Windows Vista Tweaks/Performance FAQ Thread *LONG*

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stash

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2000
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Hey, don't hate on IE, man, IE7, especially under Vista, is perfectly fine, and isn't even integrated with the OS anymore.
I would say you are more at risk running a different browser on Vista than you are using IE. Protected Mode, which takes advantage of the integrity levels in Vista makes it very hard for malware to take over your machine, unless you work really hard to make it happen.
 

jae

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2001
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Vista is running great on my machine with Aero on, its not sluggish or anything either.

3000+ @1.8GHz, 512MB DDR400, GeForce 6200 128MB (128Bit) PCi-E
 

archcommus

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2003
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Originally posted by: jae
Vista is running great on my machine with Aero on, its not sluggish or anything either.

3000+ @1.8GHz, 512MB DDR400, GeForce 6200 128MB (128Bit) PCi-E
That doesn't surprise me, everone says 512 is the bare minimum for acceptability for XP, and my father's system has 256 MB and it is PERFECTLY fine. 512, then, is fine for a relatively low multi-tasking Vista machine.
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: archcommus
Originally posted by: jae
Vista is running great on my machine with Aero on, its not sluggish or anything either.

3000+ @1.8GHz, 512MB DDR400, GeForce 6200 128MB (128Bit) PCi-E
That doesn't surprise me, everone says 512 is the bare minimum for acceptability for XP, and my father's system has 256 MB and it is PERFECTLY fine. 512, then, is fine for a relatively low multi-tasking Vista machine.

Seriously...it's totally fine. There's always this perception that new OSes perform so much worse than the older ones, XP was quite a bit slower than 2000 on the same amount of ram, but Vista isnt nearly as bad as people think. It's very well tuned.

I highly recommend popping in a $20 memory stick with just 512mb of ram...it will make a world of difference.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820233043
 

jae

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2001
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I think I may buy that because i have 2x256MB DDR400 in this computer. I was tryin to sell these so i can get some more slot room for 1GB but no one wants to be these Geil sticks.
 

EKKC

Diamond Member
May 31, 2005
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great guide. but i have not yet found a way to get my gigabit nic go back to full speed. it used to run 25-30mb/s between the two XP Pro rigs. now one of them is Vista enterprise, and it dropped to 6-8. i tried many things, no avail. it's a dell xps 700 with integrated broadcom nic, and there are no new drivers on dell website, so i have to use microsoft's native ones.
 
Mar 19, 2003
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Has anyone used that Apacer HT203 flash drive? I'm about to return my 2GB Memorex Mini TravelDrive and get one of the 2GB Apacer ones for $45ish...apparently the thing has freakishly fast read/write speeds (20-30MB/sec sequential, 6-9MB/sec random; my current drive is 3-10MB/sec sequential and 3-5MB/sec random). I'm hoping it'll make a difference with ReadyBoost since I only have 1GB of RAM at the moment; even if it's not too much faster than my current drive for that use at least I'll be able to do really fast file transfers :p
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: EKKC
any tool to test usb sticks?

In what sense, to see if they work with readyboost? Just plug it in - if it's not good enough, it won't let you use it for readyboost.
 

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
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Cool, stickied. Hey BD, I think you ought to integrate the superfetch/readyboost post into this one.

Edit: NM, you already did. :thumbsup:
 
Mar 19, 2003
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Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Has anyone used that Apacer HT203 flash drive? [...]

I'll answer my own question here. :p

I just picked up one of these drives (2GB) from Directron in Houston today, and it's crazy fast. Sequential write speed is upwards of 15MB/sec, read is nearly 30MB/sec. But of course those aren't the numbers that matter for ReadyBoost - luckily the random numbers are quite fast too. 8075 KB/sec read and 9977 KB/sec write.

Needless to say, my Memorex drive is being returned tonight. I only paid about $45 for the Apacer drive (only a few more dollars than the Memorex), great find for anyone looking for a really fast drive (both for file transfers and ReadyBoost).

Edit: I'm able to switch (Alt-Tab) in and out of UT2004 pretty quickly now with this thing, which I think is pretty impressive since I only have 1GB of RAM right now. It was much slower without ReadyBoost and even with RB using my old Memorex drive.
 

Mayfriday0529

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2003
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I want to buy a Vista machine. I don't feel confident that my current machine will run smooth and in order to get it upgrade I probably need to spend at least $300 in upgrades. I went to the store today and saw a Core 2 Duo system, played around with it seems good. I asked the sales guy if the system came with a Vista CD and he said no; only rescue software on the hard drive.
Does anyone know if a Vista Rescue CD could be made? I did that before with my IBM laptop made a XP CD and worked great.
 

Nick5324

Diamond Member
Aug 19, 2001
3,267
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Originally posted by: NFS4
Is there a PowerToys application yet?

Well, there is TweakVI. It is by Totalidea Software, not MS, but I found it on Windows Marketplace. The free version only allows for some of the functionality. I think it bugs you to download EasyBCD twice, which is optional.

Link
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Nick5324
Originally posted by: NFS4
Is there a PowerToys application yet?

Well, there is TweakVI. It is by Totalidea Software, not MS, but I found it on Windows Marketplace. The free version only allows for some of the functionality. I think it bugs you to download EasyBCD twice, which is optional.

Link

I didnt mention tweakVI because it is exactly one of those "tweak" programs that can do more harm than good. If you're going to use it, use it *very* carefully.
 

Mayfriday0529

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2003
7,187
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Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I want to buy a Vista machine. I don't feel confident that my current machine will run smooth and in order to get it upgrade I probably need to spend at least $300 in upgrades. I went to the store today and saw a Core 2 Duo system, played around with it seems good. I asked the sales guy if the system came with a Vista CD and he said no; only rescue software on the hard drive.
Does anyone know if a Vista Rescue CD could be made? I did that before with my IBM laptop made a XP CD and worked great.

Never mind. I got the system today and it did come with a Vista DVD.
 

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
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Thanks BD2003, when I get Vista later this year, I will be sure to checkout this guide.

BTW, you have just been linkafied in the Vista Security Thread;)
 

exaltair

Junior Member
Dec 22, 2006
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BD2003, are you using Vista 64 or Vista 32?

I get Vista for free (Business) and am considering my next installation... whether to go 64 bit or 32 bit.
I'm still on the fence here, as many many sources claim that for some reason Vista 64 is slower than 32 (I don't have personal experience comparing 64 to 32, though I have run Vista 64 with 1 gb RAM and it was very sluggish).

System will have 2gb RAM (no plans to ever upgrade furthur, its a laptop). 2.0 C2D, etc. You think I should give Vista 64 a try or just go with 32? The only reason I really want 64 is that in case 64 bit apps come out in the next year or two, I wouldn't have to reinstall the OS for improved perf.
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
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Originally posted by: exaltair
BD2003, are you using Vista 64 or Vista 32?

I get Vista for free (Business) and am considering my next installation... whether to go 64 bit or 32 bit.
I'm still on the fence here, as many many sources claim that for some reason Vista 64 is slower than 32 (I don't have personal experience comparing 64 to 32, though I have run Vista 64 with 1 gb RAM and it was very sluggish).

System will have 2gb RAM (no plans to ever upgrade furthur, its a laptop). 2.0 C2D, etc. You think I should give Vista 64 a try or just go with 32? The only reason I really want 64 is that in case 64 bit apps come out in the next year or two, I wouldn't have to reinstall the OS for improved perf.

I'm using vista 32. I see no reason to use vista 64 right now. A reinstall is a pain in the butt, but I'd rather deal with a reinstall a year from now than deal with app incompatibilities and even worse drivers until then.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
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I get Vista for free (Business) and am considering my next installation... whether to go 64 bit or 32 bit.
64-bit Vista has additional security measures, if that matters to you.

BD2003, thanks for the tip on the Corsair TurboFlash, I ordered one up. UPS managed to misroute the package, but maybe tomorrow... :confused:
 

BehindEnemyLines

Senior member
Jul 24, 2000
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Can someone recommend a 1GB or 2GB SD memory card that's fast and compatible with ReadyBoost? I just checked newegg.com, but not sure which to choose. I want to use it on my 700m laptop.

Side note: Is it possible to enable Vista Standard Theme for non-Aero capable video cards? I remember reading somewhere that the Standard theme doesn't use hardware-rendering but software instead althought it still uses the DWM.exe service. I hoping for a patch whether unofficial or not to enable Standard theme without DX9 and WDDM drivers. :D The Basic theme is pretty fugly for me.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
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Why not get the 1GB Corsair TurboFlash and just leave it in a rear USB port? Then you can use your card reader for your camera's cards without giving up ReadyBoost :)