The Second - err Third coming of XP...

[bbz_Ghost]

Well well well, look what happened when no one was paying attention. It seems that Windows XP might just be longer in the tooth than Microsoft was counting on. With Service Pack 3 for Windows XP just around the bend of 2008 and rapidly approaching, it seems a few go-getters decided to do some benchmarking on the latest available beta build of SP3.

And the results might surprise you.

While the following link isn't a big-time or big-name website, I have no reason to doubt their findings since I've done some testing on my own and I've noticed anywhere from ~5% gains in some application performance to well into the ~25% range compared to Vista (Vista Business is my Vista test floor since it's supposed to be roughly equivalent to what XP Professional is) in others.

http://exo-blog.blogspot.com/2007/11/windows-xp-sp3-yields-performance-gains.html

Looks good to me, and bodes well for XP's continuing lifespan.

Discussion is expected, just try to keep it civil. :)

[Monkey God]

that article is very weak in raw data and facts.
ill reserve comment until more people have had a chance to do a thorough review.

[GJSNeptune]

In fact, XP SP3 is shaping-up to be a "must have" update.

No, thanks. I try to heed endorsement-free advice only.

[l3ender]

I need more information before I come to conclusions.

[Verge]

where do you download "officebench?"

[NTJedi]

I need more information before I come to conclusions.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139911-c,xp/article.html
* According to the Office performance benchmarks, Windows XP SP3 is also considerably faster than Vista SP1. "None of this bodes well for Vista, which is now more than two times slower than the most current builds of its older sibling," said Barth.

* Recently, Forrester Research said that XP remained Vista's biggest rival, and cited survey data that showed American and European businesses would delay Vista deployment, in part because of application incompatibility issues with the new OS.


http://www.techpowerup.com/index.php?45378

*However, XP SP3 was able to claim a very hefty performance boost from Vista SP1, and even XP SP2. If the beta performance carries over to the final versions, Microsoft will be making quite a pretty penny off of XP SP3, considering the massive performance gains seen at this time.


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TONZ of recent articles on google just search for : sp3 performance xp benchmarks

[xp3nd4bl3]

Microsoft will be making quite a pretty penny off of XP SP3, considering the massive performance gains seen at this time.

Are they charging for SP3?

[NTJedi]

Are they charging for SP3?

The SP3 will be available for free download... Microsoft makes money from releasing a 'servicepack' for at least two reasons. First increased visitors to their website is great news for any business... I won't go into the details but it will bring money. Second many businesses will upgrade their older W2K environments as a result of this servicepack which means more money for Microsoft. There might be other reasons as well.

Businesses will test a new operating system within monitored test environments for a year or more and then report issues/bugs to Microsoft. Microsoft in turns releases servicepacks to address these issues/bugs as a way to convince businesses to upgrade their entire OS environments. As a result this is why the vast majority of large corporations don't switch over to Vista or whatever new OS Microsoft releases until it's become more stable/secure.
On the same note some gamers might switch to Vista because it's the new OS while others will wait until it's matured and more solid. I recommend a multi_boot environment thus enjoying the current solid and soon to arrive XP benefits while having Vista as my backup and future OS.