XDP 11 64 bit on a multi-core CPU

[gpholman]

Hi

I'm using XDP 11 64 bit on a PC with an i3 CPU which has 2 physical cores giving 4 effective cores via hyper threading. I did something silly (tried applying a 3d extrude to a very complicated shape) and Xara locked up - not crashed but just busy. I checked Task Manager expecting to see the Cores all maxed out but only 1 of the 4 was, so effectively the CPU was only running at 25% capacity.

Does Xara only ever use a single core then?

[mikeymopar]

Ionno if it can use more than one core but even in your case would it? It's only performing probably one task/instruction so only one core would be used. You should have looked at in task manager the ram usage. My guess is that it was maxed out. Processor speed also plays in here.

[Scotty]

Hi,
Also the amount of Memory you have installed plays a roll in the scheme of things...if you have small amount of ram this would effect
the situation (you didn't mention how much you have) 4 or less any program may struggle...
Jim

[gpholman]

Hi, I have 8GB. It's not a big deal, I was just curious how Xara works 'under the hood'. Thanks for your replies.

[haakoo]

Might be helpful

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../ee851672.aspx

Hans

[pauland]

Hans, I don't see how that's going to improve performance for a Xara App.

AFAIK Xara hasn't been re-coded to have multiple threads of execution (which is what you need to take advantage of multiple processors), so it's effectively single-threaded.

Back in the day I had a dual-processor PC when single-processor was 'normal'. It was a joy - so much more snappier in everyday use.

[haakoo]

You can assign one processor to one process(xara)
And have the rest of the processors take care of everything else

Hans

[pauland]

Yes, I understand what it does, but in reality users are unlikely to be doing much else - the OP was using only one of the cores, matching the process to one of the processors wouldn't change that.

[xtom]

Multi-core is supposed to be one of Designer Pro's exclusive features but I'm not sure how it works. Maybe it only kicks in for certain tasks.

Multi-core processors

Xara Designer Pro has always had by far the highest performing graphics rendering engine, up to ten times faster than Adobe Illustrator. V4 introduced support for multi-core processors in Xara Designer Pro making it even faster than before! Tests show approximate speed gains of 40% for a dual core processor with large screen images, and greater gains with more cores. Large full screen photos can render up to 75% faster on a dual core processor.

[pauland]

I never realised they'd done the adaptation. I'd imagine it's only for some very specific tasks.