Comments on: Windows 7 is faster than Snow Leopard

By: sonytau

sonytau — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:54:30 +0000

WHEN MAC FANBOYS run their fruity machines with both Snow Leopard and Windows 7 in a dual boot configuration they will notice that the Apple OS runs faster.

CNet’s Dong Ngo took a late-2008 model 15-inch MacBook Pro and used it to compare Snow Leopard 10.6.1 and Windows 7 64-bit RTM (with native drivers from Boot Camp 3.0).

The machine was equipped with a 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, and a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT video card.

Snow Leopard wiped the floor with Windows 7 in all areas other than graphics. It seems that Nvidia’s Windows 7 drivers are better than what it has written for Appleware. Basically Snow Leopard booted and shut down around six seconds faster than Windows 7.

Mac OS X took 149.9 seconds to convert 17 songs from the MP3 format to the AAC format while the Volish OS needed 12 seconds more for the same job.

When running Windows 7 the battery lasted only 78 minutes, while Snow Leopard managed to keep going for 111 minutes.

However there were a few things wrong with the test. Apple does not allow its glorious software to be tested on a proper computer so really the test only compared how the two operating systems ran on an Apple machine.

Apple also wrote the Boot Camp 3.0 drivers that enable Windows 7 to run on Apple machines and it looks like the difference in speed seems to be down to the quality of different drivers rather than anything OS based.

Effectively Apple has controlled the test from start to finish and its fanboys will claim that Snow Leopard is faster than Voleware. If their machines do not crack or explode of course. µ

By: ohms

ohms — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:00:58 +0000

I happed to make the sightly unofficial upgrade from vista/xp to leopard and the performance boost was so much more than i could imagine, when i got the comp i thought wow great all that money and i still have a shit computer, Unix made it happen and im never looking back. so much money saved on hardware upgrades, osx turned my pc from crap to the best comp i have ever had the pleasure of owning

By: Liam

Liam — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:35:46 +0000

not true mac completely dominates the OS market, take a look
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31012_7-10319612-10355804.html

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:27:23 +0000

I just have to start by saying that I am mostly a mac user. I definitely love apple to death.

With that said, I would also like to say that Windows 7 is a great OS. I installed it recently, and was really blown away at how responsive it was. I’m not saying Win 7 is faster then 10.6, or that 10.6 is faster then Win 7, but I should note that this article is terrible. It just says how “snappy” Windows 7 is. It doesn’t talk specifics. If you want to argue that it is faster, then give us some benchmark results! It probably is faster for a lot of things!

Include some evidence in your arguments. This article helped me in no way at all, and I feel that it was a waste of my time. I’m going to estimate that I spent 3-5 minutes reading your junk, and I want my minutes back!

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:08:26 +0000

I have just ordered a mac after being a dedicated windows user from the start. I have been a strong critic of macs. However I recently did considerable research of macs and have been converted. Installing new software in windows, then removing it, always leaves traces behind as temporary files and registry entries. Not good. Automator, Apple Script and shell scripting are excellent features for improving productivity on Macs. Considerable other useful software is provided on a Mac as standard such as IDVD, IPHOTO, IMUSIC etc etc. Defragmentation is not a required regular chore on a Mac or other housekeeping chores. The Snow Leopard OS is based on Unix which is an industry standard OS. I cannot speak for Windows 7 but earlier windows o/s have always slowed over time. Defrag, registry cleaner deletion of temp files etc don’t always bring the performance back, requiring a fresh install of everything. Although I am not anti windows, I do believe Apple do now provide quality hardware and a quality os that should not be criticised just because it is Apple. Yes there is a wider source of applications for PC’s but as long as there are applications that can do the job on a Mac without BSOD that is not a major issue. Apple also supply free workshops in their stores on numerous topics. I have not had that kind of service from PC manufacturers.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:13:41 +0000

The point of my last post was really this: We each have a choice of what we buy in life and we buy whatever we like. Every time a new OS comes out from Microsoft I read a lot of bs from Mac users giving their nonsense “opinions” about it; generally biased opinion lacking any foundation. If a Mac is so great then buy one and use it and stop giving bs opinions to those who choose otherwise.
If Mac brings out a new OS I don’t even look at it as I don’t use a Mac and have no interest. Why can’t Mac users be the same with Windows? You don’t want to use it – then don’t use it. Why all the bs? You guys are almost like a cult and are obsessed with trying to convert others to your “religion”. To understand why this is all so annoying to me, look at it from my point of view: I have used Windows for a long time and Windows 98 and earlier were utter crap. Totally unreliable, locking up all the time, etc. Then came along XP. Totally reliable, very stable and rarely ever having issues. I have never had a virus and Windows has never locked up on me since using XP. Applications will occasionally freeze (hardly ever though) and it is a simple matter of ending the task and reopening it. With MS Office products this is a very rare occurrence from my own personal experience (has happened about 3 times EVER) and when the programme reopens it recovers the file I was working on anyway. I believe applications also have occasional problems on a Mac too (from what friends of mine who use Macs have told me). Windows 7 has been ever better for me in that it so far shows the same reliability as XP, but it looks a lot nicer and is far better to navigate around. I can get to any main directory on my computer in 2 clicks.
The bottom line is that I have had a totally reliable, highly usable operating system for many years now, so how do you think it looks to me when some Mac users come along trying to sell me on a system I know nothing about and have no interest in? Especially when they talk utter nonsense, such as crapping on about viruses when I have never had one, talk about reliability when I am using a superbly reliable system! I am not about to “take a chance” on a system that may or may not be better than what I have when I know what I do have does all I need it to and much much more, and reliably day in and day out.
Just get on with your life and enjoy your Mac and let others do as they choose. I don’t tell you what car to drive, don’t tell me what OS to use.

By: Hawkeye

Hawkeye — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:34:45 +0000

@Brian…
Hyundais are the best cars to people who have only driven Hyundais. Put them into the seat of Merc for a while, and only then can make a real comparison.

Your ignorance(admitted) about the Mac makes you incapable of comparison, imo.

For example… you seem to think of registries, defragging, DLLs and virsus/trojans as expected/acceptable inherent limitations of an OS, because you dont know any better of the alternative. Well *points to a Mac*(any of the past 20 years)…. here’s “better”.

Also, regarding market share. market share is no indicator of quality…. most people in the world drive Toyotas/Hyundais/TATA, that doesnt make them better than BMWs. Most people in the world fly coach, that doesnt make coach better than first-class. So using popularity as a measure of quality is kinda….childish.(Note: the price differential for cars are airfare is much higher than that of computers).

At the end of the day, me “evangalizing” the Mac is purely because i think it’s rediculious that in 2009, people are still wrestling with the same issues in Windows they were 20 years ago, when there’s clearly a better quality product out there…. but to some, i guess ignorance is bliss, and using inferior products is..just their (ignorant)choice.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:20:40 +0000

Catweazle and Hawkeye in particular: you guys need to step away from your 10 year old – like behaviours. Use what you like and I will use what I like. I have never once run into a situation where I could not perform a task in Windows that I needed to perform. In other words – there is a not a single application I need to use which is not available for Windows. I wouldn’t have a clue what is or isn’t available for the Macs as I have no interest in Macs and have never researched them.

Just look at the ratio of PC Vs Mac users and you do the sums. The “world” knows what is best to use and uses it. Guys so obsessed with a “computer” are hilarious. You get so serious and so determined to prove what you use is better than what everyone else uses, but you just don’t get it: people use whatever they choose and have zero interest in your opinion of what they choose. Go and play with your Mac and stop tarting around crying about Windows. Also, you rightly pointed out with your little version comparisons that Macs have been around for a long time; they haven’t overtaken the computer world though, have they? Funny that.

Just for the record, I have used W7 since the beta versions and it actually gets faster over time, not slower. Also, defragmenting takes about 5-10 mins if performed once a week and running a registry cleaner takes less than 2 mins. Therefore, get your facts right before making pathetic comments like “…hours a week….”. Do some research before making fools of yourselves.

By: Hawkeye

Hawkeye — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:02:30 +0000

1984: MacOS 1.0 vs DOS
1991: MacOS 7.0 vs Windows3.0
1999: MacOS 9.0 vs Windows98
2001: MacOSX 10.0 vs Windows XP
2007: MacOSX Leopard vs Windows Vista

Notice a trend ? one seems to always be a generation(5-10year) behind the other, in every aspect/dimension(Asthetics, UI, technologies, features, performance, security, industry standards, APIs, etc) of an Operating System.

Personally i love the clean cutting edge design(technical and aesthetic) of the OS, and im sure Windows will get there 5-10 years from now. but for my hard earned $$$, i’ll pick the overall better choice…. and if i need to or have to run Windows, i will have that option availible as well anyway, so i wont be missing out with anything by owning a Mac.(Fortunately being in the industry(developer), i can almost always find a way to get the job done on a Mac, where as with a Windows PC, i wont have the option to use iMovie, iPhoto, TimeMachine, FrontRow, XCode, etc… can i wait 10 years before PCs get their equivalent(features, usability, pricing) ? probably not.

@Ben
This theory of both comapnies copying/stealing from each other is….ammusing. Care to offer some examples ? Before you say the Dock mimics the Win95 taskbar, i’ll point you to the NextStepOS(direct parent of OSX) Dock which debuted in 1989. But i’m always curious about the other possibilities.

By: Catweazle

Catweazle — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:46:34 +0000

Went from Apple ][ to DOS3.2, went back to Apple for my domestic computer when Vista appeared. My iMac runs as fast now as it did when I bought it two and a half years ago.

The lack of concern about keeping this, that or the other piece of anti-vermin-ware updated is a bonus, as is the lack of necessity to spend however many hours a week running registry cleaners, defragging, etc.

Of course, if I want to get my hands dirty, I’ve got my XP taskbar up the left hand side, too.

In the mean time, I still make a good living out of M$ users, if everybody had Apples, I’d have to get a proper job!