driverdownloads

I have run into some Vista users who are constantly competing to see who has the higher Windows Experience Index base score. They are going out and purchasing processors, memory and video cards just to get a higher number (and I would hope, better performance). However, if a higher score is all they are interested in, they are wasting their money. You can increase your base score easily, without purchasing a piece of hardware or downloading a driver.
Your base score is calculated by the WinSAT (Windows System Assessment Tool) and stores the results in a XML file. By altering this file, you can beef up your score and fake out your friends. You’ll feel like you have a better machine, although it will still function the same as it did before. At least you can dream!
Open the Control Panel, select System and Maintenance. Click Performance Information and Tools. This will display your current base score plus the subscores for your system. Here’s what mine looked like:

Close the window. Time to create an extra XML file. You need to Update your score, to do so use the steps outlined here. Once it has completed you are ready to start the process:
To access the XML file, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Explorer and navigate to the Windows directory.
2. Open the Performance directory, followed by the WinSAT directory.
3. Open the DataStore folder.
4. You will see two or more XML files, we want to work with the most recent one (the one you just created).
5. Right-click the file and select Properties.
6. Click the Security tab.
7. Click the Edit button.
8. When the UAC prompt appears, click Continue.
9. Click the Add button.
10. Input your username and click OK.
11. Select the username and then click the Full Control checkbox in the Allow column.
12. Click OK.
13. When the Security prompt appears, click Yes.
14. We can now modify the file. Right-click the XML file, click Open With and select WordPad.
15. Look for the information within the WinSPR tags.
16. Modify the scores. Remember, your base score will be the lowest value of the 5 subscores. Make it realistic, nobody is going to be fooled with a massive increase in your score.
17. Save the file.

Now go back to the Performance Information and Tools window and check your modified score. Here’s my modification:

To bring your system back to the real world, simply delete the XML file