November 17th, 2008
A deep dive into Windows 7 (build 6801)
Performance
One of my favorite Windows Vista additions is Resource Monitor, a slick utility that was the centerpiece of my ”Top troubleshooting tools” feature earlier this year.
In Windows 7, Resource Monitor is at least an order of magnitude more valuable. It still offers an overview of performance with real-time measurements of CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. But those displays are now customizable, and you can drill down into any resource area to find a wealth of detail about how well your system is performing.
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For a closer look at all the changes in Windows 7, see the image gallery that accompanies this post. |
Using the Windows 7 Resource Monitor, you can get a quick summary of memory usage and see details about RAM usage on a per-process basis, without having to flip between different displays. If you’re concerned about network traffic, you can click the network tab to see in-depth information about current network activity, complete with details about open connections and ports.
One annoying performance glitch in Windows Vista is its insistence on indexing new and changed files as soon as you start or resume from sleep. That leads to the perception that the OS is thrashing the disk and affecting overall performance. In this build of Windows 7, the indexer is more considerate, automatically pausing its operations for two full minutes after you resume from sleep. That gives other processes unrestricted access to CPU and disk resources, presumably making the system feel snappier at startup.
If you’ve been waiting for the scale on the Windows Experience Index to finally reflect the performance of new quad-core CPUs and high-end GPUs, you can stop waiting. The scale, which topped out at 5.9 in Vista, now goes to 7.9 (but not yet to 11).
And finally, in the “you asked for it” department, Disk Defragmenter now includes progress indicators that let you see at a glance how a defragmentation operation is going.
Next page: Troubleshooting tools –>
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 11/18/08
