Xp vs Windows 7?

[1nf3rn0x]

Hi guys, I'm currently in debate whether to upgrade to win7 or stay with xp. I'm wondering if game performance is less/ more in win7 as it uses more ram, though I want dx10/11 as new games such as Just Cause 2 have dumped dx9. Also would I get 32 bit/64 bit, whats the difference between 32bit and 64bit and should 4gb of ddr2 ram @800mhz be fine or should I get 6GB just incase. Thanks guys, all answers appreciated.

 

[mikek75]

You've answered your own question. You want DX10/11, therefore you need to upgrade, and since Vista is inferior to W7 then W7 is the way to go. 64bit is compatable with the vast majority of software (exceptions being those with 16bit code), and you already have 4gb of RAM so some is wasted if you go 32bit. 6gb is overkill at the moment IMO.

 

[mtosev]

gaming performance is roughtly the same in win xp and win 7. in some games xp performes better in other games win 7 is better. dx9 games tend to performe better in xp than in win 7.

64bit is a bit faster ten 32bit, requires 64bit drivers and 64bit AV, 64bit supports up to 192GB of ram.

4gb is enough for now. you can upgrade later

 

[1nf3rn0x]

Ok, thanks I'll be getting Win7 64 bit soon, thanks for your help.

 

[mtosev]

benchmarks http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/windows_7_review?page=0,3

 

[francis511]

Win 7 has SLIGHTLY more compatibility problems than xp but it`s waaaay better than vista. Dealmaker for me was the network speeds which is a feature xp just doesn`t have.

 

[Frick]

Ok, thanks I'll be getting Win7 64 bit soon, thanks for your help.

If you get the retail, you get two disks; one with 32 bit and one with 64 bit.

 

[bim27142]

If you get the retail, you get two disks; one with 32 bit and one with 64 bit.

What other significant differences between OEM and Retail versions?

 

[v2.0]

Ok, thanks I'll be getting Win7 64 bit soon, thanks for your help.

I'm using Seven x64 Ultimate and I can assure you that you won't be able to play at least 30% of the games. No 'Run as Administrator' or 'Compatibility Mode' or GPU drivers update helps. And I'm talking about popular 2008s, 2009s, 2010s games.

However, that's the only bad thing about it, it's really Microsoft's best - fast, easy to work with, eye-catching, stabile and relatively safe.

We'll all just have to wait for a service pack to fix the gaming issues.

 

[TIGR]

I'm using Seven x64 Ultimate and I can assure you that you won't be able to play at least 30% of the games. No 'Run as Administrator' or 'Compatibility Mode' or GPU drivers update helps. And I'm talking about popular 2008s, 2009s, 2010s games.

With respect to v2.0, I want to clarify that that is wrong. Don't want confusion/misinformation to spread. There is a "Run as administrator" option and there is compatibility troubleshooting, which the one time I had reason to use it, worked flawlessly. There is not a single game I haven't been able to get to work or that I have heard of not working in Windows 7.

Edit to add: I'm running 7 Ultimate x64 and am pleased with it. I had still been using XP and didn't expect 7 to be this good.

 

[mikek75]

v2.0, thats the biggest load of bull I've heard in a long time. You pulled that 30% out of somewhere dark....

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I'd wait til SP1. Too many damn bugs in Windows 7. I still regret getting it (was on XP x64).

 

[TIGR]

I'd wait til SP1. Too many damn bugs in Windows 7. I still regret getting it (was on XP x64).

What bugs have you encountered? Perhaps I've been extremely lucky, having had it on about three dozen systems of vastly varying configurations with fewer issues than with XP. 7 has been rock solid for me so far.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

WMP12 is junk (poor streaming performance, constantly goes non-responsive, layout is stupid, can't change info on networked files, etc.)
Calculator button on the keyboard often quits working.
When it is supposed to turn the monitor off, it doesn't (just fades to black and stays there).
Drag and Drop operations take a long time for the action to transition when the CPU is 100% idle load (the thread that handles this operation shoud have above normal or high priority but apparently it does not).

And much more (those are the ones I remember off the top of my head)...

 

[Frick]

WMP12 is junk (poor streaming performance, constantly goes non-responsive, layout is stupid, can't change info on networked files, etc.)
Calculator button on the keyboard often quits working.
When it is supposed to turn the monitor off, it doesn't (just fades to black and stays there).
Drag and Drop operations take a long time for the action to transition when the CPU is 100% idle load (the thread that handles this operation shoud have above normal or high priority but apparently it does not).

And much more (those are the ones I remember off the top of my head)...

Wierd, I haven't seen any of that at all. Same as TIGR here, fewer problems than on WinXP for me.

And the Compability thing is a LOT better than in XP. Some old games actually works better now.

 

[richjordan255]

i love win 7 absolutely no probs media play is gr8 even works with my mobile fone

 

[TIGR]

I haven't noticed the problems you've been having either, GT90. Except I can't comment either way on WMP, which I haven't used in years (including on XP). I don't really consider it to be part of Windows itself. I use VLC.

 

[mikek75]

WMP12 is about the only thing I don't much care for, agreed the layout isn't good (WMP10 or 11 worked better IMO). However, I've not had any lockups with it

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I have 85 playlists on my computer which links to several gigabytes of WMA and MP3 files on my server. The not-responding happens immediately after opening a playlist where, instead of getting the information as it becomes available in WMP11, it gets all the information before showing the list (hell, it could be pre-caching the whole album for all I know). During that period,it locks up for five seconds or more when it worked perfectly fine in WMP11.

It isn't the hard drives or network performance because my other XP machine still streams it as it always did. It's a change they made in WMP11.

 

[alucasa]

WMP12 is junk (poor streaming performance, constantly goes non-responsive, layout is stupid, can't change info on networked files, etc.)
Calculator button on the keyboard often quits working.
When it is supposed to turn the monitor off, it doesn't (just fades to black and stays there).
Drag and Drop operations take a long time for the action to transition when the CPU is 100% idle load (the thread that handles this operation shoud have above normal or high priority but apparently it does not).

And much more (those are the ones I remember off the top of my head)...

I agree that WMP12 is junk, but I have not experienced any of your other issues.

 

[mikek75]

Ah, right FordGT, I don't use playlists so not come across that one. Nor do I use a server, I have all my music on an separate internal HDD and it plays individual albums fine. I like to keep it simple, LOL

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The drag and drop issue is most likely universal. Run F@H, WCG, or something else that loads the CPU to 100% then drag and drop a file from a folder to the desktop. If you do it right away, most likely nothing will happen. You have to wait for it to transition from no action, to Move, to Copy or Create link and then release. If you stop the app loading the CPU to 100%, it works as it should again. There is clearly a multithreading issue there.


I haven't been able to pin down the reason for the calculator button not working or why the monitor won't turn off. Both functions work fine on my Server 2003 x64 system which is plugged into the same KVM, as did Windows XP x64. Even the video cards are similar (HD 5870 compared to HD 5570). It is a bug in Windows 7.

 

[TIGR]

The drag and drop issue is most likely universal. Run F@H, WCG, or something else that loads the CPU to 100% then drag and drop a file from a folder to the desktop. If you do it right away, most likely nothing will happen. You have to wait for it to transition from no action, to Move, to Copy or Create link and then release. If you stop the app loading the CPU to 100%, it works as it should again. There is clearly a multithreading issue there.


I haven't been able to pin down the reason for the calculator button not working or why the monitor won't turn off. Both functions work fine on my Server 2003 x64 system which is plugged into the same KVM, as did Windows XP x64. Even the video cards are similar (HD 5870 compared to HD 5570). It is a bug in Windows 7.

All of these function perfectly for me on four separate machines at the moment, all running 7 Ultimate x64 (laptop, one AMD, two Intel). Tested with F@H and all cores 100% loaded. Also tried with Prime loading cores on the Intel and one AMD machine (happened to have it on them). I really have no idea what's going on for you.

 

[newconroer]

Win7 by far.

-DX10/11 support
-DX9 programs are not an issue. It's often more like you run a game that isn't designed to use something like anti-aliasing in DX10/11 mode; you can just -dx9 the executable path and force your AA usage. Additionally, I've found nine out of ten dx9 based 3d programs run better in Win7 because of how it handles overhead.
-Special features such as themes, context menu additions, multi-window/task, services and overall system performance is quicker.
-Boot time, and service start-up quicker.
-Lots of programs support it, much like they now do with Vista(and this includes 64 bit).
-Windows Update more streamlined.
-Miscellaneous system installation packages such as .Net framework and Visual C++ install easier and with less error(also tied into Windows Update consistency, as it's based off the upgraded Windows Module Installer).
-Prepackaged database of drivers is much more in depth and of course up to date. Often people would say 'download the latest drivers' but that's for things like your motherboard, GPU, Direct X. For the little things like sound, raid drivers, usb and usb hubs, external media devices etc., it's nice that the driver package Win7 will automatically install, is often sufficient in it's date and version - saves you hunting around the web unnecessarily.


However, like with any Windows install, management of system services is key. Using Black Viper's database(plus some of your own tweaking) can make a world of difference; but it's safe to say even with standard services, Win7 is noticeably better.

I've pretty muched stopped using XP altogether, only keeping it on an older small drive connected through a USB hub, in the rare event I should need it.

 

[DirectorC]

Windows XP vs Windows 7 ...

FIGHT!

Windows 7 wins.