Windows 7 RC Useful for 13 Months

[eddieroolz]

I WOULD install Windows 7 RC on my desktop, but my game saves would be wiped, and that's something I wouldn't want to happen.

Ah. Maybe when I reformat it sometime in June. Then Windows 7 RC will be on this machine.

 

[JeanLuc]

Is it just me or have Microsoft been worryingly charitable as of late? Microsoft being kind makes me a bit nervous.

 

[anonymous x]

13 and 7... how ironic
anyways i will be definitely be downloading the rc on cinco de mayo

 

[enforcer22]

[citation][nom]ivorycruncher[/nom]Had 7 and went back to Vista? I suppose if Blu-ray was a problem, then it was necessary, but I'm surprised you didn't see a major performance boost. I have an AMD 9850BE quad-core box with 4GB of RAM. I had Vista 32-bit Ultimate on it, and have now put on Windows 7 x64 in a dual-boot configuration. It's possible that upgrading to 64-bit had something to do with it, but my computer is now so fast, I doubt I will ever go back to my Vista partition. If anything, when the RTM release comes out, I'll wipe out my Vista partition and install it there to convert over from the beta/RC build. Other than a single BSOD I got trying to enable the Crystalizer in the Sound Blaster X-Fi driver (which I blame on the beta driver, not Windows itself), I haven't had any trouble at all getting all my apps and hardware to work with it.[/citation]

I have vista ultimate 64. one major reason for your speed boost was moving to 64 bit. i used xp 32 adn 64 on the same comp and it was amasing how much faster 64 bit was over 32 bit. As far as a speed difference from vista to 7 i expect none personaly.

 

[ivorycruncher]

I have vista ultimate 64. one major reason for your speed boost was moving to 64 bit. i used xp 32 adn 64 on the same comp and it was amasing how much faster 64 bit was over 32 bit. As far as a speed difference from vista to 7 i expect none personaly.

I beg to differ on not seeing a speed boost. I've installed Windows 7 32-bit on machines that previously had Vista 32-bit, and there was quite a noticeable improvement in speed. Case in point, a Dell Optiplex GX280 I used at my last job, wuth a P4 2.8GHz single core CPU and 2GB of RAM. Vista ran like a dog on that thing, but when I installed the Windows 7 beta, it because actually usable again. Trust me, they haven't been doing nothing the past 3+ years in the performance department. Granted, the speed increase will probably be more noticeable on older, slower PCs, but it's there no matter what.

Seriously guys, give Windows 7 a chance. It's not another blunder like Vista. This is a serious product, which performs very well and is years beyond XP in security, plus it has new features that make it easier than ever for consumers to install and configure hardware and peripherals. Try it and see the changes for yourself before you judge it.

 

[enforcer22]

I didnt say it didnt have a speed boost i just said i doubt it. Vista was no blunder for me i personaly love the OS and ill be getting windows 7 when it comes out. The only problem i have ever had with vista was how they had sound controls. It always set my mic to lin in as the source and the only way i could ever change it was on my soundblaster extras software. On every other comp that has no sound blaster i had to just say screw it and get a usb headset cuz i for the life of me cannot get a mic to work on vista. other then that i have had no issues at all running vista. I hope windows 7 adds on to all the nice things vista has.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Finally, good strategy from Microsoft. Given the, umm, widespread hesitation of more serious users to adopt Vista, Microsoft is letting us kick the tires and test drive in hopes that we will actually like one of their releases, instead of being forced into it.

 

[Jien Malti]

[citation][nom]ivorycruncher[/nom]Had 7 and went back to Vista? I suppose if Blu-ray was a problem, then it was necessary, but I'm surprised you didn't see a major performance boost. I have an AMD 9850BE quad-core box with 4GB of RAM. I had Vista 32-bit Ultimate on it, and have now put on Windows 7 x64 in a dual-boot configuration. It's possible that upgrading to 64-bit had something to do with it, but my computer is now so fast, I doubt I will ever go back to my Vista partition. If anything, when the RTM release comes out, I'll wipe out my Vista partition and install it there to convert over from the beta/RC build. Other than a single BSOD I got trying to enable the Crystalizer in the Sound Blaster X-Fi driver (which I blame on the beta driver, not Windows itself), I haven't had any trouble at all getting all my apps and hardware to work with it.[/citation]

Totally, 64 bit is the way to go if you got the hardware headroom. I used to run Vista 32 bit with 2gb ram. I purchased 4gb and run Vista 64 bit. The thing just flies, no headaches, no freezing, no problems at all. Boot-up is just a bit slow, but my pc is loaded with crapware at startup (skype, msn, xfire, webcamthing, sidebar, rocketdock, x-fi software, garena and hamachi)

 

[harshahorizon]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm looks like MS trying to wipe out their bad memories....... sneaky

 

[wizyy]

I don't think I will install this. I love my Vista 64-bit, never had any problems, and I suspect Windows 7 is getting high praise ONLY from regular users because of lack of default nagging UAC and faster system start (which is really nothing important).

 

[ivorycruncher]

I don't think I will install this. I love my Vista 64-bit, never had any problems, and I suspect Windows 7 is getting high praise ONLY from regular users because of lack of default nagging UAC and faster system start (which is really nothing important).

*sigh* I wasn't going to respond to this thread anymore, but I really hate it when people make stupid assumptions like this, thinking they know everything. I am anything BUT a "regular user." I was building PCs before I was out of high school, and have been doing IT work ever since, through college (workstudy program) and beyond. I have about 5 PCs of various vintage in my place right now, all custom built by yours truly (except the laptop). Two of the newest ones and the laptop were previously running Vista, and now they are running Windows 7 RC. Even when sticking with 32-bit Windows 7, the performance improvements are remarkable, and I'm not just talking about bootup time and UAC improvements. Everything about it just feels snappier and more responsive, things that used to lag no longer do, and Aero is more fluid then ever. In case you didn't know (or forgot), Microsoft has made performance the #1 top priority in their development of Windows 7.

If Vista works fine for you, then go ahead and wait until the final release of Windows 7 is up for sale, but trust me, you WILL want to upgrade to it once it's out. I suspect that while XP may still linger on a while, Vista sales will die very, very quickly after the release of Windows 7. It really is just that good.

 

[wizyy]

@ivorycruncher: (don't like quoting long posts)

You're right, it's just an assumption of mine, but to call it "stupid" is an insult.
But nevermind that, you made certain points, which other people who claim to have used Windows 7 beta did not. I am also in IT business for a long time (since 1994) and I have seen many versions, and it was ALWAYS the same thing: people dissing newer Windows and praising old (and a year later, LAUGHING at people still using older one).
Then Vista came, culminated this trend (adding its own huge blunder that is UAC), and a year later still not getting enough praise (in my opinion, reason is not being such a leap forward like WinXp to Win98)
This though, such unanimous high opinion from beta testers - is a surprising thing, but I was (and I still am) afraid it's only a response to a "cleaner" Windows to a bit of a resource hog that is Vista.
"Snappier" response sounds good, but if I can't see more than that, it cannot make me (an older guy) waste some time and energy installing it in a moment, when there is little support for various hardware I use. Vista brought DirectX10 (sadly, supported very little by software companies), Readyboost and Aero. What Windows 7 REALLY brings us? I'm afraid it brings us nothing much, but effort to take back customers driven away by long bootup and UAC.

P.S.
I WILL try it out though, WHEN I have some spare time

 

[ivorycruncher]

You're right, I shouldn't have called it stupid, and I apologize for that.

That aside, hearing "such unanimous high opinion from beta testers" should tell you something. This version of Windows is so much more than a cleanup of Vista. In Vista, much appeared to have been changed simply for the sake of change, and a lot of it didn't make much sense, or really offer any new benefit. Although Windows 7 is not perfect, you can definitely see changes that work towards a goal of truly making the OS more user-friendly. There are LOTS of new features in it. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say they're innovations, but they are definitely much-needed and long-overdue features that are a welcome sight for sore eyes.

The new hardware/peripheral management features alone almost make it worth the upgrade. They are really striving to develop a true plug-n-play environment, where you never have to worry about installing special software for a peripheral. You just plug it in, and it works. Linking bluetooth devices used to be very tedious, but Windows 7 found my generic bluetooth transceiver automatically, and the add hardware wizard treated my bluetooth devices just like any other peripheral, making for an effortless installation that didn't require any clumsy third-party software. And the interface for installing, configuring, and troubleshooting all your hardware and peripherals is very clean and user-friendly (unlike the Device Manager).

Also, multimedia is a big focus with the new Windows Media Player and Media Center apps better than ever. Plus, support for many newer audio/video codecs is now built-in, including the H.264 video codec, which means you typically won't have to go searching for codecs to install, which can be a nightmare for some typical users who don't even know what a codec is. This is definitely the version of Windows you want for a home theater PC.

So, there is MUCH more to Windows 7 than just cheap tricks to try and win back users who got disgusted with Vista. With Vista behind them, they've had over 3 years to really take it to a new level. Honestly, I was probably as skeptical as you were until the first time I installed the beta, at which point I got blown away by how good it was already. Please do try it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. =)