Whenever I recommend Second Life to someone I’m asked whether their computer system is powerful enough. While I’m quick to point them to the Second Life System Requirements page, they also want to know what kind of system I’m using. I run Second Life on a Dell Studio 1555 laptop that I named and refer to as “Ruby”. Here’s how Ruby currently stacks up in System Requirements.
- Internet Connection: Cable (High Speed, Download Speeds up to 8 mpbs/sec. and 100GB/mo. — never use more than 30GB)
- Operating System: Vista Home Premium Edition 64-Bit w/SP1 (Have Windows 7 upgrade but not yet installed)
- Computer Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 2.66 GHz, 1066 Mhz, 6M L2 cache
- System Memory: 8GB, DDR2, 800MHZ, Â 2 DIMM
- Screen Resolution: Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display
- Graphics Card:Â 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (current drivers installed; Windows verified)
I’ve also devoted an external 320GB hard drivefor archiving research , photos and videos form my virtual world adventures.
One other perk I afforded myself was an external big screen Dolby digital HDMI HDTV to watch the plethora of  musical and theatrical performances in Second Life and to tour some of the more artistic environments, not just art galleries but entire regions or separate ‘worlds’ within the world of SL.