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OK, I just ordered xara x, I believe its worth it, after nearly 2 weeks of use Ive learned many things, but I currently am running on a
PII 300mhz 96mbs of memory, with a Gefore2, Ok Im thinking, yes you need an upgrade. So what is a good place to start out on the memory and CPU speed? Im a teenager, so I dont have money bags to spend. BUt I would want some recomendations to run this program smoothly, and dont recomend a namebrand computer (Dell Compaq etc.) THANKS!
OK, I just ordered xara x, I believe its worth it, after nearly 2 weeks of use Ive learned many things, but I currently am running on a
PII 300mhz 96mbs of memory, with a Gefore2, Ok Im thinking, yes you need an upgrade. So what is a good place to start out on the memory and CPU speed? Im a teenager, so I dont have money bags to spend. BUt I would want some recomendations to run this program smoothly, and dont recomend a namebrand computer (Dell Compaq etc.) THANKS!
Hi Inabottle,
I started using XaraX on a P1 75MHz with 64MB RAM. XaraX will run well on almost any PC. If you want to upgrade, I would recommend upgrading the RAM on your current PC. The cost of 256MB is relatively low, so that is what I would recommend. If your current hard drive doesn't have enough space for 384MB paging file, you should also either free up some space, or upgrade your hard drive as well. Windows runs best when the paging file is 1.5 to 2.5 times the amount of RAM you have installed.
If you have a second hard drive you will get some improvement in operation by having your paging file located on the second drive.
Soquili
when I'm on the road I'm running Xara X on my young laptop, a 300 MHz P II with 192 megs RAM and a 6 GB hard drive (only 2 gigs free for 'stuff').
It's running smooth like silk on that machine, except for complex brushes.
If I wouldn't have my CAD monsters, I think I'd still run XX on the laptop ;-}
jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de
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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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Soquili said<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Windows runs best when the paging file is 1.5 to 2.5 times the amount of RAM you have installed. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
What's a paging file?
Judi
Hi Judi,
The paging file is also known as the swap file, or virtual memory. Windows uses it to swap information from RAM to the hard drive and vice versa.
Which version of windows are you using? I can tell you how to find the current paging size and how to change it, by knowing which version.
Soquili
I'm using Win 98SE still, I have 256m ram.
Judi
what is the best version of windows to use... Im using 2k now... but Im thinking going back to 98 or ME, dunno about XP, but how much memory?
Hi Judi,
On Win98SE, open the Control Panel. Double click on the System icon. Click the Performance tab, then click the Virtual Memory button. You will probably see that your system is setup to have Windows manage your virtual memory. This setting is good for most users, but when windows decides to make changes it will cause any applications running to become very slow during the change.
You can click on the Let me specify my own virtual memory settings. Then, in the minimum box enter 384000; in the maximum box enter 640000. This represents 1.5 and 2.5 times 256MB of RAM. If your free space on your hard drive is not large enough for 384MB or 640MB, it would be best to leave the Let Windows manage the virtual memory selected.
Almost forgot, to see the current paging file size: Open System Information in the System Tools. This is located in your Programs menu under Accessories.
Inabottle - Win2K is the best version of Windows, in my opinion. WinXP is also good, but I haven't seen any reason to upgrade to it. When Windows 2003 Professional comes out later this year, I may upgrade to it. For RAM on Win2K, I recommend a minimum of 256MB. On my Win2K system with 256MB RAM, Windows, Norton Antivirus, etc. takes most of the RAM, leaving about 84MB available for other applications.
Soquili
[This message was edited by Soquili on May 27, 2003 at 17:07.]
I agree with Soquili on the RAM upgrade. Find out how much your motherboard will accept and stuff it full. If your have a PII, more than likely it will only support 768megs of RAM (3 slots with 256megs each). You may need to check speed and other factors to make sure it will work in your system. Kingston and Crucial both have memory configuration apps on thier websites. www.kingston.com and www.crucial.com.
A new faster Hard drive will run but will still be slow because the motherboard has old controllers on it. You can get an add-in IDE controller for about $35 that will then allow the new 7200 RPM ATA 100 drives to run at top speed. They do make a big difference and you can always move them to a newer machine later. W2K Pro will be all you need.
Welcome to the wonderful world of XaraX.
+++"Nothing except a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won."+++
The Duke of Wellington
Thanks, I will start saving up my allowance, thanks for the tidbits, and they will be put to good use you can be assured. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif and yes, I am proud to be apart of the XARA WORLD!
I agree with Soquili and Grant. I would get as much RAM on board as you can and then follow Soquili's advice and set your paging file as instructed, it really does make a differance. I know, I did it a while back and it makes a difference on my super duper machine that I built myself!!
BTW, Kingston rules in the RAM dept. It's all I use. If I can't get it at Fry's then I go to a wonderful on line resource called Newegg.com: Newegg.com - Kingston memory page and be patient, the page is infomation intensive, so it will take a couple of minutes to load up!! Also, stay away from anything that says DDR, more than likely you have a machine that only takes SDRAM memory sticks!!
My next suggestion would be to look into building your own computer from scratch. It's about 1/2 the cost of one of those computers from Dell or Gateway and we're talkin about the top of the line guts to put in, not the cheap crap that most of the pre made comuputers come with. I ran 2 Gateways and a Compaq and then built my own and let me tell ya, what HUGE difference!! http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
Good luck and have fun!! http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
Richard http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
---Wolff On The Prowl---
http://www.ramwolffsworld.com/
There's quite a bit of comment on the 'Net to the effect that Windows 98 and earlier releases handle memory so badly that performance may actually go DOWN with more than 256MB of RAM.
This may be dependent on the app you are running, (and Xara X may be one of the good ones), but it's worth bearing in mind.
BTW, if it's any consolation, I installed XX on my new "graphics+games" machine, an Athlon 2200+XP with 1GB of RAM and 2x80GB disks (striped). Heavy use of brushes will bring even this machine to it's knees, so Xara is very fair when it comes to hardware ;-)
Mind you, this machine runs XP, I have just read an article claiming XP has a known memory-management bug that will degrade performance for "applications using large amounts of memeory intensively", so maybe XP has it's own issues in this area.
Soquili
Your comments are most helpful (and thanx for the cream comment above). Were you suggesting Win2kPro or is the Home edition as good? It may no longer be available but that's something else.
Recently, I've had so much trouble with 98SE, which reinstalls failed to cure, that I felt I had to upgrade. Before I took the plunge, I cleared out the registry of stuff I didn't know was still there which seems to have helped enormously. I used "jv16 power tools" which is donorware from www.jv16.org.
Jon
Hi Jon,
I don't recall a Win2K home edition, although I do recall that some people called WinME the Win2K home edition when it first came out. WinME is actually more like Win98 third edition.
Cleaning out the Registry can help tremendously. I use a combination of the RegClean utility from Microsoft and Norton's registry cleaner. I'll try the program you mentioned. Microsoft should have their Add/Remove software do a better job of cleaning the registry when software is uninstalled.
Soquili
Soquili
According to M$ (see below), I would need 2Gb hard space spare to run Win2kPro. Is that right?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000...qs/default.asp
Jon
Hi Jon,
You would need at least 640MB free space on a 2GB hard drive to install Win2K Pro. I'm not positive as to why they specify a 2GB hard drive; I assume it's because IDE drives manufactured before the 2GB were much slower in their read and write ability. I've never installed Win2K Pro on any drive smaller than 4GB.
Soquili
Soquili
Thanx, I'm talking about spare space, though, which is what I thought M$ had in mind! As I have 1.1Gb spare on the C: drive, but 2Gb nowhere, that's why I was worried. Probbably my best plan is to replace the C: drive with something much larger and then mirror what I have on to a folder on the new C:. Actually, clearing over 80 registry items really does seem to have helped and I found that my IT colleagues use "jv16". Thanx
Jon
Go to Control Panel/System/Performance/Virtual Memory and choose "Select my own virtual memory" and set it to zero. That's right, to ZERO!
Restart your computer.
Use the Windows defrag utility and defrag your hard drive and any partitions completely.
Go back into Control Panel/System/Performance/Virtual Memory and reset it to the desired size, 1.5 to 2.5 the size of your memory.
This will push the Swap file to the end of your hard drive instead of the start of it. I swear it makes the hard drive operate more efficiently in relation to using the swap file. Defragging also helps to make searching the hard drive faster.
I agree that boosting the RAM is the best thing you can do to upgrade on a budget. RAM is dirt cheap now and you will notice a big difference with very little money invested.
http://talkgraphics.infopop.net/1/Op...&ul=1101906325
Why, I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, sir, because I’m not myself, you know...
- Lewis Carroll
Also, If you set the maxiumum and minumum size of the paging file to the same value (e.g. max and
min both 512MB, or max and min both 1GB) this will avoid Windows fragmenting the page file as it expands+contracts.
Regards: Vole