XP still capable? Or go Win 7?

AvidWriter

AvidWriter

CAGiversary!
Feedback
19 (100%)
Will Windows XP be capable of letting the hardware in my new PC run at its full potential? I have 32bit and I know 4GB of ram is the max, that is just what i have. I have XP installed now on this computer and I didn't spring for 7 saving me some money. I thought I could get it cheaper but it looks like I either won't be doing that or it will take longer then my new PC to get here.

My specs are below and I'm just wondering if I should really try to get 7 or just stick with XP for now? I'm tech savvy but not *that* tech savvy. I don't know much about the limits of XP and newer hardware. I'm also looking to get 64bit windows 7 as my hardware is as I am aware very capable of running 64bit.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition

ASUS M4A77TD AM3 DDR3 AMD 770 chipset tech

4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel

ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB DDR5 16X PCIe


The rest I don't see as being too useful.

Thanks for any advice.

EDIT : How much of a pain is it to go from 32bit to 64 bit if I get the upgrade disc vs the full version? Also I can't install the upgrade by itself if the HDD is formatted with no OS? Thanks again.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks. I actually just goggled myself about the "upgrade" I have to do a clean install which is pretty much what I wanted anyway.

Thanks for the tip toward 64bit. I was leaning.
 
I always give an OS 6 months of real consumer time to see if it is worth upgrading to.

I do not fancy being a frontiersmen in bug country.
 
Last edited:
Got Windows 7 and love it. Before that, I had XP. Never made the jump to VISTA because
of all the bugs, etc. Haven't had 1 problem with Windows 7 and LOVE it.

I think most of the bugs were worked out with the RC edition as well as fixing VISTA,
since really it's just a better and more reliable version of VISTA.

I say jump head first. Definitely worth it.
 
[quote name='Ronzilla']Got Windows 7 and love it. Before that, I had XP. Never made the jump to VISTA because
of all the bugs, etc. Haven't had 1 problem with Windows 7 and LOVE it.

I think most of the bugs were worked out with the RC edition as well as fixing VISTA,
since really it's just a better and more reliable version of VISTA.

I say jump head first. Definitely worth it.[/QUOTE]

Thats exactly the reason I didn't bother with Vista. Thanks. I managed to get a fairly good deal for an upgrade version and I'm gonna get 64bit.

Thanks for all the help.
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']Thats exactly the reason I didn't bother with Vista. Thanks. I managed to get a fairly good deal for an upgrade version and I'm gonna get 64bit.

Thanks for all the help.[/QUOTE]

One hiccup I had(#-omove) was I forgot to get ALL my drivers for
Windows 7 before I did the upgrade.
Make sure you do that for all your hardware so things go a little more smoothly. :D
 
I just upgraded my OS from XP to Win7 64bit less than 2 wks ago and it seems really smooth. I hated Vista for reasons that are hard to be specific about so I used XP all this time. I haven't had any problems getting used to win7 GUI and would recommend it. Although it won't hurt to wait a few months if you're not in a rush.
 
I have a quick question, do you have to have certain hardware to be able to install a 64-bit os? Cause I see that there is 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows 7. I'm just wondering why there would be 2 different versions if everyone could use the 64 bit. Thanks.
 
Yes. The one element that must be 64-bit is the processor (and, by association, all systems on the mainboard directly related to the CPU). The jump from 32-bit to 64-bit is too fundamental, and goes far beyond just bus width. The wiki entry is rather great.

So if you have, say, an Athlon XP, or an Intel Core (not Duo), you would have to use 32-bit Windows 7.

On a related topic...

MS suggests W7 32-bit for people running older hardware or software. In my experience W7 32-bit actually has worse overall driver support than 64-bit. The only place you're going to get the most legacy support for an older PC is in XP SP2 and SP3.

I have quite a bit of older hardware and software that either doesn't work or works improperly in Vista and W7. It's not so much an issue of 32-bit versus 64-bit, just plain lack of support due to age. One big issue is how large companies (say, HP) defer legacy driver support to Microsoft, and Microsoft then writes generic drivers to cover a broad range of printers, scanners, sound cards, et cetera.

The smart user tailors OS choice to the hardware and software he/she needs to run. Cutting edge gamer? Windows 7 64-bit. Sound designer with lots of old plugins? XP. Low-powered netbook with 4GB SSD? Customized Linux.
 
[quote name='Megazell']I always give an OS 6 months of real consumer time to see if it is worth upgrading to.

I do not fancy being a frontiersmen in bug country.[/QUOTE]

Exactly my sentiments.
 
Go 7.

Unless you want to be like those kooks who held out with Windows 98 for years, some to this day, because of XP's "problems"
 
So far I love Windows 7. First time I've ever installed a MS OS and thought, "wow, they really got it this time."

Go with it over XP, even if you must go 32-bit. But as it's already been pointed out, 64 would allow you to take better advantage of your hardware.
 
[quote name='Brownjohn']I'd recommend win7 64-bit so you can take full advantage of your memory and video card.[/QUOTE]

May I ask why the 64bit would make a difference for the video card?
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']

The rest I don't see as being too useful.

Thanks for any advice.

EDIT : How much of a pain is it to go from 32bit to 64 bit if I get the upgrade disc vs the full version? Also I can't install the upgrade by itself if the HDD is formatted with no OS? Thanks again.[/QUOTE]

Windows 7 is pretty nice. I installed the 64 bit Beta on the new computer. when it expires, I'll have a tough choice. I have similar specs to yours, but I'll probably change in the next couple of years, so I don't want to invest in a full OEM license for a $100 since it won't be good with the next MB. I am probably going to look for an old XP lying around, and then look for an upgrade.

I also like the media player in Win 7, which is good if you're connected to an HDTV.
 
[quote name='Megazell']I always give an OS 6 months of real consumer time to see if it is worth upgrading to.

I do not fancy being a frontiersmen in bug country.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='GuilewasNK']Exactly my sentiments.[/QUOTE]

Win7 had more than the "6 months of real consumer time" already. That is what we call Windows Vista, people.
 
[quote name='uricmu']May I ask why the 64bit would make a difference for the video card?[/QUOTE]

I don't think it'd make a difference for the video card, but 32bit operating systems can't utilize more than 3GB of RAM. Not without some run arounds, at least.
 
[quote name='rumarudrathas']Win7 had more than the "6 months of real consumer time" already. That is what we call Windows Vista, people.[/QUOTE]
This. Windows 7 is basically a service pack for Vista. Ninety percent of what they changed could have been done through a service pack in Vista. The problem is that everyone had a preconception of the current version of Vista being garbage, which it isn't. When it launched, oh definitely.

The reason most people are having no real problems with upgrading from Vista to 7 is because its the pretty much the same OS with a different overlay and all the fixes that should have been in Vista from the get go. I think even internally Microsoft considers it more of a service release for Vista than a new full-blown OS.
 
Microsoft has a history of doing this. Remember Windows ME? essentially an updated win98. Also WinXP is a prettier version of Win2000. And Win MCE being based on Win XP. Come to think of it, The last kernel change was probably when win2000 came out until Vista. Win 98 was somewhat different for win95 I think indicating a much shorter development time.
 
I went from Xp Pro to a 64 Bit install of Windows 7. The ONLY hardware I changed was the RAM, since I was able to get a few sticks for cheap.

Honestly, it has been a surprisingly easy migration. I did a full clean install.

All of my games still work, my system seems more peppy, and Win 7 seems packed with a USEFUL features.
 
I had the RC of 7 on a few machines and loved it.

I just built a HTPC and have Windows 7 64-bit running. Can't recommend it enough. I've had zero issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top