Windows 11 beats Windows 10 on Lakefield CPUs

The specialized site HotHardware chose to carry out its tests on two Galaxy Book S, equipped with Lakefield processors, with their famous hybrid architecture. The only difference between the two machines is that the first one runs Windows 10 (21H1), while the second one proudly displays the leaked version of Windows 11 (21996.1). Both have been subjected to a wide range of benchmarks. The objective: to test the raw power as well as the performance in real conditions. And the result will certainly make engineers in Redmond purr, since Windows 11 got a higher score in almost all the tests performed.

Let’s start with the only (fake) bad news. To test the graphics part, HotHardware chose 3DMark, one of the references of the genre. Verdict: on the NightRaid test, Windows 11 is very slightly behind, with 4266 points… against 4286, that is less than 1% difference. A very small margin, which has very little value since this new version of Windows 11 was running with Windows 10 drivers. Not only is the compatibility there, but we can expect a performance gain once the drivers are updated. Especially on Cinebench, a similar test but less dependent on drivers, Windows 11 wins with 8.2% margin.

A performance gain in real conditions

In some categories, the difference is small but nevertheless significant. Geekbench, one of the leading processor benchmarks, finds an average raw power gain of about 2%. But where the result is interesting is in the tests that are closest to real-world conditions. On BrowserBench Spedometer 2, a benchmark that estimates the smoothness of web browsing, Windows 11 wins with more than 10% margin. Finally, another interesting test is UL PCMark 10, which tests many real applications (video conferencing, video editing, spreadsheets….). On the graphics aspect, same observation as for 3DMark: Windows 10 wins by a hair, for the reasons described above. But on everything else, Windows 11 has a real lead.

What about other architectures?

According to PhonAndroid, Windows 11 will be free for users of versions 7, 8.1 and 10. Should we already be jumping up and down, and expecting a visible performance gain as soon as the update is released? That’s the picture that seems to be emerging, and this new version of Windows shows itself in a rather flattering light. But beware: these tests were specifically carried out on a very recent hybrid processor from Intel. It’s all about optimization: this hardware is certainly better able to take advantage of the new OS than a processor that is already a few years old. Windows 11 will be presented on June 24th; let’s meet on that date to know if this performance gain is general or exclusive to Lakefields!