If you are using Windows Vista, you definitely have to know more about the Windows Experience index or that number rating you get for your system.
What is the Windows Experience Index?
The Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer’s hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will perform better and faster than a computer with a lower base score, especially when performing more advanced and resource-intensive tasks.
As you can see in the image above, Vista rated my system 3.0 which is based on the lowest subscore my computer received (from graphics hardware)
Basescore and Subscore of your PC
– The Basescore
The base score represents the overall performance of your system as a whole, based on the capabilities of different parts of your computer, including random access memory (RAM), central processing unit (CPU), hard disk, general graphics performance on the desktop, and 3?D graphics capability.
- A computer with a base score of 1 or 2 usually has sufficient performance to do most general computing tasks, such as run office productivity applications and search the Internet.
- A computer with a base score of 3 is able to run Windows Aero and many new features of Windows Vista at a basic level. Some of the new Windows Vista advanced features might not have all of their functionality available.
- A computer with a base score of 4 or 5 is able to run all new features of Windows Vista with full functionality, and it is able to support high-end, graphics-intensive experiences, such as multiplayer and 3?D gaming and recording and playback of HDTV content.
– The Subscore
The base score is a good indicator of how your computer will perform generally. The subscores can help you understand your computer’s level of performance for specific experiences:
- Office productivity. If you use your computer almost exclusively for office productivity experiences, such as word processing, spreadsheets, e?mail, and web browsing, then high subscores in the CPU and memory categories are important. Subscores of 2.0 or higher are usually sufficient in the hard disk, desktop graphics, and 3?D graphics categories.
- Gaming and graphic-intensive programs. If you use your computer for games or programs that are graphic-intensive, such as digital video editing applications or realistic first-person games, then high subscores in the RAM, desktop graphics, and 3?D gaming graphics categories are important. Subscores of 3.0 or higher are usually sufficient in the CPU and hard disk categories.
- Media Center experience. If you use your computer as a media center for advanced multimedia experiences such as recording HDTV programming, then high subscores in the CPU, hard disk, and desktop graphics categories are important. Subscores of 3.0 or higher are usually sufficient in the memory and 3?D graphics categories.
So for me to boost my basescore to 4, I need to at least upgrade my Video Card. And for a basescore of 5, my processor, RAM and graphics card.
However, since my processor and RAM have a subscore of 4+, I can actually surpass all the process described by basescore level 3.