I don't want to have to stop playing SL

[kenziebmac]

I'm looking at a computer with these specs, all I need is a yes or no. Will it play Second Life?

Memory:2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM onboard (4GB maximum)

Storage: 2 128GB of flash storage 256GB of flash storage Slot-loading optical drive Optional external USB MacBook Air  SuperDrive (sold separately)

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3

Video: FaceTime camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI, and HDMI (requires adapters, sold separately)

Display :13.3-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440-by-900 resolution

[Coby Foden]

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kenziebmac wrote:

... all I need is a yes or no. Will it play Second Life?

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The answer is: No

If the computer would run the viewer, the experience would be horrible.

You need to look for a much faster computer with more main memory and more video memory.

2 GB of main memory and 256 MB of video memory just isn't enough for enjoyable experience.

The display size size is very tiny. You'll be much happier with bigger display and bigger resolution.

 

[Nyll Bergbahn]

I agree...NO.

The graphics capabilities are no better than Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics. You may be able to get the machine to work but the experience would be frustrating.

Look for something a lot better.

[Jean Horten]

I also agree, it will  not give you a enjoyable SL experience.

You might get something much  more appropriate when you don't go for a trendy overpriced Apple "lifestyle instead of  performance" MAC Book "Pro" product and  think about a desktop machine instead of something "mobile".

J.

[Qie Niangao]

Although I suspect this particular Mac is a hand-me-down, in general one's computing experience is much better if the "mobile" part is a modern tablet (e.g., the 2013 Nexus 7) and the "computer" part is a desktop.  Those combined are generally cheaper, too, compared to a capable laptop.

But if you have to do SL from mobile locations, yeah, you're gonna want a much better laptop than this. (The current leading Android app client for SL, Lumiya, is very impressive work, but only really comfortable for limited social sessions.)

[kenziebmac]

Thanks for your input... Sorry I'm not good with this stuff. 

Would it be the same quality as a computer with these specs? (Just as bad, worse, or better)

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 cache	3MB shared
System bus	1066MHz
Memory	4GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500); supports up to 4GB
Hard drive4	160GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm	250GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive	8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3
Video	Built-in iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display	13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution

[Jean Horten]

That one won't  handle SL any better than the first one.

Office machines, not suitable for  demanding 3d programmes like SL.

[jwenting]

it will work, as in the viewer will start and you can log in.

But you won't get an enjoyable experience, in that you will need to turn your graphics and everything else way down and still not get even halfway decent performance.

[Orca Flotta]

I sometimes wonder where ppl find those machines, in the bargain basement of walmart?

And what a  choice OP is presenting us with: one super trendy lifestyle weakling and one outdated secretary's typewriter.

If you intend to spend money on either the answer according to your first question is a NO!

[Coby Foden]

To give you an idea what you should be looking for a smooth fairly nice Second Life experience; here's my computer specifications (it's a desktop computer):

CPU: Intel® Core i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (3411.16 MHz)
System memory (RAM): 8 GB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 560 Ti/PCIe/SSE2
Dedicated video memory: 1024 MB GDDR5
Graphics Driver Version: 9.18.0013.1422
OpenGL Version: 4.2.0

Internet connection speed: 10 Mbps - download and upload.

The important things what you need is:

• Lots of system memory (RAM) - 8 GB mimum for 64 operating system
• Fast graphics card (like NVidia's GTX series for example)
• At least 1024 MB video memory
• Fast internet connection

Large display is a nice thing to have too.
(Mine is 24 inch, resolution 1920 x 1200)

 

[Hitomi Tiponi]

See https://secondlife.com/my/support/system-requirements/ - I suggest you go for something with at least the recommended level of requirements. When looking at Nvidia graphics cards remember that a higher second number generally denotes better graphics e.g. a 560 is better than a 640, while each increase in the first number usually improves the graphics a little.

[Mick Scarbridge]

I would personally look for a system with a powerful ATI Radeon graphics adapter that has at least 1 Gb GDDR5 and in the viewer Preferences for Graphics, 2nd tab, I would disable OpenGL Vertex Buffer Objects to avoid the "ATI Pink Glitch". The number of CPU cores do not seem to matter much after the first two cores because the viewers do not seem to use more than two cores at this time. ATI Radeon graphics adapters have always worked well for me using Windows as well as Linux. I would agree that 2 Gb of RAM is not enough because a Windows OS uses about that much and your hard drive will be caching more of the time instead. I am uncertain how much RAM a Mac uses, so I will use Windows as a guideline for minimum SL specs. Installing 4 to 8 Gb of DDR3 should do well, allowing you to multitask without much lag. I only use a short, shielded, high quality CAT-6e cable that has been certified, and never wireless LAN devices for online gaming because they drop a high percentage of data packets. With Linux, I can tweak the OS quite a bit to squeeze out a rediculous amount of gaming efficiency from the OS and programs by using a lightweight OS, uninstalling the things I do not use, and only installing the things I use frequently. With a Windows system, I used to kill Windows Explorer and startup games using Task Manager, as that was the old gamer's trick to free up a good 30 percent of system load back in 2006. Also, a computer runs best with fewer excess files on the OS hard drive, so a good investment would be an external hard drive to move non-OS and non-Program files to that drive. As for a simple yes or no, that system would be slow, so I would say no.