sticks i tested
there have been loads of hits and interest for OpenSim on a stick and it is a pretty neat tool
it’s a great way to prototype and build. considering the ease in using OAR files, it may become a preferred building method for me!
since it does not need an internet connection or any port configuration, it’s ideal for use while flying (oh yeah, that’s me – Ener the jetsetter), on road trips (more likely – Ener on the bus!), at lunch in the park dreaming of poutine (stoopid Montreal mayor outlawed poutine carts, what a butt munch), or any number of other circumstances
okay, so it is Enereasy to install on XP, Vista 32 and 64-bit, and windows 7 (still no test Mac) and that includes the Imprudence viewer but what about performance?
it runs well for me with crazy high frame rates (50-60 fps) but i neglected to factor something else that you can have very easy control over – the stick itself!
all new sticks are USB 2.0, but none of them can operate as fast as that standard and there is quite a range in read and write speeds among different brands. the theoretical rate is 480 Mbit/s (60 mb/s) and in reality no bridges can handle more that 180 mb/s
who would of thunk it? derr on me, speed varies on USB drives
well of course they do! but i never had reason to think about that till now
you can test your current sticks and read speed reviews about new ones. to test the speed of my sticks, i used HD Speed. i could not get that free program to work on my vista 64-bit but it did work on my XP, which is what i use for OpenSim
i tested a PNY 4 gig and had read rates of 21+ mb/s and the sony 8 gig that i have OpenSim on and had read rates of 19+ mb/s. i looked online for a reasonably priced and fast USB drive to install OpenSim on for a friend (lol, a friend that says i should sell USB sticks with OpenSim pre-installed! hmm . . . ). the stick does not have to be very big, mine with 4 loaded sims and Imprudence is under 500 mb, so 4 gig is way more than enough
Corsair seems to always be the fastest (read rates higher than 30 mb/s) but are also pricey and bigger than 4 gig (i also read that new Corsair’s are not as fast as last year’s because they went to a slower chip). here is the conclusion of a really (really) long test on several drives: Roundup of USB Flash Drives
so what does all this speed stuff mean?
i suppose it affects how well your sim on a stick ultimately runs. however, in the shots below, OpenSim ran between 45-60 frames per second and averaged about 54 fps! and that is on ultra graphics, 512 draw distance, and 4x anti-alias!
you’ll see how read speed slows down as more things get rolling (i did not do a write test because it wipes the stick clean)
the stick starts out at a moderate read rate of 19+ mb/s, then goes down as more things get started. MoWes Apache and SQL start first, then OpenSim.exe, then Imprudence, then in-world rezzing. at some points the read rate hits zero as OpenSim is loading and then stays under 2 mb/s when all is loaded
i will load this on a faster stick (once i figure which one is a reasonable balance of size, cost, and speed) and do these tests again
i also think i would like to try this on an SD card – my laptop has two 4 gig cards as “readyboost” RAM and i don’t see why OpenSim could not run on one of them =)
base was 19 mb/s - then MoWeS server starts, followed by OpenSim.exe
sims are up, now content loads - read drops down more
objects and scripts are loading into the sims (very low read rates)
sims fully loaded, note low average read rate (2.2 mb/s)
start Imprudence (read < 2 mb/s)
Ruth inworld rezzing and duping boxes (read << 2 mb/s)
shut it all down, stick returns to higher rates
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Maria Korolov and Ener Hax, david miller. david miller said: RT @iliveisl: w00t! new post (way techy for me, my head hurts) – the need for speed – USB OpenSim http://bit.ly/bNcMNO [...]
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11 Oct 10 at 11:36 pm
The tech seems to have attracted its own hashtag too, viz #simstick. Still haven’t seen a Mac version though and I guess you need to factor in the fact that USB sticks have a finite life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_stick .
Graham Mills
12 Oct 10 at 1:18 am
Great information, Ener. Ya, like Hard Drives, not all USB sticks are created equal in terms of data read/write speeds. I’ve also been experimenting with different ones in my collection, and data transfer rates can vary widely.
My friends in the overcloker community (yes, I am one of those geeks who overclocks their CPU/RAM/GPU) have done a lot of speed testing on USB sticks, and they really like this one: the Corsair Voyager GTR.
I bought one a couple days ago and it’s outstanding. I use it now as my primary Opensim-on-a-stick device. It’s blazing fast, and super rugged too. Love it.
Pathfinder Lester
12 Oct 10 at 1:38 am
Awesome thxz!! u are a genious! A bit too much techie for me but i have to dig through this. i really want my own sim on a stick =)
Mera Kranfel
12 Oct 10 at 2:03 am
it’s also too techie for me Mera! =) but i guess that is how you learn (i’ll forget most of this in a week!) =D
i saw that one Pathfinder and also saw a review on Amazon stating that the new ones are not as fast (ie, in the last few months). it was specific to the GTR and that the manufacturer stated they changed chips in it. the 32 gig is really big for this and carries a hefty price tag. not that it is crazy expensive and if it will be used heavily is worth it. i saw many reviews talking about it getting accidentally washed and one where it was showered with (why are people taking showers with their clothes on? darn puritans) =p
Corsair would be my first choice if budget was not an issue (i think in terms of people looking for a $10 a sim solution). i am leaning toward the Super Talent DH as indicated here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/4gb-usbflash-roundup_17.html
good point Graham, there are a finite number of write cycles but it is a lot and you can copy your OpenSim folders as backups. a straight copy of the install will fire right up. i thought that was pretty cool. flash drives also benefit from defragging, even though most people don’t think so (i like defraggler)
Ener Hax
12 Oct 10 at 8:11 am
Yeah, 32 gig is pretty huge. But I also use the key for storing many videos and lots of music. That’s how I justified springing the dough for it, at least. ;)
Pathfinder Lester
12 Oct 10 at 10:59 am
just downloaded HD_speed and have a virus lol
Jor3l
12 Oct 10 at 2:32 pm
oh no! i downloaded to my stick and “seemed” to be fine, i better check, thanks for the notice! sheesh!
Ener Hax
12 Oct 10 at 4:16 pm
[...] so i did that speed test like the other night on it and it did better than the little PNY one that i have been using. the PNY is about 21 mb/s [...]
more OpenSim on a stick stuff at i live in science land
21 Oct 10 at 10:07 pm
[...] the need for speed – USB OpenSim – october 11th general info on speed testing and graphs showing launching OpenSim on a USB [...]
sim-on-a-stick posts at i live in science land
10 Jan 11 at 7:21 am