So I have a choice here. And I need some advice as I have found you all here to be the best when it comes to these things. Basically I am having a hard time choosing what Windows system to use. Let me start by saying I have a Pentium dual core CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and onboard video, and a 120 GB hard drive. Nothing fancy or powerful. My options are: * Windows Vista * Windows 7 * Windows 8 Now here are the reasons for the choice I am trying to make: * Windows Vista - The computer came with Vista, since I have owned it I have ran other operating systems. I have changed the CPU and motherboard. The biggest thing here is that I have a legal copy of Vista and a COA sticker on the computer. And top all of that with the fact that Vista runs quicker than snot on this setup. The downside is that Vista will not be supported much longer, a few years. * Windows 7 - 7 runs so so on this setup, a bit slow sometimes. Problem is that I don't have a copy of 7 nor a COA for 7 in the house. So I really don't have any options with 7 other than to buy a key, and that is not an option right now. However, I like 7, when I have a machine that can run it. * Windows 8 - I have a copy of 8 that a friend gave me as a gift. However, it runs so slow on this machine. And the whole Windows 8 look and feel is crazy weird, but it works to a point. 8 is supposed to use system resources better than 7, but that has not been my experience. And keep in mind hard drive space. Vista has the smallest footprint. 7 and 8 take up almost 20+ GB when installed with all the updates installed. So, what would you do? I'm currently running Vista. Maybe I should run Vista until I can afford a new machine or an upgrade? Thanks guys!!
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
If 8 is slow, and you have no key for 7, I guess it's a no brainer.
If 8 is slower than 7 it's likely just a driver/HW comptibility issue. In theory 8 'should' be quicker.
If you don't have 7 and don't 'like' 8 then the answer is Vista. Its 'support' [ending] isn't an immediate issue - to anyone...
* Windows 7 DUH
But.....U should run Vista until U can afford a new machine or an upgrade or until Win9 comes out and see what deals MS makes for upgrades.
Wizard1956 wisely unsubscribes to this post. *and marks it down as a negative when I have to cut more costs.
win XP would have been the correct response....but since that's not available, Vista seems to be the way to go for that box.
Not to put too fine a point on it Kona but you should still have the copy of 7 I sent you. Otherwise follow the advice of those saying Vista is the way to go.
As has been stated by RND it appears you have your answer, what more is there?.....
I mean if your question to us was what version of Windows would we personally run? Get ready for differing answers which likely won't help in your situation.
If the question was which version would we recommend you run in your situation.......well again the answers likely won't be as 'helpful' or specific to your situation as your own answer above; seeing as you have already drawn comparisons keeping your own personal situation/limitations in mind. I doubt any one of us could give you better 'info' for making a decision than you already have done for yourself.
I'm sure you don't really need your hand held on this one kona, but just in case you do..........I concur with your assessment of your situation in the OP!
Win 9
WebTv
He he
Give that man a beer! My sister was running Win 8 on a dual core AMD @ 2.1 with just 2Gb of RAM and a 8600GTX. Initially it was as slow as a wet week, but once all the drivers were updated and some unnecesary processes were stopped it ran quite well/infinitely better than Vista on the same machine.
I have run Windows 8.1 on several different PCs and laptops that were originally XP rigs with single core CPUs at 166 MHz and 2 GB DDR ram.
A few P4 single cores that were hyperthread capable (thinks it's a dual core).
In all instances, 8 ran better, faster than XP did on them and 8 found 98% of the drivers needed on it's own.
That said, I stand by my original assessment.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! If 8 is slow, and you have no key for 7, I guess it's a no brainer.
Starkers, as I have told you, 8 runs incredibly slow on this setup, even after all updates and proper drivers are installed, and upgraded to windows 8.1. It hiccups along and programs slow down and almost freeze. 7 did the same, just not as bad.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record. It certainly seems like you had the answer to your question even before you posted the OP kona.
Hmmm, it seems like you're the only person on the planet who can't run Win 8 reasonably well on older hardware. My sister isn't the only person I know who ran/runs Win 8 on older hardware... then there's the redneck who's run it on various machines better than XP did... and if he/they can do it then anyone can/should be able to. {BTW, that remark is in reference to the hardware NOT the user}
In my opinion, if I were you , I would definitely stick with Vista. Despite the fact that it was not well received during it's era , my experience with it was very pleasurable. I never had any major problems and it worked like a charm for me. I also liked the quality of the graphics in Vista. Although I now use Windows 7 exclusively, I still have my original Vista Ultimate install disk and consider it one of my favorites in my software library. -- Ace --
I quite like Vista as well and still have 2 of my x64 versions ready to install should I build another 'spare parts' rig.
For mine, if you have a machine capable of running it, then Vista is a good OS.
I also like Win 8 and use it exclusively on 2 rigs and 2 laptops for now, though I do have an XP gaming rig [not internet enabled] which will be connected to my new TV when it arrives in just over a week. I also have a Win 7 rig which hasn't been turned on in ages and sits out in the shed gathering dust. I must bring it inside and set it up again as a guest machine when I've got everything else sorted.
Just to show the disparity between machines. I had an HP Pavilion with Vista and it ran rather well. On a friend's machine Vista ran like crap. Constantly crashing, slowing down etc. I convinced her to go with Win 7 and no more crashes, ran fast without any hiccups. Go figure.
HEY!
Dang, Ross....I'm impressed! You've expandeded your vocalabulary!!
Xp is off support. 7 64 bit runs even slow on my 3GHZ dual core pc 3GB RAM 68 GB hdd partition .
8 runs faster on my noteboook than 7 pn my pc, even if my notebok is new but absolutely not better.
So i can say VISTA if not 8 . Even if the system vista itself is really really bad, but not so bad if you use applications that run well on it.
regards bluedxca93
OR
try Zorin 9 (Linux). It has it's own theme changer and has a theme set up like windows 7 with a start menu, transparent taskbar etc. It's small and would run like lightning on your PC. Even if you go with any version of windows, it's worth installing as a dual boot just for fun. You can download it and use ImgBurn to put it on a disk and test it from the disk before installing.
It's been highly recommended for folks that are still using XP and can't afford new PC's or a new OS because you can set the theme to run like Windows7 or WindowsXP or even Ubuntu if you prefer.
I have it on my main laptop and installed the lite version of it on an old Dell 2650 that only has 256mb of RAM for the kid to play with and she loves it.
For anyone NOT familiar with linux distributions, I would highly recommend this one. I've tried a few and this one lives up to it's own hype and is super user friendly.
And it's free.
And you can ask me a linux theme developper how to install win 7 xp like etc on linux.
Zorin 9 is not bad . I do recommended you if you choice linux to use a system that has .deb Packages like zorin. I can only recommend you ubuntu and its derivates (like zorin don`t forget it ) or debian testing.
Just two quick linux mockups. You see its not that different form window blinds skinning.
That will be because a 68 GB partition is typically too small for a Win 7 OS.....which will typically require more freeboard....
Zorin looked like a fun tool to try until I read this link which describes how to dual boot. Can it really be this hard to do? I didn't need to do anything special with Ubuntu.
http://zoringroup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2601
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