Windows 8 system performance 1. How to check the performance of your computer to find out what it is capable of. Conducting analysis within the system

To find out the performance score in Windows 8.1, you need to do the following.

1. Run the command line with administrator rights. To do this, you can press on the Windows keyboard + X and . You can right-click on the START menu.

2. Set the command

press Enter and wait for the system performance index to be determined.

3. Run the PowerShell utility as an administrator. Open the START menu, click on the SEARCH icon and write "power". Right-click on the found element of Windows PowerShell and select "Run as administrator".

4. To view the Windows 8.1 performance index, issue the command

Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT

and press Enter. It is convenient to set the command by copying the desired text and right-clicking in the PowerShell window.

I'm interested in the following values:

CPUScore - processor performance index;
MemoryScore - RAM score;
GraphicsScore - An index of the performance of the graphics adapter or video card. With it on the virtual machine it is absolutely difficult.
DiscScore is the storage subsystem index.

The overall score of the computer, as I understand it, is a parameter - WinSPRLevel. I have 2, but this is normal for a virtual machine).

The minimum score is 1. The maximum score is 9.9.

You can view the system performance score without opening PowerShell. To do this, open the explorer and go to the address

C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore

Open with Internet Explorer the file whose name contains

We are interested in the WinSPR section.

All information is duplicated there.

The Windows performance score is calculated, but the results are not displayed in a user-friendly graphical interface as was the case in previous operating systems. And if your system was installed more than a week ago, you can immediately watch the file Formal.Assessment(Recent).WinSAT.xml.

If you have made an upgrade and want to update the index, use the command

In previous articles, we have repeatedly touched on the features of the functioning of and. Microsoft envisioned the tool, first introduced seven years ago with Windows Vista, as a way to make it easier to find compatible software and games, but in practice it hasn't been used much by software developers. As a result, the Windows Experience Index began to be used by beginners as the simplest tool for determining the degree of hardware performance (benchmark).
Due to the low demand for the WEI index, the developers of Windows 8.1 decided to refuse its further support and remove it from the system. However, the entire performance index from Windows 8.1 has not been cut out, and despite the fact that its graphical representation (in the computer properties) is missing, the software components of the WEI index assessment are still present in the system (probably for backward compatibility with older applications).
In this article, we will figure out how to still get the values of the system component performance index (Windows Experience Index) in Windows 8.1.
First of all, let's update the information about the ratings of the system components using the () command:
WinSAT prepop
After executing the command in the directory %WINDIR%\performance\winsat\datastore\ The XML files containing the results of running the Performance Assessment Tool (WinSAT) tests will appear (or be updated).
In the DataStore directory, find the XML file containing the value in the name formal. Assessment (Initial). WinSAT(if there are several files with this name, we need a file with a name containing the current date).
Open this file with any test editor or browser. In this file, the corresponding tags contain test values for evaluating the performance of various subsystems. We are interested in the following XML tags:
CPUScore- processor performance
D3DScore– performance in 3D games
DiscScore- disk performance
GraphicsScore- performance of the graphics subsystem
MemoryScore- RAM performance
SystemScore is the resulting system performance index

For example, the overall performance index of a given system is − 6.8 points (see the contents of the tag on the screenshot).
You can also get the WEI index values using the ubiquitous PowerShell by opening the PoSH console as an administrator and running the following command:
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_WinSAT
In the results of the PoSH command, you can see an estimate of the performance of the computer's subsystems.
Note. The computer's base WEI score is contained in the value of the WinSPRLevel parameter (in the screenshot, the parameter has a value of 8).
So, now you know that getting the WEI value in Windows 8.1 is not at all difficult.
Advice. It will not be possible to return the graphical display of the performance index in Windows 8.1 using regular means, however, a large number of different programs are already available that allow you to return this functionality.

Computers running the Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 operating systems automatically optimize their performance according to the default settings, so you can usually rest assured that your PC has the best performance. But sometimes situations arise when computer is too slow and you start looking for the causes of "braking", for their manual elimination.

Despite the fact that the automatic performance optimization function is integrated into Windows 8.1, Microsoft includes separate utilities in the operating system that should help the user in solving certain problems. The optimization process itself is very simple and you do not need special knowledge to manually increase the performance of your computer.

The 3 best practices below will help you optimize your Windows 8.1 PC or tablet so you can use them on a regular basis.

Let's start with the most important and effective way. 1 way:

Scan your computer for viruses and malware. Viruses and malware are perhaps the biggest reason why your computer slows down. A virus can enter a computer from any source - either when visiting an infected site through a browser, or through a downloaded file, or from an infected media such as a CD, DVD, flash drive or memory card. Viruses and malware can be found in applications and files of any purpose and format, so it is very important to always be on your guard so as not to infect your computer.

Viruses and malware can slow down your PC in a variety of ways, and when infected, they can interfere with a range of normal activities. In addition, viruses can give hackers access to your personal data or completely block the ability to use certain functions.
Windows 8.1 comes preinstalled with Windows Defender, which is Microsoft's own antivirus product. The application is designed to protect your computer from infection by any kind of viruses and malware. Although Defender updates itself and automatically scans your computer for infections, viruses can disable virus detection mode in Defender danger or limit automatic updates and scans.

Reminder: If you use third-party antivirus software to protect your Windows 8.1 PC, we recommend that you also use this method to optimize PC performance.

1. Launch Windows Defender or any other antivirus software (if you have installed it) through the Control Panel.

2. Update the database of known viruses through the built-in function of the antivirus product. At the same time, you will receive the most "fresh" updates with the signatures of the newest viruses.

3. After updating the anti-virus databases, run a full computer scan for viruses.
Reminder: Windows Defender's quick scan scans your computer a little faster and saves you a couple of minutes compared to full scan mode.

4. At the end of the anti-virus scan, if viruses or malware are detected, immediately remove them using anti-virus software.

The first method will help you get rid of malicious objects on your computer and restore (increase) its performance.

Method 2: Remove unnecessary system files

Windows 8.1 stores a large number of system files on your computer's hard drive for future tasks, but never deletes them later, and the files take up space on your hard drive. Often, an array of unnecessary system files can take up to several gigabytes of disk space. Storing a large array of junk files can slow down your computer's performance and increase the response time in various tasks.

Windows allows you to clean up disk space by deleting unnecessary files and cleaning up specialized file storages such as the browser's Internet cache, temporary files (Temp folder) and recycle bin.

1. To clear file vault data, search the Start Screen search bar for the following term: "" .

2. In the search results, you will see one of these items " Free up space by deleting unnecessary files" or " Disk Cleanup". Click on one of these links.

Reminder: if you do not find anything like this in the search results, then you will need to enable access to the administration utilities. Read our separate guide on how to do this.

3. Utility window " Disk Cleanup' will open on your desktop. Select drive C from the drop-down menu and click OK.

4. Next, the utility will automatically calculate the disk space that you can free up. After the calculation, you will be given a complete list of files (in categories) that you can delete to free up disk space.

5. Select all files. There may be files from the recycle bin, installation files, temporary files, and more. Sometimes the sum of the files of these categories can reach several gigabytes. By ticking the categories you don't need files from, you'll see exactly how much disk space will be freed up at this stage.

7. At the end of the process, you will receive a message that the space on the local drive (in our case it was drive C) has been freed.

8. You can repeat the described procedure for all logical drives into which your hard drive is "split".

3 way: defragmentation

With a high degree of probability, your computer is equipped with a hard drive, which, in a sense, is the brain of the PC, storing data for a long time, writing them in a certain sequence in parts on the surface of the disk drive. In this case, digital data, consisting of bytes and bits, can be placed in different sections (sectors) of the hard disk.

As soon as the process of writing files to disk begins, they are divided into parts by sectors, which from the outside may look like chaos. Data is not written sequentially (continuously) and this results in slower response times when accessed from the PC operating system. Microsoft has traditionally included a utility in the new OS that should help you organize your data and provide faster access to it.

The Disk Defragment utility sorts (moves) blocks of data in such a way that it is easier to access data, and, accordingly, Windows responds faster to your requests.

1. Go to the Start screen of the operating system and simultaneously press the buttons " Windows key + I» or swipe left with a touch gesture and select the menu item « Settings».

2. The settings menu window will open Settings". Select in it " Tiles».

3. The option to manage dynamic blocks will open. In it, activate the display mode of administration utilities " Show administrative tools by moving the slider to the right.

4. Now press the button combination " Windows key + S” or swipe right and select the option “ Search».

5. In the search dialog, type " defragment».

6. As a result, all disk devices that can be defragmented will be highlighted. Here you can select the disk you are interested in.

7. Dialog box " Optimize Drives' will open on your desktop.

8. Now select the C drive and click the " Analyze» to see the status of the device.

9. After analyzing the disk, which may take several tens of seconds, you will find out whether the disk needs to be defragmented or not. If the OK status is displayed, then you do not need to defragment the disk.

10. Click the " Optimize” to start the optimization process.

Reminder: The optimization process may take several hours, depending on the speed of your computer.

11. As soon as the operation is completed, you will immediately feel that the performance of the computer has increased, especially when accessing data stored on the computer's hard drive.

12. If necessary, defragment all logical drives.

How often should the described operations be performed?

You may be wondering how often you need to perform each of the methods described to increase computer performance. Next, we give an answer for each of the three ways:

1. You can scan your computer once a week, but at the same time, you should update the Windows Defender anti-virus database daily;

2. Run Disk Cleanup Utility Disk Cleanup can be done once a week or even once every 2 weeks. Running the utility more frequently may not produce results.

3. Defragmentation is not a process that needs to be run regularly (daily or weekly). Running the utility once a month or even once every two months can provide optimal disk performance for your computer.

By regularly performing one of the described methods or by performing them one by one, you can seriously increase the performance of your computer.

Users familiar with Windows 7 Experience Index are wondering where did it go in Windows 8.1 and 10 operating systems?

To see the performance score of a computer running Windows 7, it was enough to right-click on the "Computer" icon in the Start menu or on the desktop and select the "Properties" option from the context menu. In the window that opened, in the "System" section opposite the "Rating" item, you could see the overall assessment of system performance.

In fact, in Windows 8.1 and 10, the system performance assessment function has not disappeared anywhere, the developers simply removed its graphical representation. However, this is not entirely true either. Read more below.

Overall rating

Most likely, the performance evaluation has already been performed automatically on your computer with Windows 8.1 or 10 installed. To view the result, press the "Win + R" key combination and type the following command in the "Run" window that appears:
Shell:games
The window shown in the figure below will open.

In the lower right corner of the window, you will see a general score for your computer's performance, the same one that used to be displayed next to the "Windows Experience Index" link in the Windows 7 system properties.

It should be noted that starting with Windows 8, the maximum performance score has increased from 7.9 to 9.9.

System Component Estimates

Also in Windows 8.1 and 10, you can see the ratings of system components, although their presentation will not be as beautiful as the overall rating.

Go to "C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore" directory, there you will see system performance reports. Find the most recent XML file by creation date that contains the phrase:

"…Formal.Assessment(Initial).WinSAT…"

"…Formal.Assessment (Recent).WinSAT…" .

Open it with any browser by right-clicking on it and selecting the browser with the "Open with" command from the context menu. Find the "WinSPR" section in the opened XML file. To speed up the work, use the search (usually the "Ctrl + F" keys).

You will see performance ratings for your computer's components. The list below shows the designations corresponding to the names of component ratings in Windows 7:

SystemScore- overall score, determined by the lowest score;

MemoryScore- memory (RAM), memory access operations per second;

CPUScore- processor, calculation operations per second;

GraphicsScore- graphics, desktop performance for Windows Aero;

GamingScore- graphics for games, performance of three-dimensional graphics and games;

DiskScore- the main hard disk, the speed of data exchange with the disk.

Manually running performance tests

If you do not see the performance report files in the "C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore" directory, or if you want to update the score, run the performance tests manually.

Open a command prompt with administrator rights. To do this, click on the "Start" button, in the list of programs, find the "System Tools - Windows" section and find the "Command Prompt" item in it, right-click on it. In the context menu that opens, select the sub-item "Advanced > Run as administrator" and confirm the action.

Enter the command:
winsat formal
or if you want to reassess your computer:
Winsat formal -restart clean
and press the "Enter" key to run the tests.

After some time, the testing program will complete its work and display the real performance data of the computer components in the command line window.

Also, performance evaluations of computer components will be written to the "C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore" directory. Follow the instructions in the "System Component Assessments" section of this article for detailed information about your system's performance assessments.

Custom performance check of computer components

Console utility WinSAT can perform a partial test of individual computer components and display real results of their performance on the command line. To do this, after the command winsat after a space, you need to add the command of the desired test. The following are commands for random testing of computer components:

formal– Performs a complete set of evaluation tasks and saves the data to an XML file in the "C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore" directory;

dwm– Performs an evaluation of the desktop window manager;

cpu-encryption or -encryption2 or -compression or -compression2– Performs processor performance evaluation;

meme– Performs RAM bandwidth estimation;

d3d- Performs Direct 3D evaluation for games;

disk– Performs an assessment of the hard drive or SSD;

media -input "path to video file"– Performs media evaluation: video encoding and decoding (playback) performance using Direct Show;

mfmedia -input "path to video file"– Performs video decoding (playback) performance evaluation using Media Foundation;

features– Displays information about system components.

For example, to find out the bandwidth of RAM, run the command:
winsat mem

To learn more about the features of the program winsat, call the help command.

Those of the users who have already switched to Windows 8.1 must have noticed that the Performance Index component has disappeared in the new version of the operating system. This tool was an alternative benchmark and was intended mainly for application and game developers. He will never receive recognition among the latter, as for ordinary users, many of them did not even know about his true purpose. This was the main reason for its abolition.

But still " performance index' has not been completely removed. Perhaps in the next versions of Windows it will disappear forever, but until this happens, the data it generates can be viewed in text and graphic formats. Let's look at both of these methods. In Windows 8.1, the performance index data is stored in the DataStore system folder. To access it go to C:/Windows/Performance/WinSAT/DataStore. This folder should contain the XML file Formal.Assessment(Initial).WinSAT.xml.

This is exactly what we need. This document name usually starts with the date the performance index data was requested, so if you find more than one such file in the DataStore directory (unlikely), you should select the file with the latest date. However, it may also be that the DataStore folder is empty. In this case, the XML file must be created manually.

To do this, we will use the command line tools. Open the console as an administrator and run the command winsat formal.

Typically, the analysis takes about one minute. After the analysis is complete, close the command prompt, and update the empty folder data store.

But to return the ability to view the performance index directly through the Windows graphical interface, you will need third-party utilities. In our example, we will use a free program ChrisPC Win Experience Index. You can download it from the developer's site.