Win7 Test Results

Yesterday (Mar 10) ZDnet published some interesting preliminary tests results.

Windows 7 is still in beta; beta versions of software are usually skewed towards stability and bug-tracking, rather than speed. For example, beta versions usually include "instrumentation" code to collect information about how the software is running. This data is used to solve problems and tweak the final code. The instrumentation code is usually pretty much stripped out before the product ships. So, performance-testing beta software is only indicative of final performance, and usually shows the software as slower than the final product will be.

Still, the early performance testing of Windows 7 is looking veeeeery interesting.

ZDnet tested the 32-bit Win7 beta versus the 32-bit versions of XP and Vista in 31 different performance areas (boot times, file copying, opening Word documents, opening spreadsheets, etc). In each of the 31 tests, the results were rank-ordered, with the fastest OS getting a 1 and the last-place finisher getting a 5. Thus, a perfect score--- all first-place finishes--- would be 31, and a perfectly horrid score--- all last place finishes--- would be a 155.

Of course, no OS will win or lose every single test, but those are the best and worst case numbers, so you know what the range was.

XP SP3 and Vista SP1 tied with overall scores of 130 each. ZDnet also included 64-bit OSes in the mix: The speedy 64-bit Vista SP1 scored a 71--- roughly twice as fast as the standard 32-bit versions of XP and Vista.

But the 32-bit Win7 beta's total score was 53. In short, Win7 blew everything else out of the water. It was even considerably faster than even 64-bit Vista.

That's gotta make you go "Hmmmmmm.

There are a million caveats to interpreting these results. It's a beta. The tests may or may not be indicative of how you use *your* system. And the above test results were for an Intel-based system. ZDnet also ran the same tests on an AMD system and did get slightly different results, although 32-bit Win7 still was enormously faster than 32-bit XP or Vista on that system, too.

It's not definitive, but it sure is interesting. Coupled with far more user control built into Win7 (responding to complaints about Vista), it's looking like this may be the first really major leap forward for Windows in a long, long time.

Win7 may finally be what Vista should have been all along.

Results chart:
http://content.zdnet.com/2346-12554_22-277290-2.html

Full article:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3789