Windows 8 vs. Windows 7 Benchmarks: Microsoft's Latest OS Put to the Test

[Guest]

Thanks for posting these tests. I tried 8 but didn't like it so it's good to know 7 performs almost as well. Looking forward to 9.

 

[Guest]

Seriously, unless an application during install asks for it, how many of you are rebooting their system every month? Never heard of hibernation or standby? I don't think I reboot my system more than 6 times a year. This boot-time argument is really getting old...sigh, anyone who keeps bringing it up when we have to discuss overall performance is simply a noob.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Seriously, unless an application during install asks for it, how many of you are rebooting their system every month?

I don't, I do it everyday. When I shut my PC down, I want a clean boot next time I turn it on.

This boot-time argument is really getting old...sigh, anyone who keeps bringing it up when we have to discuss overall performance is simply a noob.

Since I don't use hibernation or system standby, I guess you can call me a noob. To be honest I don't really care what you call me. At the end of the day I know I'm not a noob because when I boot my PC, I will know I do not have any possible issues that may have lingered over the last few days or weeks.

 

[dividebyzero]

I don't think I reboot my system more than 6 times a year

So what? Some of us have hardware swap outs, general upgrades, driver, BIOS and OS install/reinstall/updates, and watercooling loop maintenance to factor in...I guess if you're not into any of that, six times a year is a fair number.

 

[Guest]

Not everyone is a hipster with a laptop. Some of us have workstations with hardware that doesn't 'sleep' well.

 

[Guest]

Sorry, this is incorrect information.

The RTM version of Windows 8 comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

 

[ThunderBird89]

It seems there's a slight flaw in the methodology: On Windows 8, you test all three major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, and IE 10), but for comparison, on Windows 7, you only provide scores for IE 9. Given the version difference and all that it entails, I'm not sure we can have a comparison between browser performance this way...

 

[cliffordcooley]

I'm not sure we can have a comparison between browser performance this way...

I thought the same when I noticed Windows 8 & Excel 2013 was matched up with Windows 7 & Excel 2010. Which exactly is being benchmarking, Windows or Office? If both Office versions were to be used, both version should have been benchmarked on Windows 7 and 8.

 

[Guest]

Dont know why peoples are yelling at windows 8 metro style.

I am using windows 8 and its better than 7 in looks and functionalty only thing is no start menu. Instead got a full start menu I think people complaining that no start menu in windows they will not taste windows 8 after that they will no say that Or they are not brave to use windows 8 metro

 

[Tanstar]

Win 7 can run on an older netbook, can Win8? Got an Asus netbook running WinXP. Wanted to upgrade it to Win7, but since Win8 will be much cheaper I'd be willing to give it a shot on my netbook.

 

[Julio Franco]

Updates...

We have added Chrome and Firefox to our browsing tests, looking good for Windows 8.

Also we added Excel 2010 running on Windows 8 for an apples to apples comparison against Windows 7. The Office 2013 test result is still there for comparisons sake.

Wake up from sleep is coming soon.

 

[Guest]

Most people I know have pinned their most used apps to the desktop for easy acces. Metro does just that. And of you claim to be a power user, stop whining and start learning. Anything you can do on win7 you can do on win8 and then some.

 

[ET3D]

Thanks for the article. I imagine that game performance will improve over time. Early on Vista vs. XP didn't paint a good picture for Vista, due to lack of mature drivers, but later on the picture changed completely and Vista got better scores.

 

[Stupido]

Most people I know have pinned their most used apps to the desktop for easy acces. Metro does just that. And of you claim to be a power user, stop whining and start learning. Anything you can do on win7 you can do on win8 and then some.

amen to that...

 

[Guest]

doesn't get mentioned much but on a localhost LAN Win7 and XPpro do not play well together. sync speeds over the wire are really slow whereas I suspect they are fine if you are using the same OS on you LAN. From a business perspective, I just don't see any advantage to any of these new OS's over the venerable XP. sure boot times are slow, but come on is it that important how fast your system boots? I'll bet XP on an SSD will show noticeable start up improvements too. just some thoughts

 

[Guest]

And as always, everyone is afraid to pit XP vs something new in fear XP will out perform the newcomer. We did our own tests here at the shop, and while not over-the-top, XP was indeed faster on the same hardware vs 7 and 8.

But yes, 8 is marginally faster than 7. (n)

 

[Guest]

So what? XP is just too old to be around. The basic security architecture simply does not cut it anymore. Then when you factor in the myriad enhancements that are in the later versions there is no way I would consider going back to XP. Who cares if it is "fast" when the real time-saving features are completely absent.

 

[DanUK]

Great article, thanks guys. I will definitely be giving win 8 a try.. not used it once yet but I can tell already it's going to be better. I hardly ever use the start button so i'm really not bothered by that at all, plus I switch off my computer at least once or twice a day.

 

[Guest]

The general theme with this article seems to be:

Windows 7 results marginally better than Windows 8 = "Similar performance, little difference"
Windows 8 results marginally better than Windows 7 = "x% better/faster/improvement"

 

[tw0rld]

I will be switching to windows 8. I don't see what the big fuss is about. People find the least thing to whine and complain about. There is no perfect OS, not at this point lets live with the flaws, while taking advantages of the things that work. Windows 8 is a great step forward. This is Microsoft way of Migrating people to the cloud(not a fan of cloud computing and storage).

 

[Guest]

I usually leave my system up so the increase in shutdown / boot don't affect me much. The gaming looks slower, and the performance differences are largely a mixed bag. Add to that the awful interface and the way Microsoft has moved all functions around to keep you searching for what used to be so easy to do. When I tried it on a VM it took me 10 minutes just to figure out how to shut down. It's not intuitive at all. I'm sold. Windows 7 is staying on my box.

 

[wiyosaya]

Someone's a fan.

I would like to see the same tests also run but on a AMD FX processor. Just like Ike mentioned

Why exactly? What are you expecting to see, or hoping to see?

Because, M$ claimed that it would be putting a thread scheduler that is aware of the unique architecture of the AMD FX chips into 8, and that may allow FX to show its mettle. Reviews of FX all basically show that MT performance on FX is quite good. So, if you are running an OS that has many threads running and is aware of the FX architecture, then FX might just shine in an environment like that.

 

[Guest]

"I will be switching to windows 8. I don't see what the big fuss is about. People find the least thing to whine and complain about. There is no perfect OS, not at this point lets live with the flaws, while taking advantages of the things that work. Windows 8 is a great step forward. This is Microsoft way of Migrating people to the cloud(not a fan of cloud computing and storage)."

I'll be switching to decaffeinated coffee. I don't see what the big fuss is about. I think I am just looking for little things to complain about. There is no perfect coffee and at this point I think I should just live with the flaws while taking advantage of the good things about decaffeinated coffee. This is coffee sellers way of migrating people to decaffeinated coffee(not a fan of it though). But I'm gonna run out and buy some anyway and fall in line like a good little soldier. Hate to be accused of whining. I couldn't live with the social stigma of that label ever being attached to me. Oh, that reminds me. Guess I'll have to run out and buy Windows 8 also.

 

[bnlf00]

lol wtf u talking about. If you run the test multiple times probably u gonna get those few points up and down. The test will lways show the same points, its the same hardware...too few was changed on the OS that would change the final score.
Mine is actually getting better score on win8 than win7 but for real, in games, ati drivers are still bad (about 10-15% fps drop in comparison with win7), but they are going to change it with the final drivers they said.

 

[Julio Franco]

Wake up from sleep test added, although I anticipate testing on a desktop environment is not the same as testing on laptops that carry particular power saving features for waking up from sleep in less time.

 

[Guest]

Typically, the pattern for Microsoft OS's is for each bad version, a better one comes out a bit later (for Example, Windows ME to Windows XP / 2000, or Windows Vista to Windows 7).

For my money, I'll hold onto Windows 7 a bit longer to see what they release after Windows 8. All in all though, there doesn't seem to be enough of an improvement in it's current state for me to consider switching over yet... that is, unless the rumor of Windows 8 allowing you to play Xbox 360 games turned out to be true, but doubtful as Microsoft would be shooting itself in the foot with it's console sales.