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View Full Version : Windows 7 or vista..?



colemancol
12-15-2009, 09:40 PM
Hi to all
I am planning to buy new laptop.But confused little which system to buy.So please share your experience so i can get some ideas.which one is better..?

debo
12-16-2009, 04:23 AM
Windows 7 without question. Much faster load time, programs run faster because of memory management, no lockups or freezing, ease of operation, seeing mulitple programs open at the same time. I will never own a PC with Vista ever again. Also Windows Professional is always stronger than Windows Home.

davef
12-16-2009, 11:00 AM
Windows 7 without question. Much faster load time, programs run faster because of memory management, no lockups or freezing, ease of operation, seeing mulitple programs open at the same time. I will never own a PC with Vista ever again. Also Windows Professional is always stronger than Windows Home.

How does Windows 7 stack up to XP? We still have XP pro on all of our PC's and upgrading worries me :(

curtis
12-16-2009, 02:22 PM
Upgrading to a new OS without doing a clean install is always a worriesome ordeal.

By everything I have read, talking to friends, and having a trial version of Windows 7 on my laptop(not my main machine), it is better than XP. BTW, Vista also never touched any of my PC's.

debo
12-16-2009, 02:52 PM
There isn't a upgrade path from XP Pro to Windows 7 Pro, you will have to backup your files format your drive and do a fresh load of Windows 7 Pro. I did my XP Pro laptop last week and love it. However if your not having any issues with your XP Pro I wouldn't upgrade. I only did because I was having some drive problems and was going to reload anyway but if you have Vista the upgrades worked great.

Your right Curtis in not letting Vista touch your laptop.

curtis
12-16-2009, 02:55 PM
There isn't a upgrade path from XP Pro to Windows 7 Pro, you will have to backup your files format your drive and do a fresh load of Windows 7 Pro.
Really? Hmmm....that changes my thoughts about "upgrading" all my machines to Windows 7.

Hksvr4
12-17-2009, 09:44 AM
I had Vista on my desk top and hated it. It would take 10mins to load. While it was doing that, it would do a million other things. Taking up my memory, which I don't have much of (literally). So I asked a buddy of mine to back convert to XP. Never been happier.

My wife has a new laptop,(ThinkPad) with Windows 7. It's alot better than Vista times 10. Shorter load times and it feels more stable than Vista. It looks like Vista but not as complicated. Although we have to get use to it, all in all it's a better OS than Vista.

I have Windows XP at work as well and love the heck out of it. Most stable OS I believe.

davef
12-18-2009, 11:04 AM
OK -- I am now excited to try Windows 7. Between our main office and my home, we have something like 8 PC's and 2 Laptops, all running XP Pro except 2 DOS/WIN 98 machines for some legacy engineering software and hardware.

XP Pro is fantastic, fast and stable but Win 7 is intriguing.

I can use a new laptop so I am looking for a good deal on something with decent graphic performance.

Is the new Core I7 that much better than Core 2 Duo? Seems to cost nearly twice as much in a laptop. Any recommendations? Dell has a decent deal on a Vostro 1520 machine but their laptops don't seem to hold up well with a lot of use -- I have owned 4 Dell laptops and the keyboards on each one have worn out overtime (keys breaking).

Hksvr4
12-18-2009, 12:19 PM
If your going with a PC, I would look at Lenovo Thinkpads. The one I have is the SL410 from best buy. The "Thinkpad" series was made by IBM years ago. I've always used them and are very durable. I have an x-series from 2003 and it's still working like new. Sadly, IBM sold their Thinkpad division to Lenovo. I personally think the Thinkpad is reliable and durable PC laptop. Many corporate companies use these because of their stability. If you want graphics and not afraid of learning a new langauge, then consider Apple laptops.

curtis
12-18-2009, 02:22 PM
If your going with a PC, I would look at Lenovo Thinkpads. The one I have is the SL410 from best buy. The "Thinkpad" series was made by IBM years ago. I've always used them and are very durable. I have an x-series from 2003 and it's still working like new. Sadly, IBM sold their Thinkpad division to Lenovo. I personally think the Thinkpad is reliable and durable PC laptop. Many corporate companies use these because of their stability. If you want graphics and not afraid of learning a new langauge, then consider Apple laptops.
I agree. I have always had good luck with Thinkpads. I currently have one that is almost 5 years old and shows no problems at all.

Also, I am not a fan of Dell laptops. It was our standard for a while at a company I worked for...but they always had problems.

davef
12-18-2009, 02:39 PM
I agree. I have always had good luck with Thinkpads. I currently have one that is almost 5 years old and shows no problems at all.

Also, I am not a fan of Dell laptops. It was our standard for a while at a company I worked for...but they always had problems.

My first laptop was a Thinkpad (DOS + Win 3.1 :eek:) and it *still* works great. Can't remember what processor it has (286?) but it only had 4mb and, this will reveal my age and geekiness, I had to use Quarterdeck memory manager (QEMM). :p

I just purchased an ASUS... I wanted something with powerful graphics that I can run our CAD programs (so I can finally work on mechanical drawings while listening to music in my family room -- as opposed to my music-less home office) and I figured I would see what the hype is with the new Core i7. A similarly priced machine from Dell was $600 more and a slower graphics card -- didn't see anything from Lenovo that could compete.

Decent reviews for Asus so I figured I would try something new. I have owned Thinkpads, Toshibas and Dells -- of the (3) Toshiba was my favorite.

curtis
12-18-2009, 02:41 PM
When I build PC's for myself, all I use are Asus motherboards.

debo
12-19-2009, 08:22 AM
You may want to check out HP Business Laptops, they are very solid and I would also recommend Wiondows 7 Professional.

Hksvr4
12-20-2009, 02:52 PM
Windows 7 locked up on me three times today. I forced it to restart. Youtube plays then stops. Modzilla Firefox has a download error. I guess the software is not ready yet.

davef
12-20-2009, 11:20 PM
When I build PC's for myself, all I use are Asus motherboards.

One of these days I am going to get you to build me a new desktop :p

debo
12-21-2009, 06:12 AM
Windows 7 locked up on me three times today. I forced it to restart. Youtube plays then stops. Modzilla Firefox has a download error. I guess the software is not ready yet.

I have it on three PC's all upgrades all with firefox and have had no problems for five weeks now.

Hksvr4
12-21-2009, 06:30 AM
I have it on three PC's all upgrades all with firefox and have had no problems for five weeks now.

That's strange. At the end of the download, it pops up a error. I've tried it a few times already. Is your Windows 7 an upgrade or a factory install?

debo
12-21-2009, 07:32 AM
Upgrade.
Is yours a upgrade?

Hksvr4
12-21-2009, 07:41 AM
That's why. It might have converted during the upgrade. Did you have a problem with the key? Mine is factory installed.

debo
12-22-2009, 07:20 AM
One of my PC's was on XP Pro and I wiped the hard drive and did a fresh load of Windows 7 Pro. No problems with with the key.

jk121764
12-24-2009, 06:35 PM
OK -- I am now excited to try Windows 7. Between our main office and my home, we have something like 8 PC's and 2 Laptops, all running XP Pro except 2 DOS/WIN 98 machines for some legacy engineering software and hardware.

XP Pro is fantastic, fast and stable but Win 7 is intriguing.

I can use a new laptop so I am looking for a good deal on something with decent graphic performance.

Is the new Core I7 that much better than Core 2 Duo? Seems to cost nearly twice as much in a laptop. Any recommendations? Dell has a decent deal on a Vostro 1520 machine but their laptops don't seem to hold up well with a lot of use -- I have owned 4 Dell laptops and the keyboards on each one have worn out overtime (keys breaking).

Windows 7 seems to work extremely well. There is also a windows xp shell that run on top of seven for older programs that might have some compatability problems with the new operating system. As far as Core I7 it still seems pretty expensive. Also not too many programs so far are designed for quad core, so much of that is wasted power.

davef
12-28-2009, 11:42 PM
Received the new notebook...

So far I am impressed by Windows 7. Quick and stable and it certainly looks great. My only complaint is that I just don't see what it actually offers over XP? For a new PC, it is definitely the way to go but I see no reason to upgrade our XP machines.

debo
12-29-2009, 07:51 AM
I agree Dave, no advantage for your current XP pc's. If your connected to a sever in your office and upgrade the server at some point then upgrade the pc's.

charlesedwin
01-04-2010, 08:06 PM
Hello

The only problem I have ever had with Vista is slow shut downs on my laptop before SP1 was released. Now I use it on my desktop and laptop with ZERO issues! Give Vista a chance or sell your soul to Apple and pay the “apple tax” and tell yourself you’re glad to over pay for a product because, hey it looks pretty cool!

bdfin
01-04-2010, 10:47 PM
Well......many people don't mind paying a little more for something that works well. Nice looking is just a perk...... ( kind of like sierra 1's ) and these days the price difference in platforms is marginal. Anytime you're taking a perfectly good running system and trying an upgrade you need to take a deep breath. Clean installs almost always raise the chances of sucess.

maxdakota
07-01-2010, 12:41 AM
I prefer Windows 7 as it the improved version over Vista as the developers have removed the problems coming while dealing with Vista in Win7. So, it is obvious to like Win7 over Vista.

ediblestarfish
07-02-2010, 05:24 PM
Over XP...

I really like the search function in the start menu, so I can just type in part of a program name to bring it up; makes it much easier to find obscure stuff like System Configuration. Much better file viewing options, especially for image thumbnails. Works better with RAM and file caching, so it runs faster. Some people hate it, but I like the task-bar grouping and previews, window resizing by dragging it to the edge. Media Player isn't as terrible this time around, and works with a lot more formats.

I do a lot of photo work so those things matter a lot to me.

Danielmarkwogh
08-17-2010, 08:26 PM
I am also agree with you all windows 7 is better then the vista. vista is consuming maximum space to compare with windows 7 and vista makes very slow to our system . I had experienced to use it.

davef
08-18-2010, 11:38 PM
I am also agree with you all windows 7 is better then the vista. vista is consuming maximum space to compare with windows 7 and vista makes very slow to our system . I had experienced to use it.

Well I must say that I have really been enjoying Windows 7. I have yet to have a serious crash and all of my legacy software that I have loaded up runs just fine -- which was a major concern of mine.

krs
12-29-2010, 08:05 AM
Well I must say that I have really been enjoying Windows 7. I have yet to have a serious crash and all of my legacy software that I have loaded up runs just fine -- which was a major concern of mine.

You're using a 32 bit install of Win7 ?

Win 7 is good - fast and generally trouble free in 32 bit version, but the 64 bit version allows for the use of a lot more memory. XP was limited to less than 4 gb, Win 7 32 bit can use up to 16gb (I think) and 64 bit more than that. More memory means faster loading and operation - it's a good thing, especially good if you use memory and processor intensive stuff like CAD, photo/video, or any that depend on tons of computations - they'll sail along much faster than they did in XP 32 bit environs.

There are a lot of software that still have not gotten 64 bit drivers ironed out, even after what? two years of Win 7 64 bit being out? Even the vaunted Adobe hasn't perfected a 64 bit driver for Flash which limits the usefulness of IE8 64 bit. Luckily Microsoft offers an alongside XP 32 bit environment for buyers of Win 7 professional or higher version that can be downloaded from their site and makes using older 32 bit programs possible.
anyway, if you run into something that doesn't seem to work right go to the software website and make sure you've got their latest driver versions and if you DID get a 64 bit machine make sure you're downloading the x64 versions if available. (I've had several lousy experiences with 'beta' attempts at a 64 bit driver from both Adopie, Canon, and Asus for one of their fancy soundcards, the Xonar Essence STX. You might find more depending on the software you need to use.


If you haven't tried it yet - the Microsoft Security Essentials has made it possible for me to leave my 30 year relationship with Norton behind forever. The anti-everything FREE security suite they're offering works fast, is easy to use, and is continually updated. You have to go get it, they don't include it with their operating systems but it downloads nicely and sets up quickly.

curtis
12-29-2010, 10:50 AM
Build a new PC with my son for Christmas. I had not built a PC in close to 10 years.

Loaded Windows 7 64bit...my first experience with W7...and was pretty painless. I have not used the system much, but my son has not run into any problems so far.

I loaded the free AVG suite for security, but I will look into the Microsoft Security Essentials.

Mitch G
12-29-2010, 06:28 PM
Curtis,

If your kid is using the machine for gaming, I would go with Avast (or I guess AVG) over Windows Essentials.
On a machine my son uses for COD and WOW, I found Essentials would kick in at times and suck up a good amount of processing power and affect performance. So, I installed Avast on that machine and it's been fine.

That said, I've been using Essentials on other machines in the house and have no complaints.


Mitch

curtis
12-29-2010, 07:46 PM
If your kid is using the machine for gaming, I would go with Avast (or I guess AVG) over Windows Essentials.
On a machine my son uses for COD and WOW, I found Essentials would kick in at times and suck up a good amount of processing power and affect performance. So, I installed Avast on that machine and it's been fine.

That said, I've been using Essentials on other machines in the house and have no complaints.

Thanks Mitch...
He does not do heavy gaming on the PC. Stuff like COD he does on the XBox 360.

drewface
12-29-2010, 09:13 PM
i use security essentials on windows 7, both a 64-bit desktop install and a 32-bit laptop install, and have not noticed any performance issues while gaming... this is interesting, though. i'll be keeping an eye on it now just to see if i find anything.

RayGarrison
12-31-2010, 11:32 AM
Well......many people don't mind paying a little more for something that works well. Nice looking is just a perk...... ( kind of like sierra 1's ) and these days the price difference in platforms is marginal

Uh, bdfin, if you're talking about the price difference between an Apple laptop and a Windows laptop, the price difference if far from marginal. I just got my daughter a MacBook for Christmas, and the basic entry level version with minimal memory and hard disc was $1100. You can get a really good Windoze laptop for under $200 these days when Best Buy or PC Richards or whomever has a sale going on. The laptop I'm typing this on (A Toshiba satellite with a 17" screen, big drive, lots of memory, wireless, yada yada yada) cost me less than $400. Apple may have a *LOT* of advantages over Wintel in some categories, but price is not among them.

Ray

marshhayden
02-23-2011, 09:31 AM
Last week I made my XP Pro laptop and I love it. However, if you are not having any issues with XP Pro, I would not upgrade. I drive only and some are having problems because they are already going again, but if you have Vista, upgrades has worked great.