System Requirements

Get Second Life

Your computer must meet these REQUIREMENTS, or you may not be able to successfully participate in Second Life.

Windows Minimum Requirements Recommended
Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL Cable or DSL
Operating System: XP, Vista, or Windows 7 XP, Vista, or Windows 7
Computer Processor: CPU with SSE2 support, including Intel Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core or Atom, AMD Athlon 64 or later. 1.5 GHz (XP), 2-GHz (Vista) 32-bit (x86) or better
Computer Memory: 512 MB or more 3 GB or more
Screen Resolution: 1024x768 pixels 1024x768 pixels or higher
Graphics Card for XP**:
  • NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
  • OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250 or better
  • OR Intel 945 chipset
NVIDIA Graphics cards
9000 Series:
  • 9600, 9800
200 Series:
  • 275 GTX, 295 GTX
ATI Graphics Cards
4000 Series:
  • 4850, 4870, 4890
5000 Series:
  • 5850, 5870, 5970
Graphics Card for Vista
or Windows 7
(requires latest drivers)**:
  • NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
  • OR ATI Radeon 9500 or better
  • OR Intel 945 chipset
NVIDIA Graphics cards
9000 Series:
  • 9600, 9800
200 Series:
  • 275 GTX, 295 GTX
ATI Graphics Cards
4000 Series:
  • 4850, 4870, 4890
5000 Series:
  • 5850, 5870, 5970
Mac OS X Minimum Requirements Recommended
Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL Cable or DSL
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 or better Mac OS X 10.6 or better
Computer Processor: 1.5 GHz Intel based Mac 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or above
Computer Memory: 512 MB or more 3 GB or more
Screen Resolution: 1024x768 pixels 1024x768 pixels or higher
Graphics Card**:
  • ATI Radeon 9200 and above
  • OR NVIDIA GeForce 2, GeForce 4
  • ATI: 4850, 4870
  • OR NVIDIA: 9800
Linux Minimum Requirements Recommended
Internet Connection*: Cable or DSL Cable or DSL
Operating System: A reasonably modern 32-bit Linux environment is required. If you are running a 64-bit Linux distribution then you will need its 32-bit compatibility environment installed. A reasonably modern 32-bit Linux environment is required. If you are running a 64-bit Linux distribution then you will need its 32-bit compatibility environment installed.
Computer Processor: 800 MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better 1.5 GHz or better
Computer Memory: 512MB or more 1 GB or more
Screen Resolution: 1024x768 pixels 1024x768 pixels or higher
Graphics Card:
  • NVIDIA GeForce 6600, or better
  • OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
  • ATI: 4850, 4870
  • OR NVIDIA: 9600, 9800

Important Notes

* Second Life is not compatible with dial-up internet, satellite internet, and some wireless internet services.

** Second Life may not run on graphics cards other than the ones listed above. The following cards are NOT compatible with Second Life:

  • NVIDIA cards that report as a RIVA TNT or TNT2
  • ATI cards that report as RAGE, RAGE PRO, or RADEON 320M, 340M, 345M, or similar model numbers
  • Intel chipsets less than a 945 including Intel Extreme
  • Cards with the following branding: 3DFX, RIVA, TNT, SiS, S3, S3TC, Savage, Twister, Rage, Kyro, MILENNIA, MATROX

The following cards have not been tested with Second Life, and compatibility is not certain:

  • NVIDIA cards that report as Quadro
  • ATI cards that report as RADEON IGP or RADEON XPRESS
  • ATI cards that report as FireGL
  • ATI cards that report as FireMV

Can't find what you're looking for?

Check out our wiki page for further info on system requirements, specifically graphics cards.