Windows 7 vs XP Performance Shoot-Out

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gauravs90

geek........
After I compared the performance of Windows 7 with that of Windows Vista , a lot of readers expressed interest in seeing a comparison with the decade-old, but still popular, Windows XP. So I decided to see how each of the three operating systems compared to each other in several crucial categories. Frankly, the results were a bit surprising. While they aren't a knockout blow for Windows 7, they do show that, by some measures, XP outperforms Windows 7 on legacy hardware.

To start, I did a clean install of each OS on a 1.73-GHz Toshiba Satellite M45-S269 laptop with 1GB RAM and a 100GB hard drive. Because upgrading from XP will be of interest to businesses as well individuals, I chose to install Windows XP Professional, and stuck with the Professional edition for Vista and 7. I used 32-bit versions, since most XP installations are of that variety. For each OS version, I performed a clean installation.

I then installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate , Windows Live Essentials (Mail, Movie Maker , Photo Gallery , Messenger), and Picasa 3.5 , since testing a PC with no programs installed wouldn't tell much about real-world performance. Then I ran a series of tests to determine the PC's start-up and shutdown times in each OS, as well as its performance on a series of benchmark tests. I ran each test at least three times and averaged the results.

Start-up and Shutdown



The results from these two most basic tests were somewhat surprising. For startup comparison, I pressed the power button and stopped the timer when the desktop and all interface elements appeared and the Start menu became operational. Windows XP actually started up fastest, but keep in mind that my test machine was built in the XP days; new machines will be more tuned for quick start-up in Windows 7, possibly very quick start-up. But for the purposes of this story, testing on one of those machines would be pointless—this story's about the experience those who are upgrading can expect. For most people, that means an older machine.
*img40.imageshack.us/img40/6131/windowsb.jpg


Windows 7 evened the score when it came to shutdown, however, besting XP by an impressive 5.5 seconds, or 32 percent. As in my previous testing, Windows 7 surpasses Vista in both start-up and shutdown time. One of the major criticisms of XP performance has been the long "Windows is shutting down" time, and my testing bears this out. Even Vista shut down faster than XP did. Of course, startup speed is far more important to most users—so far, XP is in the lead.

Source: *www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2355703,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000993
 

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
^ 7k.

xp slows down a lot after few months and win7 is much better in this regard.

also, when using AD account to login, xp takes lot lot more time than win7
 

Krazzy Warrior

"Aal Izz Well"
I am stuck on Vista :p :|!! hmm will be trying Windows 7 soon! heard from many sources that it is alot better than vista and xp, and stand as a complete replacement for xp user!
 

Krow

Crowman
^ 7k.

xp slows down a lot after few months and win7 is much better in this regard.

also, when using AD account to login, xp takes lot lot more time than win7
My experience has been completely different. Been on XP for like 4 years now. Never had a guest account on my PC. Even my P4 rig used to boot very fast due to good maintenance. XP slowed down only when infected with a virus. When I boot XP, without antivirus, it has about 20 processes running. The same is about 32 when on Win7. There lies the main speed difference. Lesser processes to run, means faster bootup. Vista was a nuisance though, with about 40 processes on bootup. Never has Win7 x64 booted faster than XP 32bit for me.

I am stuck on Vista :p :|!! hmm will be trying Windows 7 soon! heard from many sources that it is alot better than vista and xp, and stand as a complete replacement for xp user!
For low end rigs, still XP is king. If you have more than 2GB RAM, then nothing in W7 should worry you. But still, for systems with 2GB RAM, the eyecandy better be turned off in W7.
 
For low end rigs, still XP is king. If you have more than 2GB RAM, then nothing in W7 should worry you. But still, for systems with 2GB RAM, the eyecandy better be turned off in W7.
You are right. I agree. But my rig consists of 3.2gb ram, C2Q6600, Palit 8600gt . So no probs with my rig. But moving of from xp is worth it coz win7 is sure to give better perfermance and the "WOW" effect as users not experienced with vista and still using xp will definitely feel it. But for experienced vista users the "WOW" effect is low.
 

Krow

Crowman
Lol. Yeah. But for WOW effect, Mac is better as it will give a huge WOW effect. Even better is Ubuntu with compiz fusion.
 

desiibond

Bond, Desi Bond!
^^Been using RC since it is released and only one reinstall done due to HDD crash.

Even in my work laptop, there is huge difference between performance of XP and win7, right from the time of installation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom