Hi, I'm new to the forum my name is Bob, I like using inkscape to make patterns, The problem is the program is too much for my computer!
My last computer was not coping with the program at all and the computer packed in . I have another one now it was bought on ebay secondhand,
The details as follows : O.S.Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1 2600 Servis Pack 3 Build 2600
System name OEM
System Model HP Compaq DC 7700P Small Form Factor
System Type X86-Basted P.C.
Processer X86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3-Genuinintel ~3391MHz
Bios Version /Date H.P. 786EI v 02.10, 13/04/2007
SM BIOS Version 2.4
Total Physical memory 4,097.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.57 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 5.33
So the question is which version is best for my computer?
P.S I don't know how to find out what my Graphics card is
I hope you can help me out, Thanking you Bob

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

You'll be able to do simple work on small files with that computer. You'll want to use this version: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/inksca ... -win32.exe.

Also, I might add, that imo, buying a computer isn't like buying a car. I know a lot of people who never buy a new car, and they get along just fine with 2 year old cars. They'll buy a 2 year old car, drive it for 2 years, and then get another. But computers are very different. Most of the time, imo, using a 2 year old computer isn't worth the time spent searching for a good deal. And your computer is much older than 2 years....probably....gosh..... Well I have an old XP machine, but I can't even remember when I bought it. I want to say 10 to 12 years ago, does that sound right? Does MS even support XP anymore?

You'll be able to use Inkscape on that computer, but probably not on files larger than 1 or 2 mb.

Hi Brynn, Thank you for your reply I appreciate it, Could you sugest which type of computer would be best to
get ie what spec?, Baring in mind I don't have a lot of dosh lol, I see now and again in the Aldi store near me
they get some decent tower systems in now and then costing about £300, My wife bought one and is happy
with it, So your thoughts on that please, Thanking you again, Bob

With Inkscape, it's the RAM that matters. The more RAM the better. From what I can tell, you have a little under 2 gb, on the "new" machine. I would call that a minimum system requirement. Although for the life of me, I've never found any system requirements published for Inkscape!! But my experience is that's a fair minimum. Of course Inkscape will work with less. But the lower you go, the slower Inkscape will work.

If you don't plan to work on large images (over 1 or 2 mb) you'll probablly be fine with that computer, for awhile. And in the next major version release (0.49) we'll have a new renderer which may help you to get by with 2 gb RAM. It will address many performance issues that we see....well, all the time

I'm not very well versed about computer hardware. But it doesn't seem to matter much what kind of graphics card you have (surprisingly to me). It's really the RAM first, operating system 2nd, and processor 3rd, that's my impression of what Inkscape needs. Although note again that I'm no pro

Maybe you could use that computer for awhile, and see how it goes? I'm not sure what you mean by "patterns". In some ways that I think of a pattern, you could get into trouble pretty quick with Inkscape's performance. But in other ways, maybe it won't matter much?

If you do go for a new computer, I'd say look for at least 4 gb RAM these days, and multiple processors wouldn't hurt. Also, a more current operating system. Windows 8 just came out, so you....well, I was going to say that you probably won't find a used one, but who knows, I guess. I have Windows 7 and it still seems new to me, so I'm happy with it. I'm hoping to hold out until Win9 (or whatever they might call it) before I upgrade again. Anyway, the next older is Windows Vista, which may still be supported by MS, I'm not sure about that, just guessing.

Until you decide what to do, here is a topic with tips on avoiding performance issues. If you find Inkscape takes a long time to do what you ask, these might help you get by. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12160

With graphics, any half decent video card will do with at least 128Mb memory. As long as it's not an onboard graphics card, which uses RAM from the PC and is dead slow.

Brynn, Thank you for your reply, I like to make scroll saw patterns on a forum I'm on, The patterns I do are silhouettes so they can
be cut out, I make them free for anybody to use them on the forum, Brynn I will have to save some penny's so next time I'll get a
huge computer with a lot of everything lol , So thank you again, Bob

Thank you also Chriswww, For your advice, I will make note of,
Bob

I'm fairly certain in fact that inkscape doesn't use any graphics intensive features like OpenGL or DirectX. The inkscape/svg filters are pretty basic as far as any basic video card goes. But I will be shortly replacing the graphics card that came with my PC, which is a bottom end graphics card with 512Mb. It just doesn't cut it for first person shooter games when the frame display rate makes a difference between fragging someone or getting fragged before you can see what's going on. Going for a Asus GTX650Ti with 1Gb. Apparently way faster than my current card.