winsat dwm

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Applies To: Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8

Simulates the composition operations of the Desktop Window Manager and produces a graphics memory throughput (bandwidth) metric that correlates with the performance of desktop composition.

For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.

Syntax

winsat dwm
winsat dwm <parameters> [options]

Parameters

Parameters

Description

-normalw <n>

Specify the number of textures used to represent normal windows in the simulation. Required when any other parameters are specified.

-glassw <n>

Specify the number of textures used to represent glass windows in the simulation.

-time <n>

Specify in seconds how long the assessment will run. Required when any other parameters are specified.

-winwidth <n>

Specify the window width in pixels. The default is 500.

-winheight <n>

Specify the window height in pixels. The default is 500.

-noupdate

Call lock and unlock on every window, but skip the CPU update of every pixel.

-nodisp

Specify that the assessment draws to an off-screen surface, so that the assessment is not visible while running.

-nolock

Skip locking and unlocking for all windows. This means that there is no window animation and the assessment is all fill-bound.

-width <n>

Specify the desktop (screen) width in pixels for the assessment. The default is 1024.

-height <n>

Specify the desktop (screen) height in pixels for the assessment. The default is 768.

-fullscreen

Specify that the D3D device should be created in full screen mode. By default, the D3D device is created in windowed mode.

-v

Send verbose output to STDOUT, including status and progress information. Any errors will also be written to the command window.

-xml <file name>

Save the output of the assessment as the specified XML file. If the specified file exists, it will be overwritten.

-idiskinfo

Save information about physical volumes and logical disks as part of the <SystemConfig> section in the XML output.

-iguid

Create a globally unique identifier (GUID) in the XML output file.

-note "note text"

Add the note text to the <note> section in the XML output file.

-icn

Include the local computer name in the XML output file.

-eef

Enumerate extra system information in the XML output file.

Examples

  • The following example runs the formal DWM assessment, saves the performance data needed by the Desktop Window Manager to the registry, and restarts the Desktop Window Manager:

    winsat dwm

    Note

    This command is useful after upgrading to a driver that supports WDDM in order to ensure the Desktop Window Manager immediately takes advantage of the extended functionality.

  • The following example runs the DWM assessment with 10 normal windows and 4 glass windows for 10 seconds, writing verbose output and running in full screen mode.

    winsat dwm -normalw 10 -glassw 4 -time 10 -v -fullscreen

Remarks

  • Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to use winsat. The command must be executed from an elevated command prompt window.

  • To open an elevated command prompt window, click Start, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

Additional references

Winsat