Updates to the Windows Experience Index in Windows 7

Brandon LeBlanc — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:09:15 GMT

Some of you have noticed some changes to the Windows Experience Index in the Windows 7 Beta and have asked us to share more details about those changes. Today, you can read about those changes and how we’ve engineered the Windows Experience Index in Windows 7 in a blog post on the Engineering Windows 7 Blog.

Putting together the “Ultimate” PC

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 07:44:00 GMT

This weekend, I decided to "evaluate" all my PC's on my home network. My main Desktop PC wasn't performing like I wanted it to and was running a combination of new and old hardware. I had a Test / Work PC running a combination of new and old hardware as well. My Test / Work PC was also running x64 which was something I wanted to move to on my main Desktop PC for quite some time now (I like being on the "bleeding edge"). So I decided to take the best parts of my main Desktop PC and my Test / Work PC and combine them together to create the "Ultimate" Desktop PC for myself. I was pretty satisfied with the results.

Here are the specs of what I ended up with:

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600
Motherboard - ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Memory - 4GB
Keyboard / Mouse - Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000
Monitor - Dual 24-inch Dell UltraSharp 2407 Flat Panel Displays
Storage: 160GB Maxtor Harddrive, 160GB Western Digital Harddrive, 320 Western Digital Harddrive

I am also now officially running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 which can now take full advantage of running with 4GB of RAM. And in case I want more RAM, my PC is ready to "bring it on". I've heard some amazing stories with the power of x64 from my friend (and Featured Community) Carlos Echenique from PlanetAMD6 and am happy to join the x64 "club".

Windows Vista ships with a great way for users to tell just how "good" their PC is - called the Windows Experience Index. Nick actually did an in-depth blog post on the Windows Experience Index which is worth taking a look at if you haven't already. Here is the Windows Experience Index for my new Desktop PC I built this weekend:

Based on this score, you can see where I would need to improve my PC to boost my Windows Experience Index score up. If I replaced my current AMD processor with a higher end model, I could easily make this PC have a Windows Experience Index a 5.6 or higher.

I really had fun putting the new PC together this weekend and now have a fantastically "Ultimate" Windows Vista PC.

I've also put together a new page on the Windows Experience Blog for all the hardware I use. This page details all the PCs I use, my printer, my mobile PC's and everything else. If you're interested in knowing just exactly what I've got set up, check it out.

What do you think of my new PC? What do you think it needs to be even better? I'd love to hear from you on adding to this Ultimate PC. And if you've got an Ultimate PC of your own - let me know the specs!

Windows Experience Blog : Windows Experience Index

Updates to the Windows Experience Index in Windows 7

Putting together the “Ultimate” PC