Xara X System Requirements

[Taz]

What are the system requirements of Xara X? Will it run okay on my old 586?
My computer's specs are as follows:
586 133 MHz computer (almost equivalent to a Pentium 90),
32 Mb RAM,
1.2 Gb primary hard drive,
513 Mb second hard drive which holds virtual memory (Windows swap file) and Temporary Internet Files (Internet Explorer cache),
1 Mb video card,
14 inch monitor with maximum resolution of 800 x 600 in 256 colors,
Windows 95B.

[Taz]

What are the system requirements of Xara X? Will it run okay on my old 586?
My computer's specs are as follows:
586 133 MHz computer (almost equivalent to a Pentium 90),
32 Mb RAM,
1.2 Gb primary hard drive,
513 Mb second hard drive which holds virtual memory (Windows swap file) and Temporary Internet Files (Internet Explorer cache),
1 Mb video card,
14 inch monitor with maximum resolution of 800 x 600 in 256 colors,
Windows 95B.

[Ross Macintosh]

Taz - on the Xara.Com website they posted the following minimum requirements:
- Windows 95/98/2000/NT4.0
- Intel compatible 486 or better
- 12 MB RAM
- 20 MB available hard disk space
- Minimum screen resolution of 640x480

You should note that in some of the other threads users of the beta are finding screen redraws/scrolling excessively slow - particularly when the "feathering" feature has been applied.

If you install the beta I hope you'll report back to the forum how it performs. (There are a lot of older computers out there that could have new life as Xara X powered graphics workstations!)

Regards, Ross Macintosh

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[Taz]

Hi Ross

I certainly will report back to the list when I try it out. I might wait till the final version is released, though, as I don't like testing beta software on my computer.

The system requirements for XaraX sound fine for my computer, so I'll be interested to see how it performs. As you say, it could be a boon if it works well on older computers like mine. Most of the graphics programs of today are designed for at least Pentium 120s and above with 64 Mb RAM, which leaves those of us with older computers out in the cold.

I own CorelDRAW 7 which runs fine on my computer, but it is slow and crashes now and then - but isn't that the way with Corel?! Good old Mister unreliability!! I also own Fireworks 1 which runs reasonably well on my 586, but when I tried out Fireworks 2 it ran but was very slow and if I edited fairly complex graphics I commonly got 'out of memory' errors when I tried to save.

If screen redraws/scrolling are excessively slow with XaraX - particularly when the "feathering" feature has been applied - it could be a hassle on my computer. But hey, I'm used to slow processing on my 586! You just have to be patient on a 586 and not rush it. Hopefully by the final version they may have fixed the problem.

Cheers

Taz

[This message was edited by Taz on October 12, 2000 at 01:52 AM.]

[jclements]

Taz, I'm like you about testing beta software ... very apprehensive. HOWEVER, Xara X does not really mess with your registry. I believe the only thing it does is register the Xara font and extension. THAT's it.

SEAN, I am I correct?

[Sean Sedwards]

Speed and a light use of resources are two of Xara's core features, so I'm sure these issues will be resolved. My guess is that Xara Ltd have had to re-write more code than they hoped, explaining the long delay, in order to incorporate the new features and make future development easier. It's possible that some of that code is not yet fully honed or that they have deliberately restricted the beta.

The registry is an integral part of modern application programs, not just to store user settings and file associations, but also to register the modules within a program (COM objects). Xara makes full use of the registry, however it doesn't interfere with other programs' entries and doesn't change any Windows components. Installing and uninstalling it should not affect other parts of your system.

Regards - Sean