Performance Shootout: Microsoft’s XP, Vista, and Windows 7
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes at ZDNet did a performance test pitting the different Microsoft operating system against each other. He wanted to see how the different Windows 7 builds would compare to Vista and XP. This unofficial performance competition was done knowing that Microsoft’s latest OS is still in beta, but the author thought it would be a good clue to how Windows 7 is progressing and maybe even how it will eventually fare against the older operating systems. Check out if Windows 7 can beat Vista and XP!
Here are the main details of what was tested:
The experiment tested the following five operating systems:
- Windows XP SP3 32-bit
- Windows Vista SP1 32-bit
- Windows 7 beta 1 build 7000 32-bit
- Windows 7 beta 1 build 7000 64-bit
- Windows 7 build 7048 64-bit
There are 31 real world scenario tests. Here are some examples:
- Installing the operating system
- Booting up and shutting down
- Moving 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another
- Opening a complex Excel document including formula and charts
- And even tests running video games like Call of Duty
Each test was done on two separate desktop systems:
- An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system fitted with an ATI Radeon 3850 and 4GB of RAM
- An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz fitted with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS and 1GB of RAM
The result of each test is scored with a simple point system:
- 1 point for the fastest OS
- 2 points for second place
- 3 points for third
- 4 for forth
- 5 points for last place
Are you brimming with anticipation to know what he found? Here are the results:
- Windows 7 is, overall, better than both Vista and XP.
- As Windows 7 progresses, it’s getting better (or at least the 64-bit editions are).
- On a higher-spec system, 64-bit is best.
- On a lower-spec system, 32-bit is best.
I think it the analysis itself is super interesting and the results exciting! I can’t wait to see Adrian’s next version done with an actual Windows 7 release candidate.
You can see a full list of 31 tests, charts detailing the results of each test, and more about the experiment on Adrian Kingsley-Hughes’s blog.
Related Posts:
- Downgradable Windows 7 — Downgrade Not Just to Vista, But XP Too
- Why I hate Vista and can’t wait to start using Windows 7
- Why Skipping Vista & Going Straight from XP to 7 is the Best Option – For Some of Us
- Windows 7 Exams are on the Way – Is a Vista Certification Still Worth it?
- Server 2008: How to Setup a Remote Desktop on Windows Vista
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