http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2355703,00.aspAfter I compared the performance of Windows 7 with that of Windows Vista , a lot of readers expressed interest in seeing a comparison with the decade-old, but still popular, Windows XP. So I decided to see how each of the three operating systems compared to each other in several crucial categories. Frankly, the results were a bit surprising. While they aren't a knockout blow for Windows 7, they do show that, by some measures, XP outperforms Windows 7 on legacy hardware.To start, I did a clean install of each OS on a 1.73-GHz Toshiba Satellite M45-S269 laptop with 1GB RAM and a 100GB hard drive. Because upgrading from XP will be of interest to businesses as well individuals, I chose to install Windows XP Professional, and stuck with the Professional edition for Vista and 7. I used 32-bit versions, since most XP installations are of that variety. For each OS version, I performed a clean installation.I then installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate , Windows Live Essentials (Mail, Movie Maker , Photo Gallery , Messenger), and Picasa 3.5 , since testing a PC with no programs installed wouldn't tell much about real-world performance. Then I ran a series of tests to determine the PC's start-up and shutdown times in each OS, as well as its performance on a series of benchmark tests. I ran each test at least three times and averaged the results.
Yeah boy I real sticking with upgrading my RC version yes.
Wow. That time coming up rather fast.