One more noob question about W7

[rivethead]

Do you absolutely have to have 2GB of RAM to run Windows 7 64bit OS? Or could you get by with 1GB.

I have XP (32bit) and 1GB of RAM. I want to upgradeto 64bit Windows 7. But I don't want to upgrade any hardware at this time (that will come around X-mas time).

 

[Kenmitch]

It is possible to install with 1gb of mem....You'd have to try it and see if it works for you tho 🙂

I tried the 64bit RC on a laptop with core2duo and 1gb of mem and it seemed OK for me.

Although more mem would be better....But could be added later if needed.

 

[rivethead]

Thanks! That's the plan....install W7 now...play with it (wife likes how Mah Jong looks and plays......sometimes the littlest things become your motivation for changing something) and upgrade the hardware later this year.

 

[LongTimePCUser]

Microsoft says 2 GB recommeded for Win 7 64 bit and 1 GB recommended for 32 bit.
In the past it was prudent to double Microsoft's minimums.

You might want to do 32 bit if you don't expect to go to at least 4 GB memory.

 

[Vampirrella]

Does your system use DDR2 memory? If so, then you can buy a 2GB kit for around 40 bucks or less at many online retailers. it is so dirt cheap nowadays, no reason to skimp on ram anymore.

 

[Gamingphreek]

The 64bit version of an OS will always consume more memory than the 32bit version due to pointer size increasing among a few other things.

1GB is pushing it on a 64bit XP,Vista, or Win7. On a 32 bit system with 1GB of RAM, you are best off running XP - Vista and 7 will simply use too much memory for such an outdated machine.

-Kevin

 

[VirtualLarry]

I installed Win7 RC1 64-bit onto a machine with only 512MB of RAM. It installed, and it runs.
It uses about 438MB of RAM on the desktop just idling though, so there's not much available for apps.