10/25/09

Windows 7 Performance Tests

Windows 7 Performance Tests

Windows 7 is efficient enough to run even on netbooks with puny processors, but it’s only marginally faster than Vista, according to PC World Test Center tests.

Nick Mediati, PC World

Oct 19, 2009 11:00 pm

Windows 7 Performance

Windows 7 Performance

See how the new OS fared against Vista on boot time, battery life, and benchmark performance.

Windows Vista never was particularly speedy in most people's eyes. Whether it deserved the reputation or not, the word on the street was that Vista was both slow and bloated.

Given that, it's no wonder that improving performance was one of Microsoft's design goals with Windows 7. Many reviewers have said that the new operating system feels faster than Vista. In our extensive PC World Test Center evaluations comparing the two, we found an increase in speed, though the overall improvement wasn't dramatic.

We installed Windows 7 on five computers (two desktop systems, two laptop PCs, and a netbook), and put the systems through our WorldBench 6 benchmark suite, which consists of a number of tests that assess a machine's performance in popular, real-world applications. We also ran timed tests to measure how the two OSs affected boot-up and shutdown times, laptop battery life, and launch times for several common apps. (For more information, see "Windows 7: How We Test.")

The verdict? Windows 7 makes some performance strides over Vista, though in some cases we saw no clear-cut winner, and in one area Windows 7 lagged considerably behind its predecessor.

For more of PCW's Windows 7 coverage, read our in-depth Windows 7 review and check out our guide to Windows 7 upgrades.

WorldBench 6 Test Results

Overall, Windows 7's performance improvement over Windows Vista is slight--but the important thing is that there is an improvement at all. For a breakdown of some of the performance scores, see the chart below.

On our E&C Black Mamba desktop (with a 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor, overclocked to 3.8GHz), Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit earned a WorldBench 6 mark of 144, edging out Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, which scored 139. Here Windows 7 was roughly 3.6 percent faster than Windows Vista.

When comparing the two versions of Windows on the HP Pavilion a6710t desktop (with a 2.6GHz Pentium Dual Core E5300 CPU), we tested both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows 7 Ultimate. Running the 32-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7, the a6710t saw its WorldBench 6 score increase only a little, from 104 on the former to 106 on the latter. But on our WorldBench 6 tests comparing the 64-bit versions, it enjoyed a somewhat larger boost with Windows 7, going from a score of 96 on Vista to a mark of 103.

We saw similar incremental performance improvements on our portable test PCs as well. With the 32-bit versions of Vista Home Premium and Windows 7 Home Premium, our Gateway T-6815 notebook went from a WorldBench 6 score of 58 on the older OS to a result of 64 on the newer one. Our Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 laptop's WorldBench 6 score improved by only one point with Windows 7 in our comparison of 32-bit Ultimate editions (going from 83 to 84); when we tested the 64-bit editions of the two OSs, we again saw a modest boost, with the Y530's score increasing from 79 to 83.

In our WorldBench 6 Nero tests, Windows 7 showed big improvements. Performance nearly doubled on average over Vista, which indicates that the new OS enhances hard-disk performance. *Average of results from six test PCs. Lower time equals better performance.
Windows 7 makes big gains in disk performance, however. For example, in our hard-disk-intensive WorldBench 6 Nero test--in which we create a series of images of an optical disc and then save them--every PC we tested showed an improvement. In our comparison of the 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7, the IdeaPad Y530 performed the test twice as quickly with the newer OS. Meanwhile, our Gateway T-6815 was almost two and a half times faster, going from a time of 1648 seconds to complete the test on Windows Vista to a time of 667 seconds on Windows 7. We had noticed a similar speedup on disk-intensive tests in our earlier evaluation of the Windows 7 release candidate; such gains may be due to updated hard-disk drivers under Windows 7.

One particular result worth noting: In our testing, the 64-bit versions of Vista produced poorer disk performance than the 32-bit Vista editions did. With Windows 7, however, Microsoft brought the 64-bit versions' disk performance more in line with that of the 32-bit versions. That explains the larger WorldBench 6 score advantages over Vista that we saw from 64-bit Windows 7 compared with 32-bit Windows 7.

Boot-Up and Shutdown Times

Microsoft says that in Windows 7 it changed the way the operating system handles starting up processes when you boot your computer. For some processes and services, Microsoft employs a scheme called trigger-start services. These are system services and processes that under Vista would have started up when you booted your PC, but now kick in only as needed. One example Microsoft gives is Windows 7's handling of Bluetooth: Instead of launching at system boot, Bluetooth now starts up when you use a Bluetooth device with your PC. Reducing the number of services that start at boot is supposed to reduce boot-up time.

Launching Photoshop took two to three times longer on the new OS, but that isn't a big deal--the difference was still just a few seconds. *Times are in seconds. Shorter times indicate better performance.
In our boot-up tests using one desktop and one laptop, though, we saw mixed results. On our Gateway T-6815 laptop, Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit) had the advantage, booting up in 39.6 seconds on average. Windows 7 Home Premium (also the 32-bit edition) took slightly longer, averaging 43.6 seconds. On our HP Pavilion a6710t test desktop, the outcome was reversed. The 64-bit edition of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition booted in 55.2 seconds, whereas Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-bit came out slightly ahead, booting in 48.3 seconds.

At first, we couldn't explain why the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 improved the boot-up time over Vista (on the HP desktop) while the 32-bit edition of the new OS lagged behind its predecessor (on the Gateway laptop). In subsequent testing, however, we discovered that the 32-bit version of Windows 7 exhibited a similar speedup on our HP desktop, going from an average of 54.5 seconds on Vista 32-bit to 47.7 seconds on Windows 7 32-bit. The upshot: Whether Windows 7 will start faster than Vista for you will likely depend on your particular computer's setup.

As for shutdown times, in our tests we observed no significant difference between Windows 7 and Windows Vista. On our Gateway T-6815 laptop, the 32-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium shut down in 11.72 seconds on average. The 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium took 11.57 seconds to shut down--an improvement of a mere 0.15 second. The results were just as tight on our HP a6710t desktop. The 64-bit Vista Ultimate shut down in 9.1 seconds on average, while the 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate took 9.0 seconds--a negligible difference of just 0.1 second.

To say that such results are too close to call would be an understatement: The difference between the two is so minor that you likely wouldn't notice it even if you had the OSs running side-by-side on identical hardware.

Granted, boot-up and shutdown times aren't as important today as they once were, now that many people use their computer's sleep or hibernate mode instead, but in either case you'll probably find only slight differences, if any.

Battery Life Tests

Another important aspect of performance for Windows 7 is energy efficiency. With the new operating system, Microsoft is introducing technology aimed at reducing the computer's energy consumption and boosting laptop battery life. For instance, in a procedure that the company calls timer coalescing, Windows 7 will simultaneously perform certain routine tasks that require the processor, which in turn allows the computer to spend more time in lower-power mode.

Battery-life tests were a wash. While one of our PCs gained 15 minutes of run time with Windows 7, the other improved by 1 minute. Your mileage may vary. *Times are in hours:minutes. Longer times indicate better performance.
In our tests, the Gateway T-6815 laptop gained an additional 15 minutes of battery life on average with Windows 7. Running under Vista, the Gateway lasted 2 hours, 58 minutes on a single battery charge; under Windows 7 it ran for 3 hours, 12 minutes. Our Lenovo Y530, in contrast, eked out an insignificant 1-minute improvement with Windows 7.

Of course, your individual system-performance gain will depend to a large extent on your setup, but our results were still encouraging. At best, your laptop will gain a few extra minutes of run time; at worst, the battery life will be about the same as it was under Windows Vista.

Odd One Out: Application Launch Times

As our tests demonstrate, Windows 7 makes many modest performance strides beyond its predecessor. Our evaluations of the two OSs also uncovered one notable exception, however: Windows 7 is consistently slower than Vista at launching applications.

In every timed application-launch test we performed, Windows 7 took anywhere from a trivial 0.7 second to nearly 7 seconds longer than Vista to open a program. The biggest difference involved the launching of Adobe Photoshop CS4 on our HP Pavilion a6710t desktop running the 64-bit versions of Vista and of Windows 7. Under Windows Vista Ultimate, Photoshop CS4 took 2.7 seconds to open, on average. Under Windows 7 Ultimate, Photoshop launched in 9.6 seconds.

In the other application-launching tests, the difference was no greater than 3.7 seconds on average--all in Windows Vista's favor. Keep in mind, though, that while the percentage difference is sizable, the actual difference is only a few seconds. You may notice the slowdown, but it isn't as big a deal as the numbers might suggest.

A Faster OS

Though Windows 7's performance improvements may not blow anyone away, Microsoft's new operating system proved speedier overall with every computer we tested it on. Of course, our tests were limited to five machines out of thousands of possible configurations available on the market, so your day-to-day results may vary.

Even so, the most important part of our conclusion stands: Windows 7 is faster than Windows Vista. In a world where upgrades are often performance downgrades, this may be the biggest Windows 7 feature of all.

For more information about Windows 7, sign up for PC World's Windows News and Tips newsletter .

*Editor's Note: When this story was initially posted, the headers in the results chart were incorrectly labeled. The chart has since been corrected. We apologize for any confusion.



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Falling Back in Love with Microsoft -- and Windows 7

Falling Back in Love with Microsoft -- and Windows 7

Analysis: Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to market its newest OS. As Vista fades into a painful memory, the Redmond crew could be poised for a comeback.

Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld

Oct 24, 2009 8:31 am

As operating system launches go, Windows 7 has been a pretty sweet one for Microsoft. The reviews are mostly thumbs-up, and aside from some unintentionally hilarious videos promoting Windows 7 launch parties, the company has mostly done things right.

Today, the Microsoft site is featuring a running series of tweets praising the new OS (though they're running at least a day behind -- so much for real-time Web search). They're also a bit too uniformly positive, so you know somebody's cherry picking. Still, it's a clever idea.

According to the New York Times' Media & Advertising blog, Microsoft is planning a series of 7-second videos on YouTube and Windows.com extolling the virtues of Win 7, and a series of 7-word updates on NFL games on the major broadcast networks. (My favorite geek humor site has a few other ideas on what Microsoft might do.)

Here's my favorite gimmick: In Japan, Microsoft has convinced Burger King to sell a meat sandwich with 7 all-beef patties stacked on top of each other like poker chips. That tower of bovine power is called the Windows 7 Whopper.

But the real Windows 7 Whopper is this claim: "1 billion = 7." That's the new mantra in Microsoft's ads. The Times' Stuart Elliott explains the rationale behind the funky math:

"...many ads use a slogan, “1 billion = 7,” suggesting that the billion people who use PCs helped bring forth the new operating system.

"Our customers co-create the product with us,” said David Webster, general manager for brand and marketing strategy at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash. “We’re using the customers’ voice to tell our story.”

If Microsoft were really listening to users, it would have committed seppuku a long time ago. It certainly would not have continued to push the notion that Vista was the greatest thing since sliced bread when it was clear the thing was more like stinky cheese. If Microsoft is listening, it's selective listening at best.

As Elliott points out, the notion that Windows 7 was somehow an exception to the usual Microsoft product development process is essentially a lie.

Microsoft has always done extensive usability studies with every software product. And it has always resulted in Microsoft products being confusing and condescending at the same time. (Are you sure you want to do that? Really? Are you really really sure? OK then, just reboot and click Yes five more times. Oops, sorry -- there was a fatal exception error. Here's some nonsense hexadecimal code to chew on.)

Again, though, it's a smart tactic to win back some of the folks who got disgusted with, or scared away by, Windows Vista: "We're listening to you. We care. We're not the Borg anymore; if you look at us in the right lighting we're almost kind of cuddly."

The question is, after more than 30 years of bluster, hype, deception, cluelessness, and an inexplicable lack of humility, has Microsoft really changed? Or has it just hired better marketing consultants?

(Memo to Microsoft fanboys: I haven't laid a finger on Windows 7 yet. This is not a review. Please save your poison pen e-mails for later if/when I do trash Win 7. But heck, it's got to be better than Vista, right?)

For more IT analysis and commentary on emerging technologies, visit InfoWorld.com. Story copyright © 2007 InfoWorld Media Group. All rights reserved.

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How to Prep for an XP-to-Windows 7 Upgrade: FAQ

How to Prep for an XP-to-Windows 7 Upgrade: FAQ

Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Oct 25, 2009 10:55 am
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With Windows 7's launch just a day away, it's time to start thinking about how to prepare your aging-but-still useful PC running Windows XP for that move you're dying to make.

Problem is, Microsoft 's not offering an "in-place" upgrade from XP to Windows 7 , one that will leave everything in place and simply swap out the operating system. Unfortunately for XP fans, that's reserved for Windows Vista users only. And you avoided Vista like a bad case of H1N1, right?

It's not any comfort when you read lines like "upgrading from XP on the same hardware will be tricky."

That's why we're here to help lower your blood pressure with answers to your questions about how to get ready for tomorrow -- or later -- when you pull the trigger on Windows 7 and finally, finally leave XP fading in the rearview mirror.

How do I know if my XP machine can handle Windows 7? Run the "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor," which went final just yesterday. Download and install the advisor from Microsoft's support site , then run it. (Warning: You have to have .NET Framework 2.0 or later to run this on XP.) The advisor will give you a bottom-line appraisal of your XP-based hardware: It will either green light the upgrade, tell you the machine won't make it as is, or spell out what you need to beef up.

The advisor will also mark those devices, both external hardware like printers and internal components such as the graphics chipset or card, that will require new Windows 7 drivers, and indicate whether those drivers are available.

What if I need more juice? In the time remaining, you may be hard pressed to futz with the hardware, but one thing you can do in a few minutes to make the machine more Windows 7 worthy is to add more RAM. Microsoft says the minimum memory is 1GB for the 32-bit version of Windows 7, but recommends 2GB for "optimal performance" on the 64-bit edition. Frankly, those numbers are just crazy. RAM is dirt cheap these days, and even if the new OS runs in just 1GB or 2GB, it'll run much better with 2GB or more. Punch it up to 4GB -- the maximum for 32-bit Windows 7 -- or beyond (for 64-bit) and you'll be livin' the dream.

Our favorite source of RAM is Crucial.com . It's the not the cheapest place on the Web to buy memory, but we've never been disappointed by the quality of the modules it sells. Plus, the online scanner is slick: Just run it from the PC you want to upgrade and it will sniff out how much RAM is already in the machine, how much it can take, and what modules apply.

How do I know whether my software and peripherals will run on Windows 7? Yesterday, Microsoft finally fired up its Windows 7 Compatibility Center , a searchable database that you can ping to see what software and hardware is up to Windows 7's standards.

The most conspicuous absentees on the software side include security programs: You'll probably have to upgrade to a new edition of your favorite (and pay the price). Microsoft has set up a page here that lists the security software compatible with Windows 7. Another option: The for-free Microsoft Security Essentials , which went live late last month .

Okay, my system is up to snuff. What next? Your first step should be to make a disk image of your XP machine as it exists now so that, heaven forbid, if you later decide Windows 7 isn't worth its disc and you want to return to XP, you can do so without a lot of hassle.

There are lots of free and for-a-fee backup programs for XP, some of which create a disk image, a bit-for-bit copy of the hard disk. Among the free choices are Macrium Reflect and DriveImageXML , which run on XP and let you create an image on a CD/DVD, external drive or flash drive.

Disk image done. What about my data? Good question.

Since the Windows XP-to-7 upgrade -- Microsoft calls it a "custom" install during the process, others dub it a "clean" install -- will delete all your data, you need to back up the files you want to access later. Windows 7 includes a migration utility called "Windows Easy Transfer" that backs up files you select. Frankly, most users will take that tack to shunt their stuff from old to new.

Microsoft has an old, but still valid set of instructions on how to use the utility on its support site. Print out the page for reference when you do the upgrade.

But if you do it yourself, sans Windows Easy Transfer, you'll have more control.

You can back up data using any number of backup programs to a variety of media, including CD, DVD, a flash drive or an external hard drive. A simpler method, though, is to simply copy the files from the XP machine; that means you'll need more space -- backup software typically compresses the data -- but on the plus side, you can just copy it back to the computer once Windows 7 has been installed.

Remember: Even if you use Windows Easy Transfer, you'll need a backup destination, like an external or flash drive, CD or DVD.

I don't have a CD or DVD drive to burn discs, and I don't have an external drive. Where do I back up my data? You're the perfect candidate for an online storage service.

Computerworld 's Lucas Mearian covered a number of consumer-grade online backup services last July, but two deserve special attention for this part of your Windows 7 prep: Mozy and Carbonite.

Mozy offers 2GB of storage space for free, and lets you buy an unlimited amount on a per-month basis for just $5 a month. Carbonite , meanwhile, gives prospective customers an unlimited amount of storage free for 15 days, plenty of time to back up your data from Windows XP, then restore it to Windows 7 once that's on your PC.

Both Mozy and Carbonite work with Windows 7 now, according to the two companies.

Another contender is Microsoft's free SkyDrive , which maxes out at 25GB of storage space. The caveat: SkyDrive limits individual uploaded files to 50MB or less.

What about e-mail? How do I prep that? Tough one.

If you're using Outlook Express -- the now-obsolete free e-mail client bundled with Windows XP -- you'll find a full set of instructions here on how to migrate the kit and caboodle to Windows 7 (you'll have to download Windows Live Mail separately, since Microsoft dumped, among other programs, an e-mail app from the new OS).

Similar directions for moving content of the more full-featured Outlook from one machine to another (as in an XP-to-Windows 7 upgrade) can be found here .

For other e-mail clients, your best shot is to search using strings such as " e-mail client name migrate" and see what comes up. That search for Thunderbird, for example, revealed that all you need to do is copy the "C:\Documents & Settings\ username \Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles" folder found on the XP machine to your backup destination, then later copy that to the same location on the new PC after reinstalling Thunderbird.

I don't want to recreate my browser's bookmarks and site passwords, or all the other tweaks I've made to app? What do I do? If you're using Internet Explorer on XP, it's pretty straight-forward.

In IE8, for instance, click on "Favorites," then on "Add to Favorites Bar," and select "Import and Export." Chose "Export to a file," then click "Next." Select all three boxes -- "Favorites," "Feeds" and "Cookies" -- then "Next." Pick a folder to export-- the umbrella "Favorites" exports all three -- then save the file to the drive by clicking "Next" one last time. The files will be "bookmark.htm," "feeds.opml" and "cookies.txt." Finally, copy those files to your backup destination. After upgrading, reverse the process by importing those files to the new copy of IE on Windows 7.

Note: The steps will be slightly different for other editions of IE. (Your passwords are exported to the cookies.txt file, by the way.)

For Firefox, it's even easier: Copy the "C:\Documents and Settings\ username \Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" folder to your backup destination -- CD, DVD or online service -- then later copy that to the same location on Windows 7 after reinstalling Firefox. That will move all your bookmarks, site cookies and passwords to the just-upgraded PC.

You're on your own for other browsers. Hit your favorite search engine with strings like " browser name migrate" and find a solution that works for you. We did a quick search for "Opera migrate," for example, and found these instructions .

Data safely secured. But what about the apps I'm running? You'll have to reinstall all the software you plan to run on Windows 7, so gather all the installation discs you can find, as well as the activation or registration keys necessary to activate and use the software.

If you're running applications you've downloaded from the Web, you'll need to make a list and dig up the activation/registration keys or codes. (You did save those, didn't you?) Most for-a-fee application developers send you an e-mail with the codes after you've purchased and downloaded their software. If you've been on top of things, you saved those e-mails.

If not..., root around each application for the screen that shows the code, and jot it down.

Some electronically-purchased software may reinstall on the refreshed PC only from the original downloads. If so -- it's more legwork, I know -- see if you can find them on the XP system. Add them to your data backup.

For free applications, the easiest way to get them on Windows 7 is to download them again from the upgraded machine. It's likely that there's a new version in any case, hopefully one compatible with the new OS. Add those apps to your list; later you can search using Google or Yahoo or Bing, then grab the app again.

Hint: Be smart, and compose your lists, including URLs, in an e-mail, then send it to a Web-based account. That way you can later pull up the e-mail and just click on the links. Saves typing time, and typo problems.

Do I have to reinstall every app I have on XP? Hardly. This is the perfect time, say experts, to cull the chaff. Those programs you rarely, if ever, use on XP don't have to make the move to Windows 7. Strike them off your to-do list.

This sounds like a lot of work. Isn't there an easier way? Yes, as long as you're ready to plunk down some cash.

One option is Laplink Software's PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant, a utility that promises to move virtually everything from Windows XP to Windows 7 during an upgrade on the same PC. Laplink is running a half-price special on the software, which allows one migration, until Thursday. The $14.95 program , regularly $29.95, can be downloaded from the company's site.

That's still work. Can I get someone to do the migration for me? Sure. Call a few local computer shops and ask whether they're doing Windows 7 upgrades, moving data transfer.

Or you can touch base with a New York company called iYogi, which bills itself as the "fastest growing on-demand tech service" in the country. iYogi offers several services for XP users who want to move up to Windows 7, including a $29.99 "Windows 7 Professional Migration" and a $39.99 "Windows 7 Professional Migration." The former provides tools for retaining data and applications during the upgrade, while the latter promises that a Microsoft-certified technician will do it all for you via remote access.

More information is spelled out on iYogi's site ; the migration services won't be available until tomorrow.

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