05-21-2007, 10:01 PM

Hi Everyone,
I'm using a new G5 at work for variable data processing. I use the xmpie udirect plugin with Indesign CS2. The new machine is a dual processor dual core 2.6 xeon machine with 4GB of ram.

The concern is that when I'm processing the file, the activity monitor only shows that 25% of the processor power is in use. I'm assuming that it's only using one core of one processor at a time.

I searched online about multi-threading support with Indesign and the xmpie udirect plugin, but cannot find any sort of explanation or solution. My only "guess" would be that the plugin isn't coded to make use of the extra processing power?

Is there any way that I can "force" all of the processing power to be used when I'm creating the files from Indesign?

Please post any advice, Thanks!

P.S. I'm not 100% which build of osX that it's using, but it just shipped so probably the latest.

05-21-2007, 10:30 PM

Wait, is this a G5 or a Xeon? The two are mutually exclusive and it can NOT be both. The G5 was a PPC chip, the Xeon is an Intel chip.

As for the issue, not all Apps will take advantage of the multi-core chips. Further, CS2 is running under emulation (Rosetta) if you are using an Intel Mac as it was designed for the PPC chip. Therefore you will not get as much speed as you will if you upgrade to CS3, which will work on both PPC and Intel Macs natively.

In short, the answer is no. To get better performance upgrade to CS3.

05-21-2007, 10:56 PM

Originally Posted by baggss

Wait, is this a G5 or a Xeon? The two are mutually exclusive and it can NOT be both. The G5 was a PPC chip, the Xeon is an Intel chip.

As for the issue, not all Apps will take advantage of the multi-core chips. Further, CS2 is running under emulation (Rosetta) if you are using an Intel Mac as it was designed for the PPC chip. Therefore you will not get as much speed as you will if you upgrade to CS3, which will work on both PPC and Intel Macs natively.

In short, the answer is no. To get better performance upgrade to CS3.

Thanks for the reply I guess I was generalizing calling it a "G5" based on my limited experience with MACs. I know that they are xeon processors, so then it's not a G5.

That's unfortunate since the people who made the buying decision thought that this new machine was going to be a real powerhouse for processing the variable data. I'll have to look into the CS3 advantage gains and read up on the emulation aspect (interesting btw, I had no idea that's how the intel based MACs worked). Thanks again for the info!

05-22-2007, 12:29 PM

As baggss stated you are using CS2 which is running under emulation (Rosetta). You will need to purchase CS3 to take more advantage of your system capablities.

05-22-2007, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by nn73

(interesting btw, I had no idea that's how the intel based MACs worked). Thanks again for the info!

They don't work that way for everything. Once an App has gone "Universal" it can run natively on and Intel or PPC box. The OS itself is native and will work on both machines, as are probably 95% of the Apps out there. Adobe CS and MS Office are the 2 last big ones to switch to Universal. CS3 is now Universal and Office 2008 will be as well.

05-22-2007, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by baggss

They don't work that way for everything. Once an App has gone "Universal" it can run natively on and Intel or PPC box. The OS itself is native and will work on both machines, as are probably 95% of the Apps out there. Adobe CS and MS Office are the 2 last big ones to switch to Universal. CS3 is now Universal and Office 2008 will be as well.

Again, Thanks for the info! I've passed the word onto my supervisor and the boss, so most likely they'll be getting the upgrade to CS3 for Indesign.