The Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) is a module of Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

 and Windows 7 which measures various performance characteristics and capabilities of the hardware it is running on and reports them as a Windows Experience Index (WEI) score, a number from 1.0 and 5.9 for Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

 and from 1.0 and 7.9 for Windows 7. The WEI is due to increase its maximum score with future updates. The WEI includes five subscores: processor, memory, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, and disk; the basescore is equal to the lowest of the subscores.

The WEI enables users to match their computer hardware performance with the performance requirements of software. For example, the Aero

Windows Aero

Windows Aero is the graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, operating systems released by Microsoft. It is also available in Windows Server 2008, but is not enabled by default. Its name is a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and...

 graphical user interface

Graphical user interface

In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

 will not automatically be enabled unless the system has a WEI score of 3 or higher.
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

Ram

-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...

 upgrade than adding a faster hard drive (or any other component).

Microsoft intends that software publishers list WEI scores to specify hardware requirements instead of specific technical parameters (such as "256MB of RAM or more"). Microsoft also intends that hardware manufacturers publish the WEI scores of their computers. However, very few software or hardware vendors have done so to date. In June 2011, SandForce

SandForce

SandForce is an American "fabless" semiconductor company based in Milpitas, California, that designs and manufactures flash memory controllers for solid-state drives . On October 26th 2011 it was acquired by LSI Corporation....

 announced their latest SSD Processors enabled a single SSD

Solid-state drive

A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...

 to reach a perfect 7.9 for the HDD subscore test supporting the idea that manufacturers may at least identify when their products do very well with the WEI score.

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.

Tests

The current version of WinSAT in Windows Vista (Build 6002) and Windows 7 (Build-7600.16385) performs the following tests:

• Aero Assessment
• Direct3D Alpha Blending
  Alpha compositing
  In computer graphics, alpha compositing is the process of combining an image with a background to create the appearance of partial or full transparency. It is often useful to render image elements in separate passes, and then combine the resulting multiple 2D images into a single, final image in a...
  
   Assessment
• Direct3D Texture
  Texture mapping
  Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
  
   Load Assessment
• Direct3D ALU
  Arithmetic logic unit
  In computing, an arithmetic logic unit is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations.The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers...
  
   Assessment
• Windows Media Playback
• CPU
  Central processing unit
  The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
  
   Performance
• Memory
  Computer storage
  Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....
  
   Performance
• Disk
  Hard disk
  A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
  
   Performance (includes devices such as Solid-state drive
  Solid-state drive
  A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...
  
  s)

While running, the tests show only a progress bar and a "working" background animation. Aero Glass is deactivated (but not in Windows 8) during testing so the tool can properly assess the graphics card and CPU.

In addition to tests requested by the user, WinSAT is scheduled to automatically run every week. The default schedule is 1am on Sundays.

External links

• Windows Vista: Windows Experience Index
• Vista Team Blog : Windows Experience Index: An In-Depth Look
• Minpaso : collects the results of the performance evaluation of Windows experience index (WEI)
• Share Your Score
• Video cards ordered by their Windows Experience Index (WEI), with search
• CPUs ordered by their Windows Experience Index (WEI), with search
• WinSAT API
• Web site of Microsoft's Windows Experience Index sharing (Requires PCs running Windows 7 and Microsoft SilverLight
  Microsoft Silverlight
  Microsoft Silverlight is an application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications, with features and purposes similar to those of Adobe Flash. The run-time environment for Silverlight is available as a plug-in for web browsers running under Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
  
  )