W7 Vs XP.

[Guest]

Topic. What kind of improvements do you users switching from XP to W7 see? Hows the gaming?

I've been a XP user every since it launched (never bothered with vista). Is it finally time for a switch?

thanks

 

[Zoron]

It was time for a switch two years ago...

Windows 7 will be worth it for XP users... I'm still undecided as to whether it will be worth it for Vista users... even though I do like what I see so far.

 

[fpoama]

I have been using Windows 7 since the beta and I find it better than XP and Vista. The improvements to the UI and other features are nice, and the new shortcuts and things like aero snap are things that I find myself using on a daily basis. As for gaming I haven't tested much as of yet because I will be buying a new video card soon and then I will test how it is. Also if you have multiple computers on your network, the new Homegroup feature is 100x better than sharing files on XP or Vista that are prone to random problems.

 

[randomizer]

I don't intend to buy Win 7, but then I didn't buy Vista either. I haven't seen a reason to buy any Windows OS since XP because I get them free anyway

Haven't been overly impressed with Win 7, but I haven't tried the RC yet. Build 7000 felt snappy until about 4 reboots in, then was just as sluggish as Vista.

 

[kingnoobe]

I'm on an amd antlon 64 3200, 2gb ram *single channel mode also*, ati 3850.. I've swear I've seen a slight increase in fps in games. And it's just generally smoother. Although that could just be from a clean install of the OS in of itself.

But either way I doubt you see any decrease of performance, and you get a tad more extras. Of course you have the haters.. But what's it gonna hurt to give it a try. If you like it you like it, if not you just lost a little bandwidth and about 30mins-1hour.. No biggy.

 

[Kraynor]

Gaming on 7 is superior to XP.
Performance is about the same (maybe slightly better on XP), but there's the small matter of DirectX 11 that makes up for the slight difference in performance.

I'd say make the switch.

 

[505090]

lets see i went from 98se to xp sp1 and now i got 7 not to long ago. Haven't noticed any performance hit in the switch and the new features are awesome, nothing major just little things here and there that save time and make life easier.

IMHO
win7 is to vista what 98se was to 98
a cleaned up, stabler , more feature rich version, that uses less resources

 

[mactronix]

W7 totally kills Xp as far as FPS in gaming goes on my machine. I dont like using 3dm for anything other than benching one machine and as such think that comparing scores with others is pretty pointless. However i get a huge boost in 3dm06 when using W7 compared to XP.

Mactronix

 

[IzzyCraft]

What kind of improvements do you users switching from XP to W7 see?
Continued support past 2014?
If you go from x32 to x64 i'd consider that an improvement get to use whole host of x64 software.

No need to install crappy codecs because most common codecs are natively supported even h.264 and vc-1

Use of newer things like DX11 that those ati fanboys complain about dx10.1 but wont use it themselves but they want the benchmarks to skew it in ati favor

I'd wait and see till it's release to pass judgments.

 

[mactronix]

I completly dissagree with you izzy, Im trying the RC of W7 and as a die hard Vista hater and lover of XP i have to say that this is what i have been waiting for.
The new OS is usable for day to day stuff, its a lot easier/ more usable than Vista as far as file management goes and gaming shows a decent improvement. Enough in my opinion to make switching worth while.
I havent gone over to 64 so im comparing like with like. I probably will go to 64 when it comes to switching however as i feel that by then it will be worth it for me.
Also as far as DX10.1 goes it was my understanding that the games are lacking in suport for it anyway ?

Mactronix

 

[jdw_swb]

I play Cod4 online and it has been crippled since my move to W7 as the company behind Punkbuster refuse to update the program.

This means I can no longer play online.....and effectively ended my enjoyment of the game.

 

[randomizer]

That's not Win 7's fault. PunkBuster is a load of garbage that still doesn't work in 64-bit applications.

 

[mactronix]

Thats handy to know, i dont play a lot of online stuff and havent tried with W7. Seems that as usual there are + and - points. I would assume that these things will get updates sooner rather than leter but you never know

Mactronix

 

[SimonSplat]

My 2 pennies/cents worth.

I went from a pretty new (less than 2 weeks) install of Vista Home Premium 64 to Windows 7 RC 64 and noticed:
1 - faster boot
2 - smaller footprint
3 - great features
4 - more everyday things embedded (codecs for one thing)
5 - more FPS in games (WoW, Mirrors Edge and COD5)
6 - snappier feeling of OS
7 - The ONLY driver I needed was for my creative X-Fi (suprise suprise...) - even my LSI MegaRAID card was natively supported.
8 - Native support for SSD drives that took a lot of tweaking in Vista
9 - I am LOVING the new media centre
10 - I've even left the UAC replacement thing on its default as it now does what I would have expected it to at the right times, for the right reasons. In vista this was the first thing I turned off!!

The new features are great, it seems a lot more polished and stable. I have had no Blue Screens as yet. The ONLY things I have noticed so far are it takes an unresonably long time to encode MP3's in Windows Media Player. Office 2007 Outlook crapped out and needed reinstalling which is the first ever time that has happened to me (call me lucky??). And also iTunes hangs now and then. I fully think that these things are due to its "pre-release" nature and also could heavily be influenced by non-MS 3rd parties.

I bought Vista 64 as on my machine it was ok. I am TOTALLY going to buy/upgrade to the released version of 7 when I have to. Windows 7 RC is free for roughly a year and is polished enough to be a viable option for that time. Back up your system as it is now and give 7 a go... I doubt you would regret it.

 

[jdw_swb]

That's not Win 7's fault. PunkBuster is a load of garbage that still doesn't work in 64-bit applications.

It works in Vista 64 whilst playing CoD4.

The OP was asking about gaming on W7, and it is a fact that CoD4 (one of the most popular online games for PC) cannot be played online.

Regardless of who is to blame, it is something for any potential PC gamer to consider before upgrading.

 

[bonse]

i've seen an increase in fps on CSS/TF2 by about 10% (now at a steady 150ish lol)

 

[IzzyCraft]

It works in Vista 64 whilst playing CoD4.

The OP was asking about gaming on W7, and it is a fact that CoD4 (one of the most popular online games for PC) cannot be played online.

Regardless of who is to blame, it is something for any potential PC gamer to consider before upgrading.

CoD4 is one of the most pirated online games. With reports as high as half of the users using a cracked/pirated copy.

 

[mactronix]

How is that relevant ?

Mactronix

 

[inquisitor03]

I would definitely say gaming is a few FPS higher on Win7 x64 on most games I play.

...And it's finally solved the problem with GTR Evolution on Vista x64 where the game was jerky even when at 60FPS+. Yah! I can finally play it now on 7

Although you could argue that it's probably more than likely down to NVidia who have made further optimisations after having to re-write some of their driver code for Win 7?!?!

 

[peterv77]

XP runs everything I need, I think I'll wait a few months after release until we really know how stable this thing is.

 

[croc]

I think I'll wait for comment until I see the retail prices for W7 Pro, retail. Personally, I expect that the prices will cause an epidemic of asthma attacks unlike any the world has yet seen. A pandemic that will make the swine flu look like a storm in a teapot in comparison. (Oh wait, it already is...) Or maybe SARS. (damn, also overblown.) OK, it will be bad, really bad, with people choking and gasping for air all over the world when the prices are announced. In June, methinks. Get your inhalers now, before the run on them causes the prices to octuple overnight....

 

[mactronix]

Why would you buy it retail when you can get it OEM ? Seriously is there a benefit to a retail copy or not ?

Mactronix

 

[croc]

Why would you buy it retail when you can get it OEM ? Seriously is there a benefit to a retail copy or not ?

Mactronix

I suppose that all depends on just how far MS wants to go in enforcing the EULA. The OEM EULA is only for that build, and in the case of Vista even upgrading the CPU can be an issue. Everytime I re-install Vista or XP, I have to call the support number, get a god-awful long string of 5 digit groups, then input those groups to get another, even longer string to enter as my new key. Why? Because I changed my MB from an ASUS to a DFI. And I have retail versions. I have friends that upgraded their RAM, and were told to get a new copy. They had OEM. WGA is a wonderful thing, is it not?

 

[inquisitor03]

Surely 10mins on the phone every 6-12 months or so (depending how often you upgrade) to save yourself £50+ is worth it?

 

[croc]

Surely 10mins on the phone every 6-12 months or so (depending how often you upgrade) to save yourself £50+ is worth it?

I don't mind the phone call, it is a freecall here in AUS. But if I were told that I'd have to buy a new license, then how would I have saved any dosh? Read the OEM EULA. You know, that 27 page document that you are supposed to read before you break the seal?

From the XP OEM EULS...

"Software as a Component of the Computer - Transfer. THIS LICENSE MAY NOT BE SHARED,
TRANSFERRED TO OR USED CONCURRENTLY ON DIFFERENT COMPUTERS. The SOFTWARE is
licensed with the HARDWARE as a single integrated product and may only be used with the HARDWARE. If the
SOFTWARE is not accompanied by new HARDWARE, you may not use the SOFTWARE. You may permanently
transfer all of your rights under this EULA only as part of a permanent sale or transfer of the HARDWARE, provided
you retain no copies, if you transfer all of the SOFTWARE (including all component parts, the media and printed
materials, any upgrades, this EULA and the Certificate of Authenticity), and the recipient agrees to the terms of this
EULA. If the SOFTWARE is an upgrade, any transfer must also include all prior versions of the SOFTWARE."

As said previously, a friend could not use his OEM copy simply because he upgraded his RAM. I thought that this was a bit draconian, but apparently MS did not agree.