Hard drive rating 5.9. System check

If your computer is slow, you have problems using programs or watching videos, it makes sense to check your computer's performance. The performance index is used by the Windows 7 operating system to visually and understandably evaluate its own performance. The higher it is, the faster and more powerful computer, the more complex programs and games it can handle.

What is a performance index

"Index Windows performance» (Windows Experience Index, WEI) - operating room service Windows systems, which allows you to test your computer's performance.

How to find out the performance index

There are several ways to find out your performance index. Let's look at the two simplest ones.

Via "My Computer"

Via the Start menu

As you can see, both methods are quite simple and do not take much time.

What categories are presented in the table

The Performance Index table includes five components:

What do the numbers mean?

The WEI of a computer is determined by the lowest score. The maximum score in Windows 7–7.9, the minimum is 1.0. Let's look at the Performance Index indicators using the example of graphics evaluation.

Table: Performance Index scores and computer functions that correspond to them

Ways to improve computer performance

For a modern desktop computer, the normal performance index starts at 5.0. Please note that the latest drivers must be installed on graphics devices, otherwise the performance may be underestimated.

Most often, WEI will be equal to 5.9 when using HDD(hard drive), even if the scores in other categories are significantly higher. This is due to the low access speed of the main hard drive. When replacing HDD on a solid-state SSD drive, the hard drive performance score rises to 7.9 and becomes the highest in the category table. The use of solid state drives significantly improves Windows operation generally.

Low graphics performance may be the result of missing graphics drivers or insufficient graphics card performance. To fix a software problem, you should download drivers from the official website of the manufacturer that produced the graphics equipment for your computer. If the drivers are installed correctly, replacing the video card with a more powerful one will help improve the performance index.

Additionally, you can increase your computer's performance by doing the following:

Video: how to increase computer performance

What to do if performance reviews aren't working

It happens that the procedure for calculating the performance index ends in an error. This error can be caused by either software or hardware problems.

Software problems:

• the presence of viruses, Trojans, malware in the system;
• disk errors;
• path or registry errors.

Hardware problems include failure or incorrect operation one of the elements.

Software errors are resolved in the following way:

• scanning your computer with antivirus (Malwarebytes), as well as other antivirus utilities;
• checking the hard drive for errors;
• scanning the system for damaged components. To do this, open a command prompt as an administrator and enter the command sfc /scannow, press Enter. The system will automatically check and, if possible, fix damaged system files;
• installation of K-Lite Kodeck Pack;
• system recovery if all else fails (returning the computer to an earlier state - when everything worked - using a checkpoint).

If you suspect problems with the hardware, you need to use the Aida program to check the temperature of the sensors to rule out overheating. Checking contacts, checking RAM memory for errors (for example, with the Memtest86 program), and stress testing the video card will help identify or eliminate problems in the operation of any component. If you are not sure that you can handle it, it is advisable to contact a specialist, since incorrectly performed tests can lead to computer failure.

Often the error is caused by the computer's power supply. Since all elements are operating under maximum load when calculating the performance index, they may not have enough power. If this is a laptop, check the power settings, they should include “ maximum performance", and he himself must be connected to the network at this time. If a component problem has been ruled out, it may be time to replace the power supply with a more powerful one. Even a working power supply loses power after a year of continuous use, causing equipment failures and “ blue screen death."

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) is made up of several factors: processor power, speed RAM, 2D and 3D graphics performance and data exchange speed with the hard drive. The overall score is determined by the lowest score. To increase WEI, there are several ways, including replacing the video card or hard drive, cleaning, checking for errors, etc. If the performance assessment does not work, then you should check your computer for viruses or find errors in the registry. Problems with the video card or power supply of the computer can also cause problems.

In Windows Vista, such an interesting utility as Performance index. With its help, you can see the assessment of the Windows system according to various criteria. Subsequently, this function migrated to Windows 7 and Windows 8, but then the developers decided that it was not needed and therefore in Windows 8.1 you cannot find it so easily. However, many users liked this feature, partly to compare their pussies to see who is cooler. In this article you will learn a little more about the Windows Performance Index (score), and we will also look at how you can still find it out in the new Windows versions 8.1.

Windows Experience Index (WEI) is an assessment of the Windows system itself of the main characteristics of the computer on which the OS is installed.

The main characteristics are:
CPU
RAM
Graphics
Graphics for games
Disk subsystem

As you can see, he considers everything the most important characteristics, needed for performance.

Each of these characteristics is given its own index (number) which is calculated using a special formula. Minimum value 1 , and the maximum depends on the OS version: in Windows Vista it is 5.9 , in Windows 7 7.9 , and in Windows 8 9.9

From all these estimates, the minimum value is selected and reported as the main estimate. I don’t know why they did this, perhaps so that users tried to increase it, paying attention to the minimum value.

How to find out the performance rating (index) in Windows 7 and 8

Click RMB on To my computer and choose Properties.
In this window we pay attention to Evaluation in category System:

click on the link Windows Experience Index for more details.

We get this picture, in which everything is already described:

It happens that the assessment has not yet been made, then it will need to be done. You can also double-check if anything has been changed in the system.

How to find out the performance rating (index) in Windows 8.1

As I wrote above, you won’t be able to find performance in this version of the system, but it’s still there.

Let's go along the way (Window_drive_letter):\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore and in this folder we look for a file that contains the letters Formal.Assessment.

Explanation:
(Window_drive_letter)- this is usually C. You can navigate through folders along the path, or you can simply copy and paste them into the address bar of Explorer.

The file we need starts with numbers. They mean the date and time of creation, as well as other “nonsense”. Approximately its name 2014-03-21 12.02.02.533 Formal.Assessment (Recent).WinSAT.xml
It opens via (usually Internet Explorer).
If there are several such files, then it is better to open the most recent one by creation date.

The opened file looks like this:

We need to pay attention to those characteristics that are located between the WinSPR tags.

I’ll decipher a little what it is and how it’s indicated.

SystemScore- overall performance
MemoryScore- assessment of RAM
CpuScore- processor performance
GraphicsScore- graphics performance assessment
DiskScore- disc rating

There are a few more, but they are not particularly needed. You can translate it yourself if you want.

If this option seems too labor-intensive to you, then you can use it and enter it into
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_WinSAT
which will result in a performance score in Windows 8.1:

It happens that you cannot find this file or the index will not be displayed. This may mean that it has not yet been carried out. If in Windows 7 and 8 this was easily solved, then in Windows 8.1 you will need to enter some commands into the command line from the administrator. Namely:

winsat formal- assessment of the overall system performance;
winsat formal -v- assessment of overall system performance, detailed output;
winsat formal -xml file.xml- output the result of the check to the specified xml file;
winsat formal -restart never- during re-inspection, to evaluate only new components;
winsat formal -restart clean- when re-checking, to reset the check history and perform a full scan again.

It's better to use the first one.

In the end the window will look something like this:

There are also programs that will help you check your performance index.

ChrisPC Win Experience Index

WSAT

I liked the second one even more, because it does not require installation, is in Russian, and also shows another additional necessary information on the system and hardware.

How to increase or improve the Windows performance index (score).

The answer to this question will be given to you both by the system itself and by ordinary logic.

As a rule, everything consists of replacing computer “spare parts”. If the processor index is small, we change it to a more powerful one, if there is not enough RAM, we increase it.
It happens less often when everything seems to be normal, but the index is small. Then you need to produce.
If the disk score is small, we delete the excess, produce it, etc.

Well, that's all. On the one hand, performance evaluation is a necessary thing, it helps you understand what you need to pay attention to based on a low index, but on the other hand, it is not needed if you already know that your computer is weak or there is not enough disk space =)

In order to measure computer performance using tests, it is not necessary to download any third-party applications and utilities.

It is enough to use the resources already built into the operating system.

Although to obtain more detailed information the user will have to find a suitable program.

Based on the test results, you can draw conclusions about which part of your PC or laptop requires replacement sooner than others - and sometimes you can simply understand the need to buy a new computer.

The need to perform a check

Computer speed testing is available to any user. The test does not require any specialized knowledge or experience with specific versions of Windows OS. And the process itself is unlikely to require spending more than an hour.

Reasons why you should use the built-in utility or third-party application refers to:

• Unreasonable slowdown of the computer. Moreover, not necessarily the old one - the check is needed to identify problems with new PCs. For example, the minimum results and indicators of a good video card indicate incorrect installed drivers;
• checking the device when selecting several similar configurations in a computer store. This is usually done before buying laptops - running a test on 2-3 devices with almost identical parameters helps to find out which one is better suited to the buyer;

• the need to compare the capabilities of various components of a gradually modernized computer. So, if the HDD has the lowest performance value, then it should be replaced first (for example, with an SSD).

According to the results of testing, which revealed the speed at which the computer performs various tasks, you can detect problems with drivers and incompatibility of installed devices. And sometimes even poorly functioning and broken parts - for this, however, you will need more functional utilities than those built into Windows by default. Standardized tests reveal minimal information.

System check

You can check the performance of individual computer components using built-in capabilities operating system Windows. Their operating principle and information content are approximately the same for all versions of the Microsoft platform. And the differences lie only in the method of launching and reading information.

Windows Vista, 7 and 8

For versions 7 and 8 of the platform, as well as Windows Vista, the performance counter of computer elements can be found in the list of basic information about the operating system. To display them on the screen, just right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select properties.

If testing has already been carried out, information about its results will be available immediately. If you are running the test for the first time, you will have to run it by going to the performance test menu.

The maximum score that Windows 7 and 8 can achieve is 7.9. You should think about the need to replace parts if at least one of the indicators is below 4. For a gamer, values ​​above 6 are more suitable. For Windows Vista, the best indicator is 5.9, and the “critical” indicator is about 3.

Important: To speed up performance calculations, you should turn off almost all programs during the test. When testing a laptop, it is advisable to plug it into the network - the process significantly consumes battery power.

Windows 8.1 and 10

For more modern operating systems, finding information about computer performance and starting to calculate it is no longer so easy. To run a utility that evaluates system parameters, you should do the following:

1Go to command line operating system(cmd via menu "Run" caused by pressing keys simultaneously Win + R);

2Enable evaluation process, leading the team winsat formal –restart clean;

3Wait for the job to complete;

4Go to folder Performance\WinSAT\DataStore located in the Windows system directory on system disk computer;

5Find and open in text editor file "Formal.Assessment (Recent).WinSAT.xml".

Among the multitude of text, the user must find the WinSPR block, where approximately the same data is located that is displayed on the screen of Windows 7 and 8 systems - only in a different form.

Yes, under the name SystemScore the general index calculated from the minimum value is hidden, and MemoryScore, CpuScore And GraphicsScore indicate the memory, processor and graphics card indicators, respectively. GamingScore And DiskScore– performance for gaming and for reading/writing the hard drive.

The maximum value for Windows 10 and version 8.1 is 9.9. This means that the owner of an office computer can still afford to have a system with numbers less than 6, but for full operation of a PC and laptop it must reach at least 7. And for gaming device- at least 8.

Universal method

There is a method that is the same for any operating system. It consists of launching the task manager after pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys. A similar effect can be achieved by right-clicking on the taskbar - there you can find an item that launches the same utility.

You will be able to see several graphs on the screen - for the processor (for each thread separately) and RAM. For more detailed information, go to the “Resource Monitor” menu.

Using this information, you can determine how heavily loaded individual PC components are. First of all, this can be done by the loading percentage, secondly - by the color of the line ( green means normal operation of the component, yellow– moderate, red– need to replace the component).

Third party programs

By using third party applications It's even easier to check your computer's performance.

Some of them are paid or shareware (that is, they require payment after the trial period ends or to increase functionality).

However, these applications conduct more detailed testing - and often provide a lot of other information useful to the user.

1. AIDA64

AIDA64 includes tests for memory, cache, HDDs, SSD and flash drives. And when testing a processor, 32 threads can be checked at once. Among all these advantages, there is also a small drawback - you can use the program for free only during the “trial period” of 30 days. And then you have to either switch to another application, or pay 2265 rubles. for a license.

2. SiSoftware Sandra Lite

3.3DMark

4.PCMark 10

The application allows you not only to test the operation of computer components, but also to save test results for future use. The only drawback of the application is the relatively high cost. You will have to pay $30 for it.

5. CINEBENCH

The test images consist of 300 thousand polygonal images that add up to more than 2000 objects. And the results are given in the form PTS indicator - the higher it is, the more powerful the computer. The program is distributed free of charge, which makes it easy to find and download it on the Internet.

6. ExperienceIndexOK

Information is displayed on the screen in points. The maximum number is 9.9, as for the latest versions of Windows. This is exactly what ExperienceIndexOK is designed for. It is much easier to use such a program than to enter commands and search for files with results in the system directory.

7.CrystalDiskMark

To test a disk, select the disk and set the test parameters. That is, the number of runs and file sizes that will be used for diagnostics. After a few minutes, information about the average read and write speed for the HDD will appear on the screen.

8.PC Benchmark

Having received the test results, the program offers to optimize the system. And after improving performance, a page opens in the browser where you can compare the performance of your PC with other systems. On the same page you can check whether your computer can run some modern games.

9. Metro Experience Index

10.PassMark PerformanceTest

Conclusions

Using different methods to test your computer's performance allows you to check how your system is performing. And, if necessary, compare the speed of individual elements with the performance of other models. For a preliminary assessment, you can conduct such a test using built-in utilities. Although it is much more convenient to download special applications for this - especially since among them you can find several that are quite functional and free.

Video:

Some users who evaluate the performance of their computer using the built-in tools of Windows 7 are confused by the number 5.9 that their PC receives based on the criterion of data exchange speed with the disk.

Naturally, they wonder how this figure can be improved so that the final score of the computer increases.

In this article we will talk about what the number 5.9 means and how you can increase it if desired.

Real increase in the speed of data exchange with the disk

To increase the speed of data exchange with a hard drive, many on the Internet advise defragmenting it, performing it, and so on.

I would like to say right away that all this will not give a significant result. Maybe the disk will start working faster after all this, but this will be such a negligible increase that the Windows performance assessment will not even notice this and will still assign a rating of 5.9.

For any standard hard drive type HDD with a spindle speed of 5900-7200 rpm, which are installed in most computers and laptops, the Windows rating will show no more than 5.9 points.

In order to significantly increase this figure, there are two options:

1. Create a RAID array from several hard drives;
2. Install SSD drive and install windows on it.

Only by using one of the two options described above can you really increase the speed of your hard drive and increase the number in the Windows Experience Index.

This is what a 2.5 sata3 SSD looks like

We would advise you to use the second option. It is enough to purchase a 120 GB SSD disk and install Windows with drivers and programs on it. Available in your computer or laptop. hard drive you will leave it and use it to store photos, music, movies and games.

This way, your PC will boot up much faster, programs will open instantly, and overall you will feel that your computer is running much faster. And of course, the speed of data exchange with the disk will increase by several units and exceed 7.0.

Solid state drives provide exceptionally high data transfer speeds. They guarantee fast system loading, fast shutdown, and read operations (especially sequential) at speeds that users of traditional hard drives have never dreamed of. In the previous article? I provided specific numbers illustrating the actual performance of the SSD.

However, in order to ensure maximum performance of Windows 7 when using solid-state drives, you will have to work hard. Windows has evolved over the years and is optimized primarily for working with traditional hard drives. Functions like SuperFetch, PreFetch and ReadyBoot are designed specifically for monitoring and redistributing files launched when the system boots in order to speed up access. However, SSD drives have no moving parts, so these technologies do not provide any performance gains for them.

Windows needs special tuning in order to fully realize the full potential of solid state manufacturers. If this setting is not done, there will not be much benefit from using an SSD - I have seen this from my own experience.

In October 2009, I purchased a Dell Latitude XT2 laptop with a 256GB SSD. The first thing I did was remove the pre-installed Windows XP Professional and replace it with Windows 7 Professional. The drive was fast, but not mind-blowing, and the Windows Experience Index stubbornly gave it a 5.9 rating.

Last summer I decided to finally address this issue and discovered that many similarly configured Dell laptop users were experiencing the same issues. As it turns out, the Samsung PB22-CS3 SSD needs a firmware update to work correctly with the disk management features included in Windows 7. The update was supposed to come from Dell, but it was not yet available last July.

The CrystalDiskInfo utility confirmed that this disk does not support the TRIM command, which is one of the prerequisites for normal operation solid state drive. This command allows the system to delete blocks of data in background. Windows 7 supports TRIM by default, older versions of Windows do not.

I recently returned to this issue and discovered that a few months ago Dell finally released necessary update. Since the update erases all data on the drive, I had to completely reinstall Windows 7.

After this, the system performance increased several times, which is confirmed by the test results. The table below shows Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) indicators for July (in the original OEM configuration) and for December 2010 (after updating the SSD firmware and installing the latest disk controller drivers from Intel).

In the new configuration, the drive's overall Windows Experience Index score increased from 5.9 to 7.4, and the performance gain was quite noticeable. The speed of random read operations has increased 12 times, which has a direct impact on the performance of the system in everyday use.

The firmware update unlocked the drive's performance, but this is not the only prerequisite for normal operation. Below I'll explain how to configure your system to take full advantage of the SSD's capabilities.

For Windows installations 7 for an SSD, you must first prepare the system. Here's what I recommend doing:

1. Make sure your computer has the latest SSD firmware installed. Updating the firmware erases all data from the disk, so you should take care of this before installing the operating system. You can download updates from the website of the computer manufacturer (if you purchased it assembled) or the solid-state drive (if you purchased it separately). Install new version firmware, following the instructions. As a rule, to update you need to boot the system from external media - for example, from a USB flash drive.

2. Set the disk controller to AHCI mode. Before installing the operating system, BIOS settings activate AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) for SATA controller. Using obsolete IDE modes or ATA will prevent you from installing a suitable driver for the disk controller in the future and will result in poor performance.

3. Use the Secure Erase utility to completely erase the disk. This is not necessary, but may be useful if the drive has been in use for quite some time. Just don’t format the drive with built-in using Windows. For Intel drives, you can use the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox. For Lenovo computers, the Disk Cleanup feature is available as part of the BIOS Menu Setup Extension utility. For OCZ drives, the Secure Erase utility can be downloaded from the OCZ Forum. In addition, you can use the HDDErase utility, which supports a wide range of solid-state drives.

4. Boot the system from the installation Windows disk and run a clean installation. Create partitions on the disk using Windows installer. If the disk already has partitions created using other tools, delete them and recreate them using Windows 7. This will ensure that the partitions are properly aligned.

5. Install the latest driver for the disk controller. If your computer is equipped with an Intel SATA controller, you should use latest version Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers from the manufacturer's official website. At the moment the most current version - 10.1.0.1008.

6. Once you have completed installing the operating system, check the Windows Experience Index for the drive. To do this, right-click on the “Computer” link in the “Start” menu and select “Properties”. In the window that appears, click the “Windows Experience Index” link. The Performance Information and Tools window opens. Rating in the column “Primary hard drive” hard disk) for a properly configured SSD should be higher than 7.0. If necessary, click the Re-run The Assessment link to update your scores.

To make sure all SSD functions are working properly, install the free utility