Isn't SP3 fast? Detailed evaluation of XP SP3 Performance

Microsoft has been operating frequently recently. The official version of Vista SP1 was released, followed by the appearance of XP SP3. But obviously, the attention to SP3 is much larger than that of Vista SP1, which has already been released. However, the Chinese version of XP SP3, which appeared last week, is even more confusing to many netizens. However, when we opened the evaluation reports of the first group of mice with hope. Suddenly found that this long-awaited patch package does not seem like rumors, it has brought us about 10% performance improvement. So, is that true? With the release of the official Chinese Version XP SP3, we started the following experience.

I. Evaluation Environment

Figure 1 evaluation Environment

Figure 2 version number after SP3 patch package is installed

To make the test results more fair and accurate, we re-installed a set of Chinese Version WinXP for the test machine (with SP2 pre-installed ). In addition, the SP3 patch package is manually installed. No third-party programs are installed except for some necessary testing software throughout the testing process. At the same time, no changes were made to the original system default settings.

Ii. Performance Measurement

1. Comparison of system performance (Performance Improvement: Listen 16%)

[Evaluation Method] in the evaluation, the stopwatch is used to measure the system activation, shutdown, sleep, and recovery respectively. To minimize the errors during the test, all the data will be calculated three times, and the average value of three times will be recorded in the following table.

* Metering Standard when started: starts from the computer's entry into the operating system until the desktop icon is displayed successfully.

* Metering Standard for shutdown: starts from the shutdown menu until the computer is automatically powered off.

Figure 3 Comparison Between startup and Shutdown (the smaller the value, the better)

Figure 4 Comparison between sleep and recovery (the smaller the value, the better)

[Comment] the speed of opening and shutdown is often a change that makes the user feel the most. We can see that after the SP3 patch package is added. The sleep time of WinXP is greatly shortened, saving about 40%. However, there was no significant change in the start, shutdown, and sleep recovery, basically at the same level as the original SP2 version. At the same time, we can see from the test data that when we open multiple windows for sleep operation, it does not have much impact on system sleep and sleep recovery. In addition, the overall time is shorter than the normal start time and shutdown time, and the effect is satisfactory.

2. File System Performance Comparison (performance reduction: 9%)

[Evaluation Method] in order to comprehensively display disk performance changes, we divided the test into two modules: Hard Disk file copy and USB disk file copy. Among them, the hard disk file replication adopts the same partition and cross-partition two methods, multi-file and single file, four groups of replication comparison. The USB flash drive adopts two methods: USB flash drive copy to hard disk and USB flash drive copy to compare multiple files and single files. To eliminate the impact of the system cache on the final data, the system will be restarted after each data test is completed and then metered.

Figure 5 Comparison of Hard Disk File copying (the smaller the value, the better)

Figure 6 Comparison of USB flash drive file copying (the smaller the value, the better)

[Comment] from the test chart, we can see that the test results of the file system are obviously not as exciting as the system test just now. On the contrary, in the test of hard disk file copy. Although the two versions of the operating system have little difference in the test value. However, all the four SP3 indicators are lagging behind. The test on the USB flash disk did not find this phenomenon.

3. Network Transmission Performance Comparison (Performance Improvement: 1%)

[Evaluation Method] considering that most LAN instances are currently used, it is also a Windows shared access mechanism. Therefore, in the configuration of the test environment, we first use a vswitch to separate the two computers into a peer-to-peer network. Then, Windows XP SP2 is installed on another test machine. Next, create a shared folder. In both the multi-file and single-file modes, the comparison during transmission is started.

Figure 7 Comparison of LAN transmission time (the smaller the value, the better)

[Comment] from the test results, if the possible error in measurement is deducted. The two versions of the operating system are at the same level in terms of LAN file transmission performance. However, it is undeniable that in the evaluation of the two projects, the SP3 score is slightly higher than that of the old version of SP2. It is believed that this difference will become more obvious when the transferred file is larger.

4. browser performance comparison (performance degradation: 5%)

[Evaluation Method] to better reflect the performance of the browser built in the new and old operating systems. We passed four groups of professional test pages to test them separately. Considering the network speed and other factors, the test data can be deviated. Therefore, all participating data will be sampled three times, and the average value of three times will be included in the following table. In addition, to eliminate the impact of browser cache on test data. Each time we test a group of data, the browser Cache is cleared manually.

Figure 8 Comparison of basic browser performance (the smaller the value, the better)

[Comment] although the main version of Internet Explorer is 6.0 after the SP3 patch package is installed, the sub-version number has changed. However, the outcome of the change is totally different from our expectation. In all four groups of tests, except for Javascript parsing, it is slightly shortened. The performance of the other three groups is worse than that of Internet Explorer 6 of SP2. However, we do not know why this problem occurs. However, such a result will obviously reduce the user's surfing experience when surfing the Internet.

5. virus detection and removal evaluation (Performance Improvement: 7%)

[Evaluation Method] to make the evaluation results closer to the daily use environment. We tested normal folders, infected folders, and virus packages in three groups. To minimize the error during the test, the antivirus software in both versions has been upgraded to the latest version. In addition, change the preset mode to "clear viruses ". Finally, register for removal based on the report list of anti-virus software.

Figure 9 Comparison of virus detection and removal performance (the smaller the value, the better)

[Comment] it is surprising that, although in the hard disk file copy comparison, SP3 eventually ended in failure. However, in terms of virus detection and removal performance, the anti-virus software under SP3 unexpectedly won the competition by a big score. In addition, especially in the "normal folder scan" test with the highest frequency of daily use, the performance is obvious.

6. Comparison of professional evaluation software (performance decline: RMB 2%)

[Evaluation Method] as a professional evaluation software, PCMark can simulate a series of daily application environments, including XP startup, virus scanning, audio/video encoding/decoding, File compression/decompression, and 3D graphic rendering. In addition, the results can be displayed in the form of scores. However, its parallel testing function cannot be completed through the above-mentioned sub-tests. Therefore, PCMark can well supplement our above-mentioned sub-test results.

Figure 10 comparison of PCMark05 evaluation (the higher the score, the better)

[Comment] Like the sub-test just done, in the PCMark test report, the hard disk file system is the most "hold down. Although, we cannot learn about the changes in the SP3 file system from the official perspective. However, it is likely that the newly added security feature in SP3 has an impact on the file replication performance. We will keep track of subsequent reports.

Conclusion

Through the above series of tests, we can easily see that. The performance improvement of XP SP3 is far less obvious than that of Vista SP1. Even in many general performance aspects, the brand new one is not as good as XP SP2 a few years ago. However, if we eliminate the assumption that Microsoft wants to increase the sales volume of Vista, this brand-new patch package is actually a great success. After all, it is a major upgrade of the XP system. The SP3 patch package still brings us many new security features. I believe that with its help, our XP system will be more "active and active" and will continue to work for us.

(Source: pc.cn)