Windows 7 XP vs Vista vs 7: Resources + More

[Kyle]

Okay, so there's been a lot of talk about which is better, which runs leaner, which takes more space, etc.
So I decided; Hey! Why not test them all, in a controlled environment, allowing them the exact same treatment to get as accurate a result as possible? Good Idea?

I think so too. So here comes Kyle's Windows XP/Vista/7 Resource Test + More!


Environment

First things first, the environment I used.
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ stock (2.4 GHz, I reset the clock to get an accurate test)
3 GB System RAM (800 MHz DDR2)
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256 MB @ Stock (Again, reset)
Asus Motherboard
Integrated 10/100/1000 LAN connection
Windows 7 Build 7000 Ultimate x64 as the base OS


Then, I installed Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (64 Bit installer) on that platform, with nothing running in the background.
I then allocated 1 GB of RAM for the Virtual PC
I then set up three disks, One 10 GB disk for XP, and two 20 GB disks for Vista and 7.
The virtual machine itself only uses one core, so I let it have the full 2.4 GHz core.
I then installed each OS (Using XP Pro SP3, Vista Ultimate SP1, and The Windows 7 Ultimate Beta, all 32 Bit OS')
Then, I booted into each separately and ran the First boot memory tests.



Memory Test Results:

Windows XP Professional SP3 Results:

No Optimization (Untouched): Link Removed

Optimized (All unnecessary processes and services disabled): Link Removed


Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 Results:

No Optimization (Untouched): Link Removed

Optimized (All unnecessary processes and services disabled): Link Removed


Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) Results:

No Optimization (Untouched): Link Removed

Optimized (All unnecessary processes and services disabled): Link Removed


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Conclusion:

That's it so far, showing that (obviously) XP SP3 has the lead in RAM usage (76-82 MB), followed by 7 Beta (288-320 MB) and Vista SP1 (295-347 MB). Overall XP also has the least bloat, with 6.3%, followed by Seven with 10% and Vista bringing up the rear with 15%.

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Hard Disk Space Test:

Windows XP Professional SP3 Results: Link Removed

Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 Results: Link Removed

Windows 7 Ultimate Beta Results: Link Removed


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Conclusion:

Again, XP comes out on top, its clean install footprint only being 3.68 GB. Second place is 7 Beta, with 6.09 GB, and Vista comes in last with 7.34 GB. Seems like Vista has the most bloat on the hard disk as well. As for direct comparison, if XP = 100%, 7 Beta comes in at just over 65% more bloat, and Vista brings up the rear with over 99% over-sized.

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More tests coming soon, suggestions?
They can't be graphic based, due to the limitations of a virtual machine, but any other test I can administer easily.

.

 

[coltsRAGE]

wow well done with all the tech talk now its my turn. ok windows xp was able to run on about every pc. because it could run on almost every hardware. but it was not a very stable os. now when windows vista came out people bitched and complained that they had to buy a new pc. here are my veiws on vista i have had not one single problem with windows vista, now i dont know who spread the rumor around that vista sucks and doesnt work but they need to lay off the crack. windows vista in my opinion is the best most stable os that has come out. i had to rebuild my pc for vista and i didnt complain. also on the topic of windows 7 isnt it true that bill gates has yet again stole the idea from steve jobs>?Link Removed

if any body dissagrees that bill gates would never do anything like that, your fucking stupid. the only reason billgates is fucking rich is from stealing idead from other people do your history. do these pictures not disturb you at all i have been a pc guy for years but vista was fine come on windows people you cant jump on the bag wagon when people start to bitch. lets see xp was out for a very long time and they didnt give vista a chance.

 

[tblount]

Instead of making life easier they make it harder. I shall install my Win7 Home Premium only if I can find a way to have outlook express to work with it.
I definitely do not want an web based e-mail programme. Especially Live mail which is so faint that I have a hard time discerning the fonts. It is horrid to say the least!

Also in case someone thinks I do not like new OS' I LOVED XP when I first got it! So it is not a matter of moving ahead but rather making life easier!

Thanks anyway for your reply

It's not web based.. it works just like outlook express except the APPEARANCE is differet. If you upgrade Win 7 ..say from vista... when you install Windows Live email it will automatically configure your pop3 and smtp server and bring over any saved email and all your email folders. It's seemless and easy. If you do a clean install of win 7 you'll have to congigure live email .. but you would have to configure outlook express if you do a clean install.

I got excited too... but when I realized that nothing was different except the APPEARANCE I went on to something else.

 

[tanzanos]

It's not web based.. it works just like outlook express except the APPEARANCE is differet. If you upgrade Win 7 ..say from vista... when you install Windows Live email it will automatically configure your pop3 and smtp server and bring over any saved email and all your email folders. It's seemless and easy. If you do a clean install of win 7 you'll have to congigure live email .. but you would have to configure outlook express if you do a clean install.

I got excited too... but when I realized that nothing was different except the APPEARANCE I went on to something else.

I tried to find a way to change the appearance (to enhance the contrast) so that I can read what is on the screen better (like outlook express) but I could not find anything. Is there a reason why outlook express will not work with win7?

 

[gavin19]

..windows xp was able to run on about every pc...but it was not a very stable os

now i dont know who spread the rumor around that vista sucks and doesnt work but they need to lay off the crack. windows vista in my opinion is the best most stable os that has come out.

It wasn't just some guy who decided he didn't like Vista a spread a rumour, this was the opinion of thousands of people. There were so many problems for Vista initially, mostly driver related, that it took a big hit. Not to mention the jump in minimum requirements compared to XP. It's not a bad OS as such, but XP was more stable for the most part, was quicker (naturally), and had less hardware issues. I personally had no problems with Vista either but general opinion is that W7 is a big improvement.

As for MS ripping off the dock, that happens in all areas of computing. Firefox ripped off Opera plenty of times with the likes of Speed Dial but nobody says much. If it's a good feature then why not implement it?

 

[Highwayman]

and lest us not forget Apple ripped off IBM and Xerox

 

[chhriss]

hello,

"Windows XP has mature to where is the best OS in the market. It's better then Leopard or Tiger from Apple. It's more convinient than Linux and it has gone to a point that I feel it is very secure. Of course nothing is 100% secure, but Windows XP comes very close. The performance is much better than Vista and right now there are more compartible programs to XP than Vista. What would had me jump into Vista, a new file system and a faster seach engine, it's not being deliver. So why switch? Vista is a XP with a fancy look, nothing more. XP has become as secure as Vista, without the slowdown."
"Microsoft seems to want to force us to change to Vista and thus pay an exorbitant price for an OS that is only marginally more advanced (if at all) than XP. I like XP, it's stable, and it works with all of my hardware and software -- why should I switch?"
"XP to date is Microsoft's finest OS. They should have improved on it and called it Vista. I use both OS...and XP is still less tempermental. I can run any hardware on XP. Vista is still problematic. Granted...it's like Beauty and the Beast. Vista is all beauty...while XP works hard and keeps things in pretty good shape."
"XP is a great and efficient operating system - and extremely streamlined able to handle all the tasks I ever need to use such as multimedia, internet, document and administration. Even the performance of new PC's (quad core etc) being introduced on the market run poorly when using Vista operating system (most laptops even with a minimum of 2Gig memory run slow), and this is just unacceptable. In this day and age, a PC which is watch while you wait groaning under the strain of Vista is pathetic. On the other hand, 2Gig with XP results in a very fast and responsive operating system. Until 64bit PCs become mainstream, then perhaps it might be about time to think about a new operating system such as Vista. In the meantime, XP should definitely stay. Microsoft have miscalculated the views of many in the industry as well as end-users just for the sake of boosting their bottom line."
"Windows XP is, in my opinion, the best OS Microsoft has developed. It's fast (being able to run decent on 128MB of RAM, and runs wonderfully on 512MB), and it's very user friendly. Vista is a resource hog (anyone remember Windows 95? Yeah...), needing at least 1GB of RAM to run smoothly. 512MB runs fine, but does run as a slow XP would, and that's terrible. I myself, love XP, and hate Vista. I will continue to use XP as my primary OS as long as possible. I think Microsoft should continue the sales, and support of XP to give the people choice, which is what people really do want."
"I've downgraded numerous times ( from Vista to XP)... actually, let's call it Upgraded. XP has all the features most people need and is very reliable. Vista has been difficult and does not offer anything new I need."
"XP -- solid, reliable, customizeable, yet still retaining a lot of backward-compatibility with older hardware/software. Vista -- makes the simple tasks done in XP (i.e. copying data files directly to CD) difficult and cumbersome. UAC? An insult to everyone's intelligence (and not customizeable -- it's either full "on" or full "off"). Much like Apple's iTunes inability to sort playlists by track number AND year, Microsoft has adopted the approach that THEIR way is better, and we'll tell you how the programs will work, what they can do, what they won't do. I hope XP thrives for many years to come, until Microsoft gets it right (XP is pretty close)."
"XP! IT WORKS! I DON'T LOVE IT - BUT IT WORKS! Please leave it alone. Note to Bill, if you must continue to develop, develop a perfect XP. Or a perfect ME or 2000 or 98 or 3.1! That would be quite a vista."




thanks
Link Removed

 

[Highwayman]

"XP! IT WORKS! I DON'T LOVE IT - BUT IT WORKS! Please leave it alone. Note to Bill, if you must continue to develop, develop a perfect XP. Or a perfect ME or 2000 or 98 or 3.1! That would be quite a vista."

LUDDITE ALERT !!! LOL, Dude are you in a timewarp? even 3 years ago most of that was proved to be rubbish. Arguing which is better when your talking about Xp vs Vista is like arguing about who has the best version of a Gameboy when everyone has moved up to a DS....lol

 

[SKJoy2001]

It wasn't just some guy who decided he didn't like Vista a spread a rumour, this was the opinion of thousands of people. There were so many problems for Vista initially, mostly driver related, that it took a big hit. Not to mention the jump in minimum requirements compared to XP. It's not a bad OS as such, but XP was more stable for the most part, was quicker (naturally), and had less hardware issues. I personally had no problems with Vista either but general opinion is that W7 is a big improvement.

As for MS ripping off the dock, that happens in all areas of computing. Firefox ripped off Opera plenty of times with the likes of Speed Dial but nobody says much. If it's a good feature then why not implement it?

I agree with the statements you made.

 

[stueycaster]

Instead of making life easier they make it harder. I shall install my Win7 Home Premium only if I can find a way to have outlook express to work with it.
I definitely do not want an web based e-mail programme. Especially Live mail which is so faint that I have a hard time discerning the fonts. It is horrid to say the least!

Also in case someone thinks I do not like new OS' I LOVED XP when I first got it! So it is not a matter of moving ahead but rather making life easier!

Thanks anyway for your reply

I loved XP when it first came out too. That's because it was a huge improvement over Win98 and WinME. Win98 was a huge improvement over Win95. Now I find Win 7 to be a huge improvement over XP. Win 7 is a super sweet operating system. It does everything with ease. It networks perfectly and it set up my printer all by itself. I've never seen anything like it.

The interface needs a little learning but that's ok. It's not like I'm incapable of learning.

 

[SKJoy2001]

I tried to find a way to change the appearance (to enhance the contrast) so that I can read what is on the screen better (like outlook express) but I could not find anything. Is there a reason why outlook express will not work with win7?

Because it no longer exists.

 

[stueycaster]

Windows Live Mail is the same thing only a little more modern. It works fine. My antispam program integrates nicely into it. I've got no problems with it at all.

 

[diance]

Windows 7

thanks for sharing.....Link Removed