Now that the final version of Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing, it’s time to find out how much of an improvement or not it will make over its predecessors, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Kai Schmerer of ZDNet Germany put all three operating systems under the microscope and here’s what he discovered:
Windows Vista’s less than stellar reputation and poor uptake are due in large part to the heavy demands it makes on system hardware. When Vista appeared in the autumn of 2006, PCs and notebooks were less powerful than today’s machines. But even with modern hardware, anyone using a Vista-based system soon senses that this is an operating system suffering from the software equivalent of having the handbrake left on.
Microsoft cannot afford a repetition with Windows 7, and so has optimized all of the OS’s major system components. From startup to login, everything in Windows 7 is faster.
Read also: Special Report Windows 7 at the finish line
Microsoft has now finalized Windows 7 and announced its Release To Manufacturing (RTM). Build 7600.1685 has been chosen for the RTM, and ZDNet used this version test the performance of Windows 7 against Vista and XP on various platforms.
Next — >
