Microsoft Makes Its Own Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2, Leaves XP SP3 Out

In this context, it was only natural that the Vista RTM vs. XP SP2 smackdown would evolve and survive with the growth of the two operating systems. The comparison continues to be an inherent accessory of the two platforms even after the launch of the latest service packs for the two products, namely Vista SP1 and XP SP3. Michael Kleef, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist is the author of the latest face-off between Vista and XP, using a copy of Vista SP1 and XP PS2, but ignoring XP Service Pack 3, released to manufacturing on April 21, and to the public on May 6.

Kleef's demonstration involves a copy of Windows Vista  SP1 and one of XP SP2 in a scenario designed to test the two operating systems' file copying speed. Kleef copied a 600 MB ISO file in both Vista SP1 and XP SP2 running as guest operating systems in virtual machines and connected to the same server. From the get go, Vista SP1 has an advantage over XP SP2, with a difference of approximately 20 minutes between the two copying processes. The conclusion is that Vista SP1 simply handles copying more efficiently than XP SP3. The entire demonstration can be accessed via this link.

"It's interesting that people seem to think that Vista underperforms in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception. In this demo I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it. Demo environment consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down... except Vista doesn't slow down," Kleef stated.