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Community Newsletter: Q&A: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine?
- 1/11/08 3:13 PM
2 items slow using Vista
by goofytechie - 1/4/08 5:20 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
by Dual boot Vista & XP Pro & using Passmark Performance Test
on both & comparing results 2 items are obvious
Memory Management is 25% to 30% slower with Vista
next Video Performance 2D & 3D is very much slower
making XP Pro at 3 too 6x faster Video 2D & 3D reason for
Gamers using XP Pro against Vista barely running any games
I advise all Vista purchased PC & Laptops, partition drive
make 2nd Primary NTFS partition install XP on it,
then setup Dual boot
Vista SP1 did improve memory test, but its still below XP test
Vista's main major problem is 2D & 3D display tests
either Microsoft or ATI must give reason for the difference
Hard Drive, CPU math test are the same with both systems,
bye Retired Techie Keith
For me, Vista is faster
by archer75 - 1/4/08 8:43 PM In reply to: 2 items slow using Vista by goofytechieMy system with an ATI card is faster than XP on the same computer. Game for game, on my computer, Vista is faster.
Even Maximum PC shows that in a recent review the ATI card performed better in Vista while Nvidia lost performance.
DUAL OS BOOT?
by Good-PC.Guy! - 1/8/08 9:58 PM In reply to: 2 items slow using Vista by goofytechieSO HOW DID YOU, YOURSELF, MANAGE TO GET YOUR PC TO DUAL BOOT Vista & XP-Pro?
I HAD RECOMMENDED DOING JUST THAT BUT, WAS TOLD THAT THE Vista-OS WOULD NOT ALLOW THE XP-OS TO BE ADDED.
SOME MORE LIGHT NEEDS TO BE SHED ON THIS GREAT IDEA! HOPE YOU HAVE MORE ANSWERS.
How to improve your speed?
by afro2358 - 1/4/08 5:54 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm not a wizard when it comes to knowing your machine, but, what i did to improve my computer{Pentium 4 CPU 3.40 GHz,4.0 GB RAM, 150GB Hard Drive}speed, was that I took my $153. Windows Vista software off my computer and reinstalled back my Windows XP, and i must say: "New And Improved". I found myself spending more time on my computer than i ever did when i had Windows XP, plus, there was alot of my things (Hardware & software) that was not working properly with Vista and i was not going to spend more money to upgrade those things just because of Windows Vista, so i removed it and no regrets. All my hardwares and softwares are working good, my computer is as fast as fast can be. As for me, Windows Vista was just not ready for "PRIME TIME".
Vista
by dave32264 - 1/4/08 5:56 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Best thing you can do to improve the speed of your computer is to dump Vista altogether. It's the biggest piece of garbage M$ has put out since ME. Go back to XP (I recommend XP Pro over the home edition) or better yet, dump M$ completely and start using Linux or Mac.
Services and processes
by sntnlz75 - 1/4/08 6:49 PM In reply to: Vista by dave32264Although ditching is a very tempting solution I'm sure you had it in mind when you asked. If you know a little about the OS you can stop all the garbage that runs on your system and consumes it's "brain power" and you can also remove some startup services and resident processes some of which are visible in your system tray area like Quicktime & CinePlayer and some are not like Acrobat.
Based on what you use your PC for, you are the best judge when it comes to which services to stop. Keep in mind that your Os may become a little unstable upon stopping some services even if you don't use them.
Personally, I have swallowed the pain of having paid for Vista Premium and reverted to XP because buying new Vista compatible hardware and software would cost more!
Huh?
by dave32264 - 1/4/08 7:46 PM In reply to: Services and processes by sntnlz75"Although ditching is a very tempting solution I'm sure you had it in mind when you asked"
Sorry you must be confused I didn't ask anything, I was responding to the original post and yes I know a little about the OS as I have been in the computer industry for almost 30 years. But yes, stopping processes that one knows nothing about can make for a traumatic experience, especially when the bloatware we call windoze uses quite a few of them and the names of most are ambiguous at best. As I stated in my post, XP Pro is the best way to go IF you really have to use M$, otherwise linux and mac will do the trick with a lot less headaches and a lot less bloat.
A couple things...
by awchandler - 1/4/08 6:13 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First off, I was in the same boat as you until I jumped ship. I had Vista on my dell when it first came out. I couldn't take it and switched to mac.
But I have had to help out lots of other people...
Depending on how savvy you are with a computer the best thing to do would be to backup your files, remove then reinstall Vista. Most manufactures image the OS onto many computers at once that files can get corrupt. They also pack on tons of trial software and marginal apps like Google Earth that are useless, and hog resources.
Reinstall Vista, install drivers then run updates. Don't install Google Desktop, ANY toolbars or trials of anitvirus EVER... These apps are impossible to get rid of. If you need an antivirus get free AVG. It's good and ha a small footprint.
Vista will run a little slow at first (normal) because it is indexing for faster searches. After a day or so of being on it will speed up. Don't turn on the sidebar unless you really need it. Do a search in control panel for UAC and turn that monster OFF!
If you don't want to redo your vista install just attempt the other stuff.
I don't have to remind you that file sharing apps are a bad choice.
Recommended Changes to Vista
by usatri1 - 1/4/08 6:35 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hey Darren,
I understand you are having trouble with Vista. Welcome to the club! As I am sure you have seen many responses on this issue from IT techs like myself, I will try and make this simple.
First off, remove as many programs from the PC in the Add/Remove section of Control Panel that you do not need. The reason is it will kill many of processes that take up system resources. The trick is to remove programs that are not linked to others that you will want. For example, if you load digital camera software, try and limit what it installs.
Second, your hardware description needs more detail. Processor speeds vary and the actual GHz does not mean as much as it used to. For example, I have a Intel Core2 at 2.4 GHz. My previous processor was an Intel P4 Extreme 3.0GHz. Even though the 3.0 was faster in certain single applications, I can do more with the Core2. Also, harddrive speed can also be a factor. I personally think my 10K RPM Raptor drive makes a significant difference vs the standard 7500 RPM. If your memory is the lastest and greatest, 2 Gigs is plenty for testing the speed during the initial boot.
Lastly, Vista is very much like the release of Windows 98 (First addition). A piece of crap in my opinion! I back tracked to XP and am waiting for the next service pack release before trying it again.
Short of that, you will have to do more research on the compatibility of your internal parts (i.e. Motherboard, Harddrive, DVD/CD ROMs, etc.). Not all hardware works well with Windows. My last Intel motherboard required 3 BIOS upgrades to get the right combo when I built my gaming PC. Anyway, that is all I can come up with for now. Good luck!
Michael
Some things you need to understand
by archer75 - 1/4/08 8:32 PM In reply to: Recommended Changes to Vista by usatri1Most of the people using vista know nothing about it, and don't remember what is was like when XP first launched, we've been with it for so long it may be hard to remember. Even then people complained about how slow XP was compared to 98.
With any new OS you need new drivers and updated apps. Hardware vendors need to learn to write for the new OS and get high quality drivers out there. It takes time and not all of them are quality. Same issue when XP launched. There was just less hardware to support then. Then as the years went by and people bought XP systems they got much more mature drivers and everything just worked. Same thing will happen with Vista.
I am lucky in that regard as my Vista x64 system is rock solid and I have good drivers all around. My system doesn't lock up. Not once.
"Unfortunately, you inadvertently pointed out the problem yourself: Vista is about looks. Every one of those effects, from the translucent windows to the pearlescent shine to the oversized icons, eats up processing power that would otherwise be spent on running applications."
This statement is inaccurate. Yes, there is alot more going on with the GUI, and it does take more processing power. However, that has all been moved to your video card. In XP your system used the cpu and ram to run the GUI and your video card sat idle. Now your video card does all the work and the GUI affects system performance even less than with XP. Also, the GUI is disabled when gaming so it won't eat up your video cards resources.
People also complain about the amount of RAM Vista runs with. What you are seeing is superfetch in action. Vista isn't using all of your ram to run, it's caching programs to it.
In XP RAM unused by the OS sat idle doing nothing. Idle ram is wasted ram. In Vista it learns what apps you commonly use and caches them to ram, so they launch quickly when you are ready to use them. And when that app/game you launched needs that ram to run the system instantly releases that ram to it.
What that means is that Vista is a self tuning OS. As such it gets faster over time as it learns your computing habits.
On my computer Vista is VERY fast. Faster than XP. It seems to scale better with higher end hardware than XP while XP is still better with lower end hardware. The best drivers seem to be for Intel chipsets and ATI video cards. In a recent issue of Maximum PC they reviewed the new Nvidia 8800GT and the ATI 3750(whatever it's called) and the Nvidia card lost about 10FPS(30%) in Vista over XP. However the ATI card didn't lose any performance at all. In fact in Vista the ATI card gained a few frames.
It's all about getting quality drivers.
On the system i'm on now I have OS X Leopard and Vista, dual boot. In World of Warcraft I get better frame rates in Vista than I do in Leopard. On the same computer.
Now, how to speed up your system?
Remove the junk that comes pre installed on prebuilt systems. Most of is crap anyways.
Just use Vista, as it learns your habits superfetch will make things faster.
Drivers are being update constantly as it's a new OS and hardware vendors are still learning it and releasing better drivers all the time. Update them often.
Stay up to date with your windows updates.
I would suggest downloading and installing some of the patches here:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2177716,00.asp
They aren't in your windows updater but are on microsoft's knowledge base and address a number of issues. These and others will make up the bulk of SP1.
One guy that knows something in a sea of stupidity
by BigGuns149 - 1/5/08 1:35 AM In reply to: Some things you need to understand by archer75Having run Vista for almost two years I can say you are right. Most people whining about Vista don't remember that XP was much worse when it first came out.
improve the speed of vista
by Settyin - 1/4/08 8:29 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
better u reinstall vista,i think its very superb and fast and also u need install vista applications and latest update,patchs.
Improve the speed of vista
by millburytimes - 1/4/08 8:36 PM In reply to: improve the speed of vista by SettyinI did a lot of research on Vista and saved my money before I bought my Dell. I got as much memory as I could and and a dual hard drive. Yes, it cost me a lot, but I love it and I don't have any problems with speed, etc. You get what you pay for, and it is a shame that the cheaper Vista models do not work well. How can you enjoy all the bells and whistles of Vista, if you can't run it. So I guess all the suggestions will work, and you will have the speed again, but you will be down to bare bones with no fun left, just a word processor or a mail retriever. Save your money before you buy Vista and get a fast machine to begin with.
Windows Vista Ultimate Is The Best O.S. Ever
by viv2006 - 1/4/08 10:02 PM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using vista since when it was launched but i never experienced any problems in it. But i liked it very much. Now i am addicted to vista and i dont think i'll ever degrade it to older versions of windows. i have been using vista past 6 months but never had any troubleshooting. my config is c2d 2.0ghz, 2gb ddr2, 200gd sata, 8600gt 512mb. I dont know how everyone say vista is bad and has a lot of problems. i think so that they create problems with vista.
Speedimg up Vista
by Jeffmeagor - 1/5/08 3:36 AM In reply to: What can I do to improve the speed of my Vista machine? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using vista for 5 months and I have improved my Windows Experience index base score from 1.2 to 4.5.
First of all I replaced Nortons with a free anti virus software found on the internet (AVAST) this system works with dos, I then purchased a new pci graphics card 512mg gforce 7300t for £45.00, I did not use the drivers included instead I down loaded drivers RIVA TUNER when loaded I bumped up my memory speed and processer speed (USING RIVA TUNER software) . My score then went up to 4.5 which I have found to as fast as XP.
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