Performance Test: Vista SP1 vs. Vista SP2
There will be some time until the six versions of Windows 7 Final will hit the market, so you might as well focus on the upcoming Service Pack 2 for the Windows operating system, which is rumored to drop sometime in May or June. In related Windows news, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has come out to warn about the necessity of leaving the elderly XP OS behind and moving to on to newer, more efficient operating systems.
In the Vista SP1 vs. SP2 competition, let us first see what the upcoming Service Pack has to offer, so here is a quick list of new features: Blu-day data record, Bluetooth 2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi support, improved Wi-Fi performance when taking Vista out of Sleep mode, faster RSS feed sidebar gadget, sidebar gadgets eat less system resources, VIA Technologies x64 CPU support, exFAT partitions, enhanced power management and an overall tuned up OS.
Here are the test results the guys over at TweakTown got after putting Vista SP1 head to head with the Release Candidate of SP2 (as I’ve previously mentioned, Vista SP2 has yet to be released):
- 3DMark Score: Vista SP1 – 9216; Vista SP2 – 9231
- PCMark Score: Vista SP1 6743; Vista SP2 – 6698
- Everest Memory Benchmark: Vista SP1 – 8511 Write and 7972 Read; Vista SP2 – 8510 Write and 7895 Read.
- Cinebench R10 x64: Vista SP1 – 63; Vista SP2 – 62 (lower is better).
- PT Boats: Knights of the Sea: Vista SP1 – 11.2 average fps; Vista SP2 – 16.6 average fps.
- Far Cry 2: Vista SP1 – 89 average fps; Vista SP2 – 89 average fps.
- OS boot time: Vista SP1 – 41 seconds; Vista SP2 – 49.5 seconds.
As of April 14, Microsoft will take XP out of “mainstream support” and put it on “extended support”; the catch is that you must purchase an extended support contract in the 3 months after support for the OS is pulled. Here is what Steve Ballmer had to comment: “If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home?”
He was talking about the importance of moving on and getting a new OS to install on company machines. The problem is that XP is considerably older than what Steve Ballmer said – it is more than 7 years old!
In the Vista SP1 vs. SP2 competition, let us first see what the upcoming Service Pack has to offer, so here is a quick list of new features: Blu-day data record, Bluetooth 2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi support, improved Wi-Fi performance when taking Vista out of Sleep mode, faster RSS feed sidebar gadget, sidebar gadgets eat less system resources, VIA Technologies x64 CPU support, exFAT partitions, enhanced power management and an overall tuned up OS.
Here are the test results the guys over at TweakTown got after putting Vista SP1 head to head with the Release Candidate of SP2 (as I’ve previously mentioned, Vista SP2 has yet to be released):
- 3DMark Score: Vista SP1 – 9216; Vista SP2 – 9231
- PCMark Score: Vista SP1 6743; Vista SP2 – 6698
- Everest Memory Benchmark: Vista SP1 – 8511 Write and 7972 Read; Vista SP2 – 8510 Write and 7895 Read.
- Cinebench R10 x64: Vista SP1 – 63; Vista SP2 – 62 (lower is better).
- PT Boats: Knights of the Sea: Vista SP1 – 11.2 average fps; Vista SP2 – 16.6 average fps.
- Far Cry 2: Vista SP1 – 89 average fps; Vista SP2 – 89 average fps.
- OS boot time: Vista SP1 – 41 seconds; Vista SP2 – 49.5 seconds.
As of April 14, Microsoft will take XP out of “mainstream support” and put it on “extended support”; the catch is that you must purchase an extended support contract in the 3 months after support for the OS is pulled. Here is what Steve Ballmer had to comment: “If you deploy a four or five-year old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home?”
He was talking about the importance of moving on and getting a new OS to install on company machines. The problem is that XP is considerably older than what Steve Ballmer said – it is more than 7 years old!
