Graphics cards

Okay, so I understand Intel graphics cards aren't supported (which is odd as I have one and I can see SL just fine, so I'm not entirely sure what that means... not technologically inclined enough I guess). What I want to know is WHY.

I just bought this computer this past summer. I dont' have a lot of money to spare as I am graduating college, and have to worry about insurance and housing and paying back loans and the lot, so buying a new card just ain't gonna happen for a while.

What am I missing out on exactly? And why is it that only some graphics cards are supported? One would think a graphics card is a graphics card and only minor performance issues would make the difference, but I'm far from a computer hardware expert.

Graphics card is apparently Intel 915G, according to the info when I look it up in the manner mention on this site. Dunno if that helps you in explaining the why or not.

Just confused as to why there's such a large gap there, why so many aren't supported, and what it is they lack that makes it thus.

Because someday if I ever have some money to spare again, I want to get a better graphics card, and I get rather stubborn about taking recommendations for stuff like that if I don't understand why I need that specific brand over another.

=edit=
Just to avoid being redundant with threads, I'm gonna edit to clarify, and ask another question. So what you're saying is SL will pretty much work as it has been even on my "unsupported" card, I just won't get to use the fancy shmancy new lighting until I can afford something else?

=edit 2=
Er... okay now I am REALLY confused, as my "unsupported" graphics card can still see the fancy new lighting when I tried it.

Hiya Lyrak!

The simple answer is: if you look at a variety of purchasable goods, they come at different price and performance levels, depending on your needs. Like a car, for example. You can get a cheap car that will get you to some places, but it's slow and won't have air-conditioning. Or toasters, stereo systems (better sound!), TVs (bigger screens!), etc. Same thing with graphics cards--I would recommend frequenting sites like:

http://arstechnica.com/index.ars

for heavy dosages of information.

Similarly, technology advances things over time. What's not possible one year becomes introduced on the market the next. And old things get cheaper. Mass production makes what was cutting-edge cost a lot less for the consumer market, but this takes a lot of time. And by then, there's always something new.

There's a lot of integrated graphics chips which can do the basics for many people like run a word processor, but won't do intense 3D games. Some affordable cards may cut corners, so they aren't compliant with certain standards, or lack them altogether--it's part of why they're cheaper! The very expensive ones have luxuries which may be cost-prohibitive, but are passionately sought out by enthusiasts who demand to have the best eye candy on the market.

With SL, you'll want to have a well-balanced overall system, especially a powerful CPU. A good graphics card is recommended but won't compensate for other weaknesses in the chain. This is my personal opinion only--your mileage may vary as they say--but this is my system and what works well for me.

You may also want to read about the history of OpenGL, which SL uses:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opengl

OpenGL 2.0 introduced some new capabilities which SL is taking advantage of. Doug Linden's post here provides more insights into what's coming:

/3/ef/106215/1.html#post1034158

Something I should emphasize here is we do endeavor that SL can run on a wide variety of systems. This means being able to display basic visuals on unsupported graphics chips like you've noticed. However, a lot of the fancy "eye candy" I was referring to--like the illustrious "Ripple Water" and new lighting system in 1.10--is only available on recommended graphics cards.

Hope this helps.