Windows 7 Performance Guide

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3666 ^ | October 26th, 2009 | Ryan Smith and Gary Key

[fujimoh]

New or an older processor?

Dell Dual Processor from 2006

[Heavyrunner]

I’m running it (Win 7 x64 Ultimate) fine on every computer in my house.

The oldest is a Pentium 3, I have a few AMD 4400X2s boxes, and I’m also running it on my two new i7 920 boxes. The Pentium 3 is obviously running the 32 bit version.

It runs as well as (if not better) than XP on all of them. The wife and kids love it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From that article ....I would figure that performance on the Pentium 3 would be the most dramatic....with only a little on the i7 920 boxes....

Did it work out that way?

[Knitebane]

If you have more than about 3GB of RAM you really want to move to 64-bit.

A 32-bit processor can only access 4GB of RAM without tricks like PAE (Physical Address Extension) which eat up CPU cycles while swapping RAM in and out.

As I understand it, 32-bit Windows has some additional restrictions on RAM access above about 3GB. Moving to 64-bit eliminates this limitation.

[dfwgator]

I downloaded it directly from the Microsoft store, so I could put in on a thumb drive.

[dfwgator]

For now I installed 32-bit since I only have 2 GB of memory, I also am worried about driver support for some of my peripherals if I go to 64.

Is it a big deal to later on install the 64 bit version, if I already have the 32-bit version installed?

[fujimoh]

Win7 x64 runs better than any of the predecesssor O/S’s from MS. The 7 is for 2007 ... MS was smart to hold off the release to tighten it up and I think they nailed it.

[Heavyrunner]

To be honest, “performance” is largely subjective. For instance, DirectX10 in games (when activated) can actually slow down your raw frame rate, while yielding a variety of visual benefits.

Being limited to DirectX9, XP does run some older, legacy games a bit faster. What I notice with Win7 is that frame rates generally meet or exceed XP’s, but with minor intangible benefits, like no hiccups or stutter when the video frame buffer fills, or when the hard drive accesses.

I can update my video and sound drivers without a reboot...Finally. There’s a caveat there, though - If the driver manufacture’s install program mandates a reboot, Win7 will still do it.

Win7 does get one black eye...People have mentioned printer drivers for older devices can be a little dodgy to get working right, and that was no exception for me. I had an old Canon PIXMA printer, and Win7 would only detect the scanner, but didn’t install the printer driver. It took me a couple hours to figure out how to make it work, and I saw others were experiencing the same thing.

Otherwise, flawless.

[Billthedrill]

Yes, so did I, and it's a good way to go. The challenge was making the thumb drive bootable, which you CAN'T do with the 64-bit bootsect.exe on the 64-bit installation media if you're running a 32-bit OS at the time. The 32-bit version works just fine. And you still boot a 64-bit OS. It makes sense now that I think about it but I didn't have a whole bunch of 32-bit installation media around.

And, of course, I elected to download the compressed files instead of the ISO image. Dumb decision, but recoverable. And then, after I kill myself getting to work, I found the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.

I always do these things the hard way. (Sigh)

[dbwz]

The XP mode on the pro version looks intriguing. I have the CS2 versions of Adobe Illustrator etc. and if they’ll run on Win 7 pro, it’ll save me a LOT of $.

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[altair]

+1

[Knitebane]

Not having used Windows for some time and only seeing it peripherally around work, I can’t speak to that with authority but as I understand it, it requires a format and re-install to go from 32-bit to 64-bit.