Yesterday, the Phoenix Team announced that the 1050 RC version would become the final 1050 version. No changes are being made. The version worked as is. So, if you have the RC, you have the final version. But, if you have had problems, there are some things you need to do.

Performance: For some performance has been a problem. Poor Frame Rates is a common complaint. There is a recommended fix in the Phoenix Wiki.  See: Release 1.5.2.1050 Change log

In 1050 the HTTP_Get_Textures is turned off by default. Turn it on for faster texture download. Also Vertex Buffer Objects and Streaming VBO are turned off. You can try turning those back on. To make those changes click:

• Top Menu→ Advanced (Ctrl-Shift-Q) → Rendering → HTTP Get textures
• Top Menu→Edit→Preferences → Graphics → Hardware Options (button) → Enable Vertex Buffer Objects

When you turn on HTTP_Get_Texture you will need to restart the viewer. So, make that change before you login. I suggest you make both changes at the same time, before logging in. Phoenix recommends you do them separately and check that each works before making the next one. If I had a problem I would turn off one at a time, to find the problem. If they worked first try, I’m done.

Before the change I was getting 30 FPS. After I was getting 35 FPS. So, I think it is a good move. The range of FPS bounces around more.

Crashes: Some people have been having crash problems. Phoenix recommends a clean install. They provide information on how to do that and which files must be manually deleted. I have slightly different ideas for those that use more than just Phoenix and the SL Viewer. See: Clean Install

The Phoenix Wiki recommends removing all viewers and reinstalling from scratch. That is pretty drastic and a lot of work if you want to use more than 2 viewers. I’ve also found it is usually not necessary. But, it does greatly simplify the instructions. Before ripping out all your viewers read through my Second Life Clean Install article. You can probably save yourself lots of work.

Also, a big factor in viewer stability is rebooting your computer. If you haven’t rebooted try that first as it is easy. If you play Facebook or other Flash games, that can be a contributor to viewer crashes and lockups. A reboot clears those problems.