Vista SP1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. Windows Vista SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.

Microsoft has documented everything in a 17-page change log that outlines the finer details of the new OS. The list of improvements includes support for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) on 64-bit versions of the OS, DirectX 10.1, and exFAT – a new file system supporting larger overall capacity and larger files, which will be used in Flash memory storage and consumer devices etc.

The improvements of SP1 make it advisable to install

Windows Vista SP1 Gaming Performance

Nvidia Test System XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 600M 1GB
ATI Test System with a ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 1G

Games Tested

1. Crysis, version 1.2 (64-bit) with DirectX 10 and DirectX 9.0
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare version 1.5 with DirectX 9.0
3. World in Conflict, version 1.007 with DirectX 10
4. BioShock, version 1.1 with DirectX 10
5. Supreme Commander, version 3280 with DirectX 9.0
6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, version 1.2 with DirectX 9.0
7. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, version 1.4.0

Performance Vista's of Hotfixes and SP1
Link

Games with a ATI 3850 video card