Windows Vista experience index explained
By Jonathan Schlaffer
Vista likes rating everything and telling you what you can and can’t run on your system, it’s very good at doing that. When you boot Vista for the first time, you get something called the “Welcome Center” which displays information about your computer, hardware installed and the rating of the installed hardware. You really only need to see this once, so I recommend turning it off but some may be wondering what all those numbers mean.
The Bangkok Post has an article explaining those numbers which currently range from 1 to 5.9 (sadly there are no negative numbers to rate the really low end stuff) briefly summarized here:
1.0 - if any of your hardware rated this number then it’s time to toss that old heap of junk out a window and buy a new system with Vista. Or install Linux on it, I don’t recommend that either, simply because several features that I need from my laptop (in Vista) are not available in Ubuntu.
2.0 - your PC will run Aero Glass, BARELY. Consider some serious upgrades or buy a new system.
3.0 - the computer will run Aero Glass and even do a few intensive multimedia tasks but don’t count on it to being able to play games or render 3D scenes in record times.
4.0 and up - now we’re getting somewhere. Computers in the 4.0 to 5.9 range can handle just about any task thrown at them but the higher the number, the faster it will run those intensive tasks. Any computer in this range is ripe for gaming, 3D rendering, heavy PhotoShop work, DVD authoring, I’ll stop there but the list goes on and on, kind of like the Engergizer bunny.
Of course, the computer itself receives an “overall” rating but it is not an average, it’s simply the lowest rated piece of hardware in the system. For most off the shelf desktops and laptops this will be the graphics card. Integrated graphics usually rate between a 2.5 and 3.2/3.3 which is hardly desirable.
To ensure best possible performance with Vista, every component in the system should have a rating of 4.0 or higher, the higher, the better, especially for gamers and graphics professionals.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Saturday, September 8th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
under 
Print This Post
Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
September 8th, 2007
Ubuntu does everything I need. In fact, Windows Vista sucks so much, why the hell would you recommend it? Email me one thing you can do with Vista that is not proprietary and Ubuntu can not do. I am now interested…
September 8th, 2007
Although I am a Linux newbie only familiar with Ubuntu 7.04, I also must question that statement on Linux.
What about other distro’s? What about the vast range of programs available FOR FREE via a simple download and installation using Synaptic (which is built into Ubuntu)?
Once again you have let your objectivism succumb to your negative experience with Ubuntu. Don’t assume that others can’t overcome the difficulties you found insurmountable.
September 9th, 2007
It’s mainly nitpicky things like not being able to adjust my laptops display brightness in Ubuntu, it’s either all the way down or all the way up, the AMD Turion throttling doesn’t work so it’s always running at full speed (and so is the fan).
I still have yet to get flash player working, the GIMP is a joke (I was trained on/continue to use PhotoShop).
Synaptic works great for some things, doesn’t work so great with themes…
Plus I use a lot of windows-only programs which tend to be more polished than Linux versions of similar programs and easier to use to boot.
September 12th, 2007
Jonathan,
if you and people have a lot of money, than you can choose to pay $300 for Vista + $500 or more for hardware update. That`s not the case for more than 5 billion in the world. Imagine all hospitals and schools and other services wasting so much money to buy new hardware just to have a more polish system or apps, in terms of beauty only. Seriously, XP does it all well, and consume half of it.
Ubuntu really doesn`t have all apps Windows have. But neither do Windows. Windows sucks at most features, like protecting you from getting a virus (add $50 for antivÃrus and firewall, because Windows firewall sucks), like Word Processing (add $400 or more for complete MS Office Package), like burning a CD (add more $40 to Nero) and all other apps. Ubuntu comes with all that embedded in its OS. It maybe not like Windows, but it does 99% percent and you will not have to buy all this apps, install and lag your system… It all comes in ONE cd (no need for DVD, because not all the PCs have it).
So if you have a lot of money to waste in HW + SW and like to install software (maybe some people like to install and de-install and install), than use Windows Vista. Its beautiful.
Oh, forget to ask, do you pay $999 for Photoshop. Since you are complaining that GIMP is a joke you must pay for PS, am I right?
September 12th, 2007
Most of my software was bought on the college discount plan. Vista cost me $80 for Home Premium Full, McAfee (I know…) was free, free is free…
Office 2007 Ultimate as $25, Nero was $20 so it really didn’t cost me that much. No, I didn’t pay $1000 for PhotoShop…
I already had the hardware seeing as how I build gaming systems only.
September 13th, 2007
Okay, you were a privileged to have the hardware. 2 years ago a friend of mine bought a laptop for $1,200 and that hardware receives a really low score.
The college discount plan is great, but in some years you will be reaching bigger values, since your not going to be a student forever. But if you can always pay for it, great for you.
I didn`t got, though, how you use Photoshop if you don`t pay. Photoshop is a great tool, but Gimp is alright for me because it does 90% of the first and I don`t have costs.
September 13th, 2007
A $1,200 laptop from two years ago shouldn’t have had a problem with Vista provided it had 2GB of memory, but to be honest, I don’t know what $1,200 got two years ago.
I do know $1,200 would get you that know and a dedicated graphics card.
I bought a $900 laptop from Newegg which had a Turion dual core processor, Geforce 7600GS graphics, DVDRW drive, 17″ Widescreen display and I installed myself 2GB of memory and a spare hard drive I had lying around (which didn’t cost anything) so for $900, I got a laptop that beats most expensive off the shelf laptops at any retailer.
You gotta know where to shop.
September 13th, 2007
It has a 4.5 rating.
September 13th, 2007
You bought almost a desktop replacement.
Most small or medium laptops have a Intel 910 video card, which is insufficient for Vista. This qualifies both for Linux 3D Desktop Effects and Mac.
So, Vista is really a resource hungry with no reason for it (if Macs and Linuxes can do it, why no Windows???).
The truth is that Vista is a Windows for 2 years or more from now, just like XP was in 2001. And I`m not talking of people that bought new PC, but of most people who has an old one and can`t afford always changing it.
December 22nd, 2007
I use photoshop, and vista, and so on, and on, and on, and i didn’t pay a dime. It’s illegal? So what? I want the best in my pc, and that is quite easy to get. with no cost at all. Pathetic linux…