Vista SP1: performance boost or speed bump?

The other day, I noted a Windows Now article indicating an 11% performance increase when installing the Release Candidate of SP1 for Vista. I wanted to put it to the test myself, however, so I replicated the test on my Samsung Q1P that was previously upgraded to 2 GB of RAM. As with any type of benchmark testing, the results should be used a relative guideline, not interpreted as hard-fast rules of nature. Essentially, they're a good indicator of general expectations.

We also need to realize that SP1 isn't just an attempt to boost computer performance; it's also meant to address reliability issues, support new or additional hardware and standards. Having said that: how did my testing fare?

In order to replicate the test, I used the same benchmarking application that Robert McLaws used, PCMark Vantage, because it's geared to specifically test Vista systems. I purchased the Advanced version of the software and had to hook my Q1P up to an external monitor as the benchmarks won't run on a system with a resolution under 1024 x 768. I ran the full suite of tests with Microsoft Windows Vista, saved the results, installed the RC of SP1, re-ran the suite and saved the results again. I should also mention that I had just rebuilt the machine with a fresh install of Windows Vista Ultimate about six weeks ago, so there isn't much else installed on it. Here are the results:

Pre-SP1 version of Vista: 852 PCMarks.

The SP1 version of Vista: 932 PCMarks. (+9.3%)

Some of the testing suites showed little improvement (Gaming, Productivity which had a negligible decline, and Hard Drive), while others experienced a notable jump (Music and Communications). It's interesting to note that the full "T & Movies Suite" returned no score until SP1 was applied. According to PCMark, that test manipulates and transcodes video content.

I don't know how much weight to the overall PCMark score this number provides, but based on the aggregate gains of the other suites, I don't think this score is the overall contributing factor to the 9.3% gain.

It's hard to make any blanket statements in terms of performance gains with Vista SP1, but I believe it's a safe assumption to expect an incremental performance boost. Real world usage testing should offer more insight, but if you're running Vista, especially on a mobile device, I think this quick test bodes well.

Comments

[Robert McLaws]

BTW, a modified version of my article is re-posted here: http://www.windows-now.com/blogs/robert/archive/2008/02/07/windows-vista-sp1-performance-the-real-first-look.aspx