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Ceera Murakami
Texture Artist / Builder
Join date: 9 Sep 2005
Posts: 7,750
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11-22-2005 14:26
It appears possible that my employer may soon provide me with a new windows-type computer. I work from home, so would be able to use it in my off-hours to play on.
If they ordered what I think they did (I have to take the current 'standard' from the corp, no input from me on precise add-ons) then here are the specs:
IBM ThinkCentre M51 (or S51) P4 630 3.0 GHz: A Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz, 2MB Cache, Hyper-Threading Processor, 64bit capable, Compact Desktop Footprint, 1GB RAM, Intel Media Accelerator 900 Graphics, 915G Chipset, 80GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD-Rom Combo optical. Windows XP Version v2.0.2 OS.
The CPU seems beefy enough, as does the RAM, which I might possibly manage to increase to 2 GB or even 4 GB, depending on weather they get me the full tower or the compact version.
But is anybody here familiar with the Intel Media Accelerator 900 video card? It apparently has 128 MB video memory. It also apparently supports OpenGL. But some of what I read implied that the 128 MB of Video RAM was at least partially by some sort of trick where it uses system memory... ??? And I've heard at least some Intel video cards badly rated here.
If that video card isn't worth using with SL, what sort of card would you folks recommend, for someone who wants SL to play well, but who is on a tight budget?
Of course, maybe this is all wishful thinking. They might just reassign some used desktop to me - better than my old laptop, but not up to the new specs. I won't know until it arrives, I fear.
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Kathmandu Gilman
Fearful Symmetry Baby!
Join date: 21 May 2004
Posts: 1,418
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11-22-2005 14:47
The intel chip is the question, the rest is good to go. SL does not officially support Intel video. It is basically a crapshoot as to whether it will actually run SL or not. In some cases it will others it won't.
If you want another video card, it will depend on the motherboard of the computer and what it will accept. The best I can recommend for anyone would be an Nvidia 6600 GT, agp or pci-e depending on the motherboard. Look through the forums, there are gazillions of posts regarding recommended video cards.
_____________________
It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.
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Shrug Dangle
Registered User
Join date: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 11
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11-22-2005 15:23
I have a friend with an embedded Intel video graphics chipset who can't play SL even with the most recent drivers (yes I checked the video memory). I popped in a 4 year old Nvidia card (Geforce3) and everything worked swimmingly with faster framerates to boot.
You don't know hate until you tell your friend that a crusty dusty 4 year old video card is faster than their brand new Intel EXTREME graphics chip.
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Soleil Mirabeau
eh?
Join date: 6 Oct 2005
Posts: 995
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11-22-2005 16:44
Yeah, I'd get the 6600 as well. I just got a new computer and the onboard graphics stunk. The 6600 will get you where you need to go without paying the outrageous prices for the next gen of cards.  |
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Edav Roark
Bounty Hunter
Join date: 4 Sep 2003
Posts: 569
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11-22-2005 21:46
I used the Intel Media Accelerator for awhile on my new (not so new now) computer and SL worked ok til I got a GeForce 6800 PCI-Express card and it only cost $219.00 at Newegg.com and now I can run SL with all options checked. SL runs very well, unless I get into a very crowded sim.
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