14 DAY TRIAL // Security and performance. Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows Vista, is an epitome of both. But while the platform has yet to prove itself in the security arena and in the long run, Vista's performance is far from the apex it was promised to be. Generally speaking, it is actually perceived as inferior to what Windows XP had to offer. And for good reason. I still vividly remember going from XP to Vista RTM at the beginning of this year, and how my workflow got handicapped. Despite 2 GB of RAM and a 3 GHz AMD processor, I still had to turn Windows Aero off, go for ReadyDrive and still watch Vista crawl its feet and "Calculating the time remaining" on copying a 50 KB JPEG image until it made me sick.
Still, if you ask Microsoft... the perspective is bound to be a little different. "New technology in Windows Vista makes your PC significantly more responsive while you are performing everyday tasks. Improved startup and sleep behavior helps both desktop and mobile PCs get up and running more quickly. Greater efficiency in managing both memory devices and input/output (I/O) devices helps your programs run more smoothly and consistently. And as your computer ages, a number of features in Windows Vista work together to help keep it as responsive as the day it arrived," reads a message posted on the Microsoft official website for Vista, under Performance.
So a Vista PC should have been significantly more responsive? Only if by "significantly more" they actually mean "quite a lot less". Right, so they improved the sleep option, I'll give them that much. I only used it once, and that was by mistake. "Greater efficiency in managing both memory devices and input/output (I/O) devices?" Really? Well Vista does cache a decent amount of RAM, but from that to smoothness and consistency there is a long way to go.
"A new memory management technology in Windows Vista, Windows SuperFetch, helps keep the computer consistently responsive to your programs by making better use of the computer's RAM. Windows SuperFetch prioritizes the programs you're currently using over background tasks and adapts to the way you work by tracking the programs you use most often and preloading these into memory," Microsoft added. "Windows Vista introduces the concept of low-priority I/O, which enables background processes to run with lower-priority access to the hard disk drive than other programs. If an application is written to use low-priority I/O, it can run at the same time as one of your high-priority programs, without slowing down the high-priority program."
Among the few Microsoft promises of Vista lightening performance that do live up to the level of a new standard in comparison to XP is Windows ReadyBoost, a life saver at times, and Windows ReadyDrive. With the only mention that there are very few users with hybrid hard disks. However, the actual perspective over the performance delivered by Vista is a tad different. Case in point: the Vista Performance and Reliability Pack and the Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack. No additional comments are necessary.