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Most of our readers, both enthusiasts and overclockers, tend to have a
strong interest in benchmarking suites. Simply put, they rely heavily
on these tools to give them a strong sense of comfort that the hardware they
chose truly does play a role in overall performance. That's the whole
purpose of this short article here at ExtremeMHz. What many do
not know yet is that Microsoft's next Operating System will feature their own
embedded benchmarking suit, primarily known as WinSAT. This tool has
done nothing but confuse a majority who truly believe they have the hardware
required to run VISTA. However, there are many factors that come into
play, and unless you understand its basis for measuring performance, as well
as have a strong knowledge of what is required to take full advantage of
Vista's
features, you may find yourself struggling for answers. In this short
article, we take an in-depth look at not only how this benchmark works, but
also elaborate on the difference between being able to run VISTA, and being
able to take full advantage of all its features.
What is WinSAT?
WinSAT stands for Windows System Assessment
Tool. It is basically an application featured in the upcoming Ultimate
version of Windows VISTA that conducts a number of tests, both during and
after install, that will help determine your system's overall performance in
order to provide you with some or all of its features.
How and when is the tool accessed?
What many do not know is that it is not only
accessible after install, but is used during the installation process as
well.
Those who have installed the RC2 release, the last version before retail,
will find that there is process in which the install will check for
performance. This is where WinSAT is used in order to determine
whether your hardware will run most or all of its features. In
addition, the tool can be accessed by the user from the Computer Properties
Menu. There is an option for Performance, which will load the "score"
achieved during install, as well as allow you to re-run the test again at any time,
usually done after a hardware upgrade.
How does WinSAT measure performance?
This is where many do get confused, not to
mention, a bit disappointed by the results. WinSAT is measured on a
"base score". A higher base score means that your PC will not only
perform better, but be able to take advantage of all its
features...primarily Aero. However, the way this tool works is that it
will determine the base score on the lowest subscore. What does this
mean? Well, if you have one component that is weak in an otherwise
high performance system, it will use that lower score as the base score.
It is not based on an average score, and is why it has confused many
with systems that are indeed capable of running the new OS.
WinSAT, Aero and hardware requirements
During the installation process of the new OS,
there is what is properly referred to as the "Aero Acceptance Test", which
is an executable (AeroAT.exe) that runs in order to determine whether or not
to enable the Aero interface. This acceptance test actually makes use
of WinSAT to make performance measures based on the hardware used to run it.
As I have stated in previous articles written, Aero heavily depends on both
graphics and memory performance. A minimum of 1GB memory is required
to automatically activate the Aero interface. WinSAT scores, however,
depend heavily on graphics performance. If you do not have a graphics
card meeting minimum requirements, it will result in a low subscore,
resulting in an overall low WinSAT score. Overclocking? Does not
matter! I will demonstrate in the next section how overclocking plays a role in
the results. You'll be quite surprised!
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