Getting "not responding" frequently now that I have higher channel counts

[danj]

I think this might be a PC problem, but I figured I would post anyway and see what ya'll think or might advise.  I am setting up effects for a megatree that is 20 strings x 90 RGBs per string.  I manually setup XL/NC such that each string is a "separate" universe==string 1 is universe string 2 is universe 2, etc.  When I save the xseq file, I get a fairly long file save process (on the order of a minutes) where the PC tells me it is "not responding".  Am I perhaps causing myself problems setting up the tree with 20 universes?   If so, I can change it such that XL/NC does its normal job of auto-assigning the channels' IDs for me.  I am guessing that my PC might be the main problem here as it is about 4 years old and is equipped with 4 GB of RAM onboard.  The PC is running an intel i3 processor running at 2.53 GHz.  BTW I could install another 4 GB of RAM if anyone thinks that would make a difference and would be worth spending some $$ on an older PC (a laptop).   Thanks in advance!!

[sean]

my setup is 48 universes.
it takes a few minutes to save, maybe up to 4-5. this is when it fully renders everything. My megatree takes longer to render each row than my singlestrand eaves.

xlights only uses a single processor and it uses only a few hundred megabytes

how many models do you have?
my megatree is 20x120

did it finish writing the xseq? Can you watch it while it is running? Do a Ctl-Alt-Del and run the Task Manager. look at the cpu% and memory column. what else is running on your machine?

[danj]

Ok.  I checked--normal CPU usage is 1-3% and when the XL/NC xseq file is being saved CPU usage goes up to about about 30%.  Right now I am only modeling a single megatree--20x90 as noted in my first post.
Thanks so much for input.  XL/NC saves the file no problem. 

I guess all is well; sounds like my PC is about where it should be.   thanks Sean!

[sean]

I have never seen the not responding message when I save my 24,4000 channel show. I only imagine it must be something in your environment

[danj]

Sean-I think I was simply being impatient.  Now I am opening up task manager every time when I save the file, watch for the CPU usage to drop, then I start working with the file again.  I think I was just not giving it enough time to save...  thanks for the help.