Vista内键的测试工具WinSAT

Windows Vista will contain a Microsoft-embedded benchmark, known as WinSAT (Windows System Assessment Tool.) WinSAT serves several purposes:
It's a tool for OEM system providers to help enable them to meet Windows Vista logo requirements
WinSAT runs during the Vista setup procedure, to determine if the system is capable of running the Aero 3D user interface and compositing system.
Users can run it as a rough guide to performance of Vista on their system, as well use it for a system diagnostic
WinSAT ships in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. The 32-bit version will not run under 64-bit Vista. It will even run on Windows XP, though due to differences in the way the benchmarks run, the results aren't really comparable.

ADVERTISEMENT WinSAT runs a suite of tests based on what Windows Vista does. For example, there's an encryption test using Vista's own AES encryption engine. It's important to understand that WinSAT is neither a synthetic benchmark, nor is it an application-based benchmark. It is a test of how Vista performs on specific hardware.

WinSAT consists of five different types of tests, which Microsoft dubs "assessments":

Graphics Assessment, which determines how well the system can run the Aero interface. This is mainly a measure of graphics memory bandwidth. The result from this assessment is used during Windows setup to determine whether Aero will be enabled by default.
Direct3D Assessment. This actually generates a frames per second score, and is intended as a loose guide to how games might perform. The test focuses on GPU ALU (arithmetic logic unit) performance, shader texture load performance, and post-pixel blend performance. The test works on Pixel Shader 2.0 or later hardware and will evaluate 8- or 16-bit render targets.
Storage Assessment. The storage sub-test actually divides the drive into regions (up to 16), and then tests performance of individual regions. This alleviates issues such as outer track performance dominating the result of the benchmark. The test reports MB per second, and the results from each region. Those results are aggregated into a final mean score.
Processor assessment. The CPU assessment actually uses embedded Windows components, such as LZW data compression, AES encryption, SHA1 hashing, and Windows Media encoding. The test supports multi-core CPUs and generates the appropriate number of threads, depending on the number of cores.
Video Decode Assessment. This test is specifically designed to test high-definition playback. The default codec is Windows Media HD, but the test will use other installed codecs, as well. The test uses both DirectShow and Vista's Media Foundation technologies.
Note that not every feature of WinSAT is present in the beta 2 release. For example, the video assessment test supports multi-core, but isn't fully optimized for multithreading yet. Also not in yet is the frames-per-second video-decode result, plus CPU utilization during video decode.


WinSAT will generate something called the Windows System Performance Rating (WinSPR). This scale runs from 1 to 5, with higher numbers being better. Certain scores suggest certain capabilities. For example, a WinSPR of 3 means that the system can run Aero well, but you'll need a score of 4 to run HD video with best results.

The problem here is that the score is simply the lowest score of the different assessment tests. It's unclear whether or not a system with a relatively slow hard drive is incapable of running HD video, but if the score of the storage assessment is less than 4, then the system isn't supposed to play HD video well.

Read more Vista articles on ExtremeTech.

The other issue will be the inevitable specsmanship on the part of system vendors. The WinSPR really is a system performance test, and one specific for Vista. We're hoping that individual component vendors don't start adding scores to their boxes. Imagine a GPU vendor reporting that their GPU can generate a 5. That would suggest to inexperienced users that dropping this into an otherwise limited system might make it a great gaming box.

Still, it's encouraging to see Microsoft take the step to create a standardized performance test. Richard Russell, who manages Microsoft's client performance team, stresses that WinSAT is not meant to replace synthetic or application-based benchmarks. WinSAT is very specific to what's in Vista and is meant to give an indication of how well Vista will run on hardware.