Microsoft Windows 7 Review
September 29, 2009
Microsoft Windows 7 Review
Is Microsoft Windows 7 the greatest operating system Microsoft has built? In general, Microsoft has spent a lot of effort with Microsoft Windows 7. They have listened to what people wanted and delivered a solid operating system. Microsoft Windows 7 will not "knock your socks off" but should satisfy a need for a solid responsive operating system. Early test reveal Microsoft Windows 7 does not thrash about the hard disk or feel unresponsive while running most programs, except when installing major resource hungry applications like Apple's iTunes.
Install
Microsoft Windows 7 seems to be a fairly painless install. On most machines it generally takes about 30 minutes and two reboots. If you're not sure if your current computer can run Microsoft Windows 7, you can download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft.
Microsoft Windows 7 Performance
Early feedback indicates that performance is strong and Microsoft Windows 7 is faster than Microsoft Vista. Windows 7 has no problem simultaneously running applications, browsing the internet, and doing other tasks. In addition, Windows 7 can do all this on a modest 2.8GHz Pentium 4, with only an 80GB IDE hard disk and 512MB of RAM! Not bad at all! SHDComputers.com has run tests comparing Windows XP with service pack 3 and Vista Ultimate and found XP to run circles around Vista. Even running XP on an older PC still out performed Vista running on a Core 2 Duo! Whether or not Windows 7 can outperform XP remains a question. But it definitely out performs Vista. SHDComputer.com's gut feeling is that XP will still out perform Windows 7 in some areas.
Microsoft Windows 7 - Window Management 9/29/2009
Hardware Comparisons
Micorsoft Windows XP
- Processor: 300MHz
- RAM: 128MB Super VGA graphics device
- HD: 4.2 GB (for SP3)
Microsoft Windows Vista
- Processor: 1GHz
- RAM: 1 GB (32-bit), 2 GB (64-bit) Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of memory
- HD: 20 GB (32-bit), 40 GB (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows 7
- Processor: 1 GHz
- RAM: 1 GB (32-bit), 2 GB (64-bit) Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of memory
- HD: 16 GB (32-bit), 20 GB (64-bit)
Summary
If you are interested in a stable sold performing operating system that fixes most of the problems with Vista or interested in touch screen features Windows 7 is for you. Early indications are Windows 7 can run on less powerful machines meaning 2.8GHz Pentium 4s and such. This opens the door to many “good bargain” PCs. Windows 7 running on a Pentium 4, with a good graphics card sounds like a winning combination for budget minded people.