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By Steve Horton |
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Windows Vista and Windows 7 introduced a new score built in to Windows, called the Windows Experience Index. This index tells you how advanced your PC is and how well it can run Windows. In fact, a score of 3 or lower when you install Windows will automatically disable the special effects in Windows Vista & 7, called Windows Aero.
The index ranges from 1 to 5.9 on Vista and 1 to 7.9 on Windows 7.
This index is useful if, like me, you have a PC that’s several years old. However, any new off-the-shelf laptop or desktop may pass the Windows Experience Index with flying colors, but it’s still useful for finding potential deficiencies, such as with integrated video.
Since we’re all about holding on to your machine as long as possible, this Index has its uses. Though Windows ran this test when it installed itself, here’s how to view it and run the test again. It’s useful to run this just after upgrading or installing new hardware, or when moving your drive with Windows on it into a new PC.
There are other things that can slow your PC down, things not tested by this tool. Here’s a list:
We have a list of nine steps that can remedy some of these causes. Here’s the article for more on that subject.
To view and run the Windows System Assessment Tool, which generates the Windows Experience Index:
The assessment will take several minutes, and your screen will flash. Afterward, you’ll get a base score equal to the lowest subscore among the Processor, RAM, Graphics, Gaming Graphics, and Primary Hard Disk categories. Low scores are a good indicator that you might need an upgrade, and can also indicate that you should stay away from graphics-intensive games or memory-intensive applications.
One final note: This score is in Windows 8 too, with a higher possible maximum of 9.9. When you get around to Win 8, try it there and see if your score is higher!
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