Is Windows 7 really that good?

Ken

Ken

Ken

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28 Apr 2004
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1,067
Hi,

I'm currently on Win XP and it's been brilliant so far. Always stable and responsive. Long uptimes and rarely have to restart and multitask with no hurdles or problems to overcome.

Now I'm forced to buy Windows 7 as I will be upgrading and will be buying 8GB of memory and also want TRIM enabled on my existing SSD.

Just a couple of questions...

1. Windows XP Home is what I'm using now. Is Windows 7 Home Premium Retail the version I should be buying?

2. Isn't Windows 7 just an updated Vista? Is Windows 7 what Vista should have been? I'm particularly interested in the answer to this as it seems the gap between XP and Vista is many years more than between Vista and Win 7.

3. What other benefits come with Windows 7. I really can't imagine it being as great as it's made out to be in general. To be honest the view I have is that Win 2000 Pro and Win XP are minimalist and works the way it should and Vista and 7 seem to be bloated and unnecessarily fancy OSs. Obviously I've never used them so don't take that the wrong way.

Again, I've no choice but to buy this with my new components but thought I ask the above so I know what to expect etc.

Thanks :)
 
1. Possibly yes. There might be an upgrade path from XP but I'm not sure on that.

2. Windows 7 is sort of an updated Vista in my opinion, but that's not really a bad thing. Vista after its initial nightmares started to become a pretty good OS and Windows 7 is another step in the right direction. I'm sure there have been some major improvements in the jump from Vista to 7 but the GUI update alone is worth it.

3. I'll let someone who uses it on a day-to-day basis answer this.
 
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Ken said:
1. Windows XP Home is what I'm using now. Is Windows 7 Home Premium Retail the version I should be buying?
Click to expand...
Yes. Make sure you install the 64-bit version.

Ken said:
2. Isn't Windows 7 just an updated Vista? Is Windows 7 what Vista should have been? I'm particularly interested in the answer to this as it seems the gap between XP and Vista is many years more than between Vista and Win 7.
Click to expand...
Yes, Windows 7 is an updated Vista and is what Vista should have been. In a similar way to XP being an updated 2000, 98 an updated 95, etc.

Ken said:
3. What other benefits come with Windows 7. I really can't imagine it being as great as it's made out to be in general. To be honest the view I have is that Win 2000 Pro and Win XP are minimalist and works the way it should and Vista and 7 seem to be bloated and unnecessarily fancy OSs. Obviously I've never used them so don't take that the wrong way.
Click to expand...
Windows 7 is faster, more secure, more reliable, more compatible, more efficient, easier to use and just generally better all round and a much more modern OS. It is not bloated in any way. It makes much better use of current PC hardware.

Upgrade now, you will not regret it :)
 
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Cool, thanks guys. Will be looking forward to the build and using Win 7. Guess I'm the type that doesn't like change and if something works then don't fix it but have no option here but will be worth it based on what you said. :)

I'm assuming the lack of Win XP compatibility mode that is in the Pro version isn't something a general home user would need?
 
Ken said:
Cool, thanks guys. Will be looking forward to the build and using Win 7. Guess I'm the type that doesn't like change and if something works then don't fix it but have no option here but will be worth it based on what you said. :)

I'm assuming the lack of Win XP compatibility mode that is in the Pro version isn't something a general home user would need?
Click to expand...

All versions have the ability to run a program in XP compatibility mode. I've yet to find any major software that requires it to run though, apart from a few really obscure older games.

The Pro version and above have "XP Mode" which is different. It's basically an XP virtual machine built into the system, so you can open programs actually IN Windows XP, but directly as you would any other program from your Windows 7 desktop. It's handy if you do developing work so you don't have to mess around opening the VM software first, but it's not really essential.
 
I had exactly the same reservations as you about updating from XP to Win 7, so much so that I had 2 copies sitting on my desk from launch until the middle of this year!

I have to say though that once I got over the initial couple of weeks of trying to get used to the way the folders are displayed and other minor differences, I have found it awesome to use on a daily basis. The search in the start menu for one is just fantastic and makes it so easy/lightning fast to find things.

I also like the little features like being able to pin/un-pin programs to the taskbar with literally 2 clicks of the mouse.

It (Win 7 HP) has been every bit (if not more) stable as my 2 year old XP Pro install, and overall it just feels a little bit snappier. I am sure it would be incredible with an SSD too, which I think will be my next move.

Oh and for what it's worth I have yet to find anything that I use that won't work with Win 7, so unless you use a really old piece of software/hardware then you should have no problem at all.
 
You wont regret it OP. You might have a few days/weeks of going "huh??" and "whyyyy??" until you get used to the new features/layout, but at some point you will wonder why you stuck with XP for so long!

And just to reiterate, it is still obviously a Windows GUI so you will be able to do virtually everything you are used to without much effort. Features to look out for [and read about] are:

Superbar - the Taskbar is new and awesome and is basically one giant Quick Launch.

Jump Lists - a recent items/common actions list for your programs, available via its shortcut! So you can open a specific document in Word, say, in just 2 clicks from the Taskbar or Start Menu.

Libraries - aggregate the contents of several folders into one virtual folder, so you can see them all at once without physically moving any files or having multiple folders open.

Window Management - Easy positioning of windows, snap to edges, shake to minimise, Aero Peek, Flip3D etc.
 
Just to ask OP, you're "currently on Win XP and it's been brilliant so far." how long have you been Using XP? the way you phrased that makes it sound like you've only just upgraded from Windows 2000.
XP's only been out nine years :p
 
dont forget windows xp is being phased out in games also , all new games this year are starting to have direct x11 which means no XP machine can run it.

directx10 was pretty decent but tbh when dx11 comes out that pretty much means no games will be using xp, so that one reson to upgrade.

i have vista and have had no problems....cof 1 problem that needed a complete reinstall cof, but that wasnt anything new as xp had simular issues.
 
I'm one of the most sceptical people ever, I have to say that win7 is awesome. M$ really kicked apple in the nutts with this OS, everything 'just works'.

A nice feature: hold down your windows key in win7 & press tab :D
 
Yea if you are used to windows xp then i do not think there is that much new with windows 7, the only reason i upgraded was that certain software was not installing on windows xp 64bit and the only choice was to move to windows 7 64bit.

I like the new interface effect, aero. But if you disabled all the features in windows xp and made it look like windows 2000 and you plan to do the same in windows 7 then you won't benefit from the new features. But i can agree that it is bloated with unnecessary software and they broke search as well. imo.
 
W7 is basically vista on steroids. I'd never go back to Vista, let alone XP. My home and work systems are both W7 too.

I think the OS basically kicks butt, it's stupidly stable (even when I OC to high on my GPU, it typically manages to recover the drivers for example) security is nicer, and it feels snappy. It's not perfect, but I doubt any OS ever will be.

W7 isn't bloated, the install is fairly large, but it manages memory far better. You'll no doubt have a heart attack when your 8GB of RAM is almost completely used, but don't worry. It's a good thing. It makes everything feel snappy, and the second you load an application, the RAM frees itself up.

Security feels tighter, the start menu does take a while to get used to (typing the first few letters of an app for example) but it's nice. I'm a huge W7 fan. I was 'meh' on Vista, I prefered it to XP, but W7 is leaps and bounds ahead.
 
I just upgraded my aging desktop to a P67/i2500/8GB/Win7 x64 system last Sunday. Haven't swapped out the video card yet...still using an old GTX260.

I had to tweak some stuff to get the Start Menu and taskbar/quick launch the way I wanted it (XP's was perfect, W7's default is rubbish for my usage).

Apart from this minor complaint, W7 is very good. Responsive and very stable so far even under heavy multitasking. Light years ahead of the molasses that was Vista.

If you have good hardware, I would definitely recommend an upgrade to 7.
 
MatteH Oxford said:
I'm one of the most sceptical people ever, I have to say that win7 is awesome. M$ really kicked apple in the nutts with this OS, everything 'just works'.

A nice feature: hold down your windows key in win7 & press tab :D
Click to expand...

Totally forgot that this was possible, ahve my windows key disabled via my g15 and was like, errr, nothing is happening...stupid....then realised and went o0o all over again.

2k was old, simple interface. xp added a tiny bit of shiny and lots of secuirty.
Vista, after initial hiccups, added lots of stuff and more shinies. Win 7 looks the business, feels nice, new features are actually useful (once you get used to them, at first they're just annoying) and it added loads of security and stability.

To people sayin Win7 is bloated...it isnt at all, yes you can strip it down toa couple of GB install and use a lot less RAM etc but it was written to run on todays hardware, not your 10 year old xp machine. It is meant to be run with 2-4gb RAM as a normal machine, 8 gb for a higher spec machine, and up to silly amount are possible.

Compatability wise, the only thing I havent been able to run was an old version of AutoCad, but that was as it lacked 64bit support. Other than that, ive never had to specify compatability mode and as such have uninstalled teh XP virtual machine stuff again as I doubt I will use it after all (im on pro)
 
I've had to go from 7 to XP on my work machine as I've changed job.

It feels like it takes twice as long to get anything done! Its hard to explain but 7 just works smoother. XP is 10 years old and it shows!
 
Windows 7 loads services etc on demand, XP loads them all and has them all in memory. The Windows 7 method of memory management is 10 years more efficient than XP.

I still love XP, but my home PCs are all Windows 7 now. Still if I need a VM for testing it'll have XP ;)
 
Windows 7 is a lot better. The computers are uni are still all on XP, feels like going back in time!
 
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