How to test your computer's performance to see what it can do. How to find out the performance index of the system and hardware? Performing productivity monitoring
In Windows Vista, such an interesting utility as Performance index. With its help, you can see the assessment of the Windows system according to various criteria. Subsequently, this function migrated to Windows 7 and Windows 8, but then the developers decided that it was not needed and therefore in Windows 8.1 you cannot find it so easily. However, many users liked this feature, partly to compare their pussies to see who is cooler. In this article you will learn a little more about the Windows Performance Index (score), and we will also look at how you can still find it out in the new version of Windows 8.1.
Windows Experience Index (WEI) is an assessment of the Windows system itself of the main characteristics of the computer on which the OS is installed.
The main characteristics are:
CPU
RAM
Graphic arts
Graphics for games
Disk subsystem
As you can see, it considers all the most important characteristics needed for productivity.
Each of these characteristics is given its own index (number) which is calculated using a special formula. Minimum value 1 , and the maximum depends on the OS version: in Windows Vista it is 5.9 , in Windows 7 7.9 , and in Windows 8 9.9
From all these estimates, the minimum value is selected and reported as the main estimate. I don’t know why they did this, perhaps so that users tried to increase it, paying attention to the minimum value.
How to find out the performance rating (index) in Windows 7 and 8
Click RMB on To my computer and choose Properties.
In this window we pay attention to Evaluation in category System:
click on the link Windows Experience Index for more details.
We get this picture, in which everything is already described:
It happens that the assessment has not yet been made, then it will need to be done. You can also double-check if anything has been changed in the system.
How to find out the performance rating (index) in Windows 8.1
As I wrote above, you won’t be able to find performance in this version of the system, but it’s still there.
Let's go along the way (Window_drive_letter):\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore and in this folder we look for a file that contains the letters Formal.Assessment.
Explanation:
(Window_drive_letter)- this is usually C. You can navigate through folders along the path, or you can simply copy and paste them into the address bar of Explorer.
The file we need starts with numbers. They mean the date and time of creation, as well as other “nonsense”. Approximately its name 2014-03-21 12.02.02.533 Formal.Assessment (Recent).WinSAT.xml
It opens via (usually Internet Explorer).
If there are several such files, then it is better to open the most recent one by creation date.
The opened file looks like this:
We need to pay attention to those characteristics that are located between the WinSPR tags.
I’ll decipher a little what it is and how it’s indicated.
SystemScore- overall performance
MemoryScore- assessment of RAM
CpuScore- processor performance
GraphicsScore- graphics performance assessment
DiskScore- disc rating
There are a few more, but they are not particularly needed. You can translate it yourself if you want.
If this option seems too labor-intensive to you, then you can use it and enter it
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_WinSAT
which will result in a performance score in Windows 8.1:
It happens that you cannot find this file or the index will not be displayed. This may mean that it has not yet been carried out. If in Windows 7 and 8 this was easily solved, then in Windows 8.1 you will need to enter some commands into the command line from the administrator. Namely:
winsat formal- assessment of the overall system performance;
winsat formal -v- assessment of overall system performance, detailed output;
winsat formal -xml file.xml- output the check result to the specified xml file;
winsat formal -restart never- during re-inspection, to evaluate only new components;
winsat formal -restart clean- when re-checking, to reset the check history and perform a full scan again.
It's better to use the first one.
In the end the window will look something like this:
There are also programs that will help you check your performance index.
ChrisPC Win Experience Index
WSAT
I liked the second one even more, because it does not require installation, is in Russian, and also shows other additional necessary information on the system and hardware.
How to increase or improve the Windows performance index (score).
The answer to this question will be given to you both by the system itself and by ordinary logic.
As a rule, everything consists of replacing computer “spare parts”. If the processor index is small, we change it to a more powerful one, if there is not enough RAM, we increase it.
It happens less often when everything seems to be normal, but the index is small. Then you need to produce.
If the disk score is small, we delete the excess, produce it, etc.
OK it's all over Now. On the one hand, performance evaluation is a necessary thing, it helps you understand what you need to pay attention to based on a low index, but on the other hand, it is not needed if you already know that your computer is weak or there is not enough disk space =)
From time to time you have to update your computer hardware. To know which component needs to be replaced, the user must know the estimated condition of all components. This is what the performance index is designed for. For details on how to find out the performance index in Windows 7, increase its value and solve possible problems with its determination, read our article.
What is a performance index?
The tool aims to evaluate how well or poorly a computer performs with a system. But this is not the average among all components. The final score is determined by the lowest score among all nodes. Each component has its own meaning. By looking at them, you can determine what exactly needs replacing.
How to calculate it
Through “Start”, open “Control Panel” and click on the “Counters and Productivity Tools” icon.
Click on “Counters and Productivity Tools”
This window contains both individual scores and an overall score. If one of the nodes has recently been replaced, you can see how the index has changed. To do this, click “Repeat assessment”. The system may ask the user to enter or confirm an administrator password.
In the example below, the Processor and Primary Hard Drive components have high scores. But because “Graphics” and “Game Graphics” have low scores, the overall score is also low.
This window provides an overall performance rating for each component individually. What do the points mean?
The higher the score, the better the computer copes with tasks, especially resource-intensive ones. A low indicator, accordingly, indicates the opposite.
Good day to all. Today we’ll talk, as you understand from the title, about Windows performance index.
I've been digging through a bunch of references and driving people at work with surviving Vista on their laptops, as a result of which this article was born about what kind of performance index is indicated in some such numbers in Windows and why it gave up in the first place.
Let's start unwinding Microsoft into nuts, bolts, indexes, pieces, spare parts and characteristics.
Let's get started.
Understanding this setting
Well, for starters, if you are a user of this terrible system, then to see your performance index in Windows Vista you need to do the following:
- Click " Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Tools and Performance Counters" ;
- Review the Windows Experience Scores and Baseline Index for your computer. If you want to know if the index has changed after a recent hardware upgrade, select Update Score. If the scores and Baseline Performance Index are not visible, click " Rate your computer".
The performance index measures the capabilities of the computer's hardware (hardware) and software (all sorts of settings and programs) configurations and displays the result of these measurements as a number called the basic performance index by Microsoft.
As planned, the higher the value of this very basic performance index, the faster the computer will work when performing any, especially complex and resource-intensive tasks.
Windows Experience Base Index
This very basic performance index represents the overall performance of the system as a whole, taking into account the capabilities of various parts of the computer, including (RAM), central (CPU), overall desktop graphics performance, and 3D graphics capabilities.
Simply put, every part of your computer receives a separate rating based on performance. But here's the funny thing: the overall score (base performance index value) of a computer is determined by its lowest scores, not its average.
For example, if an individual component (such as the processor) received the lowest score of 2.6, then the overall performance score (Base Index) of the computer is also 2.6. It is absolutely unclear what Microsoft was guided by when creating such a system. This, in my opinion, is somehow illogical.
Why is it needed and to whom?
According to the same Microsoft, it will be easier to purchase software this way: when purchasing a program/game/anything else for Windows, the performance index number will be indicated and if your computer has the same or higher one, then you can safely buy this program without fear that it will work slowly for you.
And also when choosing a computer for specific needs. For example, you need a computer for the office, therefore you need to choose a configuration that will show office glasses (not very high, around 2-3).
Something about specific numbers
Approximate outlines of the criteria for selecting a computer with the required performance based on individual system components:
- For the office. If the computer is used solely for office work, such as word processing and web browsing, then high CPU and memory ratings are important. The higher the better, but better not lower than 3.5. Ratings of 2.0 or higher are usually sufficient for hard drive, desktop graphics, and 3D graphics;
- For games and programs with intensive consumption of graphics resources. If the computer is used for games or graphics-intensive programs, such as digital video editing applications or realistic first-person games, then high scores for all system components are important, not as Microsoft claims: RAM, desktop graphics and gaming 3D graphics. Here, rely on the values of all components and the higher the indicators for them, the better;
- For Home Media Center "a. If the computer is used as a Media Center for modern multimedia work, such as HDTV recording programming, then high scores for the CPU, hard drive, and desktop graphics are important. Ratings of 3.5 and above are usually sufficient for memory and 3D graphics.
Performance Criteria and Index
Approximate outlines of a selection of criteria for selecting a computer with the required performance based on the points of the basic performance index (i.e., the overall assessment of the system, not its components):
- A computer with a base index of 2 usually has enough performance to perform most common computing tasks, such as office productivity applications and Internet searches. However, computers with this base index are usually not powerful enough to run Windows Aero or to implement the modern multimedia capabilities available in Windows;
- A computer with a base index of 3.5 or higher can run Windows Aero with many of the Windows features at the base level. But not all additional Windows features may be available. For example, a computer with a base index of 3 can display the Windows theme at 1280 x 1024 resolution, but may have difficulty running the theme on multiple monitors. Or can play digital television contents, but have difficulty playing high definition television contents (HDTV), etc.;
- A computer with a base index of 4 or 5 can perform all the functions of all new Windows features and is capable of supporting high-resolution, graphics-intensive work, such as multiplayer gaming and 3D gaming graphics, recording and playback of HDTV content. Computers with a base index of 5 were the highest performing computers when Windows Vista was released.
However, let's get to the afterword.
Afterword
Perhaps this is all I can tell you about this computer rating system from Microsoft, that is, about the performance index.
But in conclusion, I would still like to note that this system is quite mediocre and will still never accurately assess how productive your computer is, especially after proper optimization of the OS.
As always, if you have any thoughts, questions, additions, etc., then welcome to comment on this article.
We recently talked in detail about. Meaning Windows Experience Index allows you to evaluate to some extent the hardware configuration of a particular computer. The higher the performance index, the higher the computer's performance should be. When purchasing a new (or used) computer, many inexperienced users (poorly versed in modern computer hardware) may rely on the performance index value. In their opinion, it allows for comparison of different configurations with each other. In this article we will show that this cannot be done, because the performance index values can be simply increased, and, naturally, this will not affect the real performance of the computer.
The current values of the Windows Experience Index can be viewed in the system properties window (Computer->Properties)
The data in this window is derived from computer tests of various components. The resulting Windows Experience Index (WEI) values are stored in the system as an XML file, the contents of which can be quite easily modified.
That's how we turned our old computer into a supercomputer!
It is worth noting that such an increase in the rating of your computer may not just increase the HR by large numbers. Some applications (primarily Aero, various system “decorators” and games) simply will not run on a computer with a low rating. The fact is that such programs, using the Windows Experience Index API, can check the current WEI value when launched
To return the "true" value to the performance index scores, in the rating view " Re-Run the assessment»
For the first time, the performance index was introduced in the operating system, after which it was introduced in Windows 7, but in Windows 8.1 they decided to abandon its graphical shell, but the program itself was still in the system.
Fortunately, we can still find out the performance index from Windows Vista to Windows 10.
If anyone doesn’t understand what kind of index this is, I’ll explain. This function in the system calculates the performance of the hardware and software of a computer or laptop, and then displays a numerical value (score). The range of these values is different in different OS versions:
Windows Vista (1-5.9);
Windows 7 (1-7.9);
Windows 8.1 (1-9.9).
There is also a program called WinSAT, which shows the numerical value of important hardware parts of the computer, for example, processor, RAM, graphics core, and more. After calculating all the component values, the overall score is calculated, which is determined by the smallest number, in the end, the higher the overall performance value, the better.
Quality supplies. Cable KPBPng(A)-HF. If anyone is interested, let's take a look.
How to find out the performance index in different versions of Windows?
As I already said, in Windows 8.1 the performance index utility does not have a graphical part, so you can find out its value using the command line or graphical interface.
If you don't want to enter any commands, but want everything to look like it did in Windows 7, then there is a program called WSAT, which replicates the same interface as in the Windows 7 index. Download from here.
You can find out the performance value without using utilities. For example, in Windows 8.1 you don’t even need to do anything, since the system itself has already calculated the performance index and written it to a special file located in the folder: C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore.
In this folder there will be a file called “Formal.Assessment (Initial).WinSAT.xml”, which can be opened with a text editor, but it is better to open it with Notepad. Open this document and find the tag in which information about the performance index is stored.
If you cannot open this file or it does not start, then the command line comes to the rescue. Launch it and enter the command Winsat formal. Press Enter and wait for the process to complete.
In this simple way we were able to find out the system performance index, there is nothing complicated.
