What hardware, software, and connectivity do you need to visit There?

As of June 1, 2005

Our goal is to welcome as many people as possible while still ensuring a great experience. This document provides details about what hardware and software we support, as well as our plans to support more options in the future.

1. What Operating System (OS) do I need?
2. How much Random Access Memory (RAM) do I need?
3. How much available hard drive space do I need?
4. What specific software do I need?
5. What kind of internet connection do I need?
6. What Central Processing Unit (CPU) do I need?
7. What sound card do I need?
8. What kind of graphics card or video display hardware do I need?


As you read this, please remember that PC hardware and software is sometimes... confusing. We've tried to be as clear as possible, but apologies in advance if you end up with a headache after wading through this! If you find that one or more elements of your system will not run There, please read our PC Buying & Upgrading FAQ.


The 8 Things You Need to Run There

1. Operating system
We support:
  • Windows Vista
  • Windows XP
  • Windows 2000 (with the SP1 upgrade, available for free at the Microsoft website)
We do not support:
  • Windows ME
  • Windows 98
  • Windows 95
  • Windows NT
  • Linux
  • Unix
  • OS/2
  • BeOS
  • MacOS
2. Random Access Memory (RAM)

You need to have 256 MB or more RAM. If you meet all the other requirements for running There but don't have enough RAM, visit CNET's guide to buying RAM to learn how easy it is to add RAM to your PC.

3. Hard drive space

You need at least 500 MB of free space on your hard drive.

4. Internet software

To ensure a great experience for the largest number of people, we have standardized on three pieces of software that are usually pre-installed on Windows machines:
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer v5.0.1 or later. We do not support earlier versions of IE, Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera at this time. If you have a question about a browser not mentioned here, sign up for our special browsers mailing list by emailing Customer Support. Be sure to include what kind of browser you would like to use.
  • Macromedia Flash version 6.0.41 or later. We automatically install a supported version of Macromedia Flash if you do not already have it when you install There. If you would like to upgrade to the latest version (which we recommend) please visit Macromedia's web site.
  • Microsoft XML Parser version 3.0 Service Pack 2 or later. We automatically install a supported version of the MSXML Parser if you do not already have it when you install There. You can update the XML software using Windows Update or by going to Microsoft's web site.
5. Internet connection

To visit There, you'll need to connect in one of the following ways: through any ISP (including AOL, MSN, Yahoo/SBC, Comcast, etc.) on a 56K connection, any cable modem, any DSL provider, or any ISDN provider.

Note:
  • We do not support connections via satellite broadband services due to their high latency.
  • Personal Firewalls that use Network Address Translation (NAT) and Internet connection sharing usually work with There.
  • You can connect to There through a corporate T1 or LAN connection through a firewall using TCP on ports 80 and 443. There will work better if your firewall allows UDP traffic to/from ports 2311-2316.

6. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

We support Intel or AMD processors that run at 800MHz and faster.

We do not support Cyrix or S3 processors, Linux or Macintosh.

7. Sound card

Your sound card must be compatible with Direct/X v7. Virtually every sound card manufacturer in the last 5 years meets this specification. The only exception we're aware of is an Aureal sound card, which works but has problems.

Please be sure to download the latest software drivers for your sound card to have the best experience. You can usually do that at the website for your PC (e.g., HP, Dell, Compaq, Gateway, etc), or directly from the company that manufactures the sound card.

8. Graphics hardware (also known as video display card)

Our installer checks the kind of card you have and checks the drivers on your card and tells you if they are out of date. You can usually still visit There without updating these drivers, but we suggest you update them for the best experience).

For best performance, your graphics card should be installed in the "AGP slot," if you have one. This is the place that holds the graphics card, and most of the newer PCs have these slots. Graphics cards installed in "PCI slots" will run slower than those installed in AGP slots.

This is the trickiest component to understand, since many cards use brand names that are always changing. In order to understand whether or not your card is supported, it's easiest to find out what kind of graphics chip is on your card (it is usually a chip made by ATI, NVIDIA, Intel, or S3). Once you know that, you can use the lists below to see if your card is supported. Read our Graphics Card Information for help figuring out what kind of graphics card you have, and to see a list of some of the specific cards that we support.


Like we said, PC configurations can be a tricky thing to understand. If you're still confused, or have a configuration that isn't listed above, please contact us at Customer Support and provide us with the details of your system so we can address your issue and update this document.

Thanks!