That's interesting. Cannot say I can reproduce. I have a Windows 8 machine here with an SSD, and much like Windows 7 & Vista it is highly responsive ("instant").
However I do have 8 GB of RAM so maybe that has a lot to do with it? Anything Vista or later really requires 4 GB minimum (I don't care what Microsoft's official minimum requirements are).
Any less than 4 GB and even with an SSD Windows struggles a little. Particularly with a 64 bit installation which requires more RAM anyway. XP definitely consumed less RAM.
However I do have 8 GB of RAM so maybe that has a lot to do with it? Anything Vista or later really requires 4 GB minimum (I don't care what Microsoft's official minimum requirements are).
Any less than 4 GB and even with an SSD Windows struggles a little. Particularly with a 64 bit installation which requires more RAM anyway. XP definitely consumed less RAM.
So how much RAM does your PC have?