I really need help with lag problems

[kaity Ametza]

Hello, i've been playing secondlife for a good 5 years now and I don't want to stop now. 

Recently a couple months ago my computer started to slow down and thus, crashed a lot . So I did a complete reboot on it, either times Secondlife was incredibly slow and laggy but it never crashed. It still doesn't, it's just awfully laggy. 

My computer info: Computer

Viewer: Firestorm w. Havok x32

I'm not sure if that's enough information to identify the source of the problem. But I have one graphics card in right now, as the other three have died on me. I've read a lot online about it could be the CPU usage, and I need to buy a new CPU or new graphics cards, but i'm not sure if I should. I don't want to waste money on something that wouldn't help.

I've also tried doing step by step tutorials on reducing lag in Secondlife, and none of it worked. I don't have much of anything downloaded onto my computer but Skype, Sai and a tablet driver (of course Firestorm). It has never done this to me before, but i've been without Secondlife for a couple months now and I can't handle it anymore. Looking for answers but not finding any, so I need help and advice on what can I do, to make my game not lag as bad!

The lag is so bad, to even move the game freezes for 2 minutes then resumes. It's not the region, because I managed to go to several other's with less particals+scripts and to no avail.

 

Advice please??

[Rolig Loon]

It's truly hard to say, given only that information.  You have limited memory, but certainly enough to run SL, especially if you are not running other priograms in the background at the same time.  I suspect that your graphics card is the culprit, if only because that's where a lot of client side lag comes from.  You didn't say what card you are using, though, so I can't say more than that. 

I'm a bit worried that you claim to have had three cards die on you.  That's not good.  Before you go replacing the card you have now, I would try to figure out what's killing cards.  The typical answer is heat, so check to be sure that your machine is scrupulously clean inside.  You should be opening the case every month or two and using a can of air to blow out all the dust and cat hair.  If you have a choice, keep the computer off the floor, where there's more dust and dirt.  Be sure all its fans are spinning properly and that the air vents are clear.  Go online and find a free temperature monitor program to keep track of your machine's temperature. 

If you have done all those things and are reasonably sure that you don't have a volcano hiding in the computer, go shopping for a new graphics card.  Gamers upgrade to fancier cards all the time, so older versions -- ones that do a fine job for the rest of us -- drop in price quickly.  If you look on Tiger Direct or NewEgg, you should be able to get a good NVidia card fairly cheaply (There's a 750Ti for $140 right now, for example.).