With focus now shifting to Windows 7 and its anticipated release in October, users who are considering a switch – there’s no upgrade path – you’ll need to do a complete fresh install – are wondering whether they’re going to get better performance from Windows or a slow, painful transition to a half-baked operating system.

Windows 7 Will Give You A Faster Computer Experience

If you’re a Windows Vista user, the experience of switching from Vista to Windows 7 will probably be a lot less painless than you might imagine. You’ll spend less time installing Windows 7 than you may have spent installing Windows Vista, and your bootup time will be faster too.

Shutdowns have been one area in which Windows Vista and users of earlier versions have complained of slow performance. This is primarily because Windows Vista does a bunch of housekeeping prior to shutdown. This housekeeping isn’t exactly lightweight stuff – it downloads and installs patches, drivers and other important components prior to calling it a day, much to the anguish of Vista users who simply want to know that their computer has shut down.

Windows 7 is also more efficient when moving large files around its own file system and across a network. This is another area in which Vista users experienced noticeable performance lags when compared to similar actions on computers running Windows XP. Compression engines also run faster on Windows 7 than on Windows Vista or Windows XP.

Most applications will get a performance boost under Windows 7, which is good news for users who are considering a switch. In most cases, Windows XP users will come out on the short end of the performance stick by choosing not to upgrade to Windows 7. While Windows 7 is built on Vista, many of the performance issues that XP users rightly used to defend their decision not to switch have been fixed, and Windows 7 is clearly the best performer under most circumstances.

As show time approaches for Windows 7, it will become exceptionally clear to diehard Windows XP users that there is little point in hanging onto an operating system that doesn’t perform as well as the new Windows 7. Windows XP, a rock solid performer by any standard, has met its match. Common problems that plagued Windows Vista have been largely resolved, and it seems unlikely that Windows XP users will find sufficient justification to stand fast on a terminal product when a clear alternative is available.

Photo Credit: Daniel Gebhart, via Flickr

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