a very heavy sim fullfilled of avs).
I don't even hit those poor FPS with Crysis! ...so there's nothing much to say, i may try to add another 295 and having 3-Way ...after that i could only buy some used BlueGene fro IBM to look into a stable 60fps solution. :°D

What's the rest of your computer like?

I'd think you'd get decent performance at Mid or High from almost anything with an 8800 though. Unless you're trying to run on something just crazy old, or rediculously low memory.

You're basically asking the equivalent of "How come even though I've got a Ferrari engine in my car, the thing won't go 200 MPH?" Without knowing anything about the car, we can't answer the question. At the very least, we'd need to know what kind of vehicle you put the thing in, and whether or not the other components are all in good working order. Obviously, throwing a Farrari engine into a 40-ton eighteen wheeler wouldn't do a whole lot of good. It wouldn't even be able to go. Sports car engines, fast though they may be, don't have nearly enough torque to move that much weight. And even if you did put that engine in a lightweight sportscar like you're supposed to, it won't work out too well if the parking brake is stuck or if the tires aren't inflated. In short, the engine doesn't mean squat all by itself. The whole car has to be taken into account.

By the same token, no one can explain what might be going on with your computer unless you list your full system specs. We know your video card is good. Your bottleneck must be something else. Help us help you by telling us what you've got.

Storm,

Some other relevant factors:

processor type and speed
amount of RAM
OS
internet speed connection
version of SL viewer you are using
SL viewer network settings
threading setting
default programs that automatically load up and are running when you boot up
version of video card driver you are using

processor type and speed (2+Ghz, but I've run it as low as 700Mhz)

amount of RAM (2+Gb but I've run it as low as 384Mb)

OS (windows XP (vista, you'll want a faster system), Current Mac OS, Linux)

internet speed connection (1Mbit+, 2+ optimum)

SL viewer network settings (the bigger the faster, .5Mbit is doable)

default programs that automatically load up and are running when you boot up (as few as possible, faster machines with more memory can handles more)

version of video card driver you are using( best you can afford. I've run with as low as an ATI 9200 AIW )

NOTE: when I say I've run a system 'as low as' that's only to get in SL... you will NOT get ultra settings with it.

MacBook Pro 15 with nVidia 9600 512 meg. GPU, 4 gigs of RAM, FIOS broadband.

With all of the settings, all the way up, no probs in a private estate (45+ fps). In a crowded mainland sim, 512 draw distance is just too much, so I cut back to 256 and get maybe 20-30 fps.

It does, however, get real hot.....

I also have an AMD quadcore with 3 gigs and an 8800 connected to two 24 monitors running Vista. Sweet.

My advice? Don't worry so much about CPU speed, but buy the best video card (Graphics Processing Unit--"best" defined as speed and amount of dedicated memory) and the fastest RAM that you can find.

I just built a budget machine that runs SL maxed out at 1280x1024.

2.4G Dual Core processor
4G RAM with Vista 64
Nvidia 9500GT 1G DDR2