Xara Xtreme Pro 5 Laggy

[selbi]

Hi

I've been using Xara through its many versions since the 90's - I've always been very impressed with the speed....but..

Since I've moved to Windows 7 64bit (Ultimate) I've found that the normal speed/responsiveness isn't the same. There is a stop/start - laggy effect when dragging stuff, scrolling, resizing, etc. I'm pretty sure I've also seen this (but less obvious) on a Windows Vista 32bit PC.

I have an i7 820 processor but I used to have a Core2Duo and the problem was visible on both (though possibly less on the Core2Duo). With XP I don't recall any such problem.

It does affect the use of the software as accurate positioning of items becomes harder.

I've just tested Xara Web Designer (I also own that) and it doesn't have the problem.

Please help!

CHEERS

Selbi

[Xhris]

Yes this one's a real pain and there've been many threads about it since multicore support was released in version 4. It seems to be caused by the way multicore-supporting versions of Xtreme deal with multiple cores--in particular for virtual cores in hyperthread-able CPUs. The only workaround I've come across is to change a registry switch to tell Xtreme to only use as many cores as there are real cores available on your CPU. Unfortunately this doesn't make Xtreme use all real cores and uses less than the full amount as a consequence. This is unavoidable but it fixed the "stuttering" as it's unofficially known. I wouldn't recommend messing in the system registry if you don't know what you're doing, as you can destroy your PC, but the key is located at:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xara\XtremePro\5.1\Opti ons\Rendering and set "MaximumThreads" to the appropriate value. I have a quad-core CPU with hyperthreading enabled giving me 8 effective cores (4 real, 4 virtual). I changed the default value (which I think was 32) to 4, which represents the number of real cores I have. Xara now only seems to use about 6 of the cores and it's not clear whether all real cores are used and which aren't. I also can't max out the CPU power on any one core now either as Xtreme is capped. It's still blazingly fast though and still faster than a single core version (e.g. Web Designer--which doesn't suffer from this), and there's no stuttering. So this is a good fix in the short term.

I'm hoping the next version of Xtreme will have this fixed properly. It's a bit annoying not being able to use all your CPU power.

[selbi]

Hey Xhris

Great - it worked. No more stuttering! (I set it to 4) So much better now.

They really need to fix that as multicores are very much becoming standard.

CHEERS

Selbi

[dazzyweb]

Hi, I am running xtreme on windows 64 bit and i am having the same problem and i changed the registry switch which worked fine.

Just one question. Will this affect the performance of my machine or any other running programs or will it just affect the xara xtreme program?

You mention that all cpu power can't be used after. Do you just mean as far as when using xara?

[Soquili]

Hi Dazzyweb,

Welcome to Talkgraphics.

The registry change only affects Xtreme and how it works with the processor.

[LEC]

This is a great thread for dealing with the slowdown. I, too, am beginning to have the 'laggy' response. I have a new computer, Windows 7, dual core processor (T4400), 4G ram. Should I try setting the registry from the default to a '2'? As a note, my project is a map, and it's getting slower as I add more detail. Does the addition of layers slow the program down?

Thank you.

[LEC]

One more data point, right now the file size is 800 KB, and I'm using Xtreme 5.1, not the Pro version.

[jimhanus]

Can this also be used in XX5 non pro, or only XX5Pro? I don't see a MaximimThreads value for XX5 in the registry. Can the value be added, and will it have any effect?

Jim

[Luke.Hart]

The 'standard' version of Xtreme doesn't offer multi-core rendering, so the registry entry shouldn't exist and won't make any difference.

Luke

[LEC]

I asked the question below over the weekend:

"This is a great thread for dealing with the slowdown. I, too, am beginning to have the 'laggy' response. I have a new computer, Windows 7, dual core processor (T4400), 4G ram. Should I try setting the registry from the default to a '2'? As a note, my project is a map, and it's getting slower as I add more detail. Does the addition of layers slow the program down?"

I am using Xtreme, not Xtreme Pro. I did get an answer today that, for standard Xtreme, the threading and registry change are not relevant.

SO, any other suggestions for why the program is slowing down? When I work, I only have Xara open, so no other programs are competing for memory, and I'm not connected to the internet. More specifically, the slowdowns tend to be worse when I'm moving objects, and when I want to lock and unlock, or hide or 'un-hide' layers. I have to wait 15? seconds for the program to respond.

Any suggestions are appreciated!