Windows aero performance

[GT7R]

As of late I see lots of people who do highly demanding graphics tasks (gaming, rendering, etc) use the basic windows theme - does the aero theme uses a considerable amount of resources? Is that message "windows has detected that your PC's performance is slow" which asks if I would like to switch to the basic theme has got something to consider?

[Adzsask]

I think when 7 was released it would help that tech, but I am pretty sure even on-board graphics can easily handle aero. An example intel GMA 950 in my netbook, it can JUST play 720p movies, intel GMA 3000 can do a few graphical things at once easily, even play a few games on medium settings.

[GT7R]

True, does it affect other apps' performance? Because even if it makes BF3 run 2.5 fps slower, I'd happily turn if off!

[Galcobar]

People can answer in generalities, but the answer for you comes down to the specifics of your setup and the applications you run. So if you want to know if Windows Aero affects your system, try testing it on your system.