Lord of the Web

Windows XP runs some applications up to 10% faster with the latest service pack installed, a research firm has found. Windows XP Service Pack 3 (v.3244) ,through various tests, clearly delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS.

Tests on a PC loaded with Microsoft’s XP SP3 completed the OfficeBench test suite in less than 50 seconds. A similarly configured system running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 took more than 50 seconds to complete the test suite — which measures how quickly a computer can perform common tasks in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix/patch consolidation release, the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus.

XP SP3’s slick performance may lead some computer users to forego Windows Vista. Similar tests have found out that, with the new service pack, XP is now two times faster than the newer Microsoft OS.

Its not smooth sailing for the SP3 however.Within hours of its general release last week, Windows XP SP3 began drawing hundreds of complaints from users who claim the update is wreaking havoc on their PCs. The problems with XP SP3 range from spontaneous reboots to outright system crashes.It’s not uncommon for major operating system updates to cause problems. Typically, the glitches are due to conflicts with software, such as drivers, system files, or applications, already resident on the user’s PC. Microsoft has yet to indicate whether it will issue an update to address some of the problems, though it has done so with previous updates.

By the way, the SP3 is available from Microsoft’s automated Windows Update service or as a file that can be pulled from the Download Center on the company’s Web site.