Need some hand-holding to buy the correct Win7 version for my PC

[sophiarosehips]

Hi all,
I'm not completely hopeless when it comes to computers, but compared to you guys I'm as dumb as a post, so please bear with me.
Here's my long story: I have a custom built gaming PC from 2007 that's running 32 bit XP. I have 4 RAM, but of course can't access all of it, and want to upgrade to 6 anyway. My motherboard is an Intel D975XBX2. I know I have to upgrade the OS to 64 bit. I want to do this inexpensively, but I don't really know what I'm doing. This whole quest to upgrade my RAM has been going on for over a year, and in the course of that time I've had multiple conversations with multiple people, and I can't really track who said what when. But what I took away from it all is that I'm best off with Win7. One guy insists I should get XP, but he totally screwed me up with a related PC thing, which I won't get into, but as a result I don't trust him. I heard from someone else that XP is getting phased out...?

Anyway, I'm coming to you today in the hopes that some very patient and kind Anandtecher will be willing to hold my hand as I purchase this software. I'm having it installed professionally (consider, if you will, the level of anxiety I'm experiencing in just buying the OS--no way can I confront installing it myself). It looks like for a 64 bit home version of Win 7 I'll be spending $100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687), which is a LOT of money for me at the moment, so I canNOT screw this up. This upgrade represents multiple xmas and bday gifts I've been putting off, so I just really want to get it right.

Please tell me if:
1) There is a less expensive (legal) way to get a key code for Win7, since the guy who is doing my upgrade says that's all he needs.
2) If the version of Win7 I linked to is the right one for my purposes.
3) Anything else you think I need to know. Please assume I am an idiot and need simple things pointed out to me.

Thanks in advance for any and all answers!!!

 

[ViRGE]

1) An OEM copy is going to be the cheapest way to get a legitimate key code.
2) That should be the right version for you. Most users, even AT users, run Home Premium
3) Note that you can't do an upgrade install from a 32bit version of Windows to a 64bit version. So be sure to keep track of your software and settings, make sure to have a good backup, and be prepared to reinstall your software.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Wikipedia has a handy comparison chart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart

If you don't need features like remote desktop or XP mode, you'll be fine with Home Premium. Just be aware that Home Premium does not support more then 16GB RAM.

 

[sophiarosehips]

Thank you both. This is exactly the information I need.

 

[MrColin]

Windows 7 or 8 should suit you fine, Home versions unless you need to join a domain or use remote desktop, which sounds unlikely.

Know that this will erase everything on you HDD.

May we ask why you need the additional RAM? You might not really need it. If $100 is a lot of money to you right now, more memory in your comp may not really be worth it.
Do you know how many sticks of RAM are in there now? Its possible you might have 4 1GB sticks, 2 2GB, or one 4GB(not as likely but possible). If you really want to upgrade the ram you may as well go all the way to the max with the 8GB (4x2GB sticks). Its best to stick with an even number of sticks to take advantage of the dual channel capability.

 

[lxskllr]

Windows 7 or 8 should suit you fine, Home versions unless you need to join a domain or use remote desktop, which sounds unlikely.

Know that this will erase everything on you HDD.

May we ask why you need the additional RAM? You might not really need it. If $100 is a lot of money to you right now, more memory in your comp may not really be worth it.
Do you know how many sticks of RAM are in there now? Its possible you might have 4 1GB sticks, 2 2GB, or one 4GB(not as likely but possible). If you really want to upgrade the ram you may as well go all the way to the max with the 8GB (4x2GB sticks). Its best to stick with an even number of sticks to take advantage of the dual channel capability.

To extend this a bit further, I don't know that I'd upgrade anything on a 6 year old PC. It's reaching end of life, and buying a $100 oem copy of Windows isn't very cost effective, not to mention paying more for ram that's obsolete.

If it were me, I'd start putting money away for a new pc, and deal with what you've got. It's a good machine, and should be capable of doing just about anything you want right now, but not worth sinking money into it, unless you can transfer the stuff bought to a new machine in the future.

 

[sophiarosehips]

Thanks for the responses! I have 4 slots for RAM, and currently each has 1 gig. They can each hold 2. I know my PC is aging. But to buy the kind of gaming computer I would want would mean a long time of saving.

Currently I play the Sims 3 mainly, and while I wouldn't say I'm addicted (since I haven't played at all in months due to the problem I'm about to describe) I would say it's a hobby that's really important to me. However, there's an error you get when you run less than 5 gigs RAM that makes the game unsaveable. I have a limited understanding of this, but I guess the game technically doesn't need all that RAM, but it's the other programs the PC is running that are dipping in for more than what the game needs... Anyway, not being able to save the game makes it unplayable. So sadly, despite the fact that the PC is aging, and ultimately I've read that the Sims 3 will become too obsolete eventually too, it's worth it to me to get the upgrade, so I can play my game.

 

[lxskllr]

However, there's an error you get when you run less than 5 gigs RAM that makes the game unsaveable.

I'd look into this a bit further before spending money. I don't want to argue with you, as I know absolutely nothing of Sims 3, but that really doesn't sound right. Look into some workarounds to see if that can be dealt with. I don't know why you'd need more ram to save game state.

Edit:
If you could point me to some documentation, I may be able to help also. Otherwise, you've gotten good advice in this thread. Home Premium, and more ram.

 

[MrColin]

This is a shot in the dark but you could try increasing the size of your paging file as described here. http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...vancd_perform_change_vmpagefile.mspx?mfr=true

It can't hurt anything to try and you can always change it back.

 

[sophiarosehips]

Here is one of many threads on moreawesomethanyou.com. It's a forum built around a mod for the Sims 3. Be aware, if you go on it, that it has a nasty culture of flaming.

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,21765.0.html

I tried everything suggested on this thread, to no avail.

I'd look into this a bit further before spending money. I don't want to argue with you, as I know absolutely nothing of Sims 3, but that really doesn't sound right. Look into some workarounds to see if that can be dealt with. I don't know why you'd need more ram to save game state.

Edit:
If you could point me to some documentation, I may be able to help also. Otherwise, you've gotten good advice in this thread. Home Premium, and more ram.

 

[Evander]

I'll mention another option b/c you say you're on a budget: Windows Vista can do 64-bit and let you use the extra RAM and you can get a used copy for only $40:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...condition=used
The going rate on ebay is also $40 to $60 for Vista depending on which version you buy. Wherever you bought it from, make sure to ask the seller in advance if it includes the 64-bit disc and the 32-bit disc (they both use the same serial key).

Vista has a bad reputation - this is mostly do to the poor launch where some drivers weren't ready or weren't gonna be made, some apps weren't compatible, and it was being sold on underpowered machines (1.6 Ghz single core Celerons with 512 Mb RAM on the low end). Everything that was gonna be fixed has been fixed by now, and if it wasn't Windows 7 almost surely would have the same problems. Using Vista and Win 7 is VERY similar. I run Win 7 64-bit as my main desktop OS and Vista 32-bit as my main laptop OS.

Reasons to stay away from Vista? If there is fairly new or unreleased software that won't support Vista that you want. Microsoft Office 2013 for instance requires Win 7 or above. That's the first software I've personally seen that won't run on Vista but there will probably be more.

My take? If you plan on stretching your system out maybe just a couple more years and wanna spend the least money, go with a used Vista upgrade (which you can resell when you're done). If you're thinking it'll be more like 3 years or longer, go Win 7 OEM (which you can't resell).

Also, this hasn't been mentioned yet but you can dual boot your system with Windows XP and Windows 7 or Vista. You can't do an upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit Windows: you have to either steamroll over your current installation or keep it and dual boot.

Yeah, I probably made things more complicated for you w/ this post but thought you'd like to know your options

 

[lxskllr]

Here is one of many threads on moreawesomethanyou.com. It's a forum built around a mod for the Sims 3. Be aware, if you go on it, that it has a nasty culture of flaming.

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,21765.0.html

I tried everything suggested on this thread, to no avail.

Looks like you're right, and the game's badly designed. When you play, have you tried quitting all non-essential programs? A/V, browsers, media players...?

And did you try this from the thread you linked?

f you have XP, here are the MTS instructions:
Windows XP, Server 2003
Open System Properties.
Right-click on My Computer and select Properties.
Select the Advanced tab.
In the Startup and Recovery area, click Settings to open the Startup and Recovery dialog.
In the System Startup area, click Edit to open the Windows boot.ini in Notepad.
Make sure to disable Word Wrap from the Format menu (you do not want a check to appear next to it).
Find the [Operating Systems] section. Each line below this header represents an operating system installed on your computer.
At the end of each line under [Operating Systems] add the following after /fastdetect (or whatever is at the end of the line):
If you have 3 GiB of RAM installed: /3GB /userva=2560
If you have 4 GiB of RAM installed: /3GB

If so, and you really want to play the game, it looks like you do need more ram and 64bit.

 

[blankslate]

If you are not going to upgrade your computer for more than a year you would still need to upgrade the OS as XP is scheduled to stop receiving security updates around May of next year.

Vista will continue to get security updates until sometime in 2017 and Win 7 will get them until 2020.

So, you probably should upgrade from XP in 12 months. You still have a little over a year to make up your mind though.

If you know someone who is into tech you might be able to buy their legitimate copy of windows 7 or Vista if they like to update their OS to the latest version. If this is the case look up MS's policy on transferring software licenses.