Proof that BV's techniques really work? Benchmarks?

[blimmo]

I have been following BV's tips for years now, and the benefits of removing unneeded services etc. have always seemed self-evident to me. But now I have this Vista-using friend who wants to see some kind of proof or benchmarks that BV's Vista tips "really work." I told him he could simply try things out for himself, but he's reluctant. So: Are there any 'before and after' BV benchmarks or results IN VISTA that I could show him? ONLY VISTA, NOT XP, REPEAT, ****NOT XP****. HE DOESN'T USE XP.

By the way: NOT INTERESTED IN XP RESULTS. DON'T POST ANYTHING ABOUT XP. Thanks in advance

[Black Viper]

Performance is in the eyes of the user and "what they do."
Ya can't "benchmark" opinion.

What works for some does not work for others.
If they are skeptical, leave everything on the default and call it a day.

I have nothing to "prove," nor shall I attempt to convince anyone that "I am right."
I applaud skeptics, though, as I am a big skeptic and prove things (or disprove) to myself all the time and do not take anything that I read on the internet at face value.

I, however, do not leave things as Microsoft ships them (or anybody else for that matter) and "performance" of the OS is affected with what "I" do.
Ya can't "benchmark" that.

Adjusting services reduces the memory footprint of the OS and could plug some existing and future security holes.
Ya can't "benchmark" that.

Knocking out a few of those "extra" services could improve the performance of startup and shutdown with a system that is "underspec" with regards to Microsofts recommendations or even mine. Does that mean a $6,000 gaming PC would benefit? How about a system that is on 24/7 anyway?
See also... the first sentence in this post.

What I offer is my experiences with tweaking an OS to squeak every bit of power out of my system that I can while costing nothing but time.
Ya can't "benchmark" that.

If anything, it makes Vista "snappier" to the user, but is that good?
See also... the first sentence in this post cause...
Ya can't "benchmark" opinion.

Standard benchmarks, whether it be "hard drive" or "CPU" or "graphics card" or "pure data processing" like video encode/decoding do nothing but test those specific components or the entire system as a whole, not the "OS" itself. If the OS has a smaller memory footprint, you can load/do more things without worrying about the over use of swap space.

I am also a firm believer in "if ya do not use it or need it, why have it there" in the computer world. As a result, I have had great success in reducing the overhead of OS's and making a "noticeable" impact on performance "from my point of view." I am not talking .01% increase in frame rate in xyz game that only pure numbers would be able to show you, nor am I stating anything to the effect that "if you disable IPv6 support, your internet access will be faster," but why and the hell have it if I am not using it?
Ya can't "benchmark" that.

Really, though, what does a person have to lose but a bit of time and, maybe, just maybe, even gain some knowledge of their computer system in the process?
Ya can't "benchmark" that.

Now, if you are still with me, I do plan on banging around Vista in the coming months to see if I can get the OS down to a respectable "safe" value that "generally" people will consider useful, even the skeptics, and post memory footprints and comparing abc boot time to xyz with blah configuration, but that is after Vista SP2 is released and tested on my part. I am installing the beta on my VM systems "as I type." No, really... I am, but cannot do a lot until the final version.

[couttsj]

There are various benchmarking routines available, and there is even one built in to Vista (see http://bbs.blackviper.com/index.php/topic,1356.0.html ). But like BV says, it depends on what you want to do with your system. If you are a gamer, then graphics and CPU speed are important and can be tested individually for throughput. But if you use the computer as a business tool, then the ability to load and manage several different pieces of I/O intensive software is more important. For the average home user, it is somewhere in between. For me personally, I was looking for an application based benchmark routine that would simulate/test popular business software. Unfortunately I was not able to find one for the right price (free).

J.A. Coutts

[Myrm]

Though I can't provide any solid benchmarks I have to say that, in my humble opinion, BV's Services techniques really do work wonders.  I use his "Tweaked" options and I have noticed a lot of improvement in my Vista Home Premium 64-bit run PC.  I have also done the same on my laptop which uses Vista Home Premium 32-bit.  I swear by his Services techniques.  Every time I reformat my PC or buy a new one, one of the first things I do is tweak my services as per BV's suggestions.

Hope this helps.

[RB2tfm]

 Well I can say this...
I am running Win XP pro , ftp server, apache web server ,
phpmy admin, MySQL, mercury mail server, IPB forum , ventillo server,
teamspeak server, antivirus , firewall and various other apps on a
HP 4450...that's a 366 MHZ system with 128 MB RAM.

 Im thanking BV for about 90% of the tweaks,
others I have found here and there... is it a screamer ? no.
can I really use it to surf etc ? no. But it does what I need it to
do as there is no KB or monitor hooked to it anyway.

 How's that for a 'benchmark' ??  =)

[blimmo]

Dear BV,

Thank you for your comprehensive reply. Happy to hear you will be attempting to provide a few benchmarks and so forth in the future. Honestly, I am completly mystified -- as are you, no doubt -- by anyone who has a problem with so basic a concept as stopping unnecessary services, but there you are.

[RB2tfm]

Nice edit...

[FLATLINE]

I realize this thread is a little old but I cant help putting my two cents in. First things first. I dont ever try to push someone into tweeking the OS if they are not comfortable with their computer like I am. I know you werent pushing your friend either just giving a recomendation. I guess what Im getting at is they either want to setup their OS correctly for their use or they dont. Benchmarking isnt going to tell him anything he cant feel or experience himself. Maybe some things but overall its about the experience.
 
Heres what Ive found since optimizing my OS's using Bv as a guide. I found I actually learn something about computers. BV has given me enough info to test for myself and this is huge for guys like me. Ive taken Xp installs and have gotten service counts down to low double digits depending on what I expect from that PC. Some Xp installs especially by OEM's sometime load up 40+ processes. Ive taken Vista installs and got them down to 28 with networking. These are usually close to 50 and above in my experience. Now after disableing uneeded services I find my computers to be quicker loading and while using. Ive found these same computers to be more secure and also enable me to run programs that would be an excercise in frustration otherwise.
 
Just because todays PC's are more powerfull doesnt mean the OS running on it should take up more resources. So get rid of them. Too much overhead always puts you into a dangerous situation. Just like in business.
 
As far as Benchamarking your results personally I use PCPitstop. A site with free and paid for tools. I use the Pit Test and its free. Its gives me a load of info like what was running and if I need to fix anything. It also gives me a score for my configuration by rating my Processor, Memory, HDD, internet, etc... I dont know if someone else is going to have an opinion on PCpistop thats negative and I dont really care. Reason being is because no matter what can be said I know this. I see consistant results and I have tested atleast 100 PC's there before and after using tweeks found here. Most with Xp but lately with Vista as well. Infact I just did 2 Vista installs this week.
 
Now do I need this Pit Test to tell me ive made progress? NO. I can see and feel it. Especially on systems that may be underpowered or middle of the road. But im also a numbers junkie and its just nice to see something backup my experience. Especially when proving to my girlfiend that the cheap entry level dual core laptop I bought her would perform much better than the reviews said after I got done optimizing it. Thanks to Bv's help I look like a freaking genius.
 
 

[interval]

I don't care if I'm running a quad core super machine; the first thing I do with a new rig (that is running windows) is turn off all the unnessesary cruft, turn off the GUI cuteness, and whatever else I can do to speed things up. Aside from the performance I demand from my hardware this also minimizes low security vectors. Always, always, always turn off those useless services. Always.
 
Always.