Graphic card?

[Xavear Bikcin]

Hello everyone,

I used to play SL alot way back (2007 - 2010) now i want to start playing again, installed the new Firestorm viewer and logged in yesterday.

Now here's the problem, almost everything around me is purple and is taking ages to load, it is probably my videocard that is not compatible anymore.

My specs are, i7 processor, 12 g RAM memory, RADEON 4800 graphic card (old one) 

Can anyone confirm this? Then i will replace my graphic card.

Thanks!

[Ren Toxx]

The processor and RAM seem adequate. As for the graphics card, I don’t know, but before you buy a new one, try these two things:

• The slow loading may be caused by a too low default bandwidth setting, like, 500 kbps. Unless you’re on a particularly slow connection (weak wi-fi, etc.) a better value would be about three times that (don’t use a much higher one than that, as that brings a different set of problems).
• The “all pink” issue may be fixable. First, make sure you have installed the latest drivers for your graphics card; if you already have, or that doesn’t fix the problem, go to Firestorm’s debug settings, locate the parameter “RenderMaxTextureIndex” and change its value to 0 (by default it’s 16). If necessary, relog after that.

[Cerise Sorbet]

That card is getting pretty old, but you can get rid of the purple with a driver update, and see if it gets performance to where you want. With 12GB I'll guess you are running 64-bit Windows Vista or 7. If that's right, http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/legacy?product=legacy2&os=Windows%207%20-%2064 has the last driver they made for it.

If you have some other OS version, try the manual selection at http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

[Xavear Bikcin]

Thanks both!

Correct i am running 64bit Windows 7.

I did not update my driver yet, will do that first to see if it improves.

[Jean Horten]

A graphics card that first came out in 2008 might actually be too old to handle today's viewers, even with an up to date  driver, I'd think about replacing it with something newer.
J.

[Xavear Bikcin]

If needed, which card do you recommend?

Not too expensive, but it needs to handle SL easily.

[Karenial]

Well looking that you have a i7... would lead to believe you have pci-e 3.0 supporting motherboard, so id go with GTX 970

allows good performance for around 300ish dollars

other options are basically GT series also.

i dont know of ati cards myself so cant say much of those... but 2gb memory minimum is a good start

 

(also dont expect wonders, i got titan X and get 30fps on ultra... so yeah.. it eats anything you throw at it )

[Xavear Bikcin]

I am gonna replace the RADEON for a MSI GTX 960 GAMING 2GB tomorrow.

 

I think its about time after 7 years

[dd Temin]

No one else mentioned it so  i wll.......You will probably need a higher wattage power supply for the new graphic card.

Be sure to check power supply requirements for the new card.

dd

[Quinn Lysette]

the new firestorm viewer is a beta and yet any firestorm viewer is crp that is the only viewer i DO NOT recommend

 

also i heard in this forum a GTX 980 is the best for SL and most recommended

[Xavear Bikcin]

Thanks for the wattage notice i heard that before and will make sure the wattage supply is upgraded.

 

So which viewer do you guys recommend then? I also tried the previous version of Firestorm, not only the latest BETA.

Im not into building or editing in SL i just want it to run smooth when i pass landmarks.

[Nova Convair]

The viewer is a matter of taste and how your priorities are. You can install multiple viewers at the same time and try them out. Once you decided for one you can uninstall the others.

All viewers are based on the Linden code. Therefore the older ones don't have the newest fixes and features included.

I don't want to write my observations here - I suggest you don't listen to fanboys and get your own experience.

[DKTitan]

Take what I say with a grain of salt but spending a crap ton of money on a gpu for sl only to find out it will still slow down in places with intense mesh builds or a lot of people just isn't worth it. Granted with a 980 series it will be harder to slow down but that's a 500 dollar gpu. If all you are doing is sl and no other gaming it just doesn't seem worth it to me. With the current series of 900 cards they are a tad bit lazy when it comes to sl and I prove it. So I personally think you are on the right track with the 960. I also don't think you really need more than a 500 or 650 watt psu for the 960.

 

Also the firestorm viewers is beta but I just haven't had any problems. I run my cache from a ram drive to avoid extra wear and tear on my ssd. My first load in of the day is a pain but it's pretty fast after that. I own a gtx 970 by msi. I'd be more than happy to talk to you about my experience.