I use Win7 64bit as OS
While I don't want my enthusiasm to be seen as subjective I ran a PC performance test after every step.
For the performance test I used Performance test 7 from PassMark Software.
The original configuration: MB: Socket 775-MSI platinium / PCU: Intel Core2 Duo E6750 / memory 4Gb RAM 800 / video card: Nvidea 8500 GT
Score on the test:
Modified configuration step 1:
- 4GB RAM 800 replaced with 8GB RAM 1066:
Score on the test:
Modified configuration step 2:
- 4GB RAM 800 replaced with 8GB RAM 1066:
- Nvidea 8500 GT replaced with Nvidea 460GTX
Practical findings after this modification:
- The difference in video applications and games is huge
- The difference in PS and NX2 is hardly noticable
- 4GB RAM 800 replaced with 8GB RAM 1066:
- Nvidea 8500 GT replaced with Nvidea 460GTX
- C disk replaced with SSD 285 Mb/sec read-275Mb/sec write
Score on the test:
Practical findings:
- Windows startup time became much faster. From about 1 minute with the original configuration to approx 15 second with the new configuration
- A complete Windows7 64 bit install took about 20 minutes
- Installation of software and applications goes incredible fast
- Opening from applications which are loaded in your startup open instantaneous, other applications open much faster as well.
- You don't hear the SSD working
- Capture NX2 and PS work much faster.
- TMHO the very significant performance increase of PS and NX2 is a result of the cache memory which is now located on my (very fast)C-drive(same drive as OS and programs) whereas on my former configuration I re-located the PS and NX2 cache towards another physical drive to win some speed. After modification step 1 where I changed and upgraded my RAM there wasn't much significant real world performance increase.
- Real world performance increase of my PC "feels" like more than the 76% performance increase the PassMark test indicates...
- This whole upgrade costed less than €500...