Severe system lag when running SL

Every time I run Second Life I get severe system lag, to the point where when moving the mouse you can see it move then stop then move again (an odd jerkiness). I noticed while running Second Life it tries to use up to 98% of my processor and close to a gig of system memory. I only get this lag when running Second Life, even running FEAR doesn't cause lag like this. My system specs are:

1. Windows XP pro service pack 1
   
2. Pentium 4 CPU 2.80GHz
   
3. 1 GB Ram (not sure what type
   
4. ATI Radeon X1300 256MB
   

I would appreciate some help.



Always,
Corbin

SL will always use 100% cpu, it eats 1 gig like nothing , highest i ever gotten it up to was about 2.2gig ram use.

Fear is a game SL isnt (wich means its not optimized like Fear is)

Try setting view distance way lower, dont even try 256m+ (64-96 usually fast) avoid 10+ crowds they will kill your fps severly.

Fastest possible is up in air away from crowds, also internet speed should be least 2mbit+ , it caches alooot, wich slows you down considerably till its finished the gray goo rez -.- (wich last about oh maybe 10 min till it forget what it had and starts over rechacing bleh)

I understand that but since the last update I can't do anything else while running Second Life. Also the Lag I'm talking about is not game lag, it's a severe system slow down. While running Second Life I can't do anything else, my mouse jumps (it pauses and then jumps) this is so annoying!!!

Does your processor have 2 cores? You can check if it does by opening the Task Manager (right click on taskbar->Task Manager) and going to the performance tab. If your CPU usage has 2 columns/graphs, you have a dual core system.

See the sticky at the top of the forum for information on how to set SL to perform well on this system. You will see *huge* performance gains if you follow their instructions.

Changing the in game setting will do very little to stop the CPU hog Second Life. My processor isn't the fastest thing out there, but a 2.2ghz P4 w 1 gig of memory shouldn't be running at 100% at the login screen. Without being connected SL uses up all of my CPU and slows down my machine.