Contemplating new desktop/AIO to run SL

[AdminGirl]

I'm going to be investing in a new desktop or All-in-one, and I'm interested to know what other people are running SL on that use SL similar to how I'd like to, mainly:

• For photography, I'd like to be able to use Ultra graphics settings, enable Advanced Lighting model, shadows, Antialiasing 16x,
• Anything other than photography, I'd be happy to lower everything to Mid and not be picky about graphics settings,
• Not crash while doing the above two

I haven't specified a budget because I'm actually wanting to know the specs of anyone who uses SL the way I've mentioned without crashing, rather than looking at it from a cost perspective.

Also, since I'm looking for a new desktop/AIO, I haven't included my current specs - I'm thinking it's not too relevant, but let me know if you think it is or if you're curious.

Thank you

Edited August 16, 2020 by AdminGirl

[Rathgrith027]

You can set yourself up a decent SL-oriented computer rig using the following specs:

AMD Ryzen 5 3600
NVIDIA GTX 1660 (or 1650)
16 GB DDR4 RAM
and a decent SSD for SL cache will have you running pretty well. I'm going to be running a comparable setup but with a 1060 I already own as opposed to a 1660. A word of warning, however - some AMD Motherboards on certain chipsets may need a BIOS Upgrade to use the BIOS, but this is usually with older motherboards that were flashed with a old BIOS from the factory from before the new firmware was aailable and newer ones already support Third-gen Ryzen. If you end up with a Mobo that doesn't work, contact AMD for a upgrade kit and they'll send you a cheapo Athlon CPU so you can actually boot into the BIOS and install the firmware update. If you're not certain, check with the manufacturer's website.

Also, some may say that Intel is better but these days Intel and AMD's latest offerings are more neck and neck than anything (as a owner of a FX-series CPU I know what crappy single core performance looks like). AMD is the cheaper alternative for CPUs and unlike before Ryzen, it actually is, as I said, on par with if not sometimes slightly better than Intel in terms of performance.

Edited August 16, 2020 by Rathgrith027

[Nick0678]

14 minutes ago, AdminGirl said:

I'm going to be investing in a new desktop, and I'm interested to know what other people are running SL on that use SL similar to how I'd like to, mainly:

• For photography, I'd like to be able to use Ultra graphics settings, enable Advanced Lighting model, shadows, Antialiasing 16x,
• Anything other than photography, I'd be happy to lower everything to Mid and not be picky about graphics settings,
• Not crash while doing the above two

....etc

I am doing all the Ultra graphics photography on a 2011 Sony Vaio i5 (Gen 1) laptop with 6GB RAM with AMD Radeon HD 5650 so it really depends on how many avatars you want to be able to have fully rezed while walking around.

[Chic Aeon]

I have had this machine for about three years now. I run on mid-ultra all the time with shadows on but no DOF. DOF and fine grained shadows are no problem at all for photography and I can run two or three avatars also with no problem as needed.   I don't use full ultra primarily because of the LOD3 part of the equation.  I "can" use full ultra; I just choose not to. 

I have no plans on upgrading as everything is working fine. I can also use SL in this manny while baking textures in Blender which is a very long and draining process.  I usually have four or more programs open at all times. 

 

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[Lillith Hapmouche]

3 hours ago, AdminGirl said:

Also, since I'm looking for a new desktop, I haven't included my current specs

Why not? There might be something decent which can be reused. Do you want a fully built machine or can you do the assembling on your own? What monitor do you own?

And a rough budget is also good to know. It helps the helpers to have a clue whether if it's some $ or $$ or $$$+.

I'm not a fan of comparing to older systems. For a new build, you wouldn't buy those parts anyway, 

Last but not least... my signature ... ladida... shalala... keep scrolling... somewhere... down here... I guess... well, maybe here.

[Lyssa Greymoon]

I'd give the AIO PCs a pass for SL. They tend to be full of laptop parts that will perform worse than their desktop counterparts.

[AdminGirl]

18 hours ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

Why not? There might be something decent which can be reused. Do you want a fully built machine or can you do the assembling on your own? What monitor do you own?

And a rough budget is also good to know. It helps the helpers to have a clue whether if it's some $ or $$ or $$$+.

I'm not a fan of comparing to older systems. For a new build, you wouldn't buy those parts anyway, 

Last but not least... my signature ... ladida... shalala... keep scrolling... somewhere... down here... I guess... well, maybe here.

Here it is:

I'm currently using an Dell AIO Inspiron 27 7775

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Eight-Core Processor           (2994.38 MHz)
Memory: 16277 MB
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit (Build 18362.1016)
Graphics Card Vendor: ATI Technologies Inc.
Graphics Card: Radeon (TM) RX 580 Graphics
Windows Graphics Driver Version: 26.20.13001.9005

Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: Inspiron 7775
Monitor Id: DEL4146
Native Mode: 3840 x 2160(p) (59.997Hz)

 

I'd be looking for a fully built machine for around $2k.

Thanks for pointing me to your sig too - very helpful. I've had it off all this time!

 

[AdminGirl]

3 hours ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:

I'd give the AIO PCs a pass for SL. They tend to be full of laptop parts that will perform worse than their desktop counterparts.

Yeah I'm currently using an AIO and you're absolutely right, it does not run well. I crash constantly but I don't know how much of that is attributed mine being refurbished.

[Nick0678]

5 hours ago, AdminGirl said:

Yeah I'm currently using an AIO and you're absolutely right, it does not run well. I crash constantly but I don't know how much of that is attributed mine being refurbished.

What type of crash? SL client crash, VGA driver crash or Windows crash?

Native Mode: 3840 x 2160(p) (59.997Hz)  << nice resolution btw

[AdminGirl]

8 minutes ago, Nick0678 said:

What type of crash? SL client crash, VGA driver crash or Windows crash?

 

There are times where my screen would go completely blank (generally grey or black, but a few times white) before my comp completely switches off. If it doesn't switch off by itself.

And other times, my comp would suddenly switch off, making a sound similar to that of a short circuit. Not entirely sure what kind of crashes they are tbh.

8 minutes ago, Nick0678 said:

 

Native Mode: 3840 x 2160(p) (59.997Hz)  << nice resolution btw

Thanks, it's a pretty good AIO aside from SL probs which is why I've been delaying an upgrade... but I think it's time 🙁

[Nick0678]

Just now, AdminGirl said:

There are times where my screen would go completely blank (generally grey or black, but a few times white) before my comp completely switches off. If it doesn't switch off by itself.

And other times, my comp would suddenly switch off, making a sound similar to that of a short circuit. Not entirely sure what kind of crashes they are tbh.

When was the last time you cleaned it with compressed air (not the silly computer cans sold on the market but a real compressor)  and replaced thermal pads and paste? Your computer is probably just overheating.

[Lillith Hapmouche]

I have a certain fear that you'll break the whole "all in one" unit if you simply try to open it at all. Let alone change anything like thermal pads or paste.

If you had those components in a simple, plain and basic case, you'd already have a sufficient setup.

[AdminGirl]

5 hours ago, Nick0678 said:

When was the last time you cleaned it with compressed air (not the silly computer cans sold on the market but a real compressor)  and replaced thermal pads and paste? Your computer is probably just overheating.

I did a clean a few months ago but admittedly, I didn't use compressed air. And never replaced the thermal pads or paste. 3 years old but they look ok.

Overheating is probably one of the issues at times but I suspect there are other problems.

[AdminGirl]

1 hour ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

I have a certain fear that you'll break the whole "all in one" unit if you simply try to open it at all. Let alone change anything like thermal pads or paste.

If you had those components in a simple, plain and basic case, you'd already have a sufficient setup.

Thanks for confirming - I have always been unsure about AIO maintenance and how much I should be fiddling around with the parts.

[Nick0678]

17 minutes ago, AdminGirl said:

I did a clean a few months ago but admittedly, I didn't use compressed air. And never replaced the thermal pads or paste. 3 years old but they look ok.

Overheating is probably one of the issues at times but I suspect there are other problems.

Well give it a nice clean and fresh thermal paste / pads both in vga and cpu .Won't cost more than 10-15 USD for the parts if you like to DIY.

Otherwise i don't know how much they charge in your area/country,  i suppose that job shouldn't cost more than 30USD.

Your computer isn't too old to have blown capacitors and such stuff, normally it should work fine.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Nick0678

[Lyssa Greymoon]

Install MSI Afterburner and use it to monitor temperatures before you go mucking around inside it. I seriously doubt degraded thermal paste is the problem on anything that new. 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

1 hour ago, Nick0678 said:

Well give it a nice clean and fresh thermal paste / pads both in vga and cpu

A-i-O. That's literally a monitor.

[Nick0678]

Just now, Lillith Hapmouche said:

A-i-O. That's literally a monitor.

And?

[Lillith Hapmouche]

... at least there won't be any problem to assemble a custom PC in future...

[Nick0678]

 59 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

... at least there won't be any problem to assemble a custom PC in future...

You missed the next part.

3 hours ago, Nick0678 said:

Otherwise i don't know how much they charge in your area/country,  i suppose that job shouldn't cost more than 30USD.