Windows XP Significantly Outperforms Vista, Tests Show

Information Week ^ | November 26, 2007 | Paul McDougall

[Zakeet]

Windows XP trounced Windows Vista in all tests, regardless of the versions used or the amount of memory running on the computer, says Devil Mountain Software.

In the latest Mac versus PC ad, that put-upon Windows guy quietly concedes he's "downgrading" from Vista to XP. He may have good reason: new tests show that the older XP runs common productivity tasks significantly faster than Microsoft's newest operating system.

Researchers at Devil Mountain Software, a Florida-based developer of performance management tools, have posted data from their most recent Windows performance tests -- and Vista, even after it's been upgraded to the new Service Pack 1 beta package, is shown to be a laggard.

"The hoped for performance fixes [from Vista SP1] that Microsoft has been hinting at never materialized," said Devil Mountain researchers, in a blog post summarizing their results.

The researchers compared patched and unpatched versions of Vista and XP running Microsoft Office on a dual-core Dell notebook. The results revealed the time taken to complete Office productivity tasks such as the creation of a compound document and presentation materials.

Devil Mountain researchers ran a mix of tests comparing existing versions of the operating systems -- the original Vista and XP SP2 -- and versions that had been patched with the latest updates -- Vista SP1 beta and XP SP3 beta. Tests were also run on machines with 1 Gbyte and 2 Gbytes of memory.

Windows XP trounced Windows Vista in all tests -- regardless of the versions used or the amount of memory running on the computer. In fact, XP proved to be roughly twice as fast as Vista in most of the tests.

[Nachum]

If I have to get another personal computer at home, it’s going to be a Mac.

Unfortunately that is not a good option for insurance people. Everything is pc. XP worked well enough, but then they had to change the entire operating system with Vista to screw things up. Nothing is compatable with xp drivers at all. There are a couple of nice features to it, but it hardly makes up for the inconvenience.

[Nachum]

I think for Microsoft the motto is: "The customer is always WRONG" or "Customer have no brain" much like Democrats thinking of voters.

Microsoft made a huge attempt to be more secure at the expense of utility. They claim that this is what the public wanted, a more secure platform. It is based on a formulae that is radically different than all the previous standards. It is more secure, but at a steep price. I hate it.

[whatisthetruth]

I’m still using 98...lol

I'm on 95, thinking of upgrading to 98 tho, LOL, tho I'm told I can get hi-speed Internet on 95, so maybe I'll do that and wait until MS comes out with something better than Vista.

[trane250]

Thanks to all. When something keeps on functioning for me like Win98, I hate to get rid of it. My ideas are as old as my material stuff. Planned obsolescence is not a concept that I readily accept.

I keep a lot of old DOS files from Professional Write, Dbase and QuickBasic and Win98 does them fine.

I’m lucky. I’ve never had a disk crash with my Win98 machine. I don’t do any backup. When I first got my machine in 1999, I was thinking about buying a tape backup, but was told that tape is unreliable. I didn’t want to buy a couple thousand diskettes. So no backup.

My first machine was a CompuAdd 80386 from 1989. I paid close to $4,000 for it (that’s 1989 dollars). Ran Dos4.01. About 1 month after I bought it, the hard disk crashed. Luckily, I backed everything up with PC Tools. Was there ever a better utility program?

But I sense that my computer is on its last legs. I’ll have to buy a new one soon. I bought Ed Bott’s new book “Windows Vista Inside Out” in preparation. The book is really for XP users going into Vista. It’ll be a big transition from Win98 to Vista. I hope that I can handle it.

[Quix]

HMMMMMMM

So . . . are you saying that includes UBUNTU drivers in a dual boot setup or just old XP drivers etc.?

[Nachum]

Oh no. I am saying that you must go online to the hardware provider's site and look for Vista drivers. NEVER trust any software included with printers or the like that come with the device. It will foul up the operation of that device and you will be forced remove all XP drivers and other device software completely. I was forced to perform a total system restore from the point I downloaded the non-Vista drivers. They are completely incompatable and process information completely differently.

Also, most manufacturers are totally ignorant of why this is the case. Usually, only the computer manufacturer will understand why your device won't perform as you expected. I called two different printer manufacturers to try and correct the problem. Neither got it right. Only Gateway (in my case) knew how to solve it. They told me this was a common problem with Vista.

[steve86]

I was thinking about buying a tape backup, but was told that tape is unreliable.

I can't think of statement more at odds with my own experience, having spent my career as the top IT technical person in a Fortune 500 company. Yes, an individual tape drive can be problematic, but if you want data stored reliably for decades, put in on tape and store it in controlled conditions. Just make sure you have a machine to read it when the need arises.

If you want to store data for six months, purchase the latest DVD writer and make six or eight copies and you'll do fine.

[romanesq]

I’m in the industry so I cited the average consumer as the user for this discussion. Software developers don’t need a GUI. Linux is king for the developer folks..

[KoRn]

No suprise here. This proves what many have said of Vista. It’s ‘bloatware’ in every sense of the term. What’s bad is I’be been testing Server 2008 at work, and it’s similar in many ways to Vista. Not quite as bloated, but not nearly as clean running as 2K Server or Server 2003. There is one encouraging thing coming with Server 2008, and that’s the ability to run a “core” installation of the server with no GUI, reducing the attack surface, offering more stability. The only drawback with that is Windows wasn’t designed to allow easy day to day administrative tasks to be done from a Shell. My bet is the typical Windows admin will be somewhat lost trying this.

[GATOR NAVY]

I've got an old box running 98 so I can play older DOS based games I refuse to give up playing.

Me too. A P133 with 64mb ram and a 2gb HD in the kid's game room. Still gotta get my Quake fixes.

[TruthWillWin]

Can't find items in control panel like I used to.After going to control panel click on classic view and it will look more like XP. Still a few differences like add/remove programs is now called programs and features but very much the same as XP.

[Quix]

WOW.

Thanks.

I was torn between a Gateway and an HP.

I had to call Gateway about a college computer. They were great.

So I went with them mostly because of the way they handled the service call.

Glad they are on top of Vista.

I personally think a good number of Microslop decision makers should be taken out and flogged . . . preferably monthly until they decide to get some brains and take care of customers instead of abusing them.

[Nachum]

I am not sure that HP is better or worse than Gateway. I actually own newer models of both and both have Vista. It was Canon and Lexmark that had their collective heads up their *sses when I needed some support. Gateway did return calls though and walked me through the process of reformatting from the point I downloaded the offending software. They really understood the problem with Vista. I realized that this is the case with all software. That is why I just bought the 2008 version of Quickbooks instead of going with the 2007 that I already owned- because 2007 isn’t Vista compatable either. It is a royal pain because you have be sure that you are not downloading ANY non-Vista software on any program or that program will not perform correctly- or at all.

[Spiff]

I’ve been a Windows user for nearly 15 years - a system administrator on Windows systems for over half of that. I even studied for and passed the tests to receive certification as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. Microsoft has provided me with tons of freebies including trips to Redmond, WA, tours of their network operations center, etc. That being said, I have recommended and continue to recommend against “upgrading” to Windows Vista and I will never allow a Windows Vista system on my home network. It’s taken me years to warm to Linux, but I’m at the point now where I will switch to Linux or Leopard before I switch to Vista. Microsoft really screwed up on this one. There’s not nearly enough real, measurable gain in switching to Vista, beyond some fancy UI stuff, to offset the degraded productivity performance, major changes in what used to be simple tasks, compatibility issues, and driver issues. Vista has been out more than long enough for Microsoft to have fixed ALL of this. MOST of the problems should have not even existed upon release, but they’re still there. I have lost all faith in and respect for Microsoft.

[roamer_1]

But I sense that my computer is on its last legs. I’ll have to buy a new one soon. I bought Ed Bott’s new book “Windows Vista Inside Out” in preparation. The book is really for XP users going into Vista. It’ll be a big transition from Win98 to Vista. I hope that I can handle it.

Happy to help trane250.

If you feel comfortable with Win98(SE) there is no need to quit using it... One can dual-boot and have the best of both worlds :D.

Feel free to mail me for some great bolt-ons for 98SE for running it on new equipment. There are community supported upgrades that are just must-haves for modern machinery, to include exuberant's unofficial service pack, native USB 2.0 stack and native USB mass storage drivers, among others...

If you intend to purchase, might I recommend looking around your town for a local white-box builder with a good rep... White boxes are infinitely upgradeable and you can require a setup compatible with win98SE and XP (Home)... Notice I said XP... I would HIGHLY suggest XP over Vista...

Cheers,
-Bruce

[Quix]

Wow.

I have a ton of software.

Oh wheee.

I know one thing. If WEBSHOTS.COM doesn’t work with vista—Vista can go chase a duck in hell.

Sheesh.

XP-P 64 should run well enough.

Oh, how much RAM do you have? I’m thinking of getting another 3 gig to go with the 3 gig the box will come with.

[miliantnutcase]

"Say, does anyone on this computer thread (or another) want to answer some questions I have about graphics cards for laptops? I don’t feel like posting a whole new thread. Please advise if you are interested."

http://www.powernotebooks.com

[Nachum]

I know one thing. If WEBSHOTS.COM doesn’t work with vista—Vista can go chase a duck in hell.

I haven't had any problem with software downloaded from websites. Usually they will have an option to download Vista compatable software.

As for the software you own, if you go to the company websites, they will tell you if Vista upgrades are necessary. I just know that I could not take any chances with our accounting software for our business. A friend of ours had a big problem with it on his Vista based computer. After what I went through with the printer drivers, I just assumed that it was a compatability issue again.

I think I have a gig of ram. I probably could or should get more, but it serves our purpose for the business.

[Quix]

AHHHH. THANKS.

Good to know about the RAM. Will go ahead and get two more gig . . . maybe 3 more. I like RAM! LOL.

I should check System Mechanic 7 before I renew. Gads I have a ton of software to be careful about.

Thankfully most of my needful files are on 4 GIG flash drives.

Would Vista run off an 8 Gig flash drive, I wonder?

I love hardware with no moving parts! LOL.

Thanks for your kind bother and expertise.

Blessings to you and yours this season.

[Pyro7480]

Second that LOL. :-)