Suggestions on new computer for secondlife???

[KikiJadyn]

Hey everyone, I finally saved up enough for a new computer to actually get onto secondlife, does anyone have any suggestions so tha tI can buy the right one and actually be able to log in and play? I have been dying for this day to get here and am so excited!! Thanks any and all suggestions will help.

 

[Rabid Cheetah]

I found this to be the best balance of performance and price

 

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-and-games/dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5090-desktop/nd5090g510s

 

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Rabid Cheetah
Me hate typos

[Bree Giffen]

What country are you in? 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

3 hours ago, Rabid Cheetah said:

WI found this to be the best balance of performance and price

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-and-games/dell-g5-gaming-desktop/spd/g-series-5090-desktop/nd5090g510s

Whoever "WI" is, they're probably getting paid a share. Under 600 - OKish. Nearly 700: old-gen, rather lowish-end CPU. Just 8 GB RAM. No SSD. Nah.

Rest: ... *points to signature*

Plus: Actually naming the budget limits would have been helpful.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Lillith Hapmouche

[BelindaN]

Ok I'm a numpty when it comes to computers. My present Dell is i7. It works well, but I might upgrade at the end of this year.

I know that other specs matter. So in very simple terms, what matters for optimising SL? Does the i7/i9 thing matter? I'm clueless.

People talk about CPU and memory and my brain doesn't compute.

Oh and RAM....... is that still a thing?

Laptop by the way.

Edited June 9, 2020 by BelindaN

[lucagrabacr]

Many viewers like the SL official viewer and Firestorm put a lot of the load on the CPU, I'd say get a computer with at least 8GB of RAM if you're on a tight budget, and 16GB if you can pay the extra cost, for the GPU or graphics card get at least a 1060 or something with an equivalent performance (like the newer cards but with equivalent performance), and for CPU you'd want something with the most per-core-performance that fits your budget, which you can check on https://cpu.userbenchmark.com and make sure the computer has an SSD and install your viewer on the SSD.

I've also made a video about SL PC building recently and what you should consider;

 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

Laptop != desktop computers.

RAM has become quite more important than ever, actually, because its timings can cripple performance or boost it.

But in general: start a new thread when you're ready to buy. The year might have seen its end quite a few times already, but December is still a little while ahead.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

Laptop != desktop computers.

Haven't "laptop" computers been generally replaced by "notebook" computers?

[Rabid Cheetah]

There are several factors.  Basically you're trying to get data to and from SL's servers onto your monitor, via your internet hookup and computer/graphics card, as fast as possible.  Anything that speeds up any of these things and/or ads to the resolution of the monitor makes a setup better and better.  Memory is still a big part of it, especially graphics card memory.  It takes a lot of research, trying to figure out both terminology, what systems are out there, and what's your best bet given your budget and personal needs (such as preffering a laptop).  I'm happy with my decision (see above).  The system should be arriving later this week, after a month's delay.  I also bought a better monitor.  That, too, took some research and price comparison.  I did my research in May, which is a while from the end of the year.  There will be different deals then.  I hope you find what you want.

[Lillith Hapmouche]

2 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Haven't "laptop" computers been generally replaced by "notebook" computers?

???

[Love Zhaoying]

5 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

7 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Haven't "laptop" computers been generally replaced by "notebook" computers?

???

Meaning, the generally used term is no longer "laptop", but is now "notebook". Notebook computers are generally much smaller and lighter than old "laptop" computers.

[Lillith Hapmouche]

Boils down to the desired screen size... 13'' to 14'' are indeed quite desirable if you want decent screen space to work with, but still retain great mobility and light weight.

Those 10'' playtoys with Atom processors are rather off the market and replaced by 2-in-1s, convertibles and such.

Still, the original request here was about a desktop computer. 

[Love Zhaoying]

29 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

Still, the original request here was about a desktop computer. 

The OP does not specify type of computer, just "new".

[ItHadToComeToThis]

Depends how tech savvy you are. If not all that much then buying a pre built home computer or gaming laptop will be what you are looking for.

My advice is a gaming laptop. Its portable, they aren't super expensive on the lower end and still pack pretty decent specs that are more than enough for SL.

Build wise.....

 

Processor : I would recommend processor wise at least an intel i5 but preferably an i7. Or you could try for a setup that has one of the new AMD processors as they are getting pretty good reviews these days and are pretty damn quick and less in price than buying an intel processor.

RAM : You want 16gb of DDR4 ram which will cover you for press much anything you do SL wise.

Storage :  512GB SSD is a good amount of base storage but I survived for years and still sometimes do, when using my old MacBook, on 256GB SSD storage.

Graphics : I would go Nvidia if you can, 1660ti gaming laptops / pre build are pretty cheap but AMD graphics cards are still pretty good and again cheaper than buying Nvidia.

 

Depending on whether you go for a gaming laptop or pre build tower here are my opinions on some of the more popular brands out there...

Gigabyte : Make pretty dope gaming laptops, not too expensive and still pretty powerful on the lower end. Touch Pad is probably the best you will find on any windows based laptop. Very sleek looking and not too heavy when carrying around.

Alienware : Expensive, my advice is to avoid them. Alienware is like the apple of the windows world. You pay a premium just for a name and something that looks like it fell outta space craft. Personally, I have never liked them much but to each their own.

DELL : They make some pretty okay pre build towers and laptops. Not always amazing when it comes to build quality but good customers service should anything go wrong.

Razor : Expensive but good. If you can afford the extra then their latest 15" laptop is definitely worth a look. It has a compact form making for easier portability and the specs are pretty nice. But...like Alienware...you are paying a premium for a name.

Lenovo : Personally I don't like them but they are cheap.

ASUS : Make some of the best gaming laptops / pre built towers on the market. Pretty nicely specced out. Maybe mid range - high range in price but pretty good.

ACER : Again are generally a very good maker of laptops / pre built towers. Usually on the lower end of the price scale also. For example there's the Acer Nitro 5, 15" screen, 1660ti 6GB graphics etc etc for $800 / £700 depending on where you live.

MSI : Are a difficult one. Spec wise, very nice. But visually.....some of their laptops look pretty sleek but a lot of them look like ugly heavy bricks. Often, build wise, feel cheap and the touchpads are literally bottom of the barrel hardware. A very hit and miss experience.

HP : Pretty popular due to the Omen series. I don't know much else about them.

 

Bare in mind though. These are just my opinions / experiences. There will be people who swear by each and every one of these brands and have amazing experiences with them. I personally prefer gaming laptops over towers as I like the portability but its down to your own preference. You could always go for an unknown brand or generic cheaper pre built, in that case look for the specs I listed above.

 

If you want a good recommendation for a gaming laptop though that gives you pretty good "bang for your buck" (I hate that phrase...) then you could try :

 

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ROG-G531GT-i7-9750H-1650-8GB/dp/B07RKSNCT6/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=ryzen+8+laptop+16gb&qid=1591756910&sr=8-9

https://www.amazon.com/HP-G4-Display-Bluetooth-Windows/dp/B089T7JYLM/ref=sr_1_38?dchild=1&keywords=ryzen+8+laptop+16gb&qid=1591756964&refinements=p_n_feature_fourteen_browse-bin%3A2057441011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011%2Cp_n_feature_twelve_browse-bin%3A9521908011&rnid=9521907011&s=pc&sr=1-38

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-zephyrus-g-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-max-q-512gb-ssd-metalic-hairline-black/6335912.p?skuId=6335912

[Pixie Kobichenko]

My son has a 1.5 year old Alienware & it’s already sluggish with SL even on the very low graphics preferences I use.  I’ve had two MacBooks, one was a pro, & they did well, and the graphics were beautiful for photos.  I had an iMac that got some sort of memory allocation error on SL but never on anything else.  I’ve had two dell laptops that were okayish on SL.  I had an MSI for about 24 hours & it was the biggest piece of crap ever.  It was completely unusable out of the box after updates.  I returned it to Best Buy & paid a little more for one of the MacBooks.  
 

I don’t know computer tech stuff.  But I know if I we’re to get another computer for SL I would get the best MacBook I could afford.  

[Lindal Kidd]

I asked the Resident Geek, and here's what he has to say.

Let's start outside the box...literally.

Your internet connection will have a lot to do with how SL performs for you.  If you can, get a fiber optic connection, or at least good, solid, non-satellite broadband.  In the USA, Verizon FIOS is the fastest widely-available option.  Comcast comes in at second place.

How you connect your computer to your internet gateway is important too.  Use Cat 6 cable and make sure your gateway and your computer both support Gigabit data speeds.  It's not worthwhile (yet) to try to install a 10 Gigabit home network.  WiFi is getting faster, but using an actual ethernet cable is still the best and most reliable solution.

Rather than buy a pre-built computer, I prefer to build mine up from parts.  This is not as hard as it may seem.  You can get exactly the components you want, without any compromises, and you can do it for a price that's less than what you would pay someone else.  Sites like PC Part Picker are very helpful because they can point you to the lowest price sources for your parts, and ensure that you don't buy parts that are incompatible.  I like Tom's Hardware for news and reviews of the latest parts.  There are also lots of YouTube channels that show you how to build from scratch, and review new components.  I like Linus Tech Tips and Jayz Two Cents.

For SL, you don't need the latest and greatest CPU.  An Intel i5 or i7 will do the job fine, and so will the mid-price AMD Ryzen 3 processors.  You don't need a ton of CPU cores, since SL is still basically a single threaded application.  Choose your motherboard based on what CPU you're getting.  Stick with a "name" brand like EVGA or ASUS or GigaByte.  Pay attention to the customer reviews when looking at motherboards.

Get an SSD (solid state drive) for the operating system and for your applications and caches.  A 512 GB one will be fine.  I like the new ones (M.2 NVME) that are about the size and shape of a stick of chewing gum.  They're the fastest, but they also run hot.  You can save money and not worry so much about heat by going with a SATA type (2.5 inch form factor) SSD.

Get as much RAM as you can afford, and be sure it is compatible with your motherboard.  I'd say at least 16 GB, and 32 GB if you can swing it.  Buy the RAM all in a package.  Like, if they offer a deal on 2 sticks of 8 GB, don't buy a quantity of two of that to make 32 GB.  Instead, look for a package deal that either includes all four sticks, or one that offers 2 sticks of 16 GB each.

Get at least one spinning hard drive, to store data like documents, photos, music files, and videos.  I have had excellent luck with the Western Digital brand.  The 6TB size seems to be the sweet spot in terms of capacity vs. price.  If you can afford multiple drives, you open up options like grouping them to form a RAID array or using one or more drives to back up your stuff.

Your video card is very important for SL.  I'd go with an Nvidia GeForce 1060 or better.  It's not necessary to spend more on the RTX cards just for SL, since SL does not make use of their real time ray tracing feature...but you may want an RTX card if you play other games, or are interested in VR.  Nvidia will be releasing the next generation RTX 3000 cards soon; it may be a good idea to wait until that happens.  Even if you don't buy the latest generation, the older cards will come down in price.

You'll also need a case, a power supply, and cooling fans to complete your build.  For CPU cooling, don't bother spending money on a liquid cooler.  Get a good air cooler like the ones from Noctua.

Last, consider your monitor.  A bigger screen lets you see more of the world, and gives you more room to put things like UI windows and HUDs.  I'd consider a 27" monitor as a minimum, and go bigger if you have the money and the space.

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Lindal Kidd