Our Impressions
Software is always a bit of an odd item to critique here at AnandTech; whereas we mostly focus on hardware with quantitative data that is largely indisputable, software involves a great deal of opinion and qualitative data that isn't nearly as cut and dried. We stand by our opinions, but not everyone is going to agree, and that's to be expected. Before putting down $100 or more on Vista, check it out yourself; everyone will have a slightly different opinion of how Vista works and if it's worth the hype and cost.
We'll save the conclusion for a bit and start instead with what we have and have not liked about Vista now that we have seen the final version. The big winners for Vista include the search features, the caching features, the extra security, and yes, even the new Aero UI. The index search we've already covered and there's not much else to say other than that it does what it's supposed to do very well - it's a night and day difference from earlier versions of Windows. Similarly, SuperFetch makes a huge departure from previous versions of Windows; on a system with 2GB of memory and a few days of training on one of our test systems it has learned to cache all of the office applications we use, our IM client, our mail client, our MP3 player, and other applications. The difference between loading these applications from disk and the RAM cache is simply remarkable; it's as if we never quit the application at all.
With the new security features the relationship is a little more love/hate and we can certainly poke holes in them even if we like them. Windows has simply been insecure for too long and users have suffered for it. By making default administrative accounts run in a reduced privilege mode, it's a good start to reining in the spyware/virus/zombie phenomenon that has been making computing harder than it needs to be. It's by no means the silver bullet - after all for many computers hosing a user's home directory is just as good as hosing the entire system - but it is something that should keep systems better protected in the short term, and in the long term we will need to see how unscrupulous software authors try to poke holes in the system.
Similarly, after having gone through several iterations of the UI as Microsoft has knocked out the bugs, we're happy with the Aero UI. Although being shiny doesn't hurt its case, the strengths of the UI here are in navigation and integration of searching into the file browser. Little things like being able to click on a level in the address bar and immediately be taken there are extremely useful once you learn the UI, and we have finally managed to get over the missing menu bar and realize we don't need it, though we tend to use keyboard shortcuts a lot here.
Last, the new installer deserves a spot. The Windows XP installer is insufferable and we all know it; it's barely a step above using DOS to install Windows and it's even worse when IDE/RAID drivers are required to be loaded off of a floppy disk at a time when many people don't even use one any more. A cut-down Windows UI and USB support make the process far less painful, and the image-based installer means that the whole process is over in as little as 15 minutes.
Moving down the ladder from things we like are things we're effectively neutral on; these are the things that Vista has not really sold us on but neither is it a problem. Compatibility is the first thing to fall into this area, as on the one hand Microsoft is known for bending over backwards for compatibility, and on the other hand it could always be better. UAC problems aside, we have yet to be able to find anything other than system utilities and video codecs that don't work under Vista. For most people this will be fine, though gamers in particular will be unhappy that they're back to using the built in NVIDIA/AMD controls to tweak their graphics cards.
In the all-important metric of performance, Vista has managed to sit solidly in the middle. Benchmarked performance on the whole is neither generally above XP nor is it below - not that we were expecting it to be higher, but we certainly wouldn't mind. Compared to Beta 2, this is a very respectable position as we weren't initially sure if performance would catch up and for the most part it has. Using Vista instead of XP still means some resources are being sacrificed (mainly RAM), but it's no longer a poor tradeoff.
Graphics cards are a different matter. OpenGL support from both sides is solid for compatibility, but slow. This is something we expect to improve, but for today it's a matter that should be taken into account, especially when running newer games or older (slower) hardware. Both teams will be releasing important updated Vista drivers well into the year, so Vista as a gaming platform will for now depend on the games used. Direct3D-only users should be fine while anyone using OpenGL will need to keep a watchful eye on driver updates.
Then there are the things at the bottom of the ladder, those items that as of the final release of Vista that just leave us scratching our heads wondering what Microsoft is thinking and if this was really the right time to release Vista. We'll start this with the Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC), a branch of the Sync Center application designed to synchronize Windows Mobile devices. As the Vista replacement for ActiveSync WMDC comes pre-installed with Vista... or does it? It turns out that Vista only shipped with the drivers and application (also called the WMDC) to allow Vista to connect to a WM device, not actually to synchronize with it. To synchronize a WM device, you need to download the synchronization application (once again called WMDC), which as of this writing is still in beta. This is not indicated anywhere in the Vista documentation, and it's confusing to say the least.
Next at the bottom is Flip-3D, a beautiful but tragic waste of the Aero Glass UI. In our MacOS X reviews, we have time and time again talked about how great Apple's Exposé feature is; it's a great organizational tool for keeping track of various windows and bringing them up to the front. If there was anything Microsoft should have gone out if its way to copy from MacOS X, this is it. Flip-3D is a poor imitation of the real thing; the angled view means it's a pretty sight to watch flip by, but you won't get any real benefit out of it. Vista needs its own Exposé clone, and Flip-3D will not be it.
Last and certainly least is User Account Controls. We've said enough about it to cover all of its shortfalls, so it's merely included on the list. UAC is a major reason against installing Vista; it's going to be partially or completely disabled by most computer enthusiasts the moment they get their hands on it, and that's going to be a detriment to Vista's new security systems. It's as if Microsoft spent a good portion of the past few years working on an enhanced security design that nobody will want to use. Many have been spoiled by the lack of in-your-face security, but the truth is most people like PCs to be that way - at least until they get a nasty spyware infection.
Software is always a bit of an odd item to critique here at AnandTech; whereas we mostly focus on hardware with quantitative data that is largely indisputable, software involves a great deal of opinion and qualitative data that isn't nearly as cut and dried. We stand by our opinions, but not everyone is going to agree, and that's to be expected. Before putting down $100 or more on Vista, check it out yourself; everyone will have a slightly different opinion of how Vista works and if it's worth the hype and cost.
We'll save the conclusion for a bit and start instead with what we have and have not liked about Vista now that we have seen the final version. The big winners for Vista include the search features, the caching features, the extra security, and yes, even the new Aero UI. The index search we've already covered and there's not much else to say other than that it does what it's supposed to do very well - it's a night and day difference from earlier versions of Windows. Similarly, SuperFetch makes a huge departure from previous versions of Windows; on a system with 2GB of memory and a few days of training on one of our test systems it has learned to cache all of the office applications we use, our IM client, our mail client, our MP3 player, and other applications. The difference between loading these applications from disk and the RAM cache is simply remarkable; it's as if we never quit the application at all.
With the new security features the relationship is a little more love/hate and we can certainly poke holes in them even if we like them. Windows has simply been insecure for too long and users have suffered for it. By making default administrative accounts run in a reduced privilege mode, it's a good start to reining in the spyware/virus/zombie phenomenon that has been making computing harder than it needs to be. It's by no means the silver bullet - after all for many computers hosing a user's home directory is just as good as hosing the entire system - but it is something that should keep systems better protected in the short term, and in the long term we will need to see how unscrupulous software authors try to poke holes in the system.
Similarly, after having gone through several iterations of the UI as Microsoft has knocked out the bugs, we're happy with the Aero UI. Although being shiny doesn't hurt its case, the strengths of the UI here are in navigation and integration of searching into the file browser. Little things like being able to click on a level in the address bar and immediately be taken there are extremely useful once you learn the UI, and we have finally managed to get over the missing menu bar and realize we don't need it, though we tend to use keyboard shortcuts a lot here.
Last, the new installer deserves a spot. The Windows XP installer is insufferable and we all know it; it's barely a step above using DOS to install Windows and it's even worse when IDE/RAID drivers are required to be loaded off of a floppy disk at a time when many people don't even use one any more. A cut-down Windows UI and USB support make the process far less painful, and the image-based installer means that the whole process is over in as little as 15 minutes.
Moving down the ladder from things we like are things we're effectively neutral on; these are the things that Vista has not really sold us on but neither is it a problem. Compatibility is the first thing to fall into this area, as on the one hand Microsoft is known for bending over backwards for compatibility, and on the other hand it could always be better. UAC problems aside, we have yet to be able to find anything other than system utilities and video codecs that don't work under Vista. For most people this will be fine, though gamers in particular will be unhappy that they're back to using the built in NVIDIA/AMD controls to tweak their graphics cards.
In the all-important metric of performance, Vista has managed to sit solidly in the middle. Benchmarked performance on the whole is neither generally above XP nor is it below - not that we were expecting it to be higher, but we certainly wouldn't mind. Compared to Beta 2, this is a very respectable position as we weren't initially sure if performance would catch up and for the most part it has. Using Vista instead of XP still means some resources are being sacrificed (mainly RAM), but it's no longer a poor tradeoff.
Graphics cards are a different matter. OpenGL support from both sides is solid for compatibility, but slow. This is something we expect to improve, but for today it's a matter that should be taken into account, especially when running newer games or older (slower) hardware. Both teams will be releasing important updated Vista drivers well into the year, so Vista as a gaming platform will for now depend on the games used. Direct3D-only users should be fine while anyone using OpenGL will need to keep a watchful eye on driver updates.
Then there are the things at the bottom of the ladder, those items that as of the final release of Vista that just leave us scratching our heads wondering what Microsoft is thinking and if this was really the right time to release Vista. We'll start this with the Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC), a branch of the Sync Center application designed to synchronize Windows Mobile devices. As the Vista replacement for ActiveSync WMDC comes pre-installed with Vista... or does it? It turns out that Vista only shipped with the drivers and application (also called the WMDC) to allow Vista to connect to a WM device, not actually to synchronize with it. To synchronize a WM device, you need to download the synchronization application (once again called WMDC), which as of this writing is still in beta. This is not indicated anywhere in the Vista documentation, and it's confusing to say the least.
Next at the bottom is Flip-3D, a beautiful but tragic waste of the Aero Glass UI. In our MacOS X reviews, we have time and time again talked about how great Apple's Exposé feature is; it's a great organizational tool for keeping track of various windows and bringing them up to the front. If there was anything Microsoft should have gone out if its way to copy from MacOS X, this is it. Flip-3D is a poor imitation of the real thing; the angled view means it's a pretty sight to watch flip by, but you won't get any real benefit out of it. Vista needs its own Exposé clone, and Flip-3D will not be it.
Last and certainly least is User Account Controls. We've said enough about it to cover all of its shortfalls, so it's merely included on the list. UAC is a major reason against installing Vista; it's going to be partially or completely disabled by most computer enthusiasts the moment they get their hands on it, and that's going to be a detriment to Vista's new security systems. It's as if Microsoft spent a good portion of the past few years working on an enhanced security design that nobody will want to use. Many have been spoiled by the lack of in-your-face security, but the truth is most people like PCs to be that way - at least until they get a nasty spyware infection.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
105 Comments
View All Comments
Ryan Smith - Saturday, February 3, 2007 - link
That's up to Vista, it benchmarks a flash drive to make sure it's fast enough to be effectively used as a ReadyBoost cache. If ReadyBoost won't engage, then your drive isn't passing one(or more) of their tests.mlambert890 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
How is the PC hemmhoraging marketshare to the Mac? You've got to be kidding. Their marketshare in 06 rose from a pathetic 4.4 to a somewhat less pathetic 4.8. Thats with ALL of their ridiculous hype, ALL of the asskissing from the press (including you guys now I guess?) and ALL of the armies of lunatic "Mac priests" that pollute every forum.Its hillarious that you would position this tiny growth in a share that declined steadily for 22 years until it hit rock bottom at like 3% in 2003 as a "hemmhorage". I have to wonder why you would characterize it that way. To be honest, it reeks of bias.
quanta - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
Think about it, ReadyBoost is treated by Vista as random access memory, to store temoprary contents than can change very often. Considering typical USB flash drive only has 100k write cycle, you will need to replace it very soon. Worse yet, when the flash drive is gone, so will your critical data at the worst possible time. With the hardware requirement of Vista, no amount of wear levelling is going to help.Ryan Smith - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
No, this is wrong.ReadyBoost is a write-through data cache handled by the SuperFetch system; when enabled SuperFetch uses it as another cache location optimized for small files. Based on the information we've seen, it's used primarily to store DLLs and other static and semi-static data that is needed an intermediate amount of time(not important enough to spend valuable RAM, important enough to cache), with highly dynamic data sent to SuperFetch or the hard disk to avoid unnecessary wear out. It will most certainly put wear on flash memory, but it seems unlikely that it will put 51TB of write-wear(the amount of data that needs to be written on a 512MB flash card to write over all bits 100k times) before several years out.
Of course, this is as according to Microsoft. We don't really know what exactly is being stored on a ReadyBoost drive at any given moment, however we have no reason to believe that Microsoft isn't really taking efforts to minimize writes. We'll find out if/when flash memory starts wearing out.
mlambert890 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
We'll see. Please remember that the 100k write cycle is an average, that the flash is used as a small cache only, and that write leveling of COURSE will help before making assumptions.Ive been beating up flash for YEARS thats still going. There are moves to literally put OS's on flash based hard drives. Hybrid drives already use the same concept as ReadyBoost (and are also supported on Vista).
Using flash as a cache for magnetic media is not some untested concept that is going to lead to global data destruction.
MS must have really destroyed their mindshare that so many armchair scientists are just fully willing to believe that theyve figured out ALL the stuff that the "idiots" in Redmond dont realize. Give a little credit to the armies of PhDs that work on at least the basic concept for this crap. Maybe implementation gets flawed by the realities of release cycles and budgets, but BASIC CONCEPT is typically sound.
dugbug - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
UAC is like a firewall -- chatty at first (during installs and configurations), but once you have set up your system you will hardly ever hear from it. This should be obvious to the authors.And for that matter, the 6-operation file delete they discuss in the beginning was for deleting a file on a shared desktop (meaning a delete was for all users). This is commonplace for enterprise and workplace users, it should be no surprise that a file used by others would require permissions to delete. Though Im glad the number of operations was greatly reduced.
As to the comments about vista being sluggish? Perhaps it is RAM? I have 2Gb and vista runs without any slowdown at all. Once you use it for a while you won't go back to XP.
-d
LoneWolf15 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
Untrue. Enthusiasts use lots of things like the Control Panel, MMC console, etc. and these all require UAC every time. Currently, I also have startup programs on my beta-test box that UAC blocks. This would be fine, if UAC had a feature saying "Yes, I know what this program is, let it run every time all the time" and be done. But, UAC doesn't have this option, so a user has to allow the program to run every single freaking time they boot their machine.I've tried changing the program properties so that it runs as Administrator; that hasn't solved the problem. I turned off UAC, which gives me a lovely annoying red-X shield in the system tray that every so often decides to warn me with a popup balloon that UAC is turned off and I could be in danger, so it's annoying even when turned off, and there's no easy way around it. Enthusiasts do a lot with their computers, and what they do is likely to increase their number of UAC prompts. Bottom line: Unlike OS X's methods, Vista's UAC happens far more often, and is far more annoying. And because it doesn't require a password (like OS X) and is just a click-through, I'll put money down that within a year, it will be worthless, as the average user will learn to click through it without reading a single bit of info.
funk3y - Sunday, February 4, 2007 - link
The red cross can also be disabled for sure; on my computer, which is a member of a domain I recieve no error message at all, even if UAC & co are disabled.haplo602 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
Realy. What's the hype all about ?SuperFetch - trivial change to caching mechanisms. Anybody that would require it would have already implemented it in *NIX systems. This is a purely desktop user feature to hid some processing overhead. There's nothing new about this that would prevent implementation in w2k already except MS incompetence ...
ReadyBoost - So the new standard is to have a permanently attached USB stick to have some performance ?
Compund TCP, Receive window auto tuning - I laughed like mad. So they finaly made a proper implementation of something network related? End even then Vista is SLOWER. I'd suggest take a stand-alone NIC that Vista nad XP have drivers for themselves and test it. Should rule out driver bugs.
I/O improvements - so I make an app that makes a high priority high capacity I/O operation (say 1GB) and you can go for lunch till the system is anyway usable. Seriously. I/O in small chunks makes perfect sense in multitasking environments since you have more entry point and can adjust the stream on OS level and tune performance. That XP or Vista are stupid enough to do this is their fault. I guess MS will hype this as the next best thing in a future OS ?
All in All every feature hyped in the article does not deserve a Marketing Name(tm) because it is a normal concept. So we have a shiny new bigger and slower OS that is hiding this behind hyped features. F.E. memory compression could very much improve system performance without relying on external devices (ReadyBoost).
mlambert890 - Friday, February 2, 2007 - link
Just admit your bias man. There is NOTHING MS could do that would cause you to give them kudos. I spend my days arguing with guys like you for a living (unfortunately) and its just exhausting.I could point you to REAMS of documentation of all the crap that has been rewritten and overhauled in Vista, but whats the point? You want to hate it so hate it.
Its sad that technology debates are STILL religion for so many after all this time :(