Thread/Priority settings effect how Agent Ransack uses the CPU.
Concurrent threads
By default Agent Ransack searches or indexes files using a single thread for each CPU core, which is usually the most efficient configuration. However, it is possible to specify a different number of search threads by choose 'Custom' and specifying the maximum thread count.
Warning: If a machine has a single slow hard drive increasing the number of search threads may slow Agent Ransack down since the concurrent searches could cause the hard drive to continually seek between the different file disc sector locations. More often than not file searching is I/O bound rather than processor bound.
Process priority
Agent Ransack can be instructed to change its process priority depending upon the current state of the application:
•Foreground - the application has current user input focus.
•Background - the application does not have current user input focus but has not been minimized.
•Minimized - the application has been minimized.
By default the priority for all states is 'Normal', which is the standard setting for Windows applications. The alternative priorities are:
•High - the application process is given a higher priority than Normal processes but the priority is still below processes with real-time priorities.
•Low - the application process is given a lower priority than Normal processes but still receives a reliable time-slice from the CPU.