Windows System Assessment Tool

Information about Windows System Assessment Tool

Windows Experience Index in Windows Vista

The Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) is a module of Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 which measures various performance characteristics and capabilities of the hardware it is running on and reports them as a Windows Experience Index (WEI) score, a number between 1.0 and 5.9. The WEI includes five subscores: processor, memory, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, and disk; the composite score is the minimum of the subscores.

The WEI allows users to match their computer hardware performance with the performance requirements of software. For example, the Aero graphical user interface recommends a WEI score of 3 or higher for satisfactory use of the "Aero Glass" feature.

Microsoft intends that software publishers list WEI scores to specify hardware requirements instead of specific technical parameters (such as "256MB of RAM or more"). Microsoft also intends that hardware manufacturers publish the WEI scores of their computers. However, few software or hardware vendors have done so.

The WEI is also available to applications through an API, so they can configure themselves as a function of hardware performance, taking advantage of its capabilities without becoming unacceptably slow.

Tests

The current version of Windows Vista (Build 6000) version of WinSAT performs the following tests:

Aero Assessment
Direct3D Alpha Blending Assessment
Direct3D Texture Load Assessment
Direct3D ALU Assessment
Windows Media Playback
CPU Performance
Memory Performance
Disk Performance

While running, the tests show only a progress bar and a "working" background animation. Aero Glass is deactivated while the tests are running so that it will not confound the measurements.

External links

• • [ e] Windows Components
Components:	Aero • DWM • Windows Explorer • Taskbar • Start menu • Windows Shell (Shell namespace) • Special Folders • Windows Search • Saved search • Graphics Device Interface • DirectX • DEP • BitLocker • .NET Framework
Windows Applications:	Mail • Contacts • Calendar • Fax and Scan • Meeting Space • Paint • WordPad • Sound Recorder • Snipping Tool • Photo Gallery • Movie Maker • DVD Maker • Internet Explorer • WMP • Media Center • Defender • Sidebar • Control Panel (Applets) • Security Center • WinSAT • System Restore • Disk Defragmenter • Windows Update • Calculator • Character Map • Notepad • Narrator • Remote Assistance • Task Manager • Disk Cleanup • PowerShell • Cmd.exe • Windows Installer • Management Console
Kernel and core components:	Ntoskrnl.exe • hal.dll • System idle process • Svchost.exe • Registry • Windows service • WOW/WOW64 • DLL • NTLDR/Boot Manager • Winlogon • Recovery Console
Services:	Alerter • BITS • Task Scheduler • Wireless Zero Configuration • Shadow Copy
File systems:	NTFS (Junction point • Symbolic link • TxF • EFS) • FAT32 • FAT • exFAT • CDFS • UDF • DFS
Server components:	Active Directory • Group policy • Domains • Windows Media Services • Rights Management Services • IIS
Architecture:	NT series architecture • Ob • Startup process (Vista) • I/O RP • KTM
Games:	3D Pinball: Space Cadet • Chess Titans • FreeCell • Hearts • InkBall • Mahjong Titans • Minesweeper • Purble Place • Solitaire • Spider Solitaire
PowerToys:	TweakUI • SyncToy • PowerCalc

Microsoft Corporation

Public (NASDAQ: MSFT )
Founded Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (April 4 1975)^[1]
Headquarters Redmond, Washington, United States

Key people Bill Gates, Co-founder and Executive Chairman ;
Paul Allen, Co-founder ;
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Vista
(Part of the Microsoft Windows family)
Screenshot

Screenshot of Windows Vista Ultimate
Developer
Microsoft
Web site: Windows Vista: Homepage
Release information
Release date:
..... Click the link for more information.

This article or section contains information about computer software currently in development.
The content may change as the software development progresses.

(Part of the Microsoft Windows family)
Screenshot
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Aero is the graphical user interface for Windows Vista, an operating system released by Microsoft in November 2006. Its name is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open.
..... Click the link for more information.

graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer and computer-controlled devices which employ graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called "widgets", along with text, labels or text
..... Click the link for more information.

An application programming interface (API) is a source code interface that an operating system or library provides to support requests for services to be made of it by computer programs.
..... Click the link for more information.

In computer graphics, alpha compositing is the process of combining an image with a background to create the appearance of partial transparency. It is often useful to render image elements in separate passes, and then combine the resulting multiple 2D images into a single, final
..... Click the link for more information.

Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.
..... Click the link for more information.

arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations. The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers.
..... Click the link for more information.

central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer capable of executing a program.(Knott 1974) It interprets computer program instructions and processes data.
..... Click the link for more information.

Computer data storage, computer memory, and often casually storage or memory refer to computer components, devices and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time.
..... Click the link for more information.

Hard disk drive

An IBM hard disk drive with the metal cover removed. The platters are highly reflective.
Date Invented: September 13 1956
Invented By: An IBM team led by Reynold Johnson
Connects to:
..... Click the link for more information.

The following is a list of Microsoft Windows components.

Configuration and maintenance

Component Description Introduced
Control Panel
Control Panel Allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls, such as adding hardware, adding and
..... Click the link for more information.

Desktop Window Manager (DWM, previously Desktop Compositing Engine or DCE) is a compositing window manager, introduced with Windows Vista, that enables the Windows Aero user interface. DWM requires graphics cards supporting DirectX 9.0 and Shader Model 2.0.
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Explorer is an application that is part of modern versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system that runs on top of the Windows operating system and provides a graphical user interface for accessing the file systems, though is not integral to the running of a Windows
..... Click the link for more information.

In computing, the taskbar is a term for the application desktop bar which is used to launch and monitor applications in Microsoft Windows 95 and later versions (actually it's part of the Windows shell, see desktop shell replacement).
..... Click the link for more information.

Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements in the Microsoft Windows product line, which serve as the central launching point for applications.

Traditionally, the Start Menu
..... Click the link for more information.

In computing, Windows Shell is the most visible aspect of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The shell is the container inside of which the entire user interface is presented, including the Task bar, the Desktop, Windows Explorer, as well as many of the dialog boxes
..... Click the link for more information.

The Windows Shell namespace is the system of organization that Windows Explorer uses to present the file system and other objects to the user. Objects inside the Shell namespace can be real file system files and folders, as well as virtual objects like My Network Places and the
..... Click the link for more information.

On Microsoft Windows operating systems, Special Folders are folders which are presented to the user through an interface as an abstract concept, instead of an absolute folder path.
..... Click the link for more information.

graphics device interface is a subsystem that most operating systems use for representing graphical objects and transmitting them to output devices such as monitors and printers.
..... Click the link for more information.

Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms.
..... Click the link for more information.

Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a security feature included in modern Microsoft Windows operating systems that is intended to prevent an application or service from executing code from a non-executable memory region.
..... Click the link for more information.

BitLocker Drive Encryption is a full disk encryption feature included with Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating systems designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes.
..... Click the link for more information.

.NET Framework is a software component that can be added to or is included with Microsoft Windows operating system. It provides a large body of pre-coded solutions to common program requirements, and manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. The .
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Mail is an e-mail and newsgroup client included exclusively in Windows Vista. It is the successor to Outlook Express. Microsoft previewed Windows Mail on Channel 9 on October 10 2005.
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Contacts is a contact manager, which replaced Windows Address Book (WAB) in Windows Vista. Windows Mail integrates with Windows Contacts. Windows Contacts uses a new XML-based schema format where each contact appears as an individual .
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Calendar is a calendar application that is included in Windows Vista. It natively supports the iCalendar file format, and has the ability to publish and subscribe to web-based calendars by using HTTP and WebDAV. Calendars may also be published to network drive shares.
..... Click the link for more information.

Windows Fax and Scan (WFS) is an integrated faxing and scanning application included in the Windows Vista operating system. This application is only available with Vista Business, Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate^[1].
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

Herod_Archelaus

iPedia Free Information Center