I spent my weekend distro-hopping, and finished off the revelry with a few speed tests. This post had me thinking for most of the week about how Ubuntu and Windows really compare, and what could be done about it.
The standard disclaimers include a nod toward individual hardware differences, individual installation differences and other factors. I'm willing to admit that these numbers might not be identical after every installation. However, for my own purposes and edification, they will serve.
This is the test machine. Specs are as follows.
Dell Optiplex GX150, service tag
6DNXL01
BIOS version A11
Intel 1Ghz Pentium III Coppermine
Viking 512Mb PC133 Memory
Western Digital 9Gb 7200rpm hard drive
24x TEAC 224E CD-ROM
Integrated Intel 815 Series Video
Integrated 10/100 3Com Remote Wake-up NIC
Nothing fancy. No hardware tweaks or cheats. These are everyday improvements to a stock machine. In other words, I have nothing up my sleeve.
I picked Xubuntu 6.06.1 and Windows 2000 SP1. Xubuntu is a good match for this box, and the original machine shipped with Win2K SP1 ... about five years ago.
Installations were written to blank, unpartitioned drives. Defaults were used wherever possible. The watch started at the press of the power button and stopped when the hard drive stopped spinning.
Default Xubuntu 6.06.1 installation
Installation time: 00:28:30
File system: default ext3 partitions
Cold boot startup time: 00:01:04
Shutdown time: 0:01:29
Abiword 2.4.4 startup time: 0:00:04.0
Gimp 2.2.11 startup time: 0:00:13.1
Firefox 1.5.0.6 startup time: 0:00:08.8 seconds
Net speed test: 1.7 megabits per second (average of 3 tests)
The shutdown time is the worst point. Xubuntu takes a full minute and a half to close down shop. And nine seconds seems like an eternity for Firefox to open.
(I should note here that I disabled the login window for the purposes of the startup time. It wouldn't be fair to count the time it takes me to type, correct, retype and finally enter my name and password. )
The only corrections I had to make to the Xubuntu installation were to knock down the color depth, and that's something I think is unique to my hardware.
Now Windows:
Default Windows 2000 SP1 installation
Installation time: 00:34:00
File system: default NTFS partition
Cold boot startup time: 00:01:03
Shutdown time: 00:00:21
Abiword 2.4.1 startup time: 00:00:05.1
Gimp 2.2.9 startup time: 00:00:11.1
Firefox 1.5.0.6 startup time: 00:00:09.5
Net speed test: 1.1 megabits per second (average of 3 tests)
Installation took longer, and that includes the time it takes Win2K to reformat an already blank hard drive to NTFS. Sure, that adds to the time, but if you want a faster installation, you have to add the option for a quick format (which XP has).
What's interesting though, is the startup time from a cold boot and the start time for Firefox. In both cases, it's nearly the same. I seemed to remember Firefox starting much faster than that, but I tried it a couple of times, and each time it was just as long as its Xubuntu counterpart.
Well, Abiword takes a little longer to start in Windows, but not by a noticeable amount. The Gimp starts up quite a bit faster (once you've done the initial configuration, of course). By the way, the Gimp and Abiword were installed off the OpenCD v3.1. Firefox was downloaded fresh.
I can't account for the difference in Internet speed tests. I'm not sure why I included that test, but I have a feeling the results may have been skewed by traffic at different parts of the day.
So overall, with the exception of Xubuntu's dreadful shutdown time, the two OSes are more or less neck-and-neck. At least from my vantage point.
Oh yes, I almost forgot one thing.
It always surprises me to hear people say that it's easier to install Windows, or that things just work for them in Windows.
Let me tell you what didn't work for me after installing Windows 2000.
- No internet access until I had finished the configuration wizard (remember the "Connect me to the Internet" shortcut?);
- No video drivers, which means no native resolution and an unusable color depth;
- and no sound.
So really, when I look at the difference between the two, I have to add on even more time to the Windows installation because it's not done yet. I'll need another hour of my life to install service packs, install DirectX, and install sound and video drivers -- and I still have all the antivirus and spyware and firewall software needed just to make the Internet safe for my new, virgin system.
That's about it. Next stop, if I have time tomorrow, is to rebuild an Ubuntu XFCE desktop with all the speed tweaks I can find.
Cheers!
P.S.: If you want more details, you can find them here.
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