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February 15th, 2008

Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 8:26 am

Categories: On the test bench, Vista

Tags: Service Pack 2, Microsoft Windows Vista, Test, Microsoft Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software

Latest: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2: Part Deux 

[UPDATE 02/18/08: Some people are concerned that in order to get an accurate measurement of boot time the system needs to be booted many times.  Let me assure you that the systems here under testing were rebooted more times than most normal PCs are over the course of several months.] 

Over the past few days I posted two sets of benchmarks comparing Windows Vista RTM with Vista SP1 (first post here, second here).  These posts generated a lot of feedback, and from reading this feedback it’s clear that what many people are really interested in is not the performance differences between Vista RTM and Vista SP1, but between Vista SP1 and XP SP2.

Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - BenchmarkedA few days ago I posted in reply to several TalkBack comments that I wouldn’t carry out these tests until XP SP3 is released.  There didn’t seem any point.  That didn’t satisfy the crowds who wanted to see Vista SP1 and XP SP2 go head to head.  So, to cut a long story short, the pestering continued and I eventually gave in.  So what follows are the fruits of nearly two whole days of work at the PC Doc HQ (the test was hampered by the death of a motherboard, something which rendered hours of work obsolete).

How does Windows Vista SP1 compare to Windows XP SP2?  Read on …

The Test Rig –>

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Adrian Kingsley-HughesAdrian 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.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 295 Talkback(s)
Why not try comparing Vista and XP by price rather than Benchmarks?
Why won't someone compare these by the actual "minimum requirements" that make each OS work well? Instead of telling people about a benchmarking both OS's, try telling about how much it costs to make ... (Read the rest)
Posted by: Valen Celcia Posted on: 04/18/09 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
I/O reliability is more important than speed  qmlscycrajg | 02/15/08
Give me some proof.  bjbrock | 02/15/08
I don't believe this  tbcass | 02/18/08
And for the comsumer, 99% might be ...  mwagner@... | 02/19/08
Vista isn't more reliable at my house.  marabrook@... | 02/18/08
Vista SP1 is supposed to address ...  mwagner@... | 02/19/08
i just dont have problems with xp pro, whats your deal  pcguy777 | 02/18/08
How is Vista more reliable in IO?  w_c_mead | 02/18/08
False assertion, reliability; XP still wins.  PhilippeV | 02/18/08
so reliable, it burned my hard drive twice  jdubray | 02/18/08
There is nothing in Vista that says it is more reliable in IO  royalef | 02/18/08
crap  bonga1td@... | 02/19/08
why  thomaswort@... | 03/20/08
Drive to drive single file...  bjbrock | 02/15/08
Did you quit timing...  bjbrock | 02/15/08
When Windows was done ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
I wonder how long...  bjbrock | 02/15/08
Mark Russinovich talked about this; XPs dialog closes long before committal  PB_z | 02/16/08
Define "long before" though ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
about Russinovich  eggmanbubbagee@... | 02/16/08
From Russinovich excerpt...  Solid Water | 02/17/08
Mistaken...  dracolich_prgrm | 02/18/08
Same "smart" lawyers "proved" that O.J. Simpson is innocent.  Just_true | 02/18/08
Probably ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
What about other copy utilities  jmchugh@... | 03/20/08
Wow.  lostarchitect | 02/15/08
Keeping XP  w_c_mead | 02/18/08
yes, MS made it pretty, not effective  brendan@... | 02/18/08
Don the tinfoil hats maties....  JT82 | 02/15/08
And so the game continues...  RS9 | 02/20/08
What!?  boberuski | 03/20/08
I've benchmarked XP SP3 ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
Does the EULA prevent you...  jasonp@... | 02/15/08
Pretty much  Stuka | 02/15/08
Here's the relevant bit:  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
XP SP3 is 10% faster than XP SP2  stevey_d | 02/15/08
That clause is probably contestable  frgough | 02/15/08
Free speech is only applicable to the government. (nt)  ye | 02/15/08
In constitutional theory yes.  frgough | 02/15/08
I repeat: It applies to the government.  ye | 02/15/08
Madonna  frgough | 02/15/08
The Madonna case appears to have involed the government.  ye | 02/15/08
Which theory?  CobraA1 | 02/16/08
Constitution haters should just leave.  bmerc | 02/19/08
The Madonna was painted on canvas,  dbradshaw@... | 02/19/08
Disagree  CobraA1 | 02/16/08
The First Amendment does not cover private entities  ye | 02/16/08
Says who?  CobraA1 | 02/16/08
the us constitution is the supreme law of the land.  pcguy777 | 02/18/08
Not in the United States of America.  B.O.F.H. | 02/16/08
You seem to be minunderstanding what I wrote.  ye | 02/16/08
What does this have to do with the SP3 EULA??  ThereThere | 02/19/08
I think it's an open question...  John L. Ries | 02/18/08
seperation of M$ and state  jaybyrd | 02/18/08
RE; disclosure  John_Doe69 | 02/18/08
Not likely  laura.b | 02/15/08
Contracts are not universally enforceable  frgough | 02/15/08
But this one is  laura.b | 02/15/08
There is an exception  soonerproud | 02/16/08
Agreements, Contracts, Licenses, Oh My  DannyO_0x98 | 02/15/08
This is a beta  laura.b | 02/18/08
Free speech: in reality or in fairy tales?  ozzie_tech | 02/18/08
Restricted  ldelorenzo | 02/18/08
You give up your "free speech" rights  Furiousrog | 02/19/08
Spoken like a true attorney  Ole Man | 02/19/08
So get written approval  Michael Kelly | 02/15/08
Agreement  LBean | 02/15/08
What dioes the Vista SP 1 EULA say?  jasonp@... | 02/15/08
Those EULA is just a joke  magallanes | 02/18/08
SP3 SLOWER than SP2 ?  wwwsupport | 02/18/08
I've benchmarked XP SP3  aussieblnd@... | 02/18/08
Eula; why prevent users from knowing performance?  bicard | 02/18/08
It has to be a fair test.  ben.rattigan | 02/19/08
can you mime the results?  talukdar_m@... | 02/18/08
Not much difference  itpro_z | 02/15/08
perhaps you should enable indexing...  stevey_d | 02/15/08
Try it?  itpro_z | 02/15/08
Vista's Search  soonerproud | 02/16/08
Can't. Huge security risk  xuniL_z | 02/16/08
All email goes through the internet, and most is unencrypted  stevey_d | 02/18/08
It's in writing....that's why. Normally intranet search indexing is not...  xuniL_z | 02/20/08
Thank you!  kd5auq | 02/15/08
Yes, the MMCSS issue is still there ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
Edition?  Comnenus | 02/15/08
Ultimate  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
Adrian, did you let Vista finish indexing the disk?  wolf_z | 02/15/08
Yes  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
if the documents folder are empty, there's nothing to index!  qmlscycrajg | 02/15/08
Finish Indexing  jdawgnoonan | 02/16/08
Funny  soonerproud | 02/16/08
Did you do a Vista to Vista SP1 test?  stevey_d | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  g_keramidas@... | 02/15/08
What is the power saving setting at? (nt)  ye | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  LBean | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  lance.stevens@... | 02/15/08
Um...  slopoke | 02/15/08
i think with that hardware it'd be tough to see a difference  stevey_d | 02/15/08
How about video games?  jdawgnoonan | 02/16/08
If you are talking about pre SP1 Vista  xuniL_z | 02/16/08
Yo Adriannnnnnn...  D. T. Schmitz | 02/15/08
Typo: That's "Why AREN'T"  D. T. Schmitz | 02/15/08
Thanks for the benchmarks!!  boed | 02/15/08
YO ADRIAN...  Mike Cox | 02/15/08
Mikey, Mikey, Mikey.  Arm A. Geddon | 02/15/08
Question? pffffffffffft (cough)  D. T. Schmitz | 02/15/08
You're right  John L. Ries | 02/18/08
Question about single file copies  boed | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  Bozzer | 02/15/08
re: George and Ed.  Arm A. Geddon | 02/15/08
For sure, for sure!  Ole Man | 02/15/08
Keith Combs actually strips out benchmark comments  boed | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  ThinkFr33ly | 02/15/08
Simple  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
WTF?! How is 4GB RAM middle of the road!!  afeazell@... | 02/15/08
2 GIG  boed | 02/15/08
Makes little difference ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
If you didn't test a typical configuration - 1 Gb RAM - you did it for who?  Just_true | 02/18/08
Adrian's road...  TranMan | 02/18/08
very true!  PhilippeV | 02/18/08
Wow  croberts | 02/15/08
Really, What percent of home users have 3.4GHz, 4GB, two HDs ???  Basic Logic | 02/15/08
I'll tell you what I'd like to try ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
Good idea!  boed | 02/15/08
Top idea!  Ben_E | 02/15/08
I could make a full-time job of this  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
It would still be better than my job! wink (NT)  Ben_E | 02/15/08
this is a great idea adrian; love to see the results  bicard | 02/18/08
True...  Ben_E | 02/15/08
Good point ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/15/08
Other testing...  Ben_E | 02/15/08
Windows 2000?  ChazzMatt | 02/18/08
Isn't the most relevant test...  gazzawazza | 02/19/08
I tend to disagree  boed | 02/15/08
What is this obsession with expecting a newer OS to run as fast or...  ye | 02/16/08
More or less  boed | 02/16/08
what is distracting Vista in the background  Ole Man | 02/17/08
Hellooo???  bmerc | 02/19/08
So by that theory....  gazzawazza | 02/20/08
What I have...  socialism=nowhere | 02/18/08
Two HD  Hsbarney@... | 02/18/08
Please post benchmarks for Windows 2003 with SP2  kchahal | 02/15/08
Not shabby  boed | 02/15/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  agifal@... | 02/15/08
OK ... but ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
What about Windows Defender?  agifal@... | 02/15/08
windows defender has NOT impact on file system copy operation  qmlscycrajg | 02/16/08
Are you sure about it?  agifal@... | 02/16/08
Some informal tests ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
Regarding Windows Defender ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
How about a realistic test  willm@... | 02/15/08
Gotto love the whinning apologists ...  wackoae | 02/15/08
The only thing that is slow is your brain...  agifal@... | 02/15/08
Aparently is faster than yours ....  wackoae | 02/16/08
Apparently you have never used Vista...  agifal@... | 02/16/08
Slow vs. Fast  boed | 02/16/08
Name calling is not going to make Vista faster ...  wackoae | 02/16/08
Pot calling Kettle, come in Kettle  bmerc | 02/19/08
The question is: Is Vista too slow for what you need to do?  ye | 02/16/08
Yes  boed | 02/16/08
That depends on a number of factors.  ye | 02/16/08
Does your point also mean that Linux is better than Vista? Explain. (NT)  Just_true | 02/19/08
If that car came with that luggage pre-install from the assembly line ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
To be fair Adrian AV is added to XP almost universally these days.  ye | 02/16/08
Yes, I agree ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
I understand. But in this instance Vista is doing more.  ye | 02/16/08
Adrian, would it be of use  xuniL_z | 02/17/08
Not exactly,  Arkyn1 | 02/17/08
speeds are negligible when you consider  xuniL_z | 02/17/08
Vista S-L-O-W  TranMan | 02/18/08
What OS was the network share running?  PB_z | 02/16/08
Network shares were all Vista SP1 ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
go for Network share test  xTalk | 02/16/08
XP VRS Vista  claymann39@... | 02/16/08
Sorry ... but ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
Tin Hats  Mr. Big | 02/16/08
That's one inconvenient truth...  srkinyon | 02/18/08
Bunk!  Ole Man | 02/17/08
Some thoughts  boed | 02/16/08
Here's how I do it ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
4GB ram  fanofflyn | 02/16/08
The system recognizes ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
DRM  boed | 02/16/08
o  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
Title should have been ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/16/08
more evidence Vista sucks  shoktai@... | 02/16/08
Did you need evidence?  boed | 02/16/08
So what's stopping you? (nt)  ye | 02/16/08
How many people submitted this to other places?  boed | 02/16/08
Unfair!  steveballmar@... | 02/16/08
Activity should not be Confused with Productivity  JWorthington | 02/18/08
SD  pupkin_z | 02/16/08
Product Loyalty!  steveballmar@... | 02/16/08
Use DOS if you need performance  pa2004 | 02/16/08
These Benchmarks are irrelevant to real world use.  xuniL_z | 02/16/08
Then take the time to create your own benchmarks  Mr. Big | 02/16/08
you dont judge a car by its speed  code_Warrior | 02/17/08
Worthy of XP?!  xTalk | 02/17/08
thats what BMW did and its a major success  code_Warrior | 02/17/08
When I'm getting passed on the streets by mopeds I do  boed | 02/17/08
you ought to be riding mopeds  code_Warrior | 02/17/08
what kind of jalopy do you drive  BrutalTruth | 02/17/08
The Vista Cruiser  boed | 02/17/08
Holy chit thats funny!  macrocosm@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  Gramaul | 02/17/08
Vista 64?  Gramaul | 02/17/08
Isn't the Vista Service pack only a Release Candidate?  Gramaul | 02/17/08
No  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/17/08
Sweet!  boed | 02/17/08
Vista vs XP  codypetry@... | 02/17/08
one file fails due to one reason or another the entire process doesn't fail  Ole Man | 02/17/08
Responsiveness is more important than speed  qmlscycrajg | 02/17/08
DOS was faster  tonymcs@... | 02/17/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  omaraljarrah@... | 02/17/08
Vista Ultimate vs. Vista Ultimate SP1  omaraljarrah@... | 02/18/08
Excellent Analysis! Nice work! Honest and Unbiased!  richard.ashford@... | 02/18/08
I agree  willgart@... | 02/18/08
Everyone is Missing the Point  brewakeg | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  MarkyGoldstein | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  davekrol@... | 02/18/08
Good testing, thx. Question-  crypt2121 | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  rachadbn@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  pc.williams@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  craig.uszak@... | 02/18/08
Benchmarks not the only measure, was Aero on?  cmartin@... | 02/18/08
Areo IS Vista  ChazzMatt | 02/18/08
As fast as technology advances...  masonwheeler | 02/18/08
MS sold us a Lemon (Vista) !  wwwsupport | 02/18/08
Not really  crypt2121 | 02/18/08
Not Really Really  wwwsupport | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  raharrin@... | 02/18/08
Great idea!  MultiMike | 02/18/08
Remember when...  pooby4444 | 02/18/08
Unripe, not green  MultiMike | 02/18/08
No excuses  green alien | 02/18/08
Come on  dobick@... | 02/18/08
Middle of the Road??  al@... | 02/18/08
I love Vista Ultimate  elliottxp | 02/18/08
Dont care about file moving times  Crestview | 02/18/08
Vista a Losing Proposition  NameRedacted | 02/18/08
Just like Mulinum  AZson | 02/18/08
Benchmarks  jerryack@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  michaelandbonnie@... | 02/18/08
lol  atari8bit@... | 02/18/08
slightly prejudice aren't we.  michaelandbonnie@... | 02/18/08
In which case...  John L. Ries | 02/18/08
My home fileserver still runs Windows 2000 pro...  nix_hed | 02/18/08
oops...  nix_hed | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  atari8bit@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  Samuel C. | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  Samuel C. | 02/18/08
Not a fair test. Get in here...  sharon@... | 02/18/08
you're right  atari8bit@... | 02/18/08
Yeah, but look at the spec  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 02/18/08
Ok you win  atari8bit@... | 02/19/08
It is a fair test.  ChazzMatt | 02/18/08
The same for Win95 vs. WinXP on a 10 years old PC....  sharon@... | 02/19/08
Las pruebas son las que mandan  raphael.munoz@... | 02/18/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  zilsker | 02/18/08
ok,but which has the better network code  conan99 | 02/18/08
No cumulative improvements  heyjohn@... | 02/18/08
64 bit?  DEK46656 | 02/18/08
re  jimk_z | 02/18/08
Wow!! Not One No_Ax Post!  itanalyst | 02/18/08
Aha Nice topic!  monukwt@... | 02/18/08
Nice topic!  ian_elevado@... | 02/19/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  mjhieu@... | 02/19/08
When XP SP3 Comes Out...  cjnollet@... | 02/19/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  evans_5@... | 02/19/08
When is hard drive technology going to catch up?  gwillcox@... | 02/19/08
The vast majority are happy with Vista,  ThereThere | 02/19/08
Vista performance much worse for average users  jim.denny@... | 02/19/08
The same for Win95 vs. WinXP....  sharon@... | 02/19/08
Nobody tech-educated expected SP1 to...  shoktai@... | 02/19/08
Benchmark(s)?  geof.newton@... | 02/19/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  mwagner@... | 02/19/08
A very narrow comparison of performance  jtrent@... | 02/19/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  911grandpa | 02/19/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  john@... | 02/19/08
WHY 32BIT  gaspah@... | 02/19/08
Vista SP1 marginally slower on my system  dcarrington01@... | 02/20/08
Did you get written permission from Microsoft  Ole Man | 02/20/08
Multi-Core Processor - Vista  johnsubscriptions@... | 02/23/08
Huh?  spookyone1 | 02/23/08
vista were  johni123 | 02/24/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  Reged | 02/25/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  bongomundo | 03/03/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  steve@... | 03/03/08
VISTA SP1 versus XPSP2  ramnet@... | 03/03/08
Where I live...  name4menu@... | 03/04/08
But isn't this ???  cjcon | 03/14/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  kianlav | 03/20/08
RE: Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2 - Benchmarked  kianlav | 03/20/08
RE: Server 2008 vs. Vista SP1 64bit - Benchmarked  Niptech | 04/06/08
Nothing new here  johnnydoe1894 | 12/30/08
Why not try comparing Vista and XP by price rather than Benchmarks?  Valen Celcia | 04/18/09

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