Windows 8 delivers the goods on benchmarks

Most people may swear by the number seven for luck, but results from CNET Labs show that Microsoft's new favorite very well could be lucky number 8.

CNET Labs has released its system benchmarks comparing Windows old and new, and they've discovered that Microsoft's controversial new operating system doesn't steamroll over Windows 7 as much as it gently shoves it out of the way.

Read more at source:
Windows 8 delivers the goods on benchmarks | Windows 8 - CNET Reviews
 
All this proves is that other than boot up time W8 is not faster at anything. I didn't need someone else to show me that, figured it out on my own, lol.

And of course we can't count wake up time from sleep because w8 did so poorly, yeah.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W7
"Our test bed is a Dell XPS desktop, running a 3.2GHz Core i7 processor, with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, a Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS PCI-Express with 512 MB RAM graphics card, and a 1 TB Western Digital hard drive"

With specs like these the differences aren't going to be much, but on older hardware or more "typical" of what the average user has Windows 8 will perform better. A real test of Windows 8 performance is to take a range of typical spec'd older and newer machines and run both OS's on them to compare. This is the reason Windows 8 isn't going to boost PC sales, unlike Vista users won't need to upgrade in order to run 8. I installed W7 on an old Dell Latitude D620 Laptop with a Centrino CPU and 2GB ram and performance wasn't that great, so much so that it was sitting on the shelf for years. I installed W8 on it and it runs fine and its now being used again, it even plays HD video without issue which it couldn't do before without stuttering.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7, Windows 8 RP
As you can see I have a fairly older Acer, which wasn't a powerhouse to begin with. I did max the mem to 2GBs. I definitely noticed a big difference in performance in 7. I'm getting even better performance with 8. If I slide a HDD and a decent video card in I won't need a new machine.

I'm also greatly considering a touch screen now with 8. I will hardly use that nasty mouse anymore. :) I have no problem extending my arm, for I work construction and do it all day long. I'll also dual monitor with my present one. I think I'll be good to go!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer T690
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Acer/Intel E946GZ
    Memory
    2GB (max upgrade)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
    Sound Card
    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL1917W A LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440 X 900
    Hard Drives
    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
    Thumb drives
    PSU
    Standard 250 watt
    Case
    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
    Cooling
    Dual case fans + CPU fan
    Keyboard
    Acer Windows PS/2
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft Arc
    Internet Speed
    54mbp/s
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
I don't see how any can use Windows 8 and not notice the huge difference in boot times and other responsiveness markers. They really made it lean. Not forcing so many processes to be loaded up at start-up. Windows 7 boots to the desktop in pretty good times. However, even though you're at the desktop, there's still a ton of stuff still loading in so if you're measuring time to have everything loaded and being full responsive, Windows 8 is much better.

My old laptop with Windows 8 on a hard drive boots up about the same speed as the same laptop with Windows 7 on an SSD. Unfortunately, I can't upgrade this laptop to Windows 8 due to lack of video drivers and other problems. But Windows 8 is pretty impressive at making old hardware responsive.

And it makes sense. If you're having an OS that can work on lighter hardware specs (like for tablets), if you suddenly give that OS the power of desktop class hardware, it'll feel incredibly responsive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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