My Vista Ultimate 32-bit computer has a 5.5 Overall Rating in the Computer Performance Rating. Based on a scale of 1.0 to 5.9, it has a 5.9 in Memory (RAM), Graphics, Gaming Graphics, and Hard Disk Speed. A 5.5 in my Processor rating brings it down.

Windows 7 has a scale from 1.0 to 7.9, and I now get a better feel for where my hardware stands. According to Windows 7, my Processor and my primary hard disk are my slow components.I have a Core2Duo at 2.66 GHz processor. My hard drive is a 32-MB cache 7200 RPM drive. Memory is at max 4.0 GB on a 32-bit system, so I assume the memory speed is being taken into consideration.  I think my RAM is at 800 MHz, and neither my RAM nor my processor are overclocked.

So far, I really like Windows 7. It seems faster on my system, but I’m not sure about the new taskbar layout. I’ll give it a chance before reaching a conclusion, though.