Learn how to speed up Vista (or Windows 7) using Performance Information and Tools - Tutorial 2 - Adjusting visual options

Last updated May 24, 2012 11:45 AM

In this video tutorial, we look at another way to speed up Vista or Windows 7 using the Performance Information and Tools section of the control panel. Windows Vista is big on visual effects. While they can look great on high-end systems, even moderate PC's can struggle to keep up. By disabling some of the fancy visual effects you can make a big difference to the performance of your Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC.

Windows XP Users - If you surfed onto this page and you are looking for a tutorial on visual effects in Windows XP, click here.

Windows 7 Users - This video was recorded using Windows Vista, but the process is virtually identical on your operating system.

To start the video presentation, please click on the picture below.

Additional notes

There are no hard and fast rules to improving Windows Vista / Windows 7 performance by adjusting visual options, but we have included some example configuration options below to get you started:-

Older Computer - Windows Experience Index score of 1

Choose "Adjust for best performance".

Mid-range computer - Windows Experience Index score of 2-3

Deselect all options except "Show preview and filters in folder" and "Show thumbnails instead of Icons" and "Use visual styles on windows and buttons".

Faster computer - Windows Experience Index score of 4+

Choose "Let Windows choose what's best for my computer".

Note:- Disabling the Windows Aero theme and reverting back to the basic Windows theme may, on some machines, actually slow your computer down. This is because the Windows Aero theme uses the power of your computers graphics card/graphics chip to help draw your windows and desktop. When this is disabled, the computers central processor has to take over this task instead.

Of course these are just suggestions, feel free to experiment with these settings and choose the combination that works best for you.

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