Windows System Assessment Tool: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Computer assessment tool for Windows}}

{{redirect|Windows Experience|the version of Microsoft Windows|Windows XP}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}}

{{Infobox software

| name = WinSAT

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| screenshot = <!WinSAT-- Image name is enough -->en.PNG

| caption = A sample test result from a PC running [[Windows 8]]

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| developer = [[Microsoft]]

| released = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM2005|DD/no3}} -->(announced)

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| latest release version =

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* [[Windows 8.1]]

* [[Windows 10]]

* [[Windows 11]]

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| platform = [[x86]], [[x86-64]]

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The '''Windows System Assessment Tool''' ('''WinSAT''') is a module of [[Microsoft Windows Vista]], [[Windows Vista7]], [[Windows 78]], [[Windows 8.1]], [[Windows 10]], and [[Windows 1011]] that is available in the [[Control Panel (Windows)|Control Panel]] under ''Performance Information and Tools'' (except in [[Windows 8.1]] &, [[Windows 10]], and [[Windows 11]]). It measures various performance characteristics and capabilities of the hardware it is running on and reports them as a '''Windows Experience Index''' ('''WEI)''') score. The WEI includes five subscores: processor, memory, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, and disk; the basescore is equal to the lowest of the subscores and is '''not''' an average of the subscores.<ref name="Softpedia">{{cite web |title=Windows 7 WEI Scores 6.0 through 7.9 Explained|date=December 13, 2010 |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-WEI-Scores-6-0-through-7-9-Explained-172277.shtml |publisher=Softpedia |accessdateaccess-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Microsoft_Perfect_Score">{{cite web |title=Earning the top Windows Experience Index score |url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/achieving-a-perfect-windows-experience-index-score-in-windows-7 |publisher=Microsoft |accessdateaccess-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> WinSAT reports WEI scores on a scale from 1.0 to 5.9 for Windows Vista,<ref>[{{Cite web |url=http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/09/22/windows-experience-index-an-in-depth-look.aspx |title=Vista Team Blog : Windows Experience Index: An In-Depth Look] |access-date=November 22, 2006 |archive-date=November 10, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110165619/http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/09/22/windows-experience-index-an-in-depth-look.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> 7.9 for Windows 7,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/239713/how_to_max_out_your_windows_performance_for_1000.html |title = How to Max Out Your Windows Performance for $1000 | author = Marco Chiappetta |publisher = [[PC World]] | date = September 8, 2011 | accessdateaccess-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> and 9.9 for Windows 8, andWindows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/hh825488.aspx |title = WinSAT Comprehensive | date = October 20, 2013 | publisher = MSDN | accessdateaccess-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref>

The WEI enables users to match their computer hardware performance with the performance requirements of software. For example, the [[Windows Aero|Aero]] [[graphical user interface]] will not automatically be enabled unless the system has a WEI score of 3 or higher.<ref>{{cite web |title=Full screen previews have got disabled. How do I re-enable them? |url=http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-desktop/full-screen-previews-have-got-disabled-how-do-i-re/d44193c0-7e51-4a2f-8ec0-4ac115c710c0 |publisher=Microsoft |accessdateaccess-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What Is the Windows Experience Index |url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-the-Windows-Experience-Index |publisher=Microsoft |accessdateaccess-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref>

The WEI can also be used to show which part of a system would be expected to provide the greatest increase in performance when upgraded. For example, a computer with the lowest subscore being its memory, would benefit more from a [[RAM]] upgrade than adding a faster hard drive (or any other component).<ref name="Microsoft_Perfect_Score"/>

Detailed raw performance information, like actual disk bandwidth, can be obtained by invoking <code>winsat</code> from the command line. This also allows only specific tests to be re-run.<ref>[http://windowsitpro.com/systems-management/winsat-command-line-utility Winsat Command-Line Utility]</ref> Obtaining the WEI score from the command line is done invoking <code>winsat formal</code>, which also updates the value stored in <code>%systemroot%\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore</code>.<ref>[http://windowsitpro.com/systems-management/how-can-i-run-windows-system-assessment-tool-winsat-update-directly-command-line How can I run the Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) update directly from a command line?]</ref> (The XML files stored there can be easily hacked to report fake performance values.<ref>[http://www.howtogeek.com/71500/stupid-geek-tricks-hacking-the-windows-experience-index/ Stupid Geek Tricks: Hacking the Windows Experience Index]</ref>) 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Windows Experience Index: Overview |date=July 10, 2009 |url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc507870.aspx |publisher=Microsoft TechNet |accessdateaccess-date=September 24, 2011}}</ref>

The Windows Experience Index score is not displayed in [[Windows 8.1]] and onwards because the [[graphical user interface]] for WinSAT was removed in these versions of Windows, although the [[command line]] winsat tool still exists and operates correctly along with a final score when launching the command "shell:games".<ref name="WEI killed">{{cite web| url=http://www.cnet.com/how-to/find-your-windows-experience-index-scores-in-windows-8-1/| title=Find your Windows Experience Index scores in Windows 8.1 | author = Ed Rhee |

date=January 2, 2014 | publisher=[[CNET]]| accessdateaccess-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> According to an article in [[PC Pro]], Microsoft removed the WinSAT GUI in order to promote the idea that all kinds of hardware run Windows 8 equally well.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2013/09/19/farewell-to-the-windows-experience-index/ | date = September 19, 2013 | author = Darien Graham-Smith| title = Farewell to the Windows Experience Index | accessdateaccess-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref>

==History==

At the 2003 [[Game Developers Conference]] Dean Lester, Microsoft's General Manager of Windows Graphics and Gaming, stated in an interview with [[GameSpot]] that Microsoft intended to focus on improvements to the PC gaming experience as part of a new gaming initiative for the next version of Windows, [[Windows Vista]], then codenamed "Longhorn." Lester stated that as part of this initiative the operating system would include a [[Games for Windows#Games Explorer|games folder that would centralize settings pertinent to gamers]] and, among other features, [[Windows Display Driver Model|display driver streamlining]], [[Security and safety features new to Windows Vista#Parental controls|parental controls for games]] and the [[Games for Windows#Tray and Play|ability to start a Windows game directly from optical media]] during installation—in a manner similar to games designed for a [[video game console]]. Microsoft would also require a new method of displaying system requirements on retail packaging for Windows games with a rating system that would categorize games based on a numerical system.<ref name="GDC">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsofts-big-pc-plans/1100-2912498/ |title=Microsoft's big PC plans |last=Parker |first=Sam |date=March 10, 2003 |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |work=[[GameSpot]] |accessdateaccess-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref> In 2004, Lester expanded further on Microsoft's intentions by stating that the company would work with hardware manufacturers to create PCs for Windows Vista that used a "level system" to designate the performance and capabilities of a system's hardware and that [[Xbox 360]] peripherals would be fully compatible with the operating system.<ref name="LonghornXbox">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-talks-longhorn-xna-and-xbox-2/1100-6108247/ |title=Microsoft talks Longhorn, XNA, and Xbox 2 |date=September 22, 2004 |author=[[GameSpot]] |accessdateauthor-link=GameSpot |access-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref> The Windows Experience Index feature in Windows Vista relies on measurements taken with WinSAT to provide an accurate assessment of a system's capabilities—these capabilities are presented in the form of a rating, where a higher rating indicates better performance.

Preliminary design elements created for Microsoft by Robert Stein in 2004 suggest that WinSAT was intended to rate a user's hardware during the [[out-of-box experience]];<ref name="Stein">{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/rs3art/304021764/in/set-72157594393542938 |title=Aurora for OOBE |last=Stein |first=Robert |work=[[Flickr]] |date=November 22, 2006 |accessdateaccess-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref> this is a design decision that would be retained for the operating system's [[release to manufacturing]].<ref name="WinSAT2006">{{cite web |url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/9/5b97017b-e28a-4bae-ba48-174cf47d23cd/cpa101_wh06.ppt |title=Windows Vista System Requirements and WinSAT |last=Russell |first=Richard |date=2006 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |format=PPT |accessdateaccess-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref>

During the [[Windows Hardware Engineering Conference]] of 2005, Microsoft formally unveiled the existence of WinSAT and presented it as a technology not only for games, but one that would allow Windows Vista to make decisions, such as whether to enable [[compositing window manager|desktop composition]], based on a machine's hardware capabilities.<ref name="LongShort">{{cite web |url=http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-long-and-short-of-longhorns-hardware-requirements/ |title=The long and short of Longhorn's hardware requirements |last=Shultz |first=Greg |date=June 30, 2005 |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |work=[[TechRepublic]] |accessdateaccess-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Muench">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mikehall/archive/2005/04/26/412402.aspx |title=WinHEC : Chris Muench Report for Day 2 - Everything has two sides |last=Muench |first=Chris |date=April 26, 2005 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |work=MSDN Blogs |accessdateaccess-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="WinSAT2005">{{cite web |url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/8/f/98f3fe47-dfc3-4e74-92a3-088782200fe7/TWAR05002_WinHEC05.ppt |title=System Performance Assessment Tools for Windows 'Longhorn' |last=Russell |first=Richard |date=2005 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |format=PPT |accessdateaccess-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-date=November 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105224141/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/8/f/98f3fe47-dfc3-4e74-92a3-088782200fe7/TWAR05002_WinHEC05.ppt |url-status=dead }}</ref> WinSAT would remain a key focus throughout development of the operating system before its release to manufacturing.<ref name="WinSAT2006"/>

==Tests==

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==External links==

{{Wikibooks|Guide to Windows Commands}}

* [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ms737395.aspx WinSAT API]

* [httphttps://www.myfavoritegadgetsmicrosoft.infocom/tipstricksstore/WEIwin81.htmlapps/9MT9H8PTP897 HowWinSAT ToMicrosoft GetStore Windowsapp Experiencefor IndexWindows (WEI)11 Score Inand Windows 8.110]

* [http://www.softwareok.com/?Microsoft/ExperienceIndexOK Freeware - get Windows Experience Index in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10]

{{Windows Components}}

{{Windows commands}}

[[Category:2005 software]]

[[Category:Windows Vista|System Assessment Tool]]

[[Category:Benchmarks (computing)]]