The Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard (OS-X 10.6.1) fight is merely one more battle in the seemingly eternal war between Microsoft and Apple. This battle is especially interesting because both operating systems are new. After much hostility (and nasty marketing hype), there will be no clear winner. The front lines will move only slightly, if at all. After Windows 7 and Snow Leopard each claim victory, both will withdraw from the battlefield controlling approximately the same territories with which they began the battle.

Comparing Windows 7 and Snow Leopard Features

Each of these two operating systems gives its devoted fans (religious faithful) much about which to cheer and relatively little about which to curse. Although both operating systems have improved features and new capabilities, each continues to appeal primarily to its existing customer base. Neither has enough firepower to capture the hearts and minds of those who are faithful to the other operating-system. For more information, see the following websites:

Comparing Windows and Mac Market Shares

Windows has approximately 92% of the total market share, and Mac approximately 5%. Undoubtedly due in part to Microsoft’s Vista farce, Windows has gradually lost a small percentage of market share. Since November, 2008, Windows has lost 1.64% of the total market share while Mac has gained 1.00%. For more information, see Top Operating System Share Trend.

Microsoft’s current, overwhelming market-share dominance gives Windows 7 an advantage over Snow Leopard. If Windows 7 has no major problems, such as unexpected user-hostile bugs, within the next several months (through the first quarter of 2010), it should begin to regain market share. People might buy more new PCs after manufacturers begin installing Windows 7. Also, people who have relatively-new PCs might wish to upgrade to Windows 7. For more information, see:

• How to Upgrade XP to Windows 7
• How to Upgrade Vista to Windows 7

Performance and Benchmark Tests

Performance tests give Snow Leopard an edge over Windows 7, and benchmark tests give Windows 7 an edge over Snow Leopard.

Windows 7 and Snow Leopard CNET Performance and Benchmark Tests – While comparing Windows 7 and Snow Leopard, CNET ran performance and benchmark tests on a 64-bit Windows 7 operating system on a 15-inch MacBook Pro computer, which had a 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 512 MB Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT video card. Subsequently, CNET repeated the benchmark tests on a 64-bit Snow Leopard operating system on the same MacBook Pro. The following images summarize the results of those benchmark tests.

As shown above, Snow Leopard beats Windows 7 in the time-based performance tests.

As shown above, Windows 7 beats Snow Leopard in the Cinebench R10 Benchmark test.

As shown above, Windows 7 can play 3D games better than Snow Leopard.

As shown above, Snow Leopard lets your laptop battery run longer between recharges.

Windows 7 PCMAG.COM Performance and Benchmark Tests – While comparing Windows 7 to its predecessor, Vista, PCMAG.COM ran 64-bit Windows 7 performance and benchmark tests on a Dell Studio 14z computer, which had a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3 GB RAM, and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics. The results included:

• Startup = 45 seconds
• shutdown = 10.0 seconds
• video rendering = 80 seconds
• SunSpider (Firefox 3.5) = 1238
• Geekbench 2.1 = 2792
• PCMark Vantage = 4418

Snow Leopard Gizmodo.com Performance and Benchmark Tests – While comparing Snow Leopard to its predecessor, Leopard, Gizmodo.com ran 64-bit Snow Leopard performance and benchmark tests on a 13-inch MacBook Pro computer, which had a 2.53 GHz Intel processor and 4 GB RAM. The results included:

• Startup = 34 seconds
• shutdown = 2.9 seconds
• Geekbench = 3914

Windows 7 and Snow Leopard Startup and Shutdown Test Comparisons – CNET’s startup and shutdown test results closely match those of PCMAG.COM for Windows 7 and Gizmodo.com for Snow Leopard.

CNET’s startup and shutdown test results were:

• Windows 7:
  • Startup = 42.7 seconds
  • Shutdown = 12.63 seconds
• Snow Leopard:
  • Startup = 36.4 seconds
  • Shutdown = 6.6 seconds

PCMAG.COM’s startup and shutdown test results for Windows 7 were:

• Startup = 45 seconds
• Shutdown = 10.0 seconds

Gizmodo.com’s startup and shutdown test results for Snow Leopard were:

• Startup = 34 seconds
• Shutdown = 2.9 seconds