Alchemy Viewer Reportedly Improves SL Performance 2-3X Over Firestorm

I'm not too familiar with Alchemy, a third party SL viewer registered on the official Wiki, but YouTuber Luca says (and shows, above) how well it performs versus Firestorm (the most popular SL viewer) -- assuming you have a powerful GPU.

"I get about 2-3x the performance," Luca tells me. "But generally from people who reported that they got improvement from it, they usually got like 2x the performance! Some people said they didn't get any at all, though."

So the difference seems to vary widely from PC to PC. As Luca goes on:

"In a graphically-intensive region that I visit a lot, my average frame rate went up from 15 to 30. Where the limit or bottleneck doesn't seem to be on the graphics card, my framerate was the same. Someone close to me who tried Alchemy after I told him about it, told me that his frame rate at his place went up from 20 to 40!"

40 frames per second is about what you should expect on a modern MMO when there's multiple players in a scene. Luca reports that Alchemy seems to help with performance in crowded areas as well:  "I guess in situations where the amount of avatars affects GPU usage more than it affects CPU / RAM usage, it's better than other viewers."

But again, this improvement seems to depend on a powerful GPU:

"Mine is a GTX 1060 6GB," says Luca, "and the person I mentioned has a 1050TI, but I'd say if you have any discrete graphics card (instead of integrated graphics), it might worth a shot to try and see if you'll get the performance boost!"

So your FPS may vary -- share your own results in Comments!

Comments

[Caitlin Tobias]

I love Alchemy, indeed for its performance and it has been my only viewer to use for years. Sadly it does not support animesh and BOM, so I could not use it for photography of big events like the Fantasy Faire anymore. Admitting I have not checked their updates the last weeks - thanks for reminding me to do that asap!

[Pulsar]

Caitlin, Alchemy wasn't having a new official release since November 2017, as far as I know, but you are lucky, a beta has been released recently and it supports BOM
https://www.alchemyviewer.org/alchemy-beta-63646699.html

[Trinity1776]

It also provides big performance boosts for some configurations that are not optimal for SL - like MacBook Pros.

[Spiffy Voxel]

I decided to give the Alchemy beta release a try-out after watching Luca's video. (I'm on a 2017 iMac 27".) It is definitely more responsive in large areas, as texture loading seems to be handled better compared to Firestorm. And my FPS have been higher in the areas I usually visit. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Firestorm - and is missing some Firestorm features like parcel-level Windlights and the built-in pose stand - overall I've had no problems using it as my primary viewer for Second Life. Sadly, there are fewer options for Mac users these days, with Kokua being the only other relatively up-to-date option besides Firestorm and the official SL Viewer.

[Mondy]

There is another option for an up to date Mac viewer if you're prepared to give the classic V1 interface a try, with almost all the "bells & whistles" you might be missing. Singularity.

[Fed Up]

Worth pointing out that this requires a CPU with "AVX" extentions - i.e. something relatively modern, manufacturered in 2011 or later.

Yes, I have an older processor (AMD Phenon 2) paired with a 1050Ti and I can run Sansar and many other games on high settings. SecondLife makes this setup struggle, though.

According to wikipedia; Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) are extensions to the x86 instruction set architecture from Intel and AMD first supported by Intel with the Sandy Bridge processor shipping in Q1 2011 and later on by AMD with the Bulldozer processor shipping in Q3 2011. AVX provides new features, new instructions and a new coding scheme.

[Lemmy]

I tried using my recent MacBook Pro, and I’m getting half the framerate I would using Firestorm. Also, 40fps on a modern MMO is trash, even with hundreds of players visible!

[Wagner James Au]

Digital Foundry: "Both PS4 and Xbox One versions of The Elder Scrolls Online ... both operate at 1080p resolution, and both target 30fps for performance."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZex_JYCPmY#:~:text=Both%20PS4%20and%20Xbox%20One,both%20target%2030fps%20for%20performance.

[Blaise Glendevon]

Who is using a computer manufactured before 2011, though? What next, people using SL through WebTV?

[Fed Up]

@Blaise Glendevon I built my PC in 2011 and have upgraded it only twice. Doubled RAM from 8 to 16Gb (because Firestorm had a memory leak in Linux) and added a 1050Ti. As I said, it's fine with games i play (GTAV, Deliver Us the Moon) and Sansar in high settings.
I only ever have issues with Second Life.