Windows Windows 10 vs Windows 7, performance comparison 2021

truegenius

Disciple
Hey there,

I was wondering how much performance difference there is in 2021 between these 2 windows, so in this post i will post some benchmarks that i did on them.


System specs
CPUi7-8700k @4.8/5.2Ghz 4.6Ghz IMC
GPUGigabyte GTX Geforce 1080ti, +20% power, +100Mhz core, +500Mhz Mem
Driver version 461.72 for Windows 7, 461.40 for Windows 10
RAMGskill 4x8GB 3600Mhz CL16
MotherboardMSI - Z370 SLI Plus (with A.A0 BIOS)
OS DriveWindows 10 on Intell 660p 1TB m.2 NVME SSD
Windows 7 on 240GB LiteOn SATA SSD


Both Operating system were updated to latest i was allowed ( windows 7 is failing to install some updates ), below are screenshots of winver for both OS.

7.PNG

VS
w10.PNG


Benchmarks
Each benchmark specified below were run at same settings in both OS. The best out of 5 runs was selected as the score for that benchmark for that OS.

Benchmark
Windows 7​
Windows 10​
Performance difference
(in favor of windows 10)​
Winrar 6.00 Multithread
21190 KBps​
19890 KBps​
-1300 ( -6.54% )
Winrar 6.00 Single thread
2680 KBps​
2491 KBps​
-189 ( -7.59% )
Cinebench R11.5 Multihtread
16.55 pts​
16.69 pts​
+0.14 ( +0.85% )
Cinebench R15 Multihtread
1539 pts​
1564 pts​
+25 ( +1.62% )
Cinebench R20 Multihtread
3833 pts​
3817 pts​
-16 ( -0.42% )
CPUZ (benchmark v17.01.64) Multithread
4323.8 pts​
4196.9 pts​
-126.9 ( -3.02% )
CPUZ (benchmark v17.01.64) Single thread
608.7 pts​
573.7 pts​
-35 ( -6.10% )
GTA 5 (Pass 4)
( @ultrawide 4k, max everything in general graphics except motion blur off, DoF 0, Shadow sharp, any AA off. All off in advanced graphics)
80.73 FPS​
75.12 FPS​
-5.61 ( -7.47% )
Tomb raider
(@ ultrawide 1080p, max everything except motion blur and AA off)
221.9 FPS​
215.9 FPS​
-6 ( -2.78% )
Shadow of the tomb raider
(@ ultrawide 1080p, DX11, Max everything except motion blur off, AA off)
103 FPS​
97 FPS​
-6 ( -6.19% )
Red dead redemption 2
(@ ultrawide 1080p, Vulcan, Max everything except motion blur off, any AA off)
48.9528 FPS​
50.654 FPS​
+1.7012 ( +3.48% )
3Dmark Fire Strike
24227 pts​
23656 pts​
-571 ( -2.41% )
Geekbench 3 Single thread
5361 pts​
5349 pts​
-12 ( -0.22% )
Geekbench 3 Multi thread
28379 pts​
28606 pts​
+227 ( +0.80% )
7-Zip v19 Compression
54618 MIPS​
54724 MIPS​
+106 ( +0.20% )
7-Zip v19 Decompression
63115 MIPS​
62664 MIPS​
-451 ( -0.72% )
CS GO
(@ultrawide 1080p, max everything, FXAA off, motion blur off, 8xMSAA, multcore rendering on, streaming texture off)
526.66​
459.72​
-66.94 ( -14.56% )
PUBG
(@ultrawide 1080p, ultra settings, motion blur off, 120 scaling. 2 rounds of training map on scooter, ran 1 time only )
avg 150.9 FPS
1% low 20.9 FPS
0.1% low 13.8 FPS​
avg 149.3 FPS
1% low 55.9 FPS
0.1% low 44.3 FPS​
-1.6 ( -1.07% )
Overall​
-2.9%

Overall Windows 10 lost from windows 7 in 13 out of 18 benchmarks benchmarks by overall average of -2.9% which is well above margin of error. So windows 7 still performed better than 10 with both OS updated to max allowed. In PUBG windows 7 won by less than 2 frames margin though as you can see from 1% and 0.1% low figure of both its clear that windows 7's one was more choppy and it was noticeable, it was happening when gpu usage reached 98%+ then that frame dip then back to smooth while in windows 10 the gpu never went above 96%. Regardless of that, it looks like in avg fps windows 7 was better in gaming than 10. Also, those who do competitive overclocking should take a look at the firestrike scores, the difference between getting more than "High end Gaming PC" was of changing from windows 10 to 7 so this could be the difference between setting world record and being runner up.
 
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Thanks for this comparison. At this point though i am used to windows 10 and I did suspect it is slower than the earlier oses. I found it actually quite comforting that it is just 3% slower.

Granted i am not an enthusiast when it comes to oses, maybe 3% is a big amount I just wanted to voice my opinion. Kudos for the comparison.

What is your take on features? Do you prefer windows 7 overall as well?
 
Thanks for this comparison. At this point though i am used to windows 10 and I did suspect it is slower than the earlier oses. I found it actually quite comforting that it is just 3% slower.

Granted i am not an enthusiast when it comes to oses, maybe 3% is a big amount I just wanted to voice my opinion. Kudos for the comparison.

What is your take on features? Do you prefer windows 7 overall as well?
Personally i like windows 7, as it looks better, runs old softwares without any problem, my software/hardware doesn't randomly stops working after some update, if some problem occurs then its system restore actually works (window10 system restore always rendered the OS unusable or stuck at bootloop for me ), 10's file explorer is too white which strains my eyes, and many more problems i am facing in windows 10. Only thing i like in windows 10 is its login screen.

If dx12 (and thus all games that exclusively use dx12) and nvedia gsync compatible starts working in 7 then it will be no going back to 10 for me.
Could this be because of the bug fixes for the vulnerabilities in Intel CPUs?
could be, i didn't disabled any vulnerability patch (i don't even know how to disable them )

Currently i am testing some more benchmarks, i will add them soon in op.
 
No matter how fast or good was 7, its history and time to move on and loving 10 since using it from past 8yrs now.. At times frustration but learnt to live with it...
 
Added some more benchmarks, 3Dmark, CS GO and PUBG were latest updates, and they showed difference in favor of 7. After seeing these results i think some tech giants should take a look into this and do some more testing.

Edit - I retested PUBG, as it has some problem setting AA correctly, it needs to be restarted after applying settings for the said settings to be applied correctly.
 
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Can you install an old release of win10 like 1903 and run some tests to compare? Without updating the os maybe by disconnecting internet
 
Can you install an old release of win10 like 1903 and run some tests to compare? Without updating the os maybe by disconnecting internet
That will be too much work :rolleyes: . I ran above tests just because Iam using both windows now ( if 1 fails to run some software/hardware or game then i will right away boot to another one ) to get best of both world.
You maybe wanting something like this thats already done by Tech yes city
 
Good thread Personally i am using win 10 just because i have to(need to play latest games) Its sh*t compared to win 7 because i didnt like the material ui in win 10 also there are so many issues in win 10 and its not stable like win 10 BSOD errors are the worst They keep giving you nightmares now and often.For only this reason i purchased a Macbook because i am fed up with with win 10 and thinking how people are sustaining its problem nobody blaming microsoft for it.
So win 7 was my favourite os of all time. I like it more than mac os too,
 
Windows 7 was much lighter and much better than Windows Vista. I found Windows 8 to be more streamlined than Windows 7.

Windows 10 did away with the defects that Windows 8 had, and I like Windows 10 personally. Only thing I do not like is the churning of the hard disk in Windows 10, because of telemetry. It slows down the system too when that happens.

If you are having problems with BSOD, then you need to take a look at your setup and configuration, drivers etc. I have been running Windows 7 32-bit since long time, and did not face any BSOD, and it has been very stable. And yes, it is updated to latest version and updates.
 
Windows 7 was much lighter and much better than Windows Vista. I found Windows 8 to be more streamlined than Windows 7.

Windows 10 did away with the defects that Windows 8 had, and I like Windows 10 personally. Only thing I do not like is the churning of the hard disk in Windows 10, because of telemetry. It slows down the system too when that happens.

If you are having problems with BSOD, then you need to take a look at your setup and configuration, drivers etc. I have been running Windows 7 32-bit since long time, and did not face any BSOD, and it has been very stable. And yes, it is updated to latest version and updates.
Have checked everything and it seems fine but still getting the BSOD error from time to time.
 
As someone who uses Windows 10 and Windows 7 daily, I can tell you my nuc running Windows 7 and being server for many apps, feels far more snappy than my desktop running same gen i7 4790.
Windows 10 has so many random issues, its becoming a pain in the a$$. Couple that with never ending updates that will suck bandwidth without you knowing, random system slowdowns and what not.

Windows updates on my staff's pentium laptops make the system unusable. Windows 10 with newer excel cause random hangs while machines from 2013 with windows 7 and older excel versions run same files like butter.

I dont understand if the code quality has gone bad suddenly or are they not testing it?
 
Given my experience with all the Windows versions since 7, I really really wish they brought this feedback program on the market -


Windows 7 is the best version ever. Period.
 
Did you note the STOP code and number and tried to search for the same to see what is the issue? The code and number indicate what might be the issue.
Yes everytime i get different stop code fed up with it.
Given my experience with all the Windows versions since 7, I really really wish they brought this feedback program on the market -


Windows 7 is the best version ever. Period.
Very Stable,No BSOD issue works fast on even hdd can beat boot time of win 10 with nvme ssd's.
 
Surprised at the experiences here when I compare it to my own experiences. I bought an Intel nuc about 5 6 months back. It is a modest machine. I have been using it non stop as my htpc and it has hardly been shut down more than twice since I bought it. It is a 7th gen i3.

It has a windows 10 genuine home premium installed. I use kodi, some media library apps, office, browsers and no other softwares. Using Dell drivers. Playing 100gb 4k blu-ray rips regularly on my tv and projector, never faced any issues with hdr even.

For me the experience has been flawless. Never faced any issues with slow down. Not even 1 bsod yet.

I was ready to install windows 7 on it as i expected it to be bad with windows 10. No issues at all so far, touchwood.
I haven't obviously compared it with 7 on it to be true control like the op but it is working perfectly for me on 10.
 
Surprised at the experiences here when I compare it to my own experiences. I bought an Intel nuc about 5 6 months back. It is a modest machine. I have been using it non stop as my htpc and it has hardly been shut down more than twice since I bought it. It is a 7th gen i3.

It has a windows 10 genuine home premium installed. I use kodi, some media library apps, office, browsers and no other softwares. Using Dell drivers. Playing 100gb 4k blu-ray rips regularly on my tv and projector, never faced any issues with hdr even.

For me the experience has been flawless. Never faced any issues with slow down. Not even 1 bsod yet.

I was ready to install windows 7 on it as i expected it to be bad with windows 10. No issues at all so far, touchwood.
I haven't obviously compared it with 7 on it to be true control like the op but it is working perfectly for me on 10.
Does intel nuc comes with nvme ssd?
 
Does intel nuc comes with nvme ssd?
Am using a sata ssd so not sure about nvme... Quickly googled, here is what I found

7th Generation Intel Core i5-7260U

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640

M.2 22x42/80 (key M) slot for SATA3 or Pie X4 Gen3 NV Me or AHCI SSD

2.5" SSD/HDD bay , Dual channel DDR4-2133 SODIMMs, 32GB maximum

Ram and HDD/SSD not Included
 
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