03-11-2006 11:34
People have been really helpful to me. I should post a little of what I have experienced for the benefit of people looking for SL-ready machines.

Many people have said you can't reliably run SL on a laptop. I'm using an old one right now that is satisfactory (though I am looking to upgrade, too.) It's a Dell Latitude D600; a couple of years old. You can still get similar models today, but if you are on a tight budget, you may be able to find one of these used on eBay or in local chop shops. Here are some basic specs:

- Processor: Intel Pentium M 1.6 GHz
- BIOS: Dell A05 (5/29/2003)
- Memory: 1.5 GB:
. - 512 MB DDR PC2100
. - 1 GB DDR PC2100
- Chipset: Intel 855PM
- Video: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000; 32MB DDR SDRAM; 64-bit
- Max video res: 1400 x 1050 pixels with 32-bit color depth
- Audio: Intel AC97
- Hard drive: 80 GB
- Ethernet: 10/100/1000; DMI 2.0
- WiFi: Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN Mini-PCI Card
- PCMCIA: 1 Type I or Type II

I know by most people's standards for SL, this must look terrible (32 MB video RAM?!?!). But I find that in most sims, I get about 4 FPS or better. I never get 30 FPS.

One thing you have to deal with if you get this machine is that SL will consume 100% of your CPU, so when you start it up, use the Windows Task Manager to lower the priority to "Below Normal". This won't reduce CPU utilization, but it will mean that other programs you run (e.g., PhotoShop) will get time on the CPU just about whenever they ask for it; hence, almost no lag for them. This doesn't appear to have much affect on SL's performance, either, unless you run another CPU monster at the same time. Or you can put the following in a batch file to start SL:

START "Second Life" /BELOWNORMAL "C:\Program Files\SecondLife\SecondLife.exe" -multiple


I find with 1.5GB of RAM, I can safely run 2 copies of SL with only modest performance hit to either. Chances are pretty good you'll crash one, though, especially if I maximize one or rapidly change one window's size.

This laptop's video adapter includes support for an external monitor. When I'm home, I almost always extend my desktop to one. There is a nasty gotcha, though. If you put SL on the second monitor, don't try to change your appearance or change clothing. Whatever you attempt to change will turn pitch black, whether it's skin or clothing. Your only recourse if you do this is to put SL back on the main monitor (built-in) and change your appearance again. Totally weird.

Hope this is helpful to someone. Cheers.

- Lavanya