Building New System to Improve SL Performance

Greetings:

I'm considering building a new system to help improve SL performance. I'm at maximum bandwidth, so now I'm looking at system components. I'm not new to homebrewing so don't be shy about giving specs.

What have you done to increase performance?

Thanks for the assist.

The bare-bones, should-have specs for a computer running SL. I am going to be a bit vague, because I don't know what budgetary restrictions may be in play. My suggestions are for a desktop machine that will run SL well. If you want to run SL on a laptop, be prepared to throw piles of money at your local computer store. Most basic laptops can't handle SL flawlessly.

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo. Both platforms will support the PCI Express (PCIe) bus, which supports the latest video cards. Currently, Intel has a slight lead over AMD for performance, but that could change at anytime. You will most likely need a new motherboard for the new processor. I've been partial to Nvidia N-Force based motherboards.

Memory: At least 1GB, 2GB if your budget can handle it.

Video Card: Nvidia 8600 series will do the job well, 8800GT will do it better, and if cost is no object, the 8800GTX cards will really do well. ATI based cards will also work well in SL, but if you are running with Windows Vista, there could be problems.

Those are the basics. The other necessary hardware could be salvaged from an older machine, and SL will still run well. I'm also not recommending a monitor, because monitors tend to be a matter of personal taste.

If you opt for a 64 bit processor that's fine.........but do not go for a 64 bit operating system to justify that processor. SL just does not run well with on a 64 bit system. Actually, not many programs will run at all on a 64 bit OS.

Core2 Quad (Intel 64 bit) with 1024 FBS, 3gigs DDR2 RAM, nVidia 8600GT with 256 dedicated onboard, and Vista Home Premium (32 bit) runs SL at over 45 FPS in most places.......that's with most sliders maxed out. CPU usage around 13% and memory usage around 50%.

about 64 bits systems, I currently run SL with no problems on winXP 64

It all depends on the price range and use of the system.

Example 1, Basic SL usage:
Only running SL and the usual background stuff (virus checker, IM software, maybe a browser.

- Core2Duo or AM2 64 processor in the mid price ranges
- Nvidia 8600 GT or if budget allows 8800GT (don't buy ATI as it has troubles with Vista + SL Windlight, also don't buy 8800GTS, except the 'new' 8800GTS 512 model)
- 2 GB Ram (with current RAM prices, don't go for 1 GB, except if budget is really stressed)
- 20" LCD Screen
- Windows XP32 or Vista32


Example 2, High end builder/designer workstation:
Running SL, multiple 3d modeling software packages (Maya, Blender, Poser etc), Photoshop (with multiple textures open), Adobe Bridge (or other texture maintenance), multiple browsers, and maybe an editor or 2.

- Intel Core2Quad high end CPU (Except the extreme model, it's not worth the premium)
- Nvidia 8800 GT or 8800 GTS 512 (Possibly SLI, but this is more useful for a gaming rig)
- min 4-8 GB of RAM
- Mirrored RAID HD (2 HD's for data protection), maybe split RAID 0/RAID 1 or third drive for speed
- Dual 24" LCD screen with good color correct display. (Your screens will be the most expensive part of your system...) Two is preferred to have one as a work screen, and one dedicated to SL (Or one with 3d software, and one with PS etc.)
- Windows XP64 or Vista Ultimate (you need a 64k OS to support the ram)

Focus on the graphics card first, then RAM - assuming your processor is no more than a year old.

This would depend upon the performance issues you're experiencing. A lot of SL's issues are not due to the client side computer and building a funkier more powerful machine will not remove a lot of the issues.

I have problems with Vista and my 8600GT card ... just keeps on with a jerky motion. I don't think SL likes Vista much. If you want an easier life, stick with XP. Also, don't bother with more than 3GB of memory, Windows doesn't recognise more than 3GB. Don't waste your time with SLi, just buy one decent graphics card with 2 monitor outputs ... SLi doesn't support dual-view :/

I just got a new video card for Christmas, a "GeForce 8500 GT" (upgrade from my current GeForce 5200). Sadly, I discover that my new card is not compatable and I do not have the proper slot to stick it in. *cries* But the box looks impressive and perhaps someday I will have a computer to go with the card! But for now, I'm content with my 2-5 fps in SL.

Well I got a new system for christmas. Nothing fancy but prices really have gone down. Runs SL quite well and every fancy game out there including Crysis.

Intel CD2 E6750
GF NX 8800GT
Vista home premium
2GB RAM

Only cost 870€ which I think is really cheap for a gaming rig compared to what you had to pay years ago for a system in the same (relative) performance range. If I had bothered to hand pick the components and put it together myself it would have been ever cheaper but brand built systems have the benefit of a 3 year warranty rather then whatever the component manufacturer has.

Actually most true 32-bit applications run fine on Windows XP or Vista 64 bit. However drivers are harder to come by.

And I'm sure that SL in 64 bit Linux works far better than SL in 32 bit Linux

SL works fine with vista. Also Windows 32-bit recognises up to 4GB so you can go to 4GB on 32-bit (XP or Vista) or higher with 64 bit.

Also SLi can support dual view.

Is it just SL that runs jerkily? try disabling some stuff you don't use in the BIOS (I normally turn off the serial and parallel ports), and/or moving any additional PCI cards around from slot to slot (yes, really!), then reset the cached BIOS information (normally this is on the first BIOS page, but YMMV). Jerkiness of video is often because the machine can't allocate interrupts as well as it should, becasue too much is sitting on just one of the available numbers.

Also, and in general: remove Norton and any other Symantec products you can see in your add/remove program list (LiveUpdate etc), and get yourself a less intrusive and better coded anti-virus product, like AVG or NOD...

ummm well err.... SL works fine on machines that run Vista well; however, not all machines run Vista well! It's been so long since MS pulled an upgrade this big on us that people forget - they always leave a bunch of machines out in the cold and force people to buy new, it's where their money comes from.

While the THEORETICAL limit for a 32-bit OS is 4GB, the PRACTICAL usage is limited to 3.5G on most motherboards. I had a 6GB 64-bit dual Opteron running for a while under XP 64-bit and never had an issue with SL - but then, I never saw an improvement either.

The "dual view" aside is academic: the SL window will run across a multi-monitor boundary but the fact is it's unplayable like that. Thus far the very best SL play platform I've put together uses a lowish resolution projector, so you get 1024 by 768, but five feet tall on the wall in a semi-darkened room (ideal for those wee small hours vists to Brandy Shatner's Yiffing Haven or WTF she's called it now)!

Not accurate about apps not running on a 64bit OS.

Simply put if a 64bit CPU/OS tries to run a 32bit compiled app the CPU with 'throttle down' to run 32bit. You wont get the benefits of performance as if the app was 64bit but you shouldn't see much difference as if you ran it on a 32bit OS either.

As for the new system suggestion stick with XP 32 or 64bit. Vista is a hog and you get ~20% worse performance on the same h/w vs XP

Anyone who suggests Vista for gaming is not read on the topic IMO.

Wow! Thanks for all the info. I've been doing some reading and a lot of what most of you said about graphics cards and CPU choices pretty much jives with their opinions. What I've decided so far is:

o Intel Core2 Duel
o nVidia 8800 GTS w/512 meg
o 2 gig RAM

Not settled on the mobo yet. I'm already set for sound and got a nice monitor.

One thing I noticed was no one mentioned Macs. How does the G5 rank alongside a comparable PC? Inquiring minds want to know.

Again, thanks for all the great info and insights.

My 2 cents:

What I'm running on now runs SL pretty Frickin' good!
Decent frame rates.

3 things to consider: RAM, Video Card, Dual Core CPU.

Biggest improvements I've seen were increasing RAM.


For the record, I'm running Windlight with all settings on MAX.