February 8th, 2008
The SP1 upgrades continue - Day 2
Today I carried out the most critical SP1 upgrade so far - I upgraded my main system. This is a Core 2 Extreme monster that’s been running Vista Ultimate 64-bit. All the SP1 upgrades I’ve done so far have been 32-bit upgrades. How did the upgrade go? What’s the system like afterwards? Read on.
First, give so you know the landscape, here’s the spec of the system:
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor running at 3GHz
- ASUS Maximus Formula motherboard
- 4GB of 1066MHz RAM
- 2 x WD Raptor X drives
- 2 x ATi Radeon 3870 graphics cards
- Dual monitors
This system scores full marks (5.9) on the Windows Experience Index. This system is fully up-to-date with respect to patches. This system has never had earlier pre-releases of SP1 installed.
OK, so how did the update go? Well, fine. The install process seems to take a while as this took 55 minutes, so the speed of the system doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on how long SP1 takes to install - those planning to install SP1 should put aside at least an hour to install SP1, maybe two. Better to allow for more time and not need it that need extra time and not have it.
While I’ve not carried out any proper benchmarking yet, here are some initial thoughts I have:
- Overall, the system feels quicker. There’s a snappy feeling to carrying out tasks (although this system was no slouch under Vista RTM!).
- Navigating network shares is a lot faster.
- Remote Desktop Connection is a lot better - I can connect to remote machines faster and the experience is noticeably better.
- There has been no change to the Windows Experience Index scale - 5.9 is still the top ceiling of the scale.
- Recovering from sleep is faster and the system is up and ready to use quicker.
Unknowns at present include:
- Overall system stability and reliability.
- Gaming performance.
Thoughts?
Earlier Vista SP1-related posts:
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)
Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.
Subscribe to Hardware 2.0 via Email alerts or RSS.
| 02/09/08
