Graphics Card Question

Recently, particularly in my store, everything seems to grind to a halt. On checking the lag meter, it shows red on the first button, and says too many complex objects in scene. After a bit of digging in the knowledge base, I suspect this may be due to my graphics card, an ATI Radeon X1300, which is now getting on a bit.

As much as I am quite computer savvy, and have no qualms about taking the back off and fiddling about, I find the whole graphics card thing quite confusing. A quick search on Amazon reveals a couple of Nvida Geoforce cards, 9500GT 1GB or 9400GT 512MB, both for around £45.

I am assuming that either of the above cards would give significantly improved performance than my existing?? If so, is the 1GB one a better option than the 512MB, on the basis that bigger is better? If so, is there anything else I need to consider.

Finally, neither of these cards appear on SL's recommended hardware list, but I am assume that they are newer cards so that wouldn't be a problem. If these cards are rubbish, perhaps someone could point me at one that isn't.

Many thanks.

Joss

If the card has at least 512MB of memory, it will be enough.

With Nvidia graphics adapters, the second number in the model name indicates where it is positioned performance wise in the lineup. The higher the number, the better. The 9500GT is a better graphics adapter than the 9400GT.

The 9500GT is a good budget graphics adapter for Second Life. For better performance, look at a 9600GT or 9800GT, if they'll fit in your budget. If not, the 9500GT will do well.

A couple techie details to watch out for: There are several versions of the 9500GT. First there are models with 64 and 128 bit memory. The 64-bit ones are less common, and you should avoid them. There are also models with DDR2 and DDR3 memory, DDR3 is better.

Also look for the 9600GSO, it's good, and you may be able to find a good deal on one, as they're being discontinued.