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Building new i7 machine

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chameleon23

Member
Building a new i7 machine this week. I was wondering what OS I should put on there.

I was thinking of putting XP on until Windows 7 comes out in October, but I don't like not using my new 64-bit processor or the memory to its full potential. However, that's not a big deal, if XP is the safest way to go for now I will choose that route. I have decided to forever stay away from vista though.

Any opinions? Thanks!


Thread moved to Operating Systems.

AnandTech Moderator
mechBgon
 
Originally posted by: chameleon23
Building a new i7 machine this week. I was wondering what OS I should put on there.

I was thinking of putting XP on until Windows 7 comes out in October, but I don't like not using my new 64-bit processor or the memory to its full potential. However, that's not a big deal, if XP is the safest way to go for now I will choose that route. I have decided to forever stay away from vista though.

Any opinions? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I am a Technet member, so I have the luxury of being able to test different versions of operating systems. I was running Vista Enterprise x64 on my main machine, and I really didn't ever see any issues with it. It was solid, fast, and reliable. I have used the 32-bit version of Vista on some other systems and I always seem to have issues with it, but I suspect that is due to the apps on those particular systems.

I upgraded to Windows 7 Enterprise x64 yesterday and am still getting a feel for it. I like it so far and haven't found any compatibility issues, though there were a few things I didn't like about it (such as no Quick Launch bar by default). Fortunately, I found a lot of suggestions at this site and was able to eliminate the last few annoying tidbits.

My advice? Don't consider XP at this stage of the game. Go with an x64 version of Vista or preferably, Windows 7. If you really must have an XP install, just dual boot it or check out the new XP mode which will be available for certain versions of Windows 7.
 
Pretty much agree with the previous post.

But you could proceed to install WINXP & use/test the hardware until WIN 7 becomes fully commercially available (ie, retail boxed disk). At that point WIN 7 would be available as alternate boot OS & you would have the opportunity to compare the two OSs & provide for transitioning. Once comfortable, WIN XP may be removed.
 
Originally posted by: chameleon23
Building a new i7 machine this week. I was wondering what OS I should put on there.

I was thinking of putting XP on until Windows 7 comes out in October, but I don't like not using my new 64-bit processor or the memory to its full potential. However, that's not a big deal, if XP is the safest way to go for now I will choose that route. I have decided to forever stay away from vista though.

Any opinions? Thanks!


Thread moved to Operating Systems.

AnandTech Moderator
mechBgon
Click to expand...

You're going to need to get used to Win 7, so you may as well install it. Can't you get access to it now? Most universities etc should be handing out copies for cheap already.

I should be able to get a copy of Win 7 Pro (or Ent...not sure) this week. Actually hopefully three copies.
 
I want to start with Windows 7 but I'm nervous about downloading the pre-release version from Microsoft's website. If something goes wrong it puts all my data in jeopardy. That is the reason I was thinking of starting with XP until 7 came out.

You guys said universities or other places might have final releases coming out this week? I asked my university and they said it will be a few weeks after it's commercially available.

I don't want to go Vista because I'd have to purchase it, I'm sick of messing around with cracked windows copies.

So XP until October?
 
Originally posted by: chameleon23
I want to start with Windows 7 but I'm nervous about downloading the pre-release version from Microsoft's website. If something goes wrong it puts all my data in jeopardy. That is the reason I was thinking of starting with XP until 7 came out.

You guys said universities or other places might have final releases coming out this week? I asked my university and they said it will be a few weeks after it's commercially available.

I don't want to go Vista because I'd have to purchase it, I'm sick of messing around with cracked windows copies.

So XP until October?
Click to expand...

Does your university sell Vista x64 for a cheap price? If so, go that route. That way, you can load all your software and then just do an in-place upgrade with Windows 7 when you can get it. I did an in-place upgrade from Vista Enterprise x64 to Windows 7 Enterprise x64 over the weekend and it worked out nicely.

If you go XP, you're going to have to do a clean install of Windows 7 -- no upgrade is possible. That is why I advise going to Vista. Plus, most of the drivers, etc. you install for Vista should work on Windows 7.
 
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