What Do I Need?

I have a Compaq MV740 monitor and a Intel(R) 82810E Graphics Controller.

What must I buy and add to my system?

How about some more specs of your rig?

Pleae just let me know what you need.

I'll post what I think you may want.

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Build 2600 Version 2002
Intel Celeron Processor
631MHz
128 MB of RAM

And the monitor and graphics card are posted in my original post.

I guess I should state that my problem right now with running secondlife is it says I need to adjust my monitor to 32 bit but it only goes to 24 bit.

If it were me, I'd double the speed of the CPU, upgrade to 1GB of RAM, and pick up a new graphics card while you're at it.

Only problem is, I find that the Compaq gear is a bit...non-standard (IMO, of course). They generally tend to be compact units with integrated audio/video, and no space for (for example) a third-party AGP card. Yours might be different, of course. I mostly see the compact desktop systems.

Everything in my computer world right now works great for me and I'm doing just fine but I want to check out this world and wanna know what I need to do in order to do that.

That's my main question.

As I said, it's asking me for a 32 bit color quality setting on my monitor but my monitor only has the option of going as high as 24 bit.

Do I need a new monitor or graphics card or??????

From the looks of it you need everything. Minimum to play is a 800mhz processor. That Celeron is roughly equevelent to a 450mhz or so. You don't really have enough memory to run SL very well even if you did have enough CPU. The Intel graphics chip is not supported and is far too underpowered to run SL even if it was.

You are going to be better off buying a new system than trying to do anything with this one I'm afraid. Look through the forums, there are countless recommendations on what you should get if you decide to upgrade your machine.

Well I guess that's the hard core answer!

Funny thing is that I'm not as stupid as I may sound. I run several websites with many hosts and isp's. I have dwelled into running my own servers. I have done this for years and make a good living from doing it. From Amazon to Yahoo, you'll find me there. Of course don't forget about that wonderful site eBay. I have mastered Flash, Nuke, PHP, MYSQL and the list goes on. I have run programs on my computer that I though were taboo to only the FBI. I have helped countless numbers of people restore and fix there computers.

Even though with all of this knowledge and experience I find myself feeling stupid here.

My wife just recently told me about this place and I thought I'd check it out. Sounded easy enough. Now I find myself in a position that warrants me buying a whole new computer system just to see if this site is worth the effort, let alone the expense.

I'm asking from anyone who knows, is there a way for me to run this program without getting carried away with a Best Buy salesman?

Convince a friend with a different computer to let you check it out on their system? It's free, after all.

Good idea but people now days are very reluctant to install things on there computer.

PS
I'm a little worried about the cc info I had to add here just to get in.

If you are worried about cc info I would recommend looking to see if your bank offers debit/check cards backed by a cc company and open a separate account that does not draw on other accounts. Place a small amount of money, a couple hundred at most, and use it strictly for internet/paypal use.
I have it at a separate bank myself so some "helpfull" bank worker doesn't shuffle money around to cover a theft created overdraft.

No need to feel stupid, its just evident you didn't read the minimum requirements to play, LL does a rather poor job of posting those stats before you sign up. Even so, those minimums don't tell you what will not work, only what will. They assume you know an ATI X200 video card will not work even though it is a new video card or that the Nvidia GF 4000MMX is a GF2 with more memory and likely won't work either. They don't tell you an ATI 9250 will barely run SL even though it is "supposedly" better than the ATI 8500 minimum. They also don't tell you that it will take better than a 1.3 Celeron to meet minimum. They also don't tell you minimum is utter crap and likely won't work or if it does work it will suck mightily.

Yes, I know those bank account tricks, thanks. What I meant by worried was I was not sure if I could access my account with out running the program but I see that I can. I just wanted to check it to be sure I was not being charged for anything because they were a little confusing on that free account / $9.95 thing.

Anyway, it looks as though I won't be back here til I buy a new computer...lol. This is the first time I ran across this situation in 15 years on the Internet. Not with the same computer of course.

Thank you for your help. Maybe I'll talk to you again some day?

Curiosity got the best of me. So I went out and bought the Nvidia GF 4000MMX even though it was said that it would probably not work, but it was the cheapest one. Well it did work for me and with that and my out dated computer I was able to get in and check this place out. It's really cool. I've already been to many places like the amusement park and my first strip club...lol.

As you may have guessed though, everything is definitely running slow. My question today is pretty much the same as my original question, "what do I need"? More to the point, what do you recommend I look for in a new system that will allow me to get the most out of Second Life? One that I'm looking at has a Pentium 4 processor and 512mb of ram. I'd have to buy a separate graphics card and want to go with a nVidia but I don't know which one I should get.

Your input is appreciated, thanks.

For SL id recommend atleast this

cpu ; 2ghz + cpu
ram ; 1024 ram
vid card ; gf6600 (no clue on ati equalent)
isp ; 2mbit +

gforce 6600 is a decent card at its price, saw some that has no fan's either, heatpipes (need a way to actually get rid of the air in casing tho

I wouldnt look at pentium 4 anymore, they are way overpriced, look for amd 64'bit cpu's , alot cheaper, and make less heat to.

Ok, what about this one:

http://bestbuy.shoplocal.com/bestbuy/default.aspx?action=detail&storeid=2412863&rapid=0&pagenumber=0&listingid=-2096259002&offerid=&ref=%2fbestbuy%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsecategoryl2%26storeid%3d2412863%26CatTreeID%3d581342%26L2CatId%3d581342%26L1CatID%3d

It's a 1.8Ghz
I'd have to add some more ram.
The graphics card I'm not sure of though. I read some reviews on it and they were all great, saying this is the card for something like SL.

AMD Sempron is a socket 754, its a lighter version of a AMD Athlon 64bit, this is like celeron wise comparison, so the hz, is alot worse then its says.

upgrading that wouldnt as easy later as a 939 solution, Radeon Xpress 200 is a integrated vid card (if im not wrong) , im guessing (offcourse they dont show the specs <.< that this motherboard dont have a agp/pci option either.

:/ nope wouldnt recommend that one, it will be obsolete quite fast, especially if you are using it for games/SL.

I'd be careful too. I could be wrong about this, but weren't some early Semprons Socket A? For those who don't know, the Socket A platform preceeded Socket 754, making them even less upgradable.

Personally, I'd stay away from package deals if cost is an issue. Focus on the actual computer, and use your old monitor and speakers. Buy as much computer as you can afford.

I'm a little lost with some of the tech stuff you're saying. I do agree that I really need just the computer. I prefer to buy from Best Buy or Circuit City because if things don't work out I know I can easily return everthing there and start over.

Here is one other I looked at but again, it has the Sempron.

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/133663/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

If any of you have the time to look at either the Best Buy or Circuit City sites and find a computer or system that you would buy and point me to it I would very much appreciate it.

Some of the stuff I'm looking at there is starting to blog my mind as I'm not even sure what I'm reading. I'd like to stay as cheap as possible but don't let that hold you back on your suggestions.

Thanks.

PS
I'm ready to head out the door today and buy something, I just need to know what!

The best you can get SL is hungry.

I run on a:
3ghz P4 ht
2gb RAM
GforceFX 6800gt ultra (256mb)

SL runs well on this machine with all the options on and a moderate draw distance. It averages 15-45fps depending on load. (pre 1.7, post 1.7 is lower but that will no doubt change in future updates)

I get all that on a pretty cheap radeon video card and 512mb of memory, and am el cheapo 2.5 ghz machine.

Was looking around and saw this >link< 570$
AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ processor,
512MB of DDR SDRAM
200GB 7200RPM hard drive
Vid card still a mystery

holy... what a long link, i still cant see half the pc spec id like to before id buy a pc in this page tho, motherboard/vid card not much mentioned, the semptron is still using a onboard vid card, im not sure what this one uses as its quite hidden <.<

Only one i saw that had 1gb ram was this >link< 630$
AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ processor
1GB of DDR SDRAM memory
250GB 7200RPM hard drive.

1 gig ram is recommended, but eh i guess how much do you want to spend , reason i dont suggest the semptron, is cause it has zero upgradability prob, we dont know but its based on a older socket, that cant be used with newer, on 939 socket you can upgrade to x2-cpu's later (2 cpu's on 1)


>> continued >>
ok apperantly integrated x200 , 128 mb SHARED memory, so 512 - 128 = 384,
con - PCI-Express Graphics Slot , so its easy to put a vid card in there.

Found a preview here >link<

I called on on the one for $570.00

They said:
Radon xpress 200 = graphics card
Asus socket 939 = mother board

Also the $570 one has a dvd burner which I was gonna buy soon!

hehe ,, yeah good thing it has a pci-express slot to, so you can always get a better vid card , gf6600 recommended <.< the ATI Radeon Xpress 200 integrated graphics does support DirectX 9, but nowhere near that gf level.

Starting a pc from scratch cost, why i build self, no need to pay for alot of things i already have.

Well, what do you think about the one for $570 then?

ah they are both the same, just more ram on other, but the integrated vid card will eat up to 128 ram, so on

Remember these motherboards only have 4 slots for ram
570$ = 512 ram machine - 128 = 384 ram left (2x256 ram)
630$ = 1024 ram machine - 128 = 896 ram left (2x512 ram)

Dont know if you can get a upgrade on the 512 ram machine to 1024, id ask if it where possible and how much.

Im not a fan of compaq cause they tend to make odd quirks that make it nearly impossible to upgrade.

Booting windows take easy 200-300mb ram, youd eat up 512 ram with shared memory integrated vid card fast.

i type alot?

>>update>>
wops the compaq one (630$) can actually use 256 ram on vid card leaving you with 768 ram left o.O


Bottom line, the 570$ one is nice,
BUT to little ram really, youd want 1024 on that, and eventually a better vid card, as the motherboard let you use one pci-express.

The ATI X200 integrated video video on this machine is , according to Lee Linden, an Intel based card and likely won't work with SL or if it does it's going to have problems. The computer has it's strong points but it's going to take an extra $250 for a power supply, extra 512 stick of memory and a video card to be able to run SL the way it should be run.

Quality power supply, the 250 watt is actually below the recommended 300 watts for that Sempron and MSI motherboard. 400 watt minimum if you are going to put in a high end video card. $40-$80

512 stick of compatable memory, $40-$60

XFX Nvidia 6600 GT can be had for $140 or so online.

The 939 based motherboard and the 3500+ Sempron are not a bad comination, this allows you to upgrade all the way up to the best AMD has to offer currently (provided you have a good enough power supply that is). The 3500+ is roughly equivelent to a AMD 2800+ so it is plenty powerful enough to play SL. The PCIe slot means you can use high end graphic cards.