As we head up to the general availability date for Windows 7, and have moved past the date when it’s available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers, you’re going to see a lot of benchmarks.
Every site on the ‘net is going to test it’s speed relative to this or that setup. Some will use whatever machine they have lying around, some will construct machines to hit specific spec targets. This ZDNet article does a pretty good job. This browser comparison on BetaNews is somewhat questionable (mixing feature support and standards compliance tests with performance tests to single scores). DailyTech, for some reason, only used 32-bit (when 64-bit is so popular these days).
One thing none of the benchmarks show, but you hear again and again from those that use Windows 7, is just how much more “responsive” and “snappy” it feels. The time between when you click and something happens is noticeably diminished. You really notice it when you go back and use a machine with XP or Vista on it. Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing that benchmark applications simply don’t show, and is very hard to measure. Don’t take my word for it…ask any tech journalist who had to set up and run Windows 7 vs. Vista vs. XP benchmarks for a recent article. Every one I’ve met (and this is the kind of company I keep) will say that numbers aside, Win7 feels much faster. As intangible as that may seem, it’s worth keeping in the back of your mind when you see miles of bar charts comparing Office performance and PCMark Vantage scores and whatnot.
#1 by David Johnston on August 19, 2009 - 4:19 pm
Hey Jason,
No one seems to be talking about the operating system “quantum” (also called the “delta” by some).
The (computing) quantum is the minimum allowable number of clock cycles between “context switches”. That is, it is the minimum amount of time the CPU can work on a task without the possibility of being interrupted. This is important as a context switch is relatively resource intensive.
Traditionally the size of the quantum increases with each successive release of an operating system, since the speed of hardware generally increases with time. (althought not so in our current netbook era). Increasing the quantum decreases the time taken for a task to complete as it will be interrupted less often. However it has the side effect of reducing the apparent multitasking ability of the computer. The most noticeable effect of a quantum being set too high is a lack of responsiveness to user input (mouse clicks, etc).
I suspect that the quantum is smaller in Windows 7 than in Vista, and that this combined with smaller cache sizes (and hence less memory usage) accounts for the reports of Windows 7 feeling “snappier” than Vista. The decision to reduce the quantum makes sense in face of the current netbook market, and the never ending story of Windows XP.
Perhaps the quantum is worthy of further investigation (I don’t know if Microsoft would reveal such details). I’d have to think more about how one would compare the quantum of Windows 7 to Vista. It makes sense that benchmarks wouldn’t show the difference, as a benchmark would be the only task running at the time. Perhaps running two different benchmarks at once may yield interesting results.
I just thought the question of the quantum would be a good one for a journalist like yourself to investigate.
#2 by Monette on November 28, 2009 - 9:29 am
sony hdtvs are going to be the hardest Christmas gifts to find but I found mine at http://astore.amazon.com/50-inch-lg-hdtv-for-sale-20
#3 by Charlie Wilson on August 12, 2010 - 4:01 am
Christmas is nearing again gotta prepare some great Christmas Gifts”..