To Windows 7 or not?

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VTX1800N1

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Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
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I've got an old Gateway laptop running Vista (original OS) and it's time to wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything again. This is obviously not a gaming laptop, I just use it for Internet/Business apps. I downloaded the upgrade test from Microsoft and it meets all the requirements, but what I want to know is whether Win 7 will run noticeably slower than Vista on this system. All the stats are listed below. Since I'm wiping and reinstalling, now would be the time to get 'er done if I'm going to. Upgrade worth the $$ or not?


Component Details Subscore Base score
Processor AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-52 4.6 2.8
Determined by lowest subscore

Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB 5.9
Graphics ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 2.8
Gaming graphics 831 MB Total available graphics memory 3.1
Primary hard disk 22GB Free (149GB Total) 4.7
Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium

System
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manufacturer Gateway
Model MT6452
Total amount of system memory 2.00 GB RAM
System type 32-bit operating system
Number of processor cores 2
64-bit capable Yes

Storage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total size of hard disk(s) 149 GB
Disk partition (C:) 22 GB Free (149 GB Total)
Media drive (D:) CD/DVD

Graphics
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Display adapter type ATI Radeon Xpress 1150
Total available graphics memory 831 MB
Dedicated graphics memory 128 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 703 MB
Display adapter driver version 8.331.0.0
Primary monitor resolution 1280x800
DirectX version DirectX 9.0 or better

Network
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8187 Wireless 802.11b/g 54Mbps USB 2.0 Network Adapter
Network Adapter Microsoft Tun Miniport Adapter
 
Yeah, I would move that to Win 7 x64 in a heartbeat. You may benefit from adding a little RAM depending on how you use it, but it will probably be faster on 7 than it is now on Vista.
 
Second question- Windows says my processor is 64-bit capable. What benefit, if any, would I see on this system by going to a 64-Bit OS? What problems would that cause? I have an old HP laserjet network printer that I suspect would be the most problematic piece of hardware in this scenario.
 
I've never seen a decently specked Vista machine be any faster than a similarly specked 7 machine myself. If the laptop only had 1GB of ram, then I would but at 2GB, Vista and 7 are pretty close.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you were unhappy with the performance. It's not like going to 7 would blow your doors off though. I would only consider it if your looking at the new features.
 
I can't add any more ram- slots are full and AFAIK, it can only take 1 Gb modules.
 
bigdogchris said:
I've never seen a decently specked Vista machine be any faster than a similarly specked 7 machine myself. If the laptop only had 1GB of ram, then I would but at 2GB, Vista and 7 are pretty close.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you were unhappy with the performance. It's not like going to 7 would blow your doors off though. I would only consider it if your looking at the new features.
Click to expand...

Well, I just played around with a Win7 machine the other day and like the look and feel better than Vista. That was the only reason I was considering the switch at this time.
 
VTX1800N1 said:
Second question- Windows says my processor is 64-bit capable. What benefit, if any, would I see on this system by going to a 64-Bit OS? What problems would that cause? I have an old HP laserjet network printer that I suspect would be the most problematic piece of hardware in this scenario.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't, but most people here just have hardons for the most [H] thing possible, even if there is no benefit, so I'm probably going to be the only person saying no. 64 bit OS does use more ram than 32 bit. And even though it's almost fully compatible with 32 bit software, it's still not as compatible as 32 bit Windows.

The only benefit that 99% of people see in 64 bit OSes is memory addressing over 4GB. If you will never have more than 4GB in a machine, I would and do put 32 bit OS on it.
 
bigdogchris said:
I wouldn't, but most people here just have hardons for the most [H] thing possible, even if there is no benefit, so I'm probably going to be the only person saying no. 64 bit OS does use more ram than 32 bit. And even though it's almost fully compatible with 32 bit software, it's still not as compatible as 32 bit Windows.

The only benefit that 99% of people see in 64 bit OSes is memory addressing over 4GB. If you will never have more than 4GB in a machine, I would and do put 32 bit OS on it.
Click to expand...

I'd say that you go 64bit unless there's an specific unsolvable reason why you MUST absolutely use 32 bit windows.
 
Windows 7 x86 on that machine in the OP will run absolutely fantastic, I can't see a "need" to put x64 on there for any reason, there are no big benefits from it on that exact configuration - x86 will be the best choice overall.

If the OP does have some older hardware, there is the potential driver issue with a given device not being supported which can and does happen.

x86 is the way to go, and yes it'll run better and smoother than Vista will on the same hardware because of some of the improvements made in Windows 7.

Go for it...
 
Joe Average said:
Windows 7 x86 on that machine in the OP will run absolutely fantastic, I can't see a "need" to put x64 on there for any reason, there are no big benefits from it on that exact configuration - x86 will be the best choice overall.

If the OP does have some older hardware, there is the potential driver issue with a given device not being supported which can and does happen.

x86 is the way to go, and yes it'll run better and smoother than Vista will on the same hardware because of some of the improvements made in Windows 7.

Go for it...
Click to expand...

Wouldn't a 64-bit OS take better advantage of the dual-core CPU, or does that not matter? Forgive me a bit here, I haven't paid much attention to hardware/software advances for a few years- been busy with family/career.
 
Compatablity issues w/x64 are few and far between now days and there are a growing list of apps out there that take advantage of it. That said, it's probably not going to make much of a difference, unless you have plans to increase RAM over the 4GB 32-bit limitation. If you're buying a new OS though, unless you have a specific app you use with issues, there's very little reason to not go with an x64 platform.

Personally 7's advanced UI is worth the upgrade to me, but that's a personal thing.
 
No, the basic gist of 64-bit computing is two-fold (literally, as it so happens):

1) It allows for > 4GB of system RAM being usable, where a 32-bit OS will "cap out" at about 3.25GB usable. On Windows there are ways to gain access to that "non-system managed" RAM however, using tools like a RAMdisk (only certain RAMdisk drivers can do this, however - SuperSpeed.com's RamDisk Plus is one) so it's still useful for some purposes, but the actual OS and applications can't ever make use of that as system RAM.

2) 64-bit basically means that data can be processed in chunks that are twice as wide as 32-bit data, and that's about it. Now, that doesn't mean a 64-bit OS is "twice as fast" because there are other ramifications and stuff going on, so don't think something like a video encoder that's 64-bit will encode twice as fast as the 32-bit version of the same encoder. It just means the 64-bit encoder is slightly more efficient and typically results in a 10-20% "boost" in the processing speed - nowhere near twice as fast, but every little bit (no pun intended) helps.

A 64-bit OS is just more efficient at everyday tasks, even when they're using 32-bit apps since the OS itself and the drivers are all working more efficiently in terms of the processing.

That's about it. There's no legitimate reason to use a 64-bit OS with 2GB of RAM unless a) you really want to or b) you'd like to experiment with some 32-bit and 64-bit apps and find out how much of a difference there is for yourself.

A lot of benchmarks are available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions nowadays, so you can always check out how the stuff works for yourself and see it's roughly 10-20% difference between the two in terms of actual work being done/how quickly.

I'd still recommend x86 for that machine, always.
 
VTX1800N1 said:
Wouldn't a 64-bit OS take better advantage of the dual-core CPU, or does that not matter? Forgive me a bit here, I haven't paid much attention to hardware/software advances for a few years- been busy with family/career.
Click to expand...

Unless you are going to be running software that requires a 64-bit OS on that machine I wouldn't really worry about switching to 64-bit. The OS will also use a bit more RAM if you switch to 64-bit. edit - If you have more than 3GB of RAM... then it is better to go to 64-bit.

As for going from Vista to 7.. I probably wouldn't spend the money to do it on that laptop.

Vista has come a long way since it was first released. There really isn't any reason to switch.. especially on a laptop.

The built in defragmenter program is a bit better than the Vista one... but MyDefrag still kicks
Windows 7 defragger's butt.
 
x64 versions of Windows have more security, including protection against root kits (kernel patchguard + signed driver requirements) and more thorough usage of things like DEP in the kernel. I install x64 always, even on systems with 2GBs the extra security is worth it, and I haven't found really anything that won't run on x64, but then, I don't use old scanners and printers and tv tuners, etc.
 
VTX1800N1 said:
Second question- Windows says my processor is 64-bit capable. What benefit, if any, would I see on this system by going to a 64-Bit OS? What problems would that cause? I have an old HP laserjet network printer that I suspect would be the most problematic piece of hardware in this scenario.
Click to expand...

Windows most likely has the driver for that printer built in, and would install it automagically. If in doubt, search for the printer on HP's support page and see if they provide a Windows 7 driver. I'm betting it'll work just fine.
 
Windows Upgrade Advisor says that it doesn't know if my printers will have drivers or not, but says that the built in Texas Instruments Card reader driver's are not compatible. It doesn't say whether there are any out there that will work.
 
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imyourzero said:
Windows most likely has the driver for that printer built in, and would install it automagically. If in doubt, search for the printer on HP's support page and see if they provide a Windows 7 driver. I'm betting it'll work just fine.
Click to expand...

It has an internal Jetway ethernet print server, which was a real pain to find drivers for under Vista. HPL 6 Univeral Print Driver or some such thing.
 
If you already have the install media you could run windows 7 for a 30 day trial to see if everything will work. If you don't like it or can't get a driver for something then just put Vista back on. All you do is do the install and leave the product code blank. That way you haven't used your product code or activated and can use that Windows 7 disk (Product code) on another PC in the future if you want with no hassles.
 
I would say the cost just isn't worth it to upgrade to 7. You really aren't getting much more then that new feel you explained and even that subsides a bit after. I run both on a daily basis and find both to have advantages, but my personal preference is actually still Vista. Even after that 7 wow factor. Also, keep in mind that Windows 8 may come out later this year or early next. (or never since it is all really just rumors) Do you really want an unnecessary update before seeing what that can do?
 
Gilthanis said:
I would say the cost just isn't worth it to upgrade to 7. You really aren't getting much more then that new feel you explained and even that subsides a bit after. I run both on a daily basis and find both to have advantages, but my personal preference is actually still Vista. Even after that 7 wow factor. Also, keep in mind that Windows 8 may come out later this year or early next. (or never since it is all really just rumors) Do you really want an unnecessary update before seeing what that can do?
Click to expand...

I tought i was crazy thinking the same about Vista and 7, now all the computers in my place run 7HP x64, but i think they lag a bit on some tasks, ...whatever.

OP, backup windows activation, and the drivers folder, then get a .iso of Vista with SP2, perform a clean install, restore cert and license, and load the drivers form the backed up drivers folder, and that computer will run better or at least as good as new.
 
devil22 said:
x64 versions of Windows have more security, including protection against root kits (kernel patchguard + signed driver requirements) and more thorough usage of things like DEP in the kernel. I install x64 always, even on systems with 2GBs the extra security is worth it, and I haven't found really anything that won't run on x64, but then, I don't use old scanners and printers and tv tuners, etc.
Click to expand...


I moved to x64 Windows 7 from x32 Vista on my old 2GB laptop specifically because of this.

If there are 32 bit Windows 7 drivers for your hardware, there will be x64 drivers for it as well.
 
Win 7 probably isn't worth the money if you're upgrading from Vista, unless you're running into problems with Vista. Vista can run very well when patched up all the way, but Windows 7 will likely run better (yes, better) and will be more stable. There are a few features in 7 that are worth having too (IMO, the new resource monitor is amazing).

So, I wouldn't worry about 7 slowing down the PC further. It's got some amazing memory management tweaks that allow it to perform better on PCs with limited memory. But I'd only drop the cash on the OS if Vista is driving you nuts.
 
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