Windows 10 Minimum Resolution Outguns Windows 8.1

CommanderFrank

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Microsoft must have noticed how many low resolution tablets, notebooks and netbooks that had been excluded from upgrading to Windows 8/8.1. The remedy this oversight, Microsoft changed the minimum resolution requirements to run Windows 10.

At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in China, the company confirmed that Windows 10 desktop PCs will only need a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels in order to run the new OS, according to PC World.
 
Progress! lol

I don't think that really changes the low end much. Many of the cheapest Android tablets use LCDs with 800x480 resolution. The 800x600 minimum requirement is more likely to work better on 1024x600 resolution devices, and as a handy resolution for native 800x600 projectors.
 
They'll be a zero day hack for that I'm sure. Just like the old days people running windows with RAM lower than the minimum spec.
 
Progress! lol

I don't think that really changes the low end much. Many of the cheapest Android tablets use LCDs with 800x480 resolution. The 800x600 minimum requirement is more likely to work better on 1024x600 resolution devices, and as a handy resolution for native 800x600 projectors.

I think the main point of here is to get Windows on cheaper devices than even today.
 
But could Win10 run on such an old device? Don't know the system requirement but it's likely more than Win7. Most crappy netbook that have this kind of resolution probably wouldn't be able to run Win10 anyway. Correct me if wrong.
 
But could Win10 run on such an old device? Don't know the system requirement but it's likely more than Win7. Most crappy netbook that have this kind of resolution probably wouldn't be able to run Win10 anyway. Correct me if wrong.

Perhaps not with older Atom systems. I'm thinking this is about getting Windows 10 onto new x86 devices that are for Android but that could also run Windows. That already happening.
 
I'll only game at 800x600. This is good news for me.

Unless you are specifically talking about very old games I'm going to call BS. First very few modern games even play at that resolution. Second I find it hard to believe that you still game on a monitor that small and last it is just plain dumb given you literally negatively impact your FOV.


As for Win 10 supporting this resolution, I really don't see the point. There is no modern device that is capable and should be running win 10 that cannot support at minimum 1024x768 and realistically 720P (hell even my phone which is old as shit runs 720). This just sits squarely in the category of supporting hardware that frankly has no business being used.
 
You mean like older point of sale systems that are still running on decade-old hardware?

I swear the ATMs at our bank are running Windows XP...
 
800x600. Those were the days. 1999, I think I upgraded to 1024x768. :D
 
You mean like older point of sale systems that are still running on decade-old hardware?

I swear the ATMs at our bank are running Windows XP...

Actually CRTs just before flat displays killed them off were running better resolutions than flats have now, if you paid for it. Prices were on the way down, though too.
 
They'll be a zero day hack for that I'm sure. Just like the old days people running windows with RAM lower than the minimum spec.

I have a box full of broken netbooks that I'd use to install Windows 7 on. It ran perfectly fine even though it was below spec. Biggest issue was vertical resolution. Some dialogues were larger than 600px.
 
But could Win10 run on such an old device? Don't know the system requirement but it's likely more than Win7. Most crappy netbook that have this kind of resolution probably wouldn't be able to run Win10 anyway. Correct me if wrong.

The minimal specs haven't changed since Vista. The bigger issue would be if there's WDDM drivers for older systems. in Vista and 7 you could use XDDM (XP) drivers for graphics, 8 removed that support.
 
Unless you are specifically talking about very old games I'm going to call BS. First very few modern games even play at that resolution. Second I find it hard to believe that you still game on a monitor that small and last it is just plain dumb given you literally negatively impact your FOV.

Nope. 100% god's honest truth. You can hear the coil whine from my 980 down the street as I blast out Far Cry 4 at 2500fps.
 
Actually CRTs just before flat displays killed them off were running better resolutions than flats have now, if you paid for it. Prices were on the way down, though too.
The highest resolution available for CRT's was 2048x1536. Your average 27-30" 1440p or higher monitor has more pixels, not to mention 4k.

If you meant they had better resolutions than the flats of the times, then yes you are correct.
 
The highest resolution available for CRT's was 2048x1536. Your average 27-30" 1440p or higher monitor has more pixels, not to mention 4k.

If you meant they had better resolutions than the flats of the times, then yes you are correct.

No he is talking about the trend in the last 5+ years of LCD monitors topping out at 1080. Almost like they just got caught up in the "HD" media fad. Anything higher was rare and at a premium.

Even now go to newegg and you will find 999+ for 1080 res monitors... 300 or so 2k... under 100 4k.

Many CRTs could run 1200 back in the day.

Thankfully my eyes have gotten older so larger screens at 1080 is just perfect for me:)


Basically computers got caught up in the "HD" revolution.
 
Actually CRTs just before flat displays killed them off were running better resolutions than flats have now, if you paid for it. Prices were on the way down, though too.

What I don't miss about analog displays are having to adjust pincushion, trapezoid, slant, width, height, etc and it still never being perfect. And then you'd have to do it again for every different resolution.
 
The minimal specs haven't changed since Vista. The bigger issue would be if there's WDDM drivers for older systems. in Vista and 7 you could use XDDM (XP) drivers for graphics, 8 removed that support.
Windows 8 also added a reasonably fast generic software-accelerated video driver.

Windows 7 would have to drop back to the Basic UI on such machines (if you could even get the XP driver to load). 8 has no such problem.
 
XDDM should be added back in for older systems to be able to upgrade with built in embedded graphics. I know systems that work in windows 7 but not in windows 8. Who wants to run software accelerated graphics. Thats slow and it sucks in general for online usage. Maybe just for word processing but thats it.
 
quick, where's my Ahh jeez not this shit again jpeg?

Waiting for all the corporate web based apps to shringk back to 800x600 form their current glory of 1024x768.

*sigh*
 
Unless you are specifically talking about very old games I'm going to call BS. First very few modern games even play at that resolution. Second I find it hard to believe that you still game on a monitor that small and last it is just plain dumb given you literally negatively impact your FOV.

I sometimes play at 800x600 on my 21" as my monitor supports 192Hz at that res. Though I usually am at 960x720@160Hz, 1280x960@120Hz, 1600x1200@100Hz, and for some things, 2304x1728@70Hz.
 
What I don't miss about analog displays are having to adjust pincushion, trapezoid, slant, width, height, etc and it still never being perfect. And then you'd have to do it again for every different resolution.

At least you can use different resolutions without horrible scaling, unlike LCDs.
 
XDDM should be added back in for older systems to be able to upgrade with built in embedded graphics.
I honestly don't see the problem with using Windows 8's generic VGA driver on graphics cards that don't have WDDM support.

At the resolutions netbooks use, it's plenty-fast.
 
800x600 eh?

Hmm so it'll still have menus with selection boxes at the bottom that are 700 pixels deep.

They giveth with one hand...
 
If she is on a CRT, high refresh rates. My monitor will do 192Hz at 800x600.

He is not on a CRT. Not far off though, actually... like four years ago I was rocking dual 15" monitors. I just got a 1080p monitor months ago.
 
It was really fucking stupid for microsoft to not support 720p in windows 8.1

Xbox Games, cant handle 720p screen
Xbox Music, cant handle 720p screen
Youtube, cant handle 720p screen
Netflix, cant handle 720p screen

Idiotic
 
I have an old computer connected to a CRT monitor. With 800x600, I might try out Windows 10. Otherwise, I find even on a 17 inch monitor, higher than 800x600 causes the letters to be way too small to me. I'd need reading glasses.
 
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