Windows 7 good or bad

Should i upgrade??

  • Yes ofcourse

    Votes: 325 97.9%

  • No it has many errors still stick with vista

    Votes: 7 2.1%
  • Total voters
    332
undertheradar said:
Huh? Your receiver only DECODES what it is sent. If you dont run VISTA, you dont get DTS, which means your audio cant pump out DTS to the receiver in the first place. You cant put a DTS receiver on a non-DTS PC and somehow get DTS out of it.



Uh, DTS is not Dolby. Its totally different... many would argue a superior encoding as well.

Me personally, I could never get Vista to work for long. For some reason, the browzer would stop working (non responsive) after some months. I could never get my Samsung printer to work with it, not to mention Spore for some reason. Tried both 32 and 64 bit versions... no difference. Tried an AMD rig, then an i7... no difference. I have Windows 7 on another drive, but I am actually typing this on XP...lol.

Shall we compare XP to Win 7?
Click to expand...

...what do you mean, EXACTLY, by saying Windows 7 doesn't support DTS? My PC can both decode and passthrough DTS to my receiver, as is evident by the big, red "DTS" light that comes alive when the receiver is reproducing DTS-encoded sound over S/PDIF. Also, I think the excellent 5.1 channel sound I get when watching DD and DTS encoded movies is a tell-tale sign of DTS working properly in Windows 7.
 
undertheradar said:
If you dont run VISTA, you dont get DTS
Click to expand...
A quick Google search would tell you that's incorrect.

I can confirm that DTS works fine on 7. I'm using the Creative DTS connect pack on my Windows 7 HTPC.

Me personally, I could never get Vista to work for long. For some reason, the browzer would stop working (non responsive) after some months. I could never get my Samsung printer to work with it, not to mention Spore for some reason. Tried both 32 and 64 bit versions... no difference. Tried an AMD rig, then an i7... no difference. I have Windows 7 on another drive, but I am actually typing this on XP...lol.

Shall we compare XP to Win 7?
Click to expand...
Somehow I doubt you've ever actually used Vista or 7. :rolleyes:
 
I think it's obvious that undertheradar is just spewing BS and doesn't know what they're talking about. Lets put it this way: If I couldn't reproduce 5.1 channel sound from my PC (be it Dolby Digital or DTS) using Windows 7, then I wouldn't be using Windows 7. In fact, I'd hate the OS. Audio is THAT important to me.

I'm also sure that the huge number of HTPC users who have W7 on their box would be FURIOUS.

But that ain't the case, because Windows 7 handles all of the primary surround sound types/signals just fine, given the right codecs are installed. They have nothing to be angry about, nor do I or anyone else who uses DTS/DD content on a regular basis, because it works just fine in W7.
 
DeathFromBelow said:
Somehow I doubt you've ever actually used Vista or 7. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

stop!theradio said:
I think it's obvious that undertheradar is just spewing BS and doesn't know what they're talking about.
Click to expand...

Wow. Just Wow. I cant even respond to such internet asshattery. I have every windows OS since 98... not that its that hard or even means anything with regards to proving anything. But why would you even make such rude, underhanded, and spineless comments like that? You have no idea who I am, so get some manners. :(

Here, why dont you try this "undertheradar, what do you mean by that?"

mista ting said:
DTS is not supported in Windows 7

FUCKING FAIL
Click to expand...

Remember that? FWIW, Im not talking about movies and media that is already DTS encoded, Im talking about in games where the card encodes in DTS (DTS connect), in my case, an X-Fi card. There are 'hacks' out there, but nothing official.

If someone would like to update my info or correct me in a constructive & respectful manner, I am all ears. If you just want to make underhanded remarks and poke at my credibility (which I must point out, this IS the internet, so those same comments and tactics can be done right back at you), Im sure this will entertain you...
http://returnoftheking.ytmnd.com/
 
My Windows 7 install was fast, had no driver errors, really happy with it. Now to upgrade the rest of the family boxen....
 
saar said:
My Windows 7 install was fast, had no driver errors, really happy with it. Now to upgrade the rest of the family boxen....
Click to expand...

Get on top of it :D

Win7 Homegroups are the BOMB. File and printer sharing has never been easier...

Especially if you use media any at all, Media Center on a Home Group is fantastic.
 
Win7 is great, but I would not have upgraded to it from Vista if not for the $50 upgrade deal on it back at launch. Vista is still good to go, no reason to upgrade an existin Vista install unless you just want to.
 
Honestly, I love Win7 x64. I was a very happy user of Vista on all 5 computers in our home for the three people that use them, (myself, wife and 13yr old son). Well this xmas I decided to go out and get three copies of Win7 Pro and do some installs. Well it went so well and works so fine after installing over the holidays, that I went out and immediately bought another two copies for the secondary systems.

The first day of installation, things seemed a little choppy or slow, but it was like the OS just got faster and faster as the week went on. I have to say the networking is much easier now, and I mean much easier. I was pretty good at it before, but there were always some little quirks here and there, like getting my son's friend's laptop to work on the network sometimes for sharing and stuff, but with Win7 that isn't an issue anymore.

It worked so well, my son's friend even bought it, so when he comes over on the weekends to play borderlands, L4D2, WoW, etc, he is running it as well. The frame rates went up on all of the gaming laptops by quite a bit. It is really noticeable in raid settings in WoW or EQ2.

The wife complained alot because things were different, but after a few months now, she is over it and loves it as well. Overall, probably some of the best money I have spent on the PC's in a few years..
 
DeaconFrost said:
I think it went south when he tried to launch his browzer.
Click to expand...

I think it went south for you in grade school when you didnt learn how to spell 'browser'. My job entails DSP & VLSI design... so I think I can wrap my little EE brain around windows.

As for what I am talking about, you can see more here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1458002&highlight=windows+creative+DTS

Those of us with audio cards are having some problems with what is/isn't supported.

Other than that, win7 has been great for me. Not that its a huge concern, but all I see out there is comparisons to Vista (easy win), but I have yet to see anything that suggests its a better performer than XP (which was better than Vista). Features are one thing (DX10, 11, etc.), but it seems the performance isnt there.
 
Last edited:
undertheradar said:
I think it went south for you in grade school when you didnt learn how to spell 'browser'. My job entails DSP & VLSI design... so I think I can wrap my little EE brain around windows.
Click to expand...

quoting you..

Me personally, I could never get Vista to work for long. For some reason, the browzer would stop working (non responsive) after some months.
Click to expand...
 
undertheradar said:
Wow. Just Wow. I cant even respond to such internet asshattery. I have every windows OS since 98... not that its that hard or even means anything with regards to proving anything. But why would you even make such rude, underhanded, and spineless comments like that? You have no idea who I am, so get some manners. :(

Here, why dont you try this "undertheradar, what do you mean by that?"



Remember that? FWIW, Im not talking about movies and media that is already DTS encoded, Im talking about in games where the card encodes in DTS (DTS connect), in my case, an X-Fi card. There are 'hacks' out there, but nothing official.

If someone would like to update my info or correct me in a constructive & respectful manner, I am all ears. If you just want to make underhanded remarks and poke at my credibility (which I must point out, this IS the internet, so those same comments and tactics can be done right back at you), Im sure this will entertain you...
http://returnoftheking.ytmnd.com/
Click to expand...

It's the way you're responding to people's posts. Go back and read a few, and maybe you'll realize that we're replying the way we are for a reason. Firstly, you are completely wrong about the DTS thing. Secondly, I, on top of countless others, would be in rage-mode if Windows 7 didn't support surround sound for games. Next, why on EARTH would DTS-encoded movies and other content be supported, but games with DTS tracks left out? That makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. If they were going to make it a point to not support DTS, it wouldn't be supported at ALL. Not in games, not in movies, not in ANYTHING - and people would be pissed.

Here's your correction:

My card is an X-Fi Platinum, my OS is Windows 7, I use DD/DTS Connect, and my games all sound brilliant in all of their 5.1 channel glory - same as the countless others who have similar hardware/OS configurations.

EDIT: and, for the sake of me keeping a level head with regards to respect for you - I'll choose to completely ignore the ridiculous link you put in your post, especially after you tried to act all "innocent" with the sad-faced "plz guize get mannurs :( " thing.
 
undertheradar said:
Wow. Just Wow. I cant even respond to such internet asshattery...

why would you even make such rude, underhanded, and spineless comments like that?
Click to expand...

Because you're trying to spread FUD.

If you're as qualified as you claim to be you wouldn't be saying Vista was awful or that DTS encoding doesn't work on 7.
 
Also, undertheradar, I checked out the thread you linked - it's likely something just wasn't configured right on the OP's end. The reason I say this is because I was using my same configuration complete with DD/DTS working perfectly months before that thread was made.
 
I have been running 7100RC and finally updated to retail version and I am totally satisfied.Never really had any problems with Vista.
 
Funny, I thought Deacon had mis-spelled it on purpose after undertheradar did it originally... This entire thread is quickly self destructing tho.
 
stop!theradio said:
It's the way you're responding to people's posts. Go back and read a few, and maybe you'll realize that we're replying the way we are for a reason. Firstly, you are completely wrong about the DTS thing. Secondly, I, on top of countless others, would be in rage-mode if Windows 7 didn't support surround sound for games. Next, why on EARTH would DTS-encoded movies and other content be supported, but games with DTS tracks left out? That makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. If they were going to make it a point to not support DTS, it wouldn't be supported at ALL. Not in games, not in movies, not in ANYTHING - and people would be pissed.

Here's your correction:

My card is an X-Fi Platinum, my OS is Windows 7, I use DD/DTS Connect, and my games all sound brilliant in all of their 5.1 channel glory - same as the countless others who have similar hardware/OS configurations.

EDIT: and, for the sake of me keeping a level head with regards to respect for you - I'll choose to completely ignore the ridiculous link you put in your post, especially after you tried to act all "innocent" with the sad-faced "plz guize get mannurs :( " thing.
Click to expand...

Im 'completely wrong' about the DTS thing huh? Okay, someone said DTS is Dolby, which I said was wrong.

Then I mentioned that the drivers for creative/X-Fi cards arent being supported to run DTS connect in W7, only Vista. That doesn't mean movies, or other things that are already encoded from the source. Im talking about things that the chip has to encode on the fly. Are you using OEM drivers or some other 3rd party drivers?
 
DeathFromBelow said:
Because you're trying to spread FUD.

If you're as qualified as you claim to be you wouldn't be saying Vista was awful or that DTS encoding doesn't work on 7.
Click to expand...

So you are saying that Vista, AKA Microsoft's worst failure of an OS to date, is good?

DTS connect encoding is not supported by W7 last I checked.

Were talking about two different things and you guys aren't paying attention. Im talking about DTS connect in games... where the chips figure out where in the game the sounds should be coming from and then encode the data stream on the fly. You guys keep talking about how people would be mad if their movies and other 'pre-encoded' media wouldn't work on Win7... well, thats not what Im talking about. So far, there is no official support for DTS encoding on Creative/X-Fi chips with Windows 7... only Vista (so far). I can download the latest drivers for my X-Fi Titanium card and it still wont allow me to enable DTS connect. Sure, I can run a source that is pre-encoded, but thats not what Im talking about.
 
Vista was great actually... Vista's launch was botched, but half of it wasn't even MS' fault and WinXP's launch was at 'least twice as horrible. WinXP went thru wayyyy more linguering issues than Vista ever did over the first 2-3 years, people just have short memories (or never had to live thru any of it). Microsoft's failure was actually letting itself get beaten to a pulp by bad PR before they even so much as responded (quite literally), and Microsoft's worst failure of an OS will always be Bob, always.
 
undertheradar said:
So you are saying that Vista, AKA Microsoft's worst failure of an OS to date, is good?

DTS connect encoding is not supported by W7 last I checked.

Were talking about two different things and you guys aren't paying attention. Im talking about DTS connect in games... where the chips figure out where in the game the sounds should be coming from and then encode the data stream on the fly. You guys keep talking about how people would be mad if their movies and other 'pre-encoded' media wouldn't work on Win7... well, thats not what Im talking about. So far, there is no official support for DTS encoding on Creative/X-Fi chips with Windows 7... only Vista (so far). I can download the latest drivers for my X-Fi Titanium card and it still wont allow me to enable DTS connect. Sure, I can run a source that is pre-encoded, but thats not what Im talking about.
Click to expand...

Of course DTS isn't Dolby Digital. I didn't say you were wrong about that. That's beside my issue with what you're saying. I don't know where you're trying to get your drivers and/or DTS Connect pack from, but ever since I got this card sometime last year, I've been able to download and use the DDL/DTS Connect pack just fine in Windows 7. Windows 7 Home Premium x64, in fact. Here's a screen shot of all of the relevant stuff, straight from my machine:

dts2.jpg


I even put arrows and circled the relevant things so that way you don't miss it. There it is - DTS Connect, enabled and working perfectly in all of my games. So, I'll humor you here and agree that you were only talking about the games...even though you said:

undertheradar said:
Huh? Your receiver only DECODES what it is sent. If you dont run VISTA, you dont get DTS, which means your audio cant pump out DTS to the receiver in the first place. You cant put a DTS receiver on a non-DTS PC and somehow get DTS out of it.
Click to expand...

But that's beside the point here. You were only talking about games. Ok, cool. But you're STILL wrong.

...and in the drivers section of the Creative site, note the circled stuff:

dts3.jpg


Those are Windows 7 drivers. The exact same drivers I'm using right now...and they were released in JUNE of last year. So, I guess Creative just has it out for you or something.
 
Used windows 7 since the first beta. Then RC. Now full. It's great. The best OS from microsoft since Windows 2000 and XP.
 
OH lol i saw one post of
windows 7 vs xp
lol i was shocked to see results
xp actualy got 70+ votes out of 200+ :O
lol
and here vista got 5 out of 286 woha lol
 
undertheradar said:
So you are saying that Vista, AKA Microsoft's worst failure of an OS to date, is good?

DTS connect encoding is not supported by W7 last I checked.

Were talking about two different things and you guys aren't paying attention. Im talking about DTS connect in games... where the chips figure out where in the game the sounds should be coming from and then encode the data stream on the fly. You guys keep talking about how people would be mad if their movies and other 'pre-encoded' media wouldn't work on Win7... well, thats not what Im talking about. So far, there is no official support for DTS encoding on Creative/X-Fi chips with Windows 7... only Vista (so far). I can download the latest drivers for my X-Fi Titanium card and it still wont allow me to enable DTS connect. Sure, I can run a source that is pre-encoded, but thats not what Im talking about.
Click to expand...

/facepalm

Keep the FUD coming. It's amusing at least.
 
WoW 98% for yes, glad to see MS finally did something right *knocks on wood*
 
No activity in the thread for a few days - but I figured I'd add something, anyways :p

About the "superbar" - I love it. I went for about 2 weeks up until today using the "use small icons" option and making the settings closer to Vista's taskbar - but went back to the default Windows 7 settings because they are just THAT much better than XP's or Vista's options.

W7=great stuff!
 
Last edited:
that's tragic...upgrade already

even my 6+ year old lappys enjoy win7
 
Just my rambling thoughts...

I am currently evaluating Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit on my PC to determine if I want to upgrade from Win XP (only been 2 days so far). Using a friend's copy for the 30 day non-activation evaluation period. At this moment in time there doesn't seem to be a lot of 64-bit freeware programs so far for my needs to really justify buying Win 7.

Some example of 32-bit only programs I've installed since I couldn't find a 64-bit equivalent (some are actually hybrids with 64-bit kernals, but not full 64-bit programs):

Anti-Virus...... Avast! and MalwareByte. I'll probably try MSE...
Compression...... 7-Zip
Media Player...... Media Player Classic - HC
DVD Buring...... ImgBurn
Image Viewer...... irfanview
Maintenance...... CCleaner
Encoding.... Handbrake

I've only installed two 64-bit programs (at least they claim to be 100% 64-bit):

-Firefox 3.6
-Can't remember the other one.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's a PC for if it ain't running games, right?

I don't play the latest and greatest games. In fact, the only game I've ever bought on the release date was Fallout 3. Fallout 3 wasn't even a DX10 title. Crysis is DX10, but I've already played it 3 times.

Games I'm currently playing are: Fallout 3, Oblivion, Galactic Civilization 2 and X3: Reunion / Terran Conflict. All of them are DX9 games.

No immediate need to upgrade to Win 7 for games at the moment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I kinda miss the "Show Desktop" icon in Quick Launch. I have to right click the task bar, then select "Show Desktop". If anyone can tell me how to create that icon in Quick Launch, it would be much appreciated.

Generally speaking, the way the task bar operates will take a bit getting used to.

Win 7 does look slicker than Win XP, but I tend to look beyond the "window dressing". The one nice thing is that I didn't have to load any drivers for my old MSI 975x Platinum 2.0 motherboard; everything worked fine. It seems Win 7 implements software RAID 1 for HDDs. It's nice to have, but I think I'd rather spend the extra $$ for a hardware solution. Another nice option is the ability to dynamically adjust partition sizes including the system drive.

Ah well... It's only been two days so far...
 
There isn't any reason to "show desktop" because you can hide the app you're focused on clicking on it's "quick launch" icon.

The 64bit programs you chose are strange to me. First of all, 7z has a 64bit version, MPC-HC has a 64bit version, Avira (the best AV currently available and it's free for personal use) has a 64bit version, why would you care if CCleaner is in 64bit or not?, Handbrake has a 64bit version, Win7 has burning capability native but once again, I have no idea why you'd care if it was 32 or 64 bit, similar with image viewing...

The only program you listed as having found x64 bit version of, Firefox, is the one program that should *not* be installed in 64bit.
 
JaguarSKX said:
Anti-Virus...... Avast! and MalwareByte. I'll probably try MSE...
Compression...... 7-Zip
Media Player...... Media Player Classic - HC
DVD Buring...... ImgBurn
Image Viewer...... irfanview
Maintenance...... CCleaner
Encoding.... Handbrake
Click to expand...
MSE is 64 bit.
7 Zip is 64 bit.
Windows Media Player has a 64 bit version, along with IE and just about anything else. It's just folks like Adobe haven't written plugins for the 64 bit versions so by DEFAULT the 32 bit versions open.

Also it seems like you're kindof assuming you HAVE to use 64 bit, that's not the case. It won't hurt anything to use 32 bit. It's just 64 bit gives you the advantages as such.

JaguarSKX said:
I kinda miss the "Show Desktop" icon in Quick Launch. I have to right click the task bar, then select "Show Desktop". If anyone can tell me how to create that icon in Quick Launch, it would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
It's there- bottom right now.

Edit- also, Windows+D does the same thing.
 
Adding the Show Desktop icon is a quick Google search away. I remember adding them to Vista's desktop in the beginning. I haven't done it in a while because I don't really use it anymore. I also seem to remember a Windows key combination that will do it as well.

As for Windows 7....there are many benefits that make it more usable than XP, but the real eye-opener is when you go back XP after using Windows 7 for a while, and you see how drab the start menu is, how little use the search/run bar is, the jump lists that are missing, and the way it gets bogged down under a load....not to mention the fact it needs more hand-holding to stay maintained over time.
 
JaguarSKX said:
Win 7 does look slicker than Win XP, but I tend to look beyond the "window dressing".
Click to expand...

- Vista/7 are generally slightly faster than XP on modern hardware
- Vista/7 are far more secure than XP
- 7 is great for home theater and touchscreen PC's
- Aero Glass looks great

IMHO, moving from XP to Vista was more "worthwhile" than upgrading from 2000 to XP, but people have been using XP for so long they just don't want to bother upgrading.
 
mope54 said:
The 64bit programs you chose are strange to me. First of all, 7z has a 64bit version, MPC-HC has a 64bit version, Avira (the best AV currently available and it's free for personal use) has a 64bit version, why would you care if CCleaner is in 64bit or not?, Handbrake has a 64bit version, Win7 has burning capability native but once again, I have no idea why you'd care if it was 32 or 64 bit, similar with image viewing...

The only program you listed as having found x64 bit version of, Firefox, is the one program that should *not* be installed in 64bit.
Click to expand...

I've read that both Avira and Avast are good AVs, but both are hybrid 32-bit/64-bit programs. Only the low level kernal mode drivers that interface with the OS are written in 64-bit code.

I believe Handbrake is another 32-bit/64-bit hybrid because there is only one link for the XP/Vista/Win 7 version:

http://handbrake.fr/snapshot.php

ImgBurn is simply a program I'm used to using in XP so I'm kinda familar with it.

Irfanview is a program I've been using since 1998, it's a nice little program that does a little more than view images.

As for "64-bit Firefox" it actually called a different name, but I can't remember it off-hand. However, under the Help / About menu it does say Firefox 3.6. Here's the download link:

http://wiki.mozilla-x86-64.com/Firefox:Download

I'm not saying the lack of true 64-bit programs is bad, I just thought by now there would be more available. I'm sure not everything under the sun will benefit from 64-bit programing, for example burning software. Technically there should be no improved burning speeds or burning accuracy simply by making it a 64-bit program.
 
JaguarSKX said:
I'm not saying the lack of true 64-bit programs is bad, I just thought by now there would be more available.
Click to expand...
Your own comments are the reason/answer to this. You are surprised there aren't more x64 apps, but yet you are still clinging to an 8 year old OS, telling us you have no reasons to move to Windows 7. If I was a software developer, and my target audience felt like you did, why would I spend my limited time working on an app for an OS/platform you don't see any reason to use?

When the majority of people get over this "I have no reason or I'm afraid to upgrade" attitude, along with the "oooo x64 is bad, my stuff won't work" mindset, more software developers will spend their time on x64 apps. Keep in mind, I'm not accusing you of either of these last two....I'm just giving an explanation.
 
I barely skimmed this. Seriously, didn't read more than a few words.

Just go ahead and get Windows 7. DO EET!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top