Windows 7 RC Confusion!

[erthwormal]

I have been tearing the internet apart and calling my friends non-stop trying to find out some information about the W7 RC but keep getting conflicting information. I'm hoping this will help.

Here the deal:

-The release date of W7 is october 22nd 2009 but Windows says the RC doesn't start shutting down every 2 hours until March 1, 2010. So this means that I can use the RC uninterrupted until I buy the OS at launch? or am I understanding that incorrectly and my OS will shut down every 2 hours if I start now?

-Assuming the result of my first question is that I can use the RC uninterrupted, will I have to but the full version of W7 or just an upgrade?

-Lastly, I am building a PC with an AMD Phenom II X4 3.00GHz processor with 4 GB DDR3 1333 ram, do I want 32bit or 64bit? (I plan of cross-firing my GPU's at one point in the future if that makes any difference)

I will happily take any flames and noob-casting that can be expected with asking questions like I just did as long as I get an answer too. 😉
I have everything all lined up on my compy but the OS and want to get it figured out ASAP while I can still get a free W7 upgrade if I have to get Vista

 

[Ijack]

You can install the RC now without it shutting down every two hours. Loads of people are doing so. Accourding to this link you will be able to upgrade the RC to the released version. But note that this may not apply in Europe.

I would say that you should go for the 64-bit version. There are very few programs of devices that don't work properly now with the 64-bit version, and I expect these will soon be updated. IMO 32-bit versions of Windows will disappear in the foreseeable future.

 

[huron]

Thanks for the update ijack. I also knew you could keep the RC, but hadn't heard too much word about it being upgradeable. I thought at one point you'd have to reinstall - that would have been a bummer.

Another +1 for x64 - more memory utilization, plus the app/driver support is much better (I've been x64 since XP Pro x64 and it's light years ahead now).

 

[nachowarrior]

You could just get the latest rtm build (the proper search term can be found in toms news articles easily). That's what i have, you can use that up to 120 days, with the rearm trick until there is a crack or you buy the full on OS. x64 version works fine so far, that's what i'm running. MCE keeps locking up but i think that's a combination of the crappy clearQAM signal i'm getting and poor drivers from hauppauge (locks up with win drivers and hauppauge drivers) anyway. it plays other stuff fine. x86 os' should not be made anymore IMO. at least not for the public sector. mfg's and what not, probably, but not for general computing.

 

[Bolbi]

I have been tearing the internet apart and calling my friends non-stop trying to find out some information about the W7 RC but keep getting conflicting information. I'm hoping this will help.

Here the deal:

-The release date of W7 is october 22nd 2009 but Windows says the RC doesn't start shutting down every 2 hours until March 1, 2010. So this means that I can use the RC uninterrupted until I buy the OS at launch? or am I understanding that incorrectly and my OS will shut down every 2 hours if I start now?

-Assuming the result of my first question is that I can use the RC uninterrupted, will I have to but the full version of W7 or just an upgrade?

-Lastly, I am building a PC with an AMD Phenom II X4 3.00GHz processor with 4 GB DDR3 1333 ram, do I want 32bit or 64bit? (I plan of cross-firing my GPU's at one point in the future if that makes any difference)

I will happily take any flames and noob-casting that can be expected with asking questions like I just did as long as I get an answer too. 😉
I have everything all lined up on my compy but the OS and want to get it figured out ASAP while I can still get a free W7 upgrade if I have to get Vista

ijack and huron are right that you should go 64-bit. Especially if you have multiple GPUs, you will need the extra address space to utilize your 4GB of RAM.
About the RC being upgradeable, it is possible but not recommended. You can legally use the upgrade version of Win7 to upgrade the RC to the final version. But the only natively supported option is to do a clean install with the disk, in which all data from the RC is moved into a folder called "windows.old". The only way to do a true upgrade install is to taken an image of the upgrade disk, open it up with a program like 7-zip, modify the file "cversion.ini" per the instructions here, repack it all as an ISO, and burn that to a disk. Rather involved, I'd say
And finally, the RC will be fully functional until March 1, 2010. Even after that it's officially "functional", you just can't have it running for more than 2 hours at a time!

 

[erthwormal]

So This leads to the question of opinion. Should I use the RC now and reformat when the final product is released or stick with vista for the short while which comes with a free upgrade to W7 when that happens so I don't lose all my stuff?


The following link is the copy I would get with the free upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

 

[Bolbi]

In your case, I think the best option would be to buy Vista w/Tech Guarantee. While hacking the upgrade to go from the Win7 RC to final might work, you could easily get stuck because of lack of official support and potential incompatibilities. It's pretty certain that the Vista to Win7 final upgrade will be heavily tested and made to work well.
Vista w/Tech Guarantee costs $110. The RC is free, but the Win7 upgrade disk costs $120. So Vista w/Tech Guarantee is cheaper as well.
Using the RC now and then reformatting to install Win7 final would result in the slimmest and trimmest OS, with no leftover files and bloat from Vista that might be left behind during an upgrade. This is also a cheaper option. I don't know how much Win7 OEM will cost, but it will probably be close to Vista ($100).
I don't know your situation, but if you really don't need a new computer right now, you could wait until Oct. 22nd and just buy and install the OEM version.
(OEM is what you would install on a new computer; upgrade version, well, upgrades an earlier and/or lower qualifying version of Windows. Win7 upgrade version will work w/RC, though as I mentioned it requires a hack to truly upgrade instead of doing a clean install.)