Second life runs terrible on brand new computer, need help.

[Atradies]

Computer specs are:

AMD 3.2ghz Hexcore ( 6 core ) proccessor

Radeon 6950 2gig vid memory

4 gig ram

Windows 7 home premium

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After I built this system, I figured Second Life would run like a dream.  I'm having a ton of graphical problems.  Avatars look terrible.  Sometime they are grey, other times I can see them but their clothes are imbedded in their skin.  Kind of like a clipping issue.  When I move to a new area, loading times are very long.  My framerate is around 10-15 fps.  I've messed with all the settings.  Even when I put the graphics on low, the framerates don't get any better. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  :)

Tallen

 

Well, since I can't find a reply button I guess I'll post my progress here. 

Did the speed test (which I have done before.)  15MB download from Dallas and San Fransisco.  Ping is fine as well.  When I installed the new GPU I downloaded the newest drivers and they are OpenGL certified.  So pretty much everything that you mentioned checks out above standards.  I understand the load times are long because there are so many objects but the framerates are just unacceptable.  I've watched videos of gameplay on youtube and even though objects are still loading, the framerates are fine.  Mind you, games like, Battlefield Bad Company, Crysis 2 and Champions online run smooth as silk.  I guess I'll just keep messing with the settings.  Thanks for your input though.  :)

Tallen

[Peggy Paperdoll]

You built the computer so I'm going to assume that you know a little about drivers.  You need a current driver for you video card (not necessarily the most current but one that supports OpenGL).  If that's done then the next thing you need to check is your Internet speed.  A good site to check is:

 

http://www.speedtest.net/

 

You need at least 750 kbps download for SL to even run (well, it might run, but it's going to be really crappy).  Do a couple tests each to San Francisco, CA and Dallas, TX.  Your download should be close to what your ISP says you should have.........75 to 80% of that speed is probably about average for most people.  If you are not getting that then reset your router and modem (a common cause for slow connections) and if that doesn't fix it then call your ISP and find out what the problem is (they generally won't be up front with answers but if you insist you might get some answers).  You might be experiencing excessive packet loss..........speedtest.net has a "Ping test" you can run.  Anything more than about 2% packet loss will effect SL a great deal.

 

That hexcore CPU is not really helping you out much for SL since it only uses a single core on the multi-core CPU's.  It will help if you are multi-tasking as long as the programs are running on separate cores.  SL runs great on the old Pentium D CPU's.  AMD (and, lately, even Intel) are a little decieving on the CPU speeds.  I doubt you are getting that 3.2 ghz speed unless you overclocked it..........but 1.5 gig is plently for SL anyway.

 

Your video card is capable so it's something with the driver, some setting in your operating system setup or your connection.

 

[Baloo Uriza]

Windows in general has very poor OpenGL support, and the default Aero desktop is GPU intensive.  Consider a Windows Classic theme if you're tied to the platform.  Also, ensure that your video drivers are up to date and properly installed.