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You are here: Home > PC Specifications and Add-on Development
PC Specifications and Add-on Development
Introduction
I know some of you like to know what hardware I develop my routes on, perhaps because you're not sure what components should be used in a computer system suited to openBVE or BVE Trainsim, or partly out of curiosity, or partly so you can get an idea about what kind of system might be needed to see a similar level of performance to that which I experience. Apart from my first ever PC, I've assembled all my computer systems myself, as usually a much better computer that's suited to my needs can be built this way. Occasionally I'm asked what software I use for add-on development as well, or what techniques I use. On this page you can find out what software I use for add-on development, along with what hardware I'm developing my routes on, along with what I've developed on in the past, as well as see what kinds of add-ons I've been able to produce thanks to each new generation of hardware.
Software Used for Developing BVE/openBVE Add-ons and Media
For developing 3D models for use with openBVE and BVE, I don't use any 3D modelling software; I simply use Wordpad as bundled with Windows or Notepad++, and if necessary (less so these days), pen and paper to plan how I'm going to model something complex. I use Paint Shop Pro versions 6 and 9 for editing photos and textures, along with Irfanview for performing batch operations on images. For creating and editing route files, I use the open source Notepad++ application, and I use Batch-RegEx for performing multiple regular expression search and replace operations on route files, easing the creation of differing detail levels in routes. I now exclusively use the openBVE RouteViewer and ObjectViewer tools to assist with viewing routes and objects under development. Sounds for routes and trains are recorded on a Sony DCR-VX2000 mini-DV camcorder, and the resulting wave audio files are edited using Goldwave.
For my openBVE preview videos, I use FRAPS to capture the source video and audio (at 960x600 resolution), although on my older PC I used my graphics card's S-Video output, recorded onto a DV camcorder, then recaptured the video via an IEEE 1394 cable. I then edit and compile the final videos, along with adding effects, transitions and titles, using Ulead Media Studio Pro v6. Each video is then upscaled and saved at 1280x720 resolution using the highest quality possible via the Xvid codec, and this high quality source video is archived, and subsequently processed using VirtualDub and the LAME MP3 codec prior to being uploaded to YouTube.
For developing this website, I use Microsoft's Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition along with Notepad++ as well, and I use SharpDevelop v3.1 for recompiling openBVE, Routeviewer and ObjectViewer source code when needed.
You'll also be pleased to know that I regularly make backup copies of work-in-progress routes, and transfer frequent backups to a second internal hard drive and USB memory stick, infrequent backups to an external hard drive, and occasional backups to networked storage, to minimise the chances of losing what would amount to years of thus far unreleased work.
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Development PC--Where the Magic Happens
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My current development system is built to be fast enough to cope with anything I'm likely to be doing for quite some time. Faster hardware consumes more power, so power saving technologies are enabled as well, and the CPU isn't being overclocked so it'll have a longer life. The following openBVE add-ons are being developed on it:
- Birmingham Cross-City South v1.4
- Watford Junction to Rugby
Main Development PC Specifications
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CPU: |
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 [Yorkfield Core, 45nm, 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 12MB Cache, E0 Stepping]
-- 3DMark06 (Default Settings) - CPU Score: 4981
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Processor) - 7.3 |
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Motherboard: |
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1 BIOS ver. F12 [Northbridge: iP45 Express, Southbridge: ICH10R; Socket 775]
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RAM: |
6GB DDR2-800 [CL5-5-5-15, Dual channel]
-- SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2009 - Int Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7.14GB/s
- Float Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7.16GB/s
- Memory (Random Access) Latency: 81ns
- Memory (Linear Access) Latency: 11ns
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (RAM) - 7.3 |
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Graphics: |
BFG nVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC MAXCORE, 896MB, PCI-E 2.0(x16) [GT200b GPU, 55nm, 216 Cores]
[ForceWare 195.62 drivers; card is permanently forced to remain in Low Power 2D mode via registry entry unless extra performance is needed occasionally]
-- 3DMark06 Basic v1.0.2 (Default Settings):
- SM2.0 Score: 6468
- HDR/SM3.0 Score: 6925
-- FurMark v1.6.5 (AAx8, AFx16, 1280x1024, Time: 60000ms):
- o3Marks: 1721
- FPS (min/max/avg.): 25 / 38 / 29
-- openBVE framerates (Bilinear, fullscreen 1280x1024, AA: 16xQ, AF: 16x):
- 670fps [Cross-City South v1.31 High Detail, Redditch]
- 370fps [Cross-City South v1.31 High Detail, Barnt Green]
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Graphics) - 7.2
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openBVE works extremely well with this graphics card and these drivers, however BVE 4 seems incompatible with NVIDIA's Windows 7 drivers, therefore I no longer use BVE 4. |
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Audio: |
On-board Realtek ALC889A High Definition Audio Codec
Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers |
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Storage (Internal): |
Corsair Extreme Series X32 (CMFSSD-32D1) 32GB 2.5" SSD [SATA-II 3Gb/s, 64MB Cache, AHCI, Firmware v2.0 with TRIM]
-- ATTO Disk Benchmark - Max Read Transfer Rate: 208547 KB/s
(default settings) - Max Write Transfer Rate: 94223 KB/s
- Min Read Transfer Rate: 11392 KB/s
- Min Write Transfer Rate: 4654 KB/s
-- SiSoft Sandra Lite 2010 - Read Performance: 150 - 222 MB/s
- Random access time: 43 µs
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Hard Disk) - 7.2
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS-01G6U1 150GB 2.5" [SATA-II 3Gb/s, 10000rpm, 16MB Cache, AHCI, Firmware v04.04V02]
-- ATTO Disk Benchmark - Max Read Transfer Rate: 126028 KB/s
(default settings) - Max Write Transfer Rate: 128159 KB/s
- Min Read Transfer Rate: 11307 KB/s
- Min Write Transfer Rate: 10772 KB/s
-- SiSoft Sandra Lite 2010 - Read Performance: 74 - 121.72 MB/s
- Random access time: 6.87 ms
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Hard Disk) - 5.9
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKS-00VSA0 250GB [SATA-II 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache, AHCI, Firmware v01.01B01]
-- ATTO Disk Benchmark - Max Read Transfer Rate: 104857 KB/s
(default settings) - Max Write Transfer Rate: 103426 KB/s
- Min Read Transfer Rate: 4424 KB/s
- Min Write Transfer Rate: 5941 KB/s
-- SiSoft Sandra Lite 2010 - Read Performance: 51.79 - 101 MB/s
- Random access time: 16.25 ms
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Hard Disk) - 5.9
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Faster hard disks can help when loading high numbers of 3D objects, as with Watford Junction to Rugby.
The SSD is used to store the operating system only. In order to minimise the amount of writes to the SSD, and hence maximise the life expectency of the drive's MLC NAND flash cells, the ProgramData and Users directories are stored on the WD VelociRaptor, with NTFS directory junctions pointing to these folders on the SSD, making it appear to applications as though these folders also reside on the SSD. This gives great real-world performance, mainly due to lower access times, and leaves plenty of free space on the SSD, which is important for performance with such a storage device. Also, both the SSD and 2.5 inch WD VelociRaptor drives only consume about the same amount of power as a single conventional 7200rpm 3.5 inch hard drive, while performing much better. |
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External Storage: |
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 160GB 6Y160P0 [8MB cache, Ultra-ATA/133, via USB2.0 HDD Enclosure] |
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Optical Storage: |
LG GH22LS30 22x DVD±R Lightscribe (SATA) |
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Display: |
Samsung Syncmaster 2443BW 24" 5ms TFT/TN LCD @ 1920x1200 [Samsung panel]
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TV Card: |
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 900H Hybrid TV Stick |
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Case: |
akasa Zen Silent-Cool [Black] |
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Power Supply: |
Corsair VX550W ATX12V v2.2 [80 Plus, +3.3V: 30A, +5V: 20A, +12V: 41A]
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After having three cheap PSUs fail in recent years, I thought it was about time I fitted something decent in my main system. This PSU is capable of delivering more power than is needed, so fewer amps are actually used, and the PSU will last longer as it's not being over-stressed. |
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Operating System(s):
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Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
-- Windows Experience Index: [7.2]
- Processor: [7.3]
- Memory: [7.3]
- Graphics: [7.2]
- Gaming graphics: [7.2]
- Primary hard disk: [7.2]
Ubuntu 9.04
Windows XP Home Service Pack 3
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Previous PC Specifications (2009-Present)
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Currently a spare PC, this machine will be used occasionally for testing the performance of routes on slower hardware. This system was built on a tight budget at the start of 2009, re-using some old hardware. It was used during the develoment of the following openBVE add-ons:
- Birmingham Cross-City South v1.4
- Watford Junction to Rugby
Secondary Development PC Specifications
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CPU: |
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ @ 2.21GHz [Brisbane Rev. G2]
-- 3DMark06 (Default Settings) - CPU Score: 1688 |
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Motherboard: |
Gigabyte GA M56S-S3 [nForce 560 MCP, Socket AM2] |
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RAM: |
2GB PC2-6400 CL5-5-5-15 DDR2 SDRAM [Dual channel]
-- SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2009 - Int Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7.31GB/s
- Float Buff'd iSSE2 Memory Bandwidth: 7.29GB/s
- Memory (Random Access) Latency: 104ns
- Memory (Linear Access) Latency: 25ns |
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Graphics: |
ATi Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB DDR2 PCIe [Catalyst 9.2 drivers]
-- 3DMark06 Basic v1.0.2 (Default Settings):
- SM2.0 Score: 1063
- HDR/SM3.0 Score: 1348
-- FurMark OpenGL Benchmark v1.6.5 (AAx8, AFx16, 1280x1024, Time: 60000ms):
- o3Marks: 144
- FPS (min/max/avg.): 2 / 5 / 2
-- openBVE framerates (Bilinear, fullscreen 1280x1024, AA: 8x, AF: 16x):
- 56fps [Cross-City South v1.31 High Detail, Redditch]
- 40fps [Cross-City South v1.31 High Detail, Barnt Green]
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This card (together with the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ CPU above), is a little too slow to handle full anti-aliasing with animated objects in openBVE -- framerates are acceptable, but there is some stuttering. This card also exhibits some transparent texture edge colouration issues in BVE 4. |
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Audio: |
On-board Realtek ALC888 Audio Codec |
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Hard Disks (Internal): |
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS-00D6B1 1TB [SATA-II 3Gb/s, 5400rpm, 16MB Cache, AHCI, Firmware v01.01A01]
-- ATTO Disk Benchmark - Max Read Transfer Rate: 99420 KB/s
(default settings) - Max Write Transfer Rate: 99975 KB/s
- Min Read Transfer Rate: 6463 KB/s
- Min Write Transfer Rate: 9297 KB/s
-- SiSoft Sandra Lite 2010 - Read Performance: 49.21 - 94.42 MB/s
- Random access time: 10 ms
-- Windows 7 Experience Index (Hard Disk) - 5.9
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Optical Storage: |
Sony DVD RW DRU-510A |
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Display: |
Samsung Syncmaster 710T 17" 12ms TFT/TN LCD @ 1280x1024 |
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TV Card: |
Hauppauge WinTV PCI |
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Case: |
Generic ATX Case |
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Power Supply: |
Generic 550W ATX PSU |
Operating System(s):
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Windows XP Home Service Pack 3
Ubuntu 9.04
Windows 7 64-Bit [Build 7100] |
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Previous PC Specifications (2003-Present)
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Currently used only occasionally for testing the performance of routes on slower hardware, and for Linux testing, my previous system was stable and served me well for six years as my main PC; it was used for the develoment of the following BVE 2 and 4 add-ons:
- Birmingham Cross-City South v1.2 - 1.31
- Watford Junction to Rugby
Backup Development PC Specifications
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CPU: |
AMD Athlon XP 2400+ [Thoroughbred-B @ 2.0GHz] |
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Motherboard: |
ASUS A7V8X Gold Rev. 1.04 [VIA KT400 Northbridge, VIA VT8235 Southbridge, Socket A] |
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RAM: |
1.00GB PC2100 DDR-SDRAM [2.5-3-3-7 timings] (Originally 256MB) |
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Graphics: |
Creative nVIDIA GeForce3 Ti200 64MB [AGP 8x] (Up until 2004)
Sapphire ATi Radeon 9600XT 128MB DDR [AGP 8x] (2004-2008)
XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB DDR3 [AGP 8x] (2008-Now) |
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Audio: |
On-board Realtek ALC650 audio |
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Hard Disks (Internal): |
Maxtor 5T020H2 Diamond Max Plus Ultra ATA/100 20.4GB |
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Optical Storage: |
Creative CD-RW Drive |
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Display: |
Iiyama Vision Master 1402 17" CRT |
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Input: |
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard and Optical Mouse
CH Virtual Pilot Pro |
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TV Card: |
Hauppauge WinTV PCI |
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Case: |
Generic ATX Case |
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Power Supply: |
Generic 550W ATX PSU |
Operating System(s):
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Windows 98
Windows XP Home
Ubuntu 9.04 |
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Previous PC Specifications (2001-2003)
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This computer was a joy when first used, stable, and a significant step up from my previous 400MHz Pentium II system in terms of performance and responsiveness, but sadly it's no longer with us. The following add-ons were developed on this machine:
- Birmingham Cross-City South v1.0
- Watford Junction to Milton Keynes Central v1.1
Former Development PC Specifications
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CPU: |
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.2Ghz [266Mhz FSB] |
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Motherboard: |
EPoX EP-8K7A [AMD-761 Northbridge, VIA VT82C686B Southbridge, Socket A] |
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RAM: |
256MB PC2100 DDR-SDRAM [2.5-3-3-7 timings] |
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Graphics: |
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP 64MB (Up until 2002)
Creative nVIDIA GeForce3 Ti200 64MB [AGP 4x] (2002) |
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Audio: |
On-board VIA VT82C686B integrated sound |
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Hard Disks (Internal): |
Maxtor 5T020H2 Diamond Max Plus Ultra ATA/100 20.4GB |
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Optical Storage: |
Creative CD-RW Drive |
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Display: |
Iiyama Vision Master 1402 17" CRT @ 1152x864 |
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Input: |
Generic Keyboard and mouse
CH Virtual Pilot Pro |
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TV Card: |
Hauppauge WinTV PCI |
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Case: |
Generic ATX Case |
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Power Supply: |
Generic 300W ATX PSU |
Operating System(s):
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Windows 95
Windows 98 |
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Previous PC Specifications (1998-2001)
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The following add-ons were developed on the following system (sadly no longer with us):
- Watford Junction to Milton Keynes Central v1.0
Former Development PC Specifications
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CPU: |
Intel Pentium II 400 MHz [Deschutes core, 100Mhz FSB] |
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Motherboard: |
Supermicro P6SBA [Intel 440BX Chipset, Slot 1] |
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RAM: |
128MB PC100 SDRAM |
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Graphics: |
ATi Xpert 98 8MB [Rage Pro Turbo, AGP 2x] (Until 2000)
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP 64MB (2000) |
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Audio: |
Sound Blaster Pro 16 Clone [ISA] |
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Hard Disks (Internal): |
Various: 1.2 - 6.4GB Seagate drives |
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Optical Storage: |
Panasonic CR-585-B 24x IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM |
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Display: |
Packard Bell 14" CRT @ 1024x768 |
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Input: |
Generic keyboard and mouse
CH Virtual Pilot Pro |
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TV Card: |
Hauppauge WinTV CinemaPro [ISA] |
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Case: |
Generic ATX Case |
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Power Supply: |
Generic 250W ATX PSU |
Operating System(s):
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Windows 95
Windows 98 |
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Previous Computer Specifications (Late 80s-1998)
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Prior to starting out with BVE and the Pentium II system, my previous computer comprised an Intel Pentium 100MHz (P54C) CPU, 16MB RAM, Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM PCI and Orchid Righteous3D (3dfx Voodoo I) graphics cards; the addition of the latter seemed amazing at the time, being used to accelerate 3D graphics in the flight simulator, EF2000. Before that, my first PC (and last ever ready-built, brand name system) was a Packard Bell Executive Multimedia PC running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and MS-DOS 6.22, with an Intel 486 SX2 50Mhz CPU, 4MB RAM, 2x Matsushita-Kotobuki/Panasonic CD-ROM drive, 341MB Seagate hard disk, and on-board Cirrus Logic graphics solution. Both systems still work, although the P100 motherboard's floppy disk controller is dead. Before the PCs, came the Commodore Amiga A600 running Workbench 2.0 which introduced me to GUIs, computer based graphics design and animation, sound sampling and tracker music. My first computer was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2A, which introduced me to BASIC and simple train/flight sims.
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Content last updated: 4th March 2010 |
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