Hi,
I can only supply my personal feelings here, I hope that is what you are after.
1. Xp is cheaper.
2. There are fewer resources available now for 7 but that will change.
3. I think they are about equal, in most areas, and each is faster in some areas.
4. XP has been reliably breaking down for years, give 7 a go and it may be better or worse.
In summery, I am staying with XP as my every day OS, but I am trying to keep 7 up to date and play with it every now and again.
Bob_180_Bob
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Well XP wont be supported for much longer.
Secondly, its hardware support SUCKS. No native IPV6, No native Wifi, No native SATA.
Would not recommend for new builds. Its just too old now.
jbennet
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win7 all the way, no if's and's or but's
caperjack
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Many games that run on XP will not run on Win7. So if you are a big gammer and like the games you are playing, then stick with XP.
Ancient Dragon
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Many games that run on XP will not run on Win7. So if you are a big gammer and like the games you are playing, then stick with XP.
That's just the nature of game-development cycles though - two-to-three yrs max usually. Games which were developed not long before Vista hit the ground should be OK in Win7. If seriously attached to an XP-only game, look to see if your CPU s'ports XP Mode. If so, installing a higher SKU of Win7 will allow extending the life of those games for now.
kaninelupus
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Many games that run on XP will not run on Win7. So if you are a big gammer and like the games you are playing, then stick with XP.
Soon most games wont run on XP due to it not having DX10. Current gen games tend to look nicer on vista due to them being able to take advantage of this.If seriously attached to an XP-only game, look to see if your CPU s'ports XP Mode
Noooooooooooo. XP mode is horrific for games. Really poor performance because it doesnt do 3d acceleration, instead using a truly terrible emulated video card.
jbennet
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Noooooooooooo. XP mode is horrific for games. Really poor performance because it doesnt do 3d acceleration, instead using a truly terrible emulated video card.
Very true, but most games which have never moved beyond XP are not what you would call GPU intensive (a few exceptions I know, such as Oblivion). Inmost cases, even the emulated GPU in XP Mode is sufficient for those (let's call them what they are... ) legacy games.
If really attached to an XP-only game - which is truely GPU-intensive - take the dual-boot option. Win7 is by far superior to both XP and Vista, so use for every-day use, and keep the second install for those heavy-duty games not suitable for XP Mode.
kaninelupus
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If really attached to an XP-only game - which is truely GPU-intensive - take the dual-boot option
Yes but most people will buy an upgrade licence for Win7 and so not be able to do that.
jbennet
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most people will buy an upgrade license .
not if they wanted to do a dual boot with winxp
caperjack
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My understanding of the "Upgrade" licensing was that one didn't have to actually take the upgrade install option (ie, installing Win7 over the previous Windows installation), but simply that one has a legal key/serial for said Windows installation. It appears that is not the case.
That being said, if one has previously spent the money on high-end XP games and relevant hardware, it may be worth spending the extra for a full version of Win7, if not prepared to do away with said games just yet.
kaninelupus
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My understanding of the "Upgrade" licensing was that one didn't have to actually take the upgrade install option (ie, installing Win7 over the previous Windows installation), but simply that one has a legal key/serial for said Windows installation. It appears that is not the case.
.
you could do a full install with a vista upgrade disk,you simply ran the install and when asked to put in the key you could chose to install with out using the key, and after the install was complete ,you would put the dvd in the drive and it would auto boot an ask if you wanted to upgrade and you say yes and walla! it would run the upgrade !
i think they fixted that with win7 as it never game me the option to install with out the key !
and you can't upgrade from winxp to win7 ,so thats not an option anyway
caperjack
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Yeah. If you upgrade you arent supposed to use the older OS you upgraded from at the same time. Indeed, i believe it blacklists that serial when you do so.
With vista and Win7 do actually have to upgrade with the upgrade version unless you use the trick to upgrade the trial (which is frowned upon)
jbennet
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Things have changed a lot since the introduction of XP. To upgrade from 3.1 to XP you only had to put a 3 1/2 floppy from your 3.1 installation floppies into the drive for XP to see that you held an earlier program. Then it would install the upgrade where ever you wanted. Now it seems if you buy a full copy of 7 you can sell your copy of XP/Vista if you want (and if someone will buy), but if you buy an upgrade version, your old OS is US.
Bob_180_Bob
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. To upgrade from 3.1 to XP you only had to put a 3 1/2 floppy from your 3.1 installation floppies into the drive for XP to see that you held an earlier program.
No you didnt. Windows 3.1 -> XP was not a valid upgrade path.
They only supported NT4 Workstation and Windows 98 or above.
Windows 2000 on the other hand, allowed an upgrade from windows 95 or NT 3.51, but not Windows 3.1.Now it seems if you buy a full copy of 7 you can sell your copy of XP/Vista if you want (and if someone will buy), but if you buy an upgrade version, your old OS is US.
Thats the way its always been. Your upgrade licence is only valid for as long as you adhere to licence of the product you upgraded from as well. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/eula/home.mspx
9. UPGRADES. To use Software identified as an upgrade, you must first be licensed for the software identified by Microsoft as eligible for the upgrade. After upgrading, you may no longer use the software that formed the basis for your upgrade eligibility.
jbennet
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With vista and Win7 do actually have to upgrade with the upgrade version unless you use the trick to upgrade the trial (which is frowned upon)
i own 2 vista ultimate upgrade disk ,legit ,bought from the microsoft ,i install both on a new hdd,no previsions OS installed .used the process i described above ! they work fine, one is on my daughters laptop and one on my wifes pc
caperjack
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yeah i know it works fine, its just that your not technically supposed to upgrade the trial if you only have an upgrade key because its not a qualifying upgrade path.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/29/windows_7_clean_install/
Reacting to tips being served up online, Microsoft has warned that while it's technically possible to perform what's known as a "clean" install of Windows 7 on a PC, you'll be breaking the law and the Microsoft End User License Agreement (EULA), meaning you're potentially running a pirated copy of Windows.
When these posts and write-ups state that you can install clean from an Upgrade piece of software and they fail to mention that you need to own a qualifying software license to be legal to use the Upgrade software for the installation. Of the advice being posted, an apparently exasperated Ligman wrote. "Technically possible" does not always mean legal,".
jbennet
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The "upgrade" version of Win7 that I got has two ways to installNew install -- Insert the Win7 disk in the dvd drive, reboot the computer so that it boots from the dvd drive, then win7 will reformat the entire hard drive and installs Win7 from scratch. I'm not sure if XP or Vista is required to have already been installed or not, and I'm not willing to spend 24 hours redoing my computer to find out.
Upgrade. Start up Vista, insert the Win7 disk, then run the setup.exe program on the disk.
Ancient Dragon
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I'm not sure if XP or Vista is required to have already been installed or not
Yes, unless you do the whole upgrade-the-trial hack.
jbennet
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Sorry, seniors moment. Not 3.1 to XP but 3.1 to 98. too long ago I forgot about Windows 98. I am too old and senile....sorry....
Bob_180_Bob
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