User:Jaszon Maynard/Jaszons sandbox Performance - Revision history

Jaszon Maynard: /* Short Guide to Improving Performance */ editing

2008-02-29T18:13:21Z

Short Guide to Improving Performance: editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:13, 29 February 2008
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	== Short Guide to Improving Performance ==		== Short Guide to Improving Performance ==

	You do not have to complete all the steps in this quick guide to improving performance. Simply ~~go through~~ it, step ~~by step, and when~~ you've had enough, or when your performance has improved enough, you can skip the rest of the guide, or come back to it another time.		You do not have to complete all the steps in this quick guide to improving performance, or even do in them in order. Simply pick a problem that applies to you (framerate, lag), look at the suggestions to fix it, and execute a step or two. When you've had enough, or when your performance has improved enough, you can skip the rest of the guide, and perhaps come back to it another time.

	One tip that can improve framerate, decrease lag, etc, is to run no other applications (or as few as possible) at the same time as Second Life. If your computer is too limited in CPU power, memory, it's Internet connection, etc, having other applications open can leave too few computer resources available for Second Life to run well. You can also choose to adjust Second Life's settings (detailed below) so it requires less of your computer, and thus you may find you can run Second Life well enough at the same time as some other applications.		One tip that can improve framerate, decrease lag, etc, is to run no other applications (or as few as possible) at the same time as Second Life. If your computer is too limited in CPU power, memory, it's Internet connection, etc, having other applications open can leave too few computer resources available for Second Life to run well. You can also choose to adjust Second Life's settings (detailed below) so it requires less of your computer, and thus you may find you can run Second Life well enough at the same time as some other applications.

Jaszon Maynard: /* Increasing Framerate */ editing

2008-02-29T18:04:58Z

Increasing Framerate: editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:04, 29 February 2008
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	Small increases in framerate you will only be able to detect by using the [[Statistics Bar]]. Enough small improvements, or one large improvement, will make your movement in-world noticeably smoother. To test framerate, some options are:		Small increases in framerate you will only be able to detect by using the [[Statistics Bar]]. Enough small improvements, or one large improvement, will make your movement in-world noticeably smoother. To test framerate, some options are:
	*Head to an empty location, and look off in the direction of some buildings, trees, etc. You do not need to move. Simply make various adjustments, and see how those adjustments affect your framerate.		*Head to an empty location, and look off in the direction of some buildings, trees, etc. You do not need to move. Simply make various adjustments, and see how those adjustments affect your framerate.
	*Testing in an empty location is all well and good, but it doesn't tell you how smoothly the world will work when you're talking in a group of 10 other [[avatars]]. The only way to test your performance in that regard, and see what other options you wish to take and how they affect framerate, is to go someplace where there are people and stand where you can see them. A problem with that is, you may make an adjustment, and your framerate may go up, down, or stay the same...and that may have nothing at all to do with the change you made. Because if an avatar or 2 recently arrived or left, or activated an animation or changed outfits, etc, then that may have increased or decreased the load on your computer, and camouflaged the fact that your recent adjustment was actually ~~good~~, ~~bad~~, or had no effect at all.		*Testing in an empty location is all well and good, but it doesn't tell you how smoothly the world will work when you're talking in a group of 10 other [[avatars]]. The only way to test your performance in that regard, and see what other options you wish to take and how they affect framerate, is to go someplace where there are people and stand where you can see them. A problem with that is, you may make an adjustment, and your framerate may go up, down, or stay the same...and that may have nothing at all to do with the change you made. Because if an avatar or 2 recently arrived or left, or activated an animation or changed outfits, etc, then that may have increased or decreased the load on your computer, and camouflaged the fact that your recent adjustment was actually helpful, detrimental, or had no effect at all.

	==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====		==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====

Jaszon Maynard: editing

2008-02-29T18:02:45Z

editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:02, 29 February 2008
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	You do not have to complete all the steps in this quick guide to improving performance. Simply go through it, step by step, and when you've had enough, or when your performance has improved enough, you can skip the rest of the guide, or come back to it another time.		You do not have to complete all the steps in this quick guide to improving performance. Simply go through it, step by step, and when you've had enough, or when your performance has improved enough, you can skip the rest of the guide, or come back to it another time.

			One tip that can improve framerate, decrease lag, etc, is to run no other applications (or as few as possible) at the same time as Second Life. If your computer is too limited in CPU power, memory, it's Internet connection, etc, having other applications open can leave too few computer resources available for Second Life to run well. You can also choose to adjust Second Life's settings (detailed below) so it requires less of your computer, and thus you may find you can run Second Life well enough at the same time as some other applications.

	This short guide will '''not''' cover in-depth diagnostics, analyzing server performance, diagnosing your system's weaknesses (so you'd know if a simple memory upgrade would help), or any steps that would require you to install additional hardware or software. It should be applicable to all supported operating systems [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system <small>[definition]</small>].		This short guide will '''not''' cover in-depth diagnostics, analyzing server performance, diagnosing your system's weaknesses (so you'd know if a simple memory upgrade would help), or any steps that would require you to install additional hardware or software. It should be applicable to all supported operating systems [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system <small>[definition]</small>].

Jaszon Maynard: /* Increasing Framerate */ editing

2008-02-29T17:45:55Z

Increasing Framerate: editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:45, 29 February 2008
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	=== Increasing Framerate ===		=== Increasing Framerate ===

			Small increases in framerate you will only be able to detect by using the [[Statistics Bar]]. Enough small improvements, or one large improvement, will make your movement in-world noticeably smoother. To test framerate, some options are:
			*Head to an empty location, and look off in the direction of some buildings, trees, etc. You do not need to move. Simply make various adjustments, and see how those adjustments affect your framerate.
			*Testing in an empty location is all well and good, but it doesn't tell you how smoothly the world will work when you're talking in a group of 10 other [[avatars]]. The only way to test your performance in that regard, and see what other options you wish to take and how they affect framerate, is to go someplace where there are people and stand where you can see them. A problem with that is, you may make an adjustment, and your framerate may go up, down, or stay the same...and that may have nothing at all to do with the change you made. Because if an avatar or 2 recently arrived or left, or activated an animation or changed outfits, etc, then that may have increased or decreased the load on your computer, and camouflaged the fact that your recent adjustment was actually good, bad, or had no effect at all.

	==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====		==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====

Jaszon Maynard: editing

2008-02-29T17:28:10Z

editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:28, 29 February 2008
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	The Second Life [[Main Viewer]] may be asking your computer to do more than it can handle, and if your computer hardware is not powerful enough, or not setup correctly, it cannot draw the Second Life world very quickly. This will result in a low framerate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framerate <small>[definition]</small>] (also called low FPS, frames-per-second) and your view of the world will be jerky and stuttering, more like a slideshow than a movie.		The Second Life [[Main Viewer]] may be asking your computer to do more than it can handle, and if your computer hardware is not powerful enough, or not setup correctly, it cannot draw the Second Life world very quickly. This will result in a low framerate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framerate <small>[definition]</small>] (also called low FPS, frames-per-second) and your view of the world will be jerky and stuttering, more like a slideshow than a movie.

	Complex objects, composed of many polygons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh] with complex behaviors, animation, and special effects, require your computer to to do extra work. An [[avatar]] is a pretty complex "object", as a result, framerates tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other avatars (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem).		Complex objects, composed of many polygons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh <small>[definition]</small>] with complex behaviors, animation, and special effects, require your computer to to do extra work. An [[avatar]] is a pretty complex "object", as a result, framerates tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other avatars (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem).

	While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of residents' average framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.		While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of residents' average framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.
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	==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====		==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====

	If you walk around in-world wearing flowing clothing and exotic shoes, with flowing hair and automatically flexing angel wings, and jewelry that leaves a trail of fireworks, while a cloud of butterflies swirls about you, then your clothing and accessories are composed of many polygons and complex behaviors. All this is extra work for your computer to process and draw. If you're willing to trade fashion for performance, you can experiment to see how much ~~framerate~~ improvement you can get from wearing simpler clothing. You can always dress up for parties! Another option is to use mouselook mode (see below), then you look good for everyone else without the strain on your own computer.		If you walk around in-world wearing flowing clothing and exotic shoes, with flowing hair and automatically flexing angel wings, and jewelry that leaves a trail of fireworks, while a cloud of butterflies swirls about you, then your clothing and accessories are composed of many polygons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh <small>[definition]</small>] and complex behaviors. All this is extra work for your computer to process and draw. If you're willing to trade fashion for performance (or even become a public eyesore), you can experiment to see how much performance improvement you can get from wearing simpler clothing. You can always dress up for parties! Another option is to use mouselook mode (see below), then you look good for everyone else without the strain on your own computer.

	==== B) Use Mouselook Mode ====		==== B) Use Mouselook Mode ====

	One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[Mouselook_%28general_help%29\|mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since ~~your~~ avatar ~~is very detailed~~, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your ~~framerate~~.		One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[Mouselook_%28general_help%29\|mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your [[avatar]] is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since even an ordinary avatar has a lot of detail, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your performance.

	==== C) Reduce Graphics Quality ====		==== C) Reduce Graphics Quality ====

Jaszon Maynard: editing

2008-02-29T17:17:05Z

editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:17, 29 February 2008
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	=== Increasing Framerate ===		=== Increasing Framerate ===

	==== A) Use Mouselook Mode ====		==== A) Wear Simple Clothing/Accessories ====

			If you walk around in-world wearing flowing clothing and exotic shoes, with flowing hair and automatically flexing angel wings, and jewelry that leaves a trail of fireworks, while a cloud of butterflies swirls about you, then your clothing and accessories are composed of many polygons and complex behaviors. All this is extra work for your computer to process and draw. If you're willing to trade fashion for performance, you can experiment to see how much framerate improvement you can get from wearing simpler clothing. You can always dress up for parties! Another option is to use mouselook mode (see below), then you look good for everyone else without the strain on your own computer.

			==== B) Use Mouselook Mode ====

	One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[Mouselook_%28general_help%29\|mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since your avatar is very detailed, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your framerate.		One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[Mouselook_%28general_help%29\|mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since your avatar is very detailed, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your framerate.

	==== B) Reduce Graphics Quality ====		==== C) Reduce Graphics Quality ====

	The Second Life world can look pretty attractive. But that beauty comes at a price. Your computer has to work hard to draw the world. If you turn down your graphics quality settings to the minimum settings, your framerate should improve. If you'd like to take a cool looking screenshot or [[Snapshot]], you can always turn your graphics settings all the way up temporarily, then set them back to your "normal" settings for everyday use.		The Second Life world can look pretty attractive. But that beauty comes at a price. Your computer has to work hard to draw the world. If you turn down your graphics quality settings to the minimum settings, your framerate should improve. If you'd like to take a cool looking screenshot or [[Snapshot]], you can always turn your graphics settings all the way up temporarily, then set them back to your "normal" settings for everyday use.
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	To reduce your graphics settings you first need to bring up the Second Life [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window. To do so, look in the [[Main Viewer's menubar]] and in the [[Edit menu]] choose the option for Preferences. Now you will adjust various settings in some of the tabs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_%28GUI%29 <small>[definition]</small>] in the Preferences window.		To reduce your graphics settings you first need to bring up the Second Life [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window. To do so, look in the [[Main Viewer's menubar]] and in the [[Edit menu]] choose the option for Preferences. Now you will adjust various settings in some of the tabs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_%28GUI%29 <small>[definition]</small>] in the Preferences window.

	===== B1) The Graphics Tab =====		===== C1) The Graphics Tab =====

	Click the [[Graphics Tab]] and find the field labelled "Draw Distance" and set it to the minimum value, 64. What this means is, at a higher value, like 128, items that are farther away (up to 128 meters) '''are''' drawn so you get to see them, but items even farther away are not drawn. When you reduce this to 64, more items are '''not''' drawn...all the things between 64 and 128 meters away that you could see before, you won't be able to see now. This should improve your framerate. The effect in-world will be, as you're walking down a street, if you look in the distance you will see...nothing. No people, buildings, trees, mountains, etc. Even if they're actually there. As you walk closer to them, they will appear to suddenly pop into existence. You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		Click the [[Graphics Tab]] and find the field labelled "Draw Distance" and set it to the minimum value, 64. What this means is, at a higher value, like 128, items that are farther away (up to 128 meters) '''are''' drawn so you get to see them, but items even farther away are not drawn. When you reduce this to 64, more items are '''not''' drawn...all the things between 64 and 128 meters away that you could see before, you won't be able to see now. This should improve your framerate. The effect in-world will be, as you're walking down a street, if you look in the distance you will see...nothing. No people, buildings, trees, mountains, etc. Even if they're actually there. As you walk closer to them, they will appear to suddenly pop into existence. You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	===== B2) The Graphics Detail Tab =====		===== C2) The Graphics Detail Tab =====

	Some options on the [[Graphics Detail Tab]] may be disabled/"greyed-out" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyed_out <small>[definition]</small>]. If so, ignore them.		Some options on the [[Graphics Detail Tab]] may be disabled/"greyed-out" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyed_out <small>[definition]</small>]. If so, ignore them.
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	You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	===== B3) The Adv. Graphics Tab =====		===== C3) The Adv. Graphics Tab =====

	On the [[Adv. Graphics Tab]] make sure "Anisotropic Filtering" is unchecked. Make sure "Enable VBO" is checked.		On the [[Adv. Graphics Tab]] make sure "Anisotropic Filtering" is unchecked. Make sure "Enable VBO" is checked.
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	You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	==== C) Disable Voice Chat ====		==== D) Disable Voice Chat ====

	If you have been using [[voice chat]] features much, be aware that receiving audio from other residents or speaking to them can require your computer to do extra work to process the audio data, which may cause your framerate to drop. To deactivate voice, bring up the [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window		If you have been using [[voice chat]] features much, be aware that receiving audio from other residents or speaking to them can require your computer to do extra work to process the audio data, which may cause your framerate to drop. To deactivate voice, bring up the [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window

Jaszon Maynard: editing

2008-02-29T16:48:37Z

editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:48, 29 February 2008
Line 11:		Line 11:
	The Second Life [[Main Viewer]] may be asking your computer to do more than it can handle, and if your computer hardware is not powerful enough, or not setup correctly, it cannot draw the Second Life world very quickly. This will result in a low framerate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framerate <small>[definition]</small>] (also called low FPS, frames-per-second) and your view of the world will be jerky and stuttering, more like a slideshow than a movie.		The Second Life [[Main Viewer]] may be asking your computer to do more than it can handle, and if your computer hardware is not powerful enough, or not setup correctly, it cannot draw the Second Life world very quickly. This will result in a low framerate [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framerate <small>[definition]</small>] (also called low FPS, frames-per-second) and your view of the world will be jerky and stuttering, more like a slideshow than a movie.

	~~Framerates~~ tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other [[avatars]] (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem)~~, or in a region with a large number of objects~~.		Complex objects, composed of many polygons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh] with complex behaviors, animation, and special effects, require your computer to to do extra work. An [[avatar]] is a pretty complex "object", as a result, framerates tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other avatars (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem).

	While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of residents' average framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.		While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of residents' average framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.

Jaszon Maynard: /* Low Framerate (FPS) */ editing

2008-02-29T08:14:30Z

Low Framerate (FPS): editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:14, 29 February 2008
Line 13:		Line 13:
	Framerates tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other [[avatars]] (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem), or in a region with a large number of objects.		Framerates tend to worsen when you are near a crowd of other [[avatars]] (though a future version of the Main Viewer based on [[Windlight]] technology will have an "avatar imposters" option to help with that problem), or in a region with a large number of objects.

	While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of average ~~resident~~ framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.		While it would be terrific to get 20-30+ FPS in-world most of the time, many residents do not achieve that, yet can still enjoy Second Life quite well. [[Linden Lab]] keeps track of residents' average framerates [http://secondlifegrid.net/resources/service_metrics#viewer_fps] and generally 1/2 of the residents have a framerate average of less than 15FPS.

	If you'd like to see what your framerate is, you can learn how to display it by reading about the [[Statistics Bar]].		If you'd like to see what your framerate is, you can learn how to display it by reading about the [[Statistics Bar]].

Jaszon Maynard: /* A) Use Mouselook Mode */ editing

2008-02-29T08:13:02Z

A) Use Mouselook Mode: editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:13, 29 February 2008
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	==== A) Use Mouselook Mode ====		==== A) Use Mouselook Mode ====

	One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since your avatar is very detailed, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your framerate.		One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[Mouselook_%28general_help%29\|mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since your avatar is very detailed, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your framerate.

	==== B) Reduce Graphics Quality ====		==== B) Reduce Graphics Quality ====

Jaszon Maynard: editing

2008-02-29T08:09:41Z

editing

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:09, 29 February 2008
Line 29:		Line 29:
	=== Increasing Framerate ===		=== Increasing Framerate ===

	==== A) Reduce Graphics Quality ====		==== A) Use Mouselook Mode ====

			One simple option, if you don't mind this mode, is to use [[mouselook]] mode. In mouselook mode, your avatar is not shown (you are looking through its eyes, just like you see in the real world). Since your avatar is very detailed, by not showing it your computer now has a lot less work to do to draw your screen. Of course, this means you don't get to see your avatar that you worked so hard on. Regardless of whether you like mouselook mode or not and whether or not you use it, there are still other ways to improve your framerate.

			==== B) Reduce Graphics Quality ====

	The Second Life world can look pretty attractive. But that beauty comes at a price. Your computer has to work hard to draw the world. If you turn down your graphics quality settings to the minimum settings, your framerate should improve. If you'd like to take a cool looking screenshot or [[Snapshot]], you can always turn your graphics settings all the way up temporarily, then set them back to your "normal" settings for everyday use.		The Second Life world can look pretty attractive. But that beauty comes at a price. Your computer has to work hard to draw the world. If you turn down your graphics quality settings to the minimum settings, your framerate should improve. If you'd like to take a cool looking screenshot or [[Snapshot]], you can always turn your graphics settings all the way up temporarily, then set them back to your "normal" settings for everyday use.
Line 37:		Line 41:
	To reduce your graphics settings you first need to bring up the Second Life [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window. To do so, look in the [[Main Viewer's menubar]] and in the [[Edit menu]] choose the option for Preferences. Now you will adjust various settings in some of the tabs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_%28GUI%29 <small>[definition]</small>] in the Preferences window.		To reduce your graphics settings you first need to bring up the Second Life [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window. To do so, look in the [[Main Viewer's menubar]] and in the [[Edit menu]] choose the option for Preferences. Now you will adjust various settings in some of the tabs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_%28GUI%29 <small>[definition]</small>] in the Preferences window.

	===== A1) The Graphics Tab =====		===== B1) The Graphics Tab =====

	Click the [[Graphics Tab]] and find the field labelled "Draw Distance" and set it to the minimum value, 64. What this means is, at a higher value, like 128, items that are farther away (up to 128 meters) '''are''' drawn so you get to see them, but items even farther away are not drawn. When you reduce this to 64, more items are '''not''' drawn...all the things between 64 and 128 meters away that you could see before, you won't be able to see now. This should improve your framerate. The effect in-world will be, as you're walking down a street, if you look in the distance you will see...nothing. No people, buildings, trees, mountains, etc. Even if they're actually there. As you walk closer to them, they will appear to suddenly pop into existence. You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		Click the [[Graphics Tab]] and find the field labelled "Draw Distance" and set it to the minimum value, 64. What this means is, at a higher value, like 128, items that are farther away (up to 128 meters) '''are''' drawn so you get to see them, but items even farther away are not drawn. When you reduce this to 64, more items are '''not''' drawn...all the things between 64 and 128 meters away that you could see before, you won't be able to see now. This should improve your framerate. The effect in-world will be, as you're walking down a street, if you look in the distance you will see...nothing. No people, buildings, trees, mountains, etc. Even if they're actually there. As you walk closer to them, they will appear to suddenly pop into existence. You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	===== A2) The Graphics Detail Tab =====		===== B2) The Graphics Detail Tab =====

	Some options on the [[Graphics Detail Tab]] may be disabled/"greyed-out" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyed_out <small>[definition]</small>]. If so, ignore them.		Some options on the [[Graphics Detail Tab]] may be disabled/"greyed-out" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyed_out <small>[definition]</small>]. If so, ignore them.
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	You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	===== A3) The Adv. Graphics Tab =====		===== B3) The Adv. Graphics Tab =====

	On the [[Adv. Graphics Tab]] make sure "Anisotropic Filtering" is unchecked. Make sure "Enable VBO" is checked.		On the [[Adv. Graphics Tab]] make sure "Anisotropic Filtering" is unchecked. Make sure "Enable VBO" is checked.
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	You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.		You can now either click "OK" in the Preferences window and see if this change has improved your performance enough, or you can continue making changes.

	==== B) Disable Voice Chat ====		==== C) Disable Voice Chat ====

	If you have been using [[voice chat]] features much, be aware that receiving audio from other residents or speaking to them can require your computer to do extra work to process the audio data, which may cause your framerate to drop. To deactivate voice, bring up the [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window		If you have been using [[voice chat]] features much, be aware that receiving audio from other residents or speaking to them can require your computer to do extra work to process the audio data, which may cause your framerate to drop. To deactivate voice, bring up the [[Second_Life_Preferences\|Preferences]] window