Defragmenting

With Windows computers prior to Vista hard disk defragmenting needed to be performed manually. Also, the basic Windows XP defrag is not that great, which is why there are third party defrag programs.

In Vista and Win7 defragmentation is a system task that runs weekly by default. To run a manual pass click: START and type: Defrag. The Disk Defragmenter panel will open. You can check settings, schedule, and initiate a manual defrag.

There are good reasons to run a manual defrag, but not via the standard Defragmenter control panel. See Defragmentation Under Windows Vista. One can do more with the command line version of Windows Defrag.

System Internals provides a tool named PageDefrag that will defragment the Windows-XP System Page File. It is not needed on Vista and Win7. The page file is where Windows XP saves data it needs to swap out of active memory. Most defragment programs cannot defragment the Page File and often cannot defragment the Registry Hive files. This program will defrag them at the next boot. If you are short memory and your computer is doing lots of swapping running defrag can make a significant difference. But, adding memory is a better long term solution.

Network Connection

The network connection to Second Life affects performance. One needs at least 500kb/sec. The ideal connection speed SETTING in the viewer is between 500kb and 2mb/sec. Ping needs to be less than 250ms.

Higher data rates can degrade performance. If your viewer is demanding more than 1mb/sec from the SL servers they may not be able to provide it. This is a setting you have to experiement with to see what works best for your location and setup.

Use SpeedTest.net to test your connection. For a more precise test run the test from you to San Francisco. Never set your viewer to a data rate higher than 50% to 75% of what the test measures.

If you need to, see: Troubleshoot Your #SL Connection.

Performance Information Tools

In Visita and Win7 there is a Performance and Information Tool. It will give you an overview of your system. To get to it, click START and type performance. You should see it listed in a couple of seconds. Click it to start the tool.

The tool shows you the performance rating of your computer. The rating is called a Base Score by Microsoft. For more information on what it means click here. The tool lists the Processor, Memory, Graphics, Gaming Graphics, and Hard Disk. You can quickly see what is holding the system back. That is the component you need to upgrade for the most performance improvement.

Buying Stuff

Memory

This is an easy one. Consider 1gb of ram as the minimum for SL and the more the better. Windows 32 bit systems are limited to 4gb of ram and 64 bit systems can use way more memory but you may be limited by your motherboard. Check its specs. You can use a free program named CPU-Z to get make and model numbers.

Also, the faster the memory better. Memory speed is set by your motherboard, CPU, and the memory chips. If you have memory chips (ram) that are slower than what your motherboard and CPU supports, upgrade them.

To tell whether adding more memory is going to help, you can use the Performance Monitor. With Second Life running look in the Memory section and watch the Hard Faults. You will find the Second Life process listed. Watch its hard faults per minute. This number should be small, 0 to 100± per minute. Sustained high rates, above 500, indicate a need for more memory and suggest a possible significant performance improvement. You may see 500 to 1,000 Hard Faults for a minute or so when opening the viewer or after teleporting. But, if the Hard Faults per minute remain high, more memory will help performance.

Hard or Page Faults happen when the computer runs out of memory. The process moves computer memory to the hard disk to make more room in ram and then retrieves the stored info later as needed. This swapping in and out of memory to the disk slows the computer way down as it takes far longer to move memory to and from disk than ram.

If you have few Hard Faults, adding more memory will make little difference to performance, but more memory always helps.

Drivers

The video driver is important. Generally the newest driver is the best, but not always. Search the Second Life and SLUniverse forums for your video card model. If there are driver problems, people will be discussing them in the forum. If you don’t find anything, ask about the video card in the SL Answers part of the forum.

There is no way to know if a driver update will help. A driver update is usually a matter of gaining new features or fixing a problem. For performance considerations one can only experiment and try changing the driver.

Hardware

You may be deciding whether to buy a new computer or upgrade an existing one. When upgrading a computer there is more to consider. I’ll mostly write as if you are planning to upgrade because that covers more ground. All the same decisions are pertinent to purchasing a new computer.

Power and Temperature

Power is an often overlooked criteria. Power is an especially important consideration if you are upgrading a computer. And when buying a new computer the power supply can limit your future upgrade options. Buying a larger power supply with a new computer is usually cheaper than getting a new one later.

Before buying any new video card check the capability of your computer’s power supply. It is also a good idea to check the specs of a new computer you are considering. If the power supply included just barely meets the systems demands, any upgrades or over-clocks will overload the power supply.

At some point you will likley need to know how much power your current CPU is drawing. It is a bit hard to find that information. However, Wikipedia lists the specs here: Power Dissipation.

There is no utility program that I know of that can tell you the size of your power supply. The only way I know is to open the computer case and look. Fortunately most power supplies have the rating in a place where you can see it. Removing just the case panel, typically the left-side, exposes the power supply and its label without reaching inside.

A typical office computer uses 350 watts. Gaming machines use 600 to 1,000 watts and more. Newer machines are supposedly using less power. I’m not convinced.

Temperature is another critical factor. While you have the case open, consider cleaning the fans and heat sinks. If you have not cleaned fans and heat sinks before, watch a video or read a tutorial. See Cleaning the computer. Using canned air is usually easiest. But, be careful to avoid spinning the fans (it is way too easy to over rev the fans and ruin the bearings) and avoid breathing the dust.

Temperature Ranges

When silicone chips run hotter than 80C/176F they are burning up and will have a shorter life. Some are designed to run at high temperatures. While the item can operate at high temperature for sustained periods, silicone chips quickly deteriorate, think months, at high temperatures. You can usually see that in the warrantee period the manufacturer offers.

As an example one of the people I know was using a GTS8800 video card. It idled at about 80C. When any game ran it was well over 90C. It lasted a year. My GTS8800 typically peaked at 80C and idled in the high 50’s. I had to add 2 extra case fans to get the temperature down to that range. The video card has run for over 3 years.

You need to know what temperature your computer and graphics card are operating at. There are programs that come with motherboards and video cards that will monitor the hardware and report fan speeds, temperature, and voltages. Many computer vendors do not install the monitors. If you cannot find you monitors, get CPU-Z and GPU-Z.

CPU-Z is about identifying your hardware. It does not give any sensor readings. If you know your motherboard brand you can visit the manufacturers site and find a monitor that will read its sensors.

You may also use Real Temp GT, which is by the same people that made GPU-Z. It is for Intel processors and Windows machines. Real Temp can also give you the video card temp if you change its settings.

SpeedFan is a more capable tool and provides more information. It is also free. HOWEVER, it is hard to find the download link, it is there. There are lots of misleading ‘Download’ buttons (see image). They are trying to earn some money for their effort. While annoying it is a great tool and they deserve some clicks or money. Donations are good.

SpeedFan will also give you the temperature of your hard drives. It will even allow you to control fan speeds and set alarms. It is a very advanced tool for ubergeeks. But, it installs easily, is easy to use for readings, and gives you a ton of information. If you have any cooling problems SpeedFan will reveal them.

Apple users can use Temperature Monitor. Original name huh? This is a free version of the retail program Hardware Monitor (€ 7.00/US$10). I’m not an Apple user so no screen shots.

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