Windows Aero interface performance and menu latency vs. XP

On my desktop which runs XP I have all the animations and effects disabled and even applied a few registry tweaks for more responsive menus, on my laptop with Vista running Aero I have not modified any settings and still the OS responsive.

 

I promised to run some benchmarks. I ran Passmark Perfomance Test 64 bit. For each setting I ran the benchmark three times.

System: Dell Studio 1555, P8400, 4GB, ATI 4570 512MB DDR3, 500GB 5400rpm.
OS: Windows Vista 64 bit set to High performance.

Vista Aero, Transparency on, Best appearance
960, 947, 955

Vista Aero, Transparency off, Best Appearance
968, 975, 976

Windows Classic, Best Appearance
1034, 1028, 1033

Windows Classic, Best Performance
1033, 1037, 1043

Higher Passmark rating means faster.

 

I'd bet that if you run it with windows 98 you would get an even higher score.

 

I guess you haven't read the part where some people said Aero runs faster because it uses the GPU.

And by the way, turning off Aero is a viable option, running Windows 98 isn't.

 

I've read the entire thread and am enjoying the back and forth immensely. I've used xp pro and had this same conversation with a Microsoft tech when I upgraded to Vista when it first came available. He insisted that it wasn't slower than xp and went on about the animations and reluctantly admitted it was slower by I forget how many milliseconds. I realize that it may be slower but I will never go back to xp or Vista now that 7 is here.

 

You seem to think that I'm talking about going back to a previous OS. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the performance of the Aero vs. Classic interface within Vista. The same thing will probably apply within Windows 7.

If people want to maximize Windows 7 performance there is the option of running Windows Classic interface.

 

I would not turn off Aero because it looks better, just like IE8 looks better than other browsers. Other browsers out benchmark IE8, some by a longshot, but they look inferior IMO so they do not perform as well. I was using Firefox and Chrome with Vista because IE8 was buggy and would often freeze up. With Windows 7 it works without hiccups so far. IE8 looks really good with Windows 7. I would be interested to see a Passmark comparison of 7 and XP but I don't have XP on either of my computers.

 

OK, I got ya, I haven't run Passmark with the different interfaces but I have run PC pitstop, Vantage and 3dmark06 and not getting much difference.

 

The usual XP peformance tweaks like setting visual appearance to maximum performance, none for screensaver, etc. don't seem to have near the impact on performance increases with Vista as they did with XP. Maybe the hardware advances are responsible for this?

 

I agree the visual settings have very limited effect.

Ps. I also prefer the looks of Aero and transparency. If I would be working with a fast system like the Dell I used I'd probably enable it. I'd disable the animations though.

 

Turn off transparency in Aero, disabled maximize/minimize animations, limit your CPU to its lowest performance state. Then try and benchmark again.

I tell you, the difference is visible on my computer at 800 MHz. Without Aero it's choppy, especially with folders with many images.

 

What annoyed me about the _Vista Aero interface performance was the time it took for folders in the Start menu to appear. In XP, Start menu navigation is de facto instantaneous (when you click on folders; still very fast when you don't click on folders); in _Vista (SP0 at least, which I ran mostly without Aero) there was a very noticeable lag whenever I clicked on a folder in the Start menu. As a result, Start menu navigation took quite a bit longer.

When I tried Win7 I realized I probably was supposed to have been using the Search functionality in Vista to start programs, and it does seem decently fast (at least in Win7 Beta, not sure if it was in _Vista SP0), but I'd still like fast Start menu response time. No point in searching if you know right where something is.

As for folder appearance, I don't remember _Vista being that slow there. Even with animations, XP's folder appearance is fast enough for me, and without Aero I didn't get too many fancy effects in _Vista, either. Mac OS X does annoy me in that regard, however - takes forever to switch windows when all I'd like is for my window to appear.

 

Hmmm, that's odd, because I've not noticed a bit of lag with the folders in the start menu with Aero on.