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Mine Goes to 11. Well, 9.9

Mar. 2, 2012 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Microsoft first created the Windows Experience Index (WEI) for Windows Vista, designing it as a system in which the performance of several key hardware components are rated and an overall score is provided. (That overall score matches that of the lowest-scoring component, the theory being that the weakest link in the chain represents your PC's "true" performance score.) Updated first in Windows 7, WEI has now been updated for a second time in Windows 8.

And it's somewhat amusing. In Windows 8, the WEI score (and the various subscores) now goes to 9.9.

Here's a shot of the interface, which hasn't really changed.

wei_win8
WEI from Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Samsung Series 7 tablet PC)

You may recall that the original WEI system, from Windows Vista, rated the system processor, memory, graphics, gaming graphics, and primary hard disk on a scale from 1 to 5.9. In Windows 7, this scale was raised on the high-end to 7.9. And now in Windows 8, it's 9.9.

The changes are made in each version to account for improvements in hardware and so that the scores, over time, are consistent.

Still, 9.9. Who comes up with this stuff?

Discuss this Article 6

Omega Ra
on Mar 2, 2012
the computer I am using for Win8 CP rates in at 4.0 lol
NevilleBagnall
on Mar 2, 2012
Do all the Components scores go to 9.9 I wonder? Progress on different Components happen at different rates, and new technology like SSDs could have knocked the expected rate of improvement off course. If a 5400 Hard Disk had (say) a score of 4 in the Vista era, and it would still have that score now (for consistency and comparative reasons), SSDs might indeed be toping out at 9.9. But has memory operations performance doubled in the same time? If not, and given that the lowest subscore governs the system score, what is the system score range? 0-9.9 or something less?
chomers
on Mar 2, 2012
I think it's a bit ridiculous. This rating system should help you but it's far too difficult even for tech savvy people to understand. Their missing a opportunity with this rating system. 1. It should be easier to understand how it works. 2. It should recommend what you can upgrade to get your score up. I would go nuts trying to get my score to go up if it told me what I needed to do. I just reran the assessment and my scored lowered from 4.7 to 4.5. I hate this base score number, shouldn't this be an average of each component score?
Waethorn
on Mar 2, 2012
@Doug: It does tell you what to upgrade. You have 4 pieces of hardware associated with the scoring: processor, memory, video, and storage. The Aero score in any recent video card is going to be lower than the gaming score because video cards now have adaptive power management that tunes graphics performance down for lower demands. I've often said that they should at least combine this score in some sort of weighted median, but whatever.
chomers
on Mar 2, 2012
@Waethorn Sorry, I was referring more towards what specs will give you what score. Should I assume 8gbs of ram will give me a score of 9.9 for my RAM? I'm not really knowledgeable about PC hardware. I was just thinking it would be nice if for example it would tell me; "You're using a 5400RPM HD, Upgrading to 7200RPM HD will get you a score of 8, upgrading to a solid state drive will get you close to 9.9". A suggestive type component of the assessment system would be nice.
Waethorn
on Mar 2, 2012
@Doug: Unfortunately, Windows can't tell what rotational speed your drive runs at unless they had a database of hard drive models since the rotation speed is "hidden" behind the drive firmware. AFAIK, it doesn't include any kind of direct communication with the SPD settings of the RAM either. I think the RAM test is based mostly on amount and general bandwidth tests. OEM's have traditionally been allowed to customize this screen with performance upgrade links to their website though, and since Microsoft isn't a hardware company, they can't recommend one upgrade over another. If they suggested you could upgrade your CPU in a laptop, for instance, they'd be wiping the yolk from their eyes. Ditto for, say, hard drive performance in a MacBook Air (non-user-replaceable SSD). The system OEM will be the best point of contact for advising you on possible upgrade paths. When you install Windows from a vanilla install, you won't have those links, but if you're technical enough to do that, you should probably have enough experience to know what's what in computer hardware.

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