Windows 7 Upgrade Report

Most of you out there are running Windows XP, didn’t bother to go with Windows Vista and are wondering if Windows 7 can deliver on its promises.

I have been running Windows 7 RC since it was released and can honestly say that yes, it’s ready and no, you most likely will not have to upgrade your computer hardware.

I’ll cover this in five sections. Hardware, software and performance, stability, interface.

Hardware

I am running an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (Allendale, specifically) at 1.8GHz. This runs Windows 7 RC with absolutely no hiccups whatsoever. Additionally I only have 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and a PCI Express 512MB video card. My monitor setup is dual. One 1680×150 20-inch on the DVI and a really old 17-inch 1280×1024 on the VGA.

This setup runs Windows 7 with absolutely no issues whatsoever. I am still amazed at how well it runs.

And this is the same setup I had with Windows XP. In other words, I performed no hardware upgrades whatsoever and know I can use my existing PC for several more years. The only thing I’ll probably do is upgrade the RAM to 4GB because it’s dirt cheap (only about $25) and add in another hard drive. Other than that, there’s really nothing else I need to do, shockingly.

Software

There has only been one software title I couldn’t run, and this was an older video editing suite that specifically states on their home page that there is no Vista version, meaning it won’t run on Windows 7 either.

Everything else has worked. Repeat, everything. And I run a ton of different software, including some really ancient titles such as Paint Shop Pro 7 (nine year old release!) For those interested, I run PSP7 because I just like the speed and I’m used to the way it does image layering.

I do have one major nag however. There is no full-screen command mode. If you launch a command prompt or any older MS-DOS app, then press CTRL+Enter, you’ll get a dialog stating you can’t do it. Bummer.

This is a major nag for me. But if you don’t run any ancient MS-DOS apps, you won’t miss it obviously.

Performance

Outstanding all around. The way Windows 7 threads applications makes apps (for lack of a better term) “breathe” a lot better. Multitasking is improved, startup and shutdown of OS and apps are all improved.

The only time you really see any performance problems is with two specific areas.

First is with gaming. High powered games are slower and there’s no way around it. I do see frame drops periodically.

Second is the “Aero” interface. Ordinarily it’s not a problem, but I have noticed when I have a ton of windows open that the animation does “chop” somewhat. It’s nothing annoying, but noticeable.

Stability

Never have I see apps in Windows run so well. While Firefox chokes on XP (especially with a lot of Flash going on), Win 7 handles it with ease.

I feel much more confident running more things in Win 7 than I ever did in XP. When you use your computer you’re most likely aware of how much stuff you can run before you know it’s going to have a problem. With Win 7 it’s almost like an instant hardware upgrade even if you didn’t touch the hardware at all.

Interface

The one thing you will appreciate most in Win 7 is the ability to search for what you want, finding it, and running it without having to hunt for icons.

Add/Remove Programs for example. Not only can you click the Windows “ball”, type “remove” and find it, but you can also search your programs to find which you want to remove. It’s little touches like this that really set it apart from XP.

The ability to pin/unpin applications to the taskbar is far superior to the old QuickLaunch way XP does it. While QuickLaunch is efficient, Win 7′s way is just better.

In the learning curve department, there’s not much you have to learn or re-learn. Since you can search anything you want in the OS, if you can’t find the icon you just search it (and it will find it). It took me a few days to get used to the way 7 does things, and for most other people maybe about a week.

One thing you will notice is how antiquated XP is after using 7. Yes, XP runs great, no question. But the look and feel of it is decidedly old. When in 7 you really notice this.

Other thoughts

Should you upgrade to Windows 7? If you’ve got the right hardware, yes. And what I mean by that is dual-core processor with at least 2GB RAM on board, a minimum 256MB video card and a SATA connected hard disk drive (I believe you would notice too much choke with IDE).

Will you be stuck learning this new OS while you try to work on it? No. You will get along with it just fine.

Will there be old apps that don’t work on 7? Possibly, but not many. My nine-year-old Paint Shop Pro application is proof enough that yes, 7 can run really old stuff.

Will there be other apps that don’t work on 7? The only ones I can think of where you would have a legitimate problem are older ultra-proprietary programs made for printers and digital cameras, such as stuff made by Sony, Canon, HP and so on. Fortunately since Windows 7 has such as huge driver base (including accessing the internet on its own easily to get them with your permission), you may not even that old crappy software.

How do you know if a driver will work with 7? Just look for the “Windows Vista” driver. If it exists, it will work with 7. Easily. Once again, Win 7 does have a huge driver base. Odds are it will already “know” what you have without the need for third-party downloads. But if you have to, just look for the Vista stuff.

In closing, I am absolutely staying with 7. No question. It runs fantastic. I get more things done with it. It works, period.