As the saying goes, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link". When asking for advice, clearly state your budget and intent - It helps to know what your resources are and where you're coming from.What else are you doing with the computer? - A person who enjoys casual tasks like web surfing and word processing has much less demanding needs than someone who wants to make Second Life machinima, or someone who's also playing games that insist on having a cutting-edge graphics card (for example, DirectX 11 making inroads).Check the Second Life System Requirements - The "Minimum Requirements" column shows what's at least acceptable, and you're in a much better comfort zone if you meet or exceed the "Recommendations".Keep this page updated, cite sources, correct errors, and add " See also" links to further resources, along with dates for context. Location-based aspects like price and availability may vary greatly, and the very nature of this info means details are likely to go stale soon.
This is a guide, not "the final word", so do your own research. Important: This page is contributed to by Residents like you, so consider it "unofficial but possibly beneficial". However, so many specs and numbers may be confusing, especially if you don't consider yourself a technical maven. A well-equipped general computer will also likely run the Second Life Viewer well. The good news is there's plenty of information already out there, with some special considerations for Second Life. This is an excellent question which understandably keeps coming up - after all, without a quality system, you can't have an enjoyable inworld experience. Which computer should I buy for Second Life? 12 Why isn't platform advocacy covered here?.11 What about laptops? Macs? Linux? Etc.10 Does viewer choice have an effect on performance?.9 I just got a new computer, how can I help?.8 Does Linden Lab provide performance benchmarks?.4 How much does a computer that runs Second Life well cost?.3 What about SL-specific considerations?.1 Which computer should I buy for Second Life?.