In last few days I had finally time to check out if SP1 for Vista brings any performance for my Vista 64-bit. It is a short report about my latest tests on Windows Vista 64-bit with service pack 1.

 

It is 6PM on Wednesday. Because I want to test my Windows Vista 64-bit without any additional software, I am installing Windows Vista 64-bit fresh on my formatted hard drive. The idea is to find out the exact benchmarks for my selected hardware. Windows Vista 64-bit installation without SP1 took 75 Minutes. I needed 35 minutes to install all drivers on my computer.

 

Microsoft says it is time for more performance and more battery lifetime. SP1 promises better driver and hardware compatibility and performance for Windows Vista and especially for Vista 64-bit. The downloaded SP1 for Vista 64-bit is approximately 744MB.

 

Windows Vista SP1 installation took over 68 minutes. But the installation was without any problem. Computer restated 4 times automatically and after installation was my computer ready to go.

 

I have to check my test system (see below) with benchmark program PCMark Vantage. My test took more than 95 minutes. My test includes hard drive performance, video performance, video editing, energy usage and more.

In my test, the number of points after SP1 installation are only around 3-4 percent more than before without SP1. Subjectively, the system behaves more quickly and seems to react faster input. Microsoft promises with the Service Pack 1 also more speed at copying and pasting of files. SP1 for vista does what it promises so far.

Vista SP1 Performance




Vista SP1 Battery Saving




One of the criticisms for Windows Vista 64-bit was the power consumption in notebooks. Compared to Windows XP, Vista was the battery killer. In my test with a HP Pavilion HDX Notebook with Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit I was able to use my Notebook 10 percent longer after SP1 Installation.

This was my first test with the service pack 1 for Windows Vista 64-bit. I can say that Microsoft could bring more power saving with SP1 but we have to get happy with 10 percent. The overall performance after SP1 installation is not noticeable but you can fill that your copying of files is much faster than before and it is around 25 percent faster. Computer starts in 40 seconds. It means 40 seconds faster than before for my selected hardware. Starting faster is good News after SP1 installation on Vista 64-bit.

 

I will publish the complete tests and benchmarks in few days and we can see what the service pack 1 does for our system with Windows Vista 64-bit.

 

This was my first test with the Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista 64-bit. So far, it can be said that a power surge after the update is inevitable. However, it is clear that Microsoft energy management system is screwed and it practices so noticeably longer battery run-time. Further tests with the final version of SP1 are currently performed. The results are available in the near future. 

 

My test system: 

 

Hardware:

 

ü  HP Pavilion HDX

ü  2 GB of RAM with 800 MHz

ü  Intel Dual Core Duo with 2.4 GH

ü  512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS

ü  500GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2)

 

Software:

 

ü  Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

ü  PCMark

ü  Photoshop