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Windows 7 Is it worth it? |
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Written by Xeek
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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 19:05 |
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 I had been using the beta up until the end of October when I finally received 3 copies of Windows 7. I have all 3 common editions; Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. I decided to put Home Premium on my Toshiba notebook (originally came with Vista) and Professional on my primary desktop. So far the results are better than I had with the beta, and the beta performed better than Vista!
My Toshiba notebook is performing noticeably faster and the battery life has increased near double. No official bench mark tests were performed so the results are purely based on my normal usage. Prior to the upgrade my notebook would run about an hour and forty-five minutes. This incredibly increased to two hours and forty-eight minutes! Not everyone will see that kind of result. This notebook is a 17" with a Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor and 2 GB of memory (reduced memory due to defective slot).
My primary desktop originally had the beta and did not run well. My sound did not function and the PC would never shutdown completely. After changing to the retail version of Windows 7 Professional, the PC has sound and shuts down completely. Everything runs without problems. This desktop is also performing a lot better than it did before, everything is much more responsive. This desktop has an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ processor and 6 GB of memory.
One of the best changed features of Windows 7 from Vista is the new taskbar. Applications are now grouped, but in a better way than windows has done it in the past. You will have to use it to see it in action. I am able to pin all the programs I use often on the taskbar and they stay in place. I can move these icons around as well. When I launch applications the taskbar button shows a frame and stacks if I open more than one windows of that application. The taskbar buttons remain in the same place no matter how many apps I load. This allows me to open lots of applications and keep it all organized.
On notebooks you will notice a much easier wireless interface. You can click on the Internet icon (far right of the task bar near clock) and unlike Vista the wireless menu shows instantly. It will display all available connections and allow you to connect directly from the menu.
Windows update seems to be having far less problems. I have updated lots of computers (more than my own) on this new Windows Update (also now available in Vista) and found it to run a lot faster. Updates are organized in a better way. If you start updating Windows 7 from a clean installation expect to have more than 30-40 updates. A service pack may release at the end of next year.
Should you update? My opinion is yes, especially if you are on Vista right now. Should you do the upgrade on your own? That really depends. It's not a difficult process, but there are some risks. Just remember to first backup all of your important data or use "Cobalt Backup" to do it on a schedule. Also install and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to ensure your computer is compatible. I also usually remove any antivirus software before starting as this can cause some issues when the upgrade tries to finalize (Kaspersky Antivirus 2009/2010 could cause blue screens before the upgrade completes). You also will need to deauthorize your iTunes account if you have that installed (you will lose an authorized computer and you're only allowed 5). Be sure to have 2 GB or more of memory. You also might want to check if you are currently using 64-bit or 32-bit versions of Vista and choose the correct disc from your upgrade package (the package includes both system types).
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 03:00 |
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