Second Life Technical Requirements
Hardware Requirements | Computer Requirements | Troubleshooting Tips | In-World Tips
Students taking an online UTPA Second Life course must meet these COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS and HARDWARE in order to successfully participate in a Second Life classroom.
Hardware Requirements
Audio Setup
Some relatively inexpensive (under $20) headsets are available at retail stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, etc.
Your computer usually has color coded plugs for connecting headsets. Connect pink with pink and green with green. The plugs are usually located in the back of the computer and most modern computers have front access as well. They will look something like this:
Your headset should also be color coded and look similar to the ones shown below:
If your headset does not have color coded plugs you can usually identify which plug is for what by the logo on the end of the plug. The microphone can be identified by the following logo and plugs into the pink jack behind your computer. The headphones can be identified with the following logo
and plug into the green jack behind your computer.
After you have made sure your headset is plugged in correctly you are ready to run a test on your headphones and microphone. Click Start->Control Panel->Sounds and Audio Devices and click the "Voice" Tab. You will see the following window:
Computer Requirements
| Windows |
Minimum Requirements
|
Recommended Requirements
|
|---|---|---|
|
Internet Connection:
|
Cable or DSL
|
Cable or DSL
|
|
Operation System:
|
2000, XP, or Vista & Mac OS
|
XP or Vista & Mac OS X
|
|
Computer Processor:
|
800 MHz Pentium III
|
1.5 GHz (XP), 2-GHz (Vista) 32-bit (x86) or better |
|
Computer Memory:
|
512 MB or more
|
1GB or More
|
|
Screen Resolution:
|
1024x768 pixels
|
1024x768 or Higher
|
|
Graphics Card for XP:
|
NVIDIA GeForce 2, Geforce 4 MX or Better
|
NVIDIA GeForce 2, Geforce 4 MX or Better
|
Trouble Shooting Tips
Driver issues
Sometimes you may get an error message upon starting Second Life that claims your drivers are out-of-date or unsupported. First, download the latest drivers for your graphics card and install them. If you've recently done so and have the latest drivers, uninstall them completely, then reinstall.
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/GraphicsCards This page is for detailing compatibility issues that certain graphics cards have with Second Life.
Reducing Lag in Second Life
http://slbuilding.com/Lag.html
In-World Tips
Setting your home site
First time users often find themselves in certain in-world islands that they may not want to be. TIP: Make UT-Pan American your Home Site so you can immediately teleport back to our island.
How To:
- In the Second Life Application go to our island
- In the menu options click on WORLD.
- Then click on SET HOME TO HERE
- When you want to teleport back the university island select TELEPORT HOME.
