Vista Benchmarks, Review & an XP Tweak

[koolbluez]

A recent visit to TomsHardware brought two pages to my notice...

Windows XP vs. Vista: The Benchmark Rundown
&
Windows Vista's SuperFetch and ReadyBoost Analyzed

Wanted to share it with my friends here...

Regd. the XPvsVista analysis, bottomline(as the pro's can tell)'s that programs like encoding, transcoding & other workloads'll run slower in Vista but the overall performance'll look smoother & faster, thanks to Superfetching & ReadyDrive.
Regd the latter... SuperFetch analyzes your behavior and proactively puts applications into available main memory, so they can be launched quicker. Of course this requires as much main memory as possible, which is where the second feature engages. ReadyBoost is the memory extension for the Superfetching feature of Vista. It allows adding more memory to the system, a la the swap file, via expanding the main memory size with the intended swap storage device being the cheaper & reasonably fast USB 2.0 Flash drive, instead of more RAM. The reason being.. Flash Drives r faster than HardDisks.

All said & done in a few words, I'll like u 2 look into the pages too for more info. A must-read for all enthusiasts. Really informative.

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NOTE

I'ld also like to add a bit of info about a method I've been using from quite sometime... and it really works.
Even XP users can use the ReadyDrive feature.
How?
By customizing the virtualRAM properties and making ur USB 2.0 stick as a storage device/drive for virtual RAM/Swap file, u can actually emulate the ReadyDrive feature of Vista.

Not exactly ReadyDrive technology, but move the whole swap file to the USB... instead of using the slower harddisk for VRAM.

[rajasekharan]

I dont like the u.s.b concept . . I will buy ram instead . . Any how ,i want to know . . How is the performance of 3dmax, maya and and combustion in vista ???

[koolbluez]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No doubt.. slower. The USB concept's for those who need more RAM but don't wanna pay huge for marginal usage... RAM's always faster....

[rajasekharan]

I guess its 2400 for 512 ram . . It helps a lot . Better if you are looking for u.s.b solely used only as cache thing . Just add 1k more . But if you only use u.s.b very rarely for cache ,then its ok . Else NOT RECOMMENDED .

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by rajasekharan

I dont like the u.s.b concept . . I will buy ram instead . . Any how ,i want to know . . How is the performance of 3dmax, maya and and combustion in vista ???

Right now, they do not work. They are unable to find DX 9c runtime & it's libraries, so they don't start

Don't know about combustion, but After effects crashes with an "Unknows video device" error

[ambandla]

don't you think storing a swap file on flash memory is good. it's access time is better than that on Harddrive.

[gxsaurav]

flash memory is limited to only a few write times. such as 20000 writes, well....using readyboost they won't last more then 6, 7 months, better get more RAM

[koolbluez]

Saurav... ReadyBoost's only for that sudden surges of power we sometimes need... like turboboost in racing
Rarely used.
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The method I said doesn't mean Flash drives as replacement for RAM, but as replacement for HardDisks.
If u've more RAM, there wont b any need of VRAM. But supposing a need arises anytime... the USB Stick'll prove a better option than a hard disk.
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And it's best for those people who've a spare USB stick or get old ones for free/cheap, like I've. My old 512mb flashdisk I use as VRAM store. My new 2GB wallah for other purposes.