Computer performance in Windows.

[GH85Carrera]

OK, computer geeks and nerds, (like me) I just am looking for a real comparison of computer performance. My computer seems to running slower than I remember.

Windows has a built in performance test called winsat and it runs several tests, than a second command to give your computer a rating score.

To run the test:

1.Press the WinKey+S to open File Search.

Type cmd.exe.

In the Results, Right Click cmd.exe and select the Run as Administrator option.

In the Command Window, type the following command.

winsat prepop

Press Enter

This command will take a few minutes to complete, be patient.

After the command completes, close the Command window.


2.Press the WinKey+S again and type Powershell.exe. In the Results, Right Click Powershell.exe and select the Run as Administrator option.

In the Powershell window, type the following command.

Get-WmiObject -class Win32_WinSAT

(Note the spaces in the command)

Press Enter.

You will get something like my results:



I am just curious if the scale runs from 1 to 10 or does it go higher? My computer is several years old. I built it myself, and I built a dream machine for the time.

I am just looking for input on what the speeds really mean. Is the slower performance feel just my imagination?

[john70t]

Cntrl+Alt+Del for TaskManager to see what is running and using resources. It will be incomplete.
AMD 'experience' and Radeon and Edge and other crap might be running.

Start __ CMD (run as admin) __ then sfc /scannow in the box for a system file check and repair.

Win+R __ services.msc to control startup types.

gpedit.msc is a control for users but it seems Win11 won't allow accessing it right now. Not sure why.

I edited the registry to block Cortana, and Widgets start menu news feed, and Search from using web search instead of my computer.
So sick of Edge being forced on users(owners) using dirty tricks. When does "no" not mean no? Windows changed it back. Sigh.

I've used CPUID/CPU-Z and UserBenchmark (thx flipper) to test hardware speed. DriversCloud to update drivers.

Layman advice here.

[zakthor]

Winsat performs work using built in windows components to provide a baseline relative perf estimate. The framework tries to minimize interference with the rest of windows to give you an estimate of hardware capabilities.

Its a log scale that goes to 9.9.

Some of my code is used in that test and yet i never got a clear understanding from that team about who the numbers are for. Customers like to see pretty numbers. Not many people bother to dig into what the numbers mean, and if you do youll find its a bunch of random tasks. Its a generic perf estimate that doesnt match any actual user.

In real life you have a task that you want to run fast - use that task as a perf test.
What exactly are you doing that feels slow?

I am still using a pair of 7 year old machines and am delighted by day to day perf. Big jobs on those machines run overnight where the latest machines would finish in an hour… one of these days ill upgrade…

If ‘windows feels slow’ then it might be antivirus, a virus, or some windows issue with caching.

Biggest cause of degradation in my machines is ssd lifetime. Ssd fail over time and are designed with extra capacity but that capacity is slowly lost to wear. Towards the end the ssd will write very slowly. Try using your ssd vendors disc tools to investigate the state of your ssds?

Ignore winsat its dumb.

[flipper35]

There are actual benchmarks you can run instead of the built in estimates.

[GH85Carrera]

OK, thank all.

I use Firefox form my browser, and many web site load slow even though I have fast internet. Loading some programs seem to lake longer, that might well be just the newer versions with more features.

I don't have a conventional SSD drives, I have two 2TB M.2 drives plugged directly to the motherboard. I understand they are just a faster interface version of an SSD.

[john70t]

Deleting router cache and excess temp files might also be a fix.
I use CCleaner free now but had a subscription before.
There are others. And Win defrag might not be the best.

PSU and fans need to be changed once in a while for old computers.

[id10t]

One of the big slowdowns with windows is version tracking all of teh various DLLs that are "the same" but different, or maybe different. This gets worse with updates, etc. and as time goes on.

Take a given system, wipe windows totally, reinstall and apply only latest set of patches/updates (instead of a year+ of version and update changes/tweaks) and you'll see some perceptible speed come back to the same hardware and software that was running slow and laggy before that.

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by id10t

Take a given system, wipe windows totally, reinstall and apply only latest set of patches/updates (instead of a year+ of version and update changes/tweaks) and you'll see some perceptible speed come back to the same hardware and software that was running slow and laggy before that.

...which is exactly what we used to do when I first came into this business 30 years ago.

Nice to see all the progress we've made in those intervening years.

Now GTF off my lawn.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

OK, thank all.

I use Firefox form my browser, and many web site load slow even though I have fast internet. Loading some programs seem to lake longer, that might well be just the newer versions with more features.

I don't have a conventional SSD drives, I have two 2TB M.2 drives plugged directly to the motherboard. I understand they are just a faster interface version of an SSD.

M2 is still an ssd. You might have a drive nearing end of life.

How much free space (as a %) is available on your drives? Ssd getting full can make everything go to a crawl.

See about clearing your browser cache. Also run ‘disk cleanup’ to remove cruft.

Lastly, is edge also slow? Chrome?

What anti virus are you using?

[john70t]

Important to keep all other important files outside the Windows environment....in case of a clean reinstalling the OS.

On the hard drive in a separate folder or three.
Preferably backed up on another drive as well.

(did ya write down those passwords for all the programs? Yeah I know. You are miles ahead of myself.)