Windows 7 (and student discount)

[ZLTFUL]

waaaaay more memory than you'll ever need to use on a desktop system (in your near lifetime).

Not necessarily...I can take up 12gb with one large rendering project...all it takes is a program or program set that actually uses the resources available. Granted, this is not mainstream at all but it is possible.

Back on topic though, been using Win7 since beta day one and love every bit of it. Sure, there were some small hiccups in the beginning but things have smoothed out considerably and now I am running it on everything from my high end desktop to my netbook to my HTPC and just installed it on my work laptop. And all x64. I wouldn't worry too much about peripheral compatability...most hardware manufacturers jumped on the Win7 bandwagon very early on compared to Vista and even XP.

[ZLTFUL]

As a side note, the "XP Compatability Mode" in Win7 works wonderfully in all of my older programs. In fact, I have 3 games that never would run under Vista and even had some issues under Xp Pro but run flawlessly under the compatability mode...

[derby]

Not necessarily...I can take up 12gb with one large rendering project...all it takes is a program or program set that actually uses the resources available. Granted, this is not mainstream at all but it is possible.

i was referring to the high end (16EB), not the low end.

fwiw, microsoft hasn't had an issue addressing >4GB (even up to 128GB) of memory on their 32-bit server products. they just chose not to include that ability in their 32-bit desktop/workstation OS.

[ducatiz]

i was referring to the high end (16EB), not the low end.

fwiw, microsoft hasn't had an issue addressing >4GB (even up to 128GB) of memory on their 32-bit server products. they just chose not to include that ability in their 32-bit desktop/workstation OS.

EXACTLY.. but why would I run server on my desktop?  I know they're essentially teh same kernal..

wait, maybe that's an idea?

[derby]

EXACTLY.. but why would I run server on my desktop?  I know they're essentially teh same kernal..

wait, maybe that's an idea?

http://www.geoffchappell.com/viewer.htm?doc=notes/windows/license/memory.htm

(he gets to hacking around the 4GB limit near the bottom of the article)

[Mad Duc]

Win 7 is the first MS OS that hasn't had major issues for me. It's about time the pull their collective heads out of their asses and built a decent OS.

As a side note, the "XP Compatability Mode" in Win7 works wonderfully in all of my older programs. In fact, I have 3 games that never would run under Vista and even had some issues under Xp Pro but run flawlessly under the compatability mode...

I didn't use it for games but I used it for Hulu. For some reason the first month or so Hulu wouldn't let Win 7 user watch any programs so I used CM and then it worked.

[ducatiz]

Win 7 is the first MS OS that hasn't had major issues for me. It's about time the pull their collective heads out of their asses and built a decent OS.

I wonder if it is true that W7 is just a GUI built on top of a Linux kernel...

[derby]

I wonder if it is true that W7 is just a GUI built on top of a Linux kernel...

highly unlikely.

that said, at least on the server side, they're adopting a less gui-centric design. just about everything is controlled via cli/powershell and the gui is just a front-end for the powershell commands.

[ducatiz]

highly unlikely.

that said, at least on the server side, they're adopting a less gui-centric design. just about everything is controlled via cli/powershell and the gui is just a front-end for the powershell commands.

ah, so it is becoming NetWare...

[derby]

ah, so it is becoming NetWare...

when did netware gain a (proper) gui?



(i bailed at netware 4)

[DesmoDiva]

Bump.

B and I are considering upgrading our laptops from 32 bit XP Pro to 64-bit Win 7.  Sounds like this is a good move. 

Any more input from recent experiences....things to look out for?

I ran the Win 7 upgrade checker and it seems things will be fine.

[derby]

Any more input from recent experiences....things to look out for?

make sure that all your peripherals (printers, etc) have drivers that are supported on 64-bit.

[Monster Dave]

My first thought:

That your system is running XP, have you first run the Win7 comparability test?

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1B544E90-7659-4BD9-9E51-2497C146AF15&displaylang=en

Secondly, when considering 32bit or 64bit OS's, there are a few things go consider:

1) Check to make sure that you're system will fully support a 64bit OS by:

Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.

Click View and print details.

In the System section, you can see what type of operating system you're currently running under System type. Under 64-bit capable, you can see whether you can run a 64-bit version of Windows. (If your computer is already running a 64-bit version of Windows, you won't see the 64-bit capable listing.)

2) What are the limits of your motherboards memory capacity? If you are limited to 2 or 4GB, then a 64bit OS won't really show much performance difference. Some of that difference also depends on the speed/type of your memory (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc...)

3) What are your future computing plans? If you plan on upgrading your system anytime in the near future, I'd go ahead and get the 64bit OS because mostly all new systems fully support 64bit anyway.


Good luck! I hope that helps!

[DesmoDiva]

Thanks Derby and Dave.

Already checked for peripheral support.   

For Dave:

I ran the Win 7 upgrade checker and it seems things will be fine.

1.  I don't understand your instructions.  I have my control panel in "classic" view so maybe my icons are different.   

2.  I have 8GB capacity of DDR3 memory

3.  My future computing plans are just to continue using it as I do now; internet, AutoCAD, Microstation, Adobe Creative Suite...More intensive 3D renderings are in the future.  B is an architect and I'm an architectural designer.  This will be my work station for all of the projects we are doing.  Have a 23" monitor on the way to run dual screens.

[Monster Dave]

Thanks Derby and Dave.

Already checked for peripheral support.  

For Dave:

1.  I don't understand your instructions.  I have my control panel in "classic" view so maybe my icons are different.  

2.  I have 8GB capacity of DDR3 memory

3.  My future computing plans are just to continue using it as I do now; internet, AutoCAD, Microstation, Adobe Creative Suite...More intensive 3D renderings are in the future.  B is an architect and I'm an architectural designer.  This will be my work station for all of the projects we are doing.  Have a 23" monitor on the way to run dual screens.

Diva,

Sorry about that, I put that directions in really quick from my system and didn't think about them being different than yours. The instructions that I gave are for Vista and up. Sorry. I don't think it's information so easily available in XP - sorry.  

If you right click on "my computer" and click on properties can you tell me what it says about your system processor? I can help you determine from there. Also, how large is your hard drive capacity? You certainly have enough memory, and the capacity alone (meaning more than 4GBs) leads me to believe that you are able to run 64bit OS. 32bit systems can't take advantage of more than 4GBs or memory.


For those who aren't certain and are running Vista you can follow these instrctions to find out:

http://www.winvistatips.com/tell-if-you-can-run-vista-64-bit-t157587.html