Introduction

I have to say that it feels like Windows 7 really came out quickly. Normally we see operating system launches drag out for what feels like years, but with Windows 7 we have one month where we're looking at an RC version of the operating system and the next thing, we have a final OEM build!

It's really nice to see, because for someone like me who upgrades their computer so often with just minor upgrades such as a new CPU, more RAM, faster graphics card etc. your system never feels like new again. With a new operating system, though, it's like starting fresh.

Today we'll be having a look at how the new Windows 7 operating system goes against Windows Vista which has really got a love / hate relationship going for so many people. The uptake on the OS was never great, which is the main reason why today we're still including XP in our graphics card benchmarks. The main focus today will be VGA performance; we'll have a look at one card in a number of our benchmarks and see how performance differs in the two operating systems.

There isn't a whole lot that has to be said today, so we'll quickly have a look at our testbed and give a quick blurb on what we're doing before getting stuck into the benchmarks and see how the two operating systems perform.