Graphics cards

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This page is for detailing compatibility issues that certain graphics cards have with Second Life. Note that officially, we only support what's listed on our System Requirements. However, we understand some Residents want to run SL on unsupported configurations — your results may vary, but hopefully sharing info will give you a better idea of what to expect.

Drivers

We highly recommend updating to the newest stable versions:

Do NOT use latest nvidia drivers if using Windows Vista; SL 1.18.1.2 does not work with Forceware 162.22 

More info.

Ideally, we want SL to run and not crash on any graphics card that supports OpenGL Version 1.2 or later. Realistically, we can only support the latest version of drivers right now.

Help resources

  • Public Issue Tracker - We use this to help us identify bugs to be fixed. Search for terms like the model of your graphics card (e.g., "X1600" or "GeForce") or related keywords (e.g., "invisible AND avatar"). You can also report a new issue and discuss it with fellow Residents.

You can also contact our Support. Remember that specific details, and solid reproductions when there are bugs, help us help you.

Personal experiences

If you're having problems with a specific graphics card, please share your details on Talk:Graphics Cards.


Known Driver Status

OS Hardware Driver Version Status Workaround Related Bug
Win XP Nvidia GO series 77.24, 6/20/2005 Crashes after a few minutes Upgrade Drivers to 84.63, 7/5/2006 or turn of Vertex Buffer Objects
Win XP Nvidia GO series 84.63, 7/5/2006 Works great
Win XP Nvidia Desktop cards 91.47, 9/14/2006 Fullbright objects will flicker rainbow colors Upgrade Drivers to 93.71, http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71.html
Win XP Nvidia Desktop cards 93.71, 11/2/2006 Works great
Win XP ATI Catalyst(R) 7.4 Works great
Win XP ATI Catalyst(R) 7.6 Issue with dual monitors Upgraded from 7.4 to 7.6. I had dual monitors setup with DVI being the primary. SL client would not load. Workaround is to make VGA monitor primary, then SL will load on DVI monitor.
Vista Nvidia driver bundled with vista Fullbright objects will flicker rainbow colors Does updating the driver fix this? http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x86_158.18.html
Vista Nvidia 97.42 Works great
Vista Nvidia 158.18, 5/2/2007 unknown
Vista Nvidia 162.22, 7/27/2007 Unsupported Hardware/Old Drivers error
Vista ATI Catalyst(R) 7.4 Works great