What is the optimal hardware for running SL?

A week ago I asked what systems the SL developer use so that we might learn what the people who write the software think are optimal machines to run SL. Torley told us about her personal system, and was going to try to get some more details.

Could someone answer this question? I don't need to be directed to the reccommended
configurations page, I'm interested in new information about what the developers consider
as the best available systems.

/139/74/110827/1.html

Asking about this...

My *personal* take on a optimal top-end system... opinions may vary, consider this a good starting place for a discussion... hopefully some of my fellow Lindens will also chime in with their opinions:

- top of the line CPU: Athlon FX-series or Pentium xxx Extreme Edition would be fine choices
- 1GB or more of RAM in a dual channel motherboard. There are slower and faster variaties of RAM... with MHz and PCxxxx numbers, larger values are usually better, with timing values (ex "2-3-2-5" smaller values are usually better
- one or more top of the line video cards (nVidia 7900 series or ATI x1900 series), I've often heard that the nVidia cards+drivers are faster at OpenGL (the graphics technology Second Life uses) than the ATI cards+drivers. I don't know to what extent this is true or makes a difference in overall performance.
- high resolution monitor (say 1680x1050 or higher, eyesight allowing). I personally find the experience of using a widescreen (ex: 16:9 or 16:10) LCD to be *much* more immersive than a traditional 4:3 or 5:4 aspect ratio display
- most hard drives are fine (or one of those quick 10,000RPM SATA drives if you dare)
- most audio output options should work (integrated into the motherboard or using an add-in board)
- a case with good cooling... Second Life can heat up CPUs and video cards pretty well
- high-capacity, high-quality power supply
- fast internet connection... 1Mbit/sec or faster downloads and 128Kbit/sec or faster uploads would be a good starting point for a top-o-the-line setup... if you use a external hardware router, choose a modern one with quick UDP packet handling and connect your machine to it with a wire

For a concrete example of a reasonably well-equipped setup, here's one of my personal systems (not to endorse any particular products; these components made the most sense at the time for my budget and needs (which extend to more than just running Second Life)) Your results may vary:
- Athlon 64 X2 4200+ with a meaty Zalman heatsink and overclocked to 2.5GHz (don't try this at home)
- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI motherboard
- 2GB OCZ Platinum PC3200 DDR running at 2-3-2-5 timings at 2.8v
- ATI Radeon X850XT video card
- Dell FPW2405 24" 1920x1200 16:10 LCD monitor
- 2 x 74GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA drives
- 250GB Western Digital 7,200 RPM SATA drive
- old Pioneer DVD writer
- generic DVD reader
- Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Gamer sound card
- Antec Sonata case with upgraded 12cm fans
- Vantec Stealth 550w power supply
- Comcast 8Mbit/sec down, 768Kbit/sec up connection (I actually see more than 10Mbit/sec down for whatever reason)
- Dlink DGL-4300 router connect to this computer and the cable modem by category 6 cabling

If I wanted to make Second Life run more smoothly on this system I'd first upgrade my video card, at this point a nVidia GeForce 7900GTX would probably be my personal pick based on what I've heard from other folks. Otherwise there's not a whole lot of bang for the buck to be had by upgrading my other components.

Once again, this is one of my personal machines and my own opinions and observations. I'm sure Linden Lab isn't about to endorse or guaranty that these components will perform the best for any particular application, including Second Life.

Many of our development and QA machines are relatively standard Dell and Alienware machines. About the only things we commonly swap out are some of the low-end workstation graphics cards that are bundled with some of the Dell systems for mid-range gaming cards (often ATI 600 and 800 series cards, or nVidia 6x00 series cards.)

Once again, this isn't an endorsement of any of these products.

Cheers,
Lawrence

I'm a developer on Second Life. My development workstation is a Dell Precision 670, which has dual 2.8 GHz Xeon processors, 1 GB of RAM, and a 256 MB ATI Radeon X700 video card.

Dual processors don't help Second Life, at least not much. I have a dual processor workstation because it helps me compile software faster.

Lots of RAM helps Second Life, especially if you want to leave other applications running at the same time. Also, OpenGL keeps copies in main memory of most data that is stored on the graphics card, so if you've got a 256 MB video card, you really need at least 512 MB of RAM.

More graphics card memory helps Second Life more than the average video game. Typical scenes in Second Life have 1000 textures in them. More video memory means the textures stay on the card. The less frequently textures have to be swapped between main memory and the graphics card, the better.

The Radeon X700 seems sufficient. I usually run SL in a window at 1024x768. If you run at higher resolutions, you might want a beefier card.

I'm not one of the graphics guys -- this is just what I use.

James

I should add that I keep the following drivers/firmware as up to date as possible, which isn't always the wisest move... heeding the phrase "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" can save a lot of grief at times.

WARNING: updating drivers and firmware can be risky. Firmware updates gone wrong can render hardware inoperable, and driver installation gone wrong can sometimes result in needing to reinstall all of your software including your Operating System. Thus repairs can be costly and time consuming.

Here's what I try to stay up to date on by checking the appropriate web sites periodically (these are specific to my system configuration, the updates that make sense for your system may come from different vendors):
- Windows updates from the Windows/Microsoft Update site, particularly Operating System service packs and DirectX updates
- video drivers (Catalyst drivers from ati.com)
- chipset drivers (nForce 4 AMD platform drivers from nvidia.com)
- processor drivers (from amd.com)
- sound card drivers (from soundblaster.com)
- motherboard BIOS (from msicomputer.com)

My firewall, antispam, and antivirus products update themselves regularly.

I occasionally also look for updates to my:
- dvd writer firmware
- dvd writer software

From time to time I put on a grounded antistatic wrist strap, turn off my computer, open up my computer, and make sure that the fans and heatsinks aren't clogged with dust. If they are I usually use a can of compressed air to try to clean off what I can. This procedure is also dangerous... electrocution risk, risk of toasting your computer, etc. Make sure that you understand the proper procedure and all the risks before you attempt this.

Cheers,
Lawrence

I'm a liaison, not a developer, but I've had resonably good performance with this setup:

1. Processor: Intel P4, 2.4GHz
   
2. System memory: 1.5GB
   
3. Motherboard: Asus P4S8X-8
   
4. Graphics card: nVidia GeForce 6600 GT
   
5. Monitor: ViewSonic 1680x1050 widescreen LCD
   
6. Monitor: Samsung 1024x1280 portrait LCD
   
7. Cable modem: Motorola SB5100 Surfboard
   
8. No router
   

I keep my nVidia drivers up to date. I do see some odd graphical glitches when I set SL Prefs to use 128MB of graphics memory, but setting that to 64MB seems to cure it. Besides that, performance is mostly ok.

For me, my cable provider seems to be the leading cause of "lag". The bandwidth isn't as advertised.

I used to use a Linksys router, but I noticed some unusual disconnections when I used that at the same time as SL.

I haven't got an optimal anything, in fact those specs above make me cry, but to compensate for it I am obsessive about housekeeping*.

I keep my drivers up to date, keep archive material on an external hard drive, defrag once a week, clear my SL cache the minute anything looks worse, and give my pc a rest now and then (yes there is a life outside!).

Oh, a word of warning by the way - do not run your computer for months with a side of the case off just because a fan broke. It will die.

*My house, on the other hand, gets little attention.

I use a PSP with a 1 GB Memory stic-- oops, wrong thread.

For the Mac faithful...

I was just assigned a MacBook, and, despite its tiny memory footrprint it's not a bad entry-level computer for Second Life. The 512 mb RAM that you get with the system is beans, though. Upgrade to at least 1 GB.

The Intel iMac *screams* through SL, getting around 30-60 FPS, depending on who is around. Again, Apple gives you peanuts for RAM, so grab yourself a Gig or two.