The SP1 upgrades continue - Day 2
![adrian-kingsley-hughes](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/6f9ac99abaa541291e393a8b765bdffb2fa11559/2022/08/05/11c625de-cb18-4e3f-8614-5010553831f2/adrian-kingsley-hughes.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
Today I carried out the most critical SP1 upgrade so far - I upgraded my main system. This is a Core 2 Extreme monster that's been running Vista Ultimate 64-bit. All the SP1 upgrades I've done so far have been 32-bit upgrades. How did the upgrade go? What's the system like afterwards? Read on.
First, give so you know the landscape, here's the spec of the system:
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor running at 3GHz
- ASUS Maximus Formula motherboard
- 4GB of 1066MHz RAM
- 2 x WD Raptor X drives
- 2 x ATi Radeon 3870 graphics cards
- Dual monitors
This system scores full marks (5.9) on the Windows Experience Index. This system is fully up-to-date with respect to patches. This system has never had earlier pre-releases of SP1 installed.
While I've not carried out any proper benchmarking yet, here are some initial thoughts I have:
- Overall, the system feels quicker. There's a snappy feeling to carrying out tasks (although this system was no slouch under Vista RTM!).
- Navigating network shares is a lot faster.
- Remote Desktop Connection is a lot better - I can connect to remote machines faster and the experience is noticeably better.
- There has been no change to the Windows Experience Index scale - 5.9 is still the top ceiling of the scale.
- Recovering from sleep is faster and the system is up and ready to use quicker.
Unknowns at present include:
- Overall system stability and reliability.
- Gaming performance.
Thoughts?
Earlier Vista SP1-related posts: