Windows 7 or Windows 10?

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Avalonthas

Junior Member
Jul 14, 2006
1
0
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In the process of putting together a new mid range gaming computer in an HTPC form factor for my condo's TV entertainment unit to play single player games on the television. I have been running Windows 7 since its inception and never gave Windows 8 a look as I did not want to deviate from the traditional Windows GUI.

Now that Windows 7 is on the dated side (I still prefer the GUI) I am debating if I want to transition to Windows 10. I am not a fan of the start menu and other ways the OS has been organised and since we will be with Windows 7 at work for some years to come, I have no pressing need to familiarise with WIN10.

However are there any compelling reasons to shift to Windows 10 from the perspective of gaming efficiency or HTPC use (I just download movies to a NAS and use GOM Player to play them on the HTPC to the TV, my uses are basic in that respect). Will using Windows 7 prevent me from taking advantage of any core technology advancements that will assist me get more out of the PC?
  • Silverstone Grandia GD09 HTPC Case
  • Asrock AB350M Pro4 Motherboard
  • AMD Ryzen 1600 CPU
  • Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-3000 16GB
  • Crucial 480GB BX300 SSD
  • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4GB
  • 650 Watt Power Supply
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,177
10,645
126
I wouldn't buy win7 at this point, but if you already have it, why not? Try it, and upgrade later if you're missing out.
 
pjmssn

pjmssn

Member
Aug 17, 2017
89
11
71
Changes are always difficult. Windows 10 is different, but it is a great OS and you will get used to it very quickly. I would definitely get windows 10 if I were you.
 
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Burpo

Burpo

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2013
4,223
473
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(I just download movies to a NAS and use GOM Player to play them on the HTPC to the TV, my uses are basic in that respect). Will using Windows 7 prevent me from taking advantage of any core technology advancements that will assist me get more out of the PC?
Click to expand...

No
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Well, other than the fact that a Ryzen CPU is "unsupported" in Windows 7, you'll be fine. Might need to patch Windows Update, to get it to work with the Ryzen CPU, though.
 
Iron Woode

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,306
12,823
136
I basically did the same thing as the OP.

the only differences are:
I5 haswell system
R9 280 video card
Win 8.1 wmc with classic shell

I have it linked to my steam account and play such things are Doom3, Bioshock 1 & 2 and Infinite.

Win 8.1 supports directx 11 while win 7 doesn't.
 
S

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,067
422
126
Iron Woode said:
I basically did the same thing as the OP.

the only differences are:
I5 haswell system
R9 280 video card
Win 8.1 wmc with classic shell

I have it linked to my steam account and play such things are Doom3, Bioshock 1 & 2 and Infinite.

Win 8.1 supports directx 11 while win 7 doesn't.
Click to expand...

windows 7 and 8.1 both support DX11 and lack DX12 support.
 
Iron Woode

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,306
12,823
136
SPBHM said:
windows 7 and 8.1 both support DX11 and lack DX12 support.
Click to expand...
I was thinking it was limited to dx10.

I did discover that 7 supports dx11.1 and win8.1 supports dx11.2

not sure if there is any noticeable difference.
 
BonzaiDuck

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,663
2,038
126
Avalonthas said:
In the process of putting together a new mid range gaming computer in an HTPC form factor for my condo's TV entertainment unit to play single player games on the television. I have been running Windows 7 since its inception and never gave Windows 8 a look as I did not want to deviate from the traditional Windows GUI.

Now that Windows 7 is on the dated side (I still prefer the GUI) I am debating if I want to transition to Windows 10. I am not a fan of the start menu and other ways the OS has been organised and since we will be with Windows 7 at work for some years to come, I have no pressing need to familiarise with WIN10.

However are there any compelling reasons to shift to Windows 10 from the perspective of gaming efficiency or HTPC use (I just download movies to a NAS and use GOM Player to play them on the HTPC to the TV, my uses are basic in that respect). Will using Windows 7 prevent me from taking advantage of any core technology advancements that will assist me get more out of the PC?
  • Silverstone Grandia GD09 HTPC Case
  • Asrock AB350M Pro4 Motherboard
  • AMD Ryzen 1600 CPU
  • Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-3000 16GB
  • Crucial 480GB BX300 SSD
  • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4GB
  • 650 Watt Power Supply
Click to expand...

Well, let us examine the situation, because I have been in a similar boat. If you aren't counting on Windows Media Center for "Live TV," you have greater freedom. For those of us who do, we know we have maybe 3 years of support left for Win 7. We are conflicted about moving to Win10 -- which neither has-- nor supports -- Media Center. For certain types of Cable-TV network tuners like HD HomeRun Prime, Media Center may be the only means of accessing encrypted premium channels and recording programs from them. SiliconDust is midwifing a "HDHR DVR" project which runs in Windows 10 and which currently will display premium content but will not record it (but I should check again its status).

In your case, you download movies and use another player. If the player or something similar runs on Windows 10, then there is no problem. If you don't rely on a cable-TV subscription with premiums, you have no worry about moving to Win 10 irreversibly.

I chose instead to create a dual-boot configuration for Win7/Win10, partly for the reasons one can infer from my description. I now work more with Win 10 on that system, and maybe visit Win 7 at boot-time about once or twice monthly.

So at this point, I have both feet planted on Windows 10 ground. "Classic Shell" in Win 10 fits my Windows-7 habitual comfort level. I grow less and less annoyed about finding the features I know in a Win 7 context when I need them in Win 10.
 
Thebobo

Thebobo

Lifer
Jun 19, 2006
18,574
7,672
136
I bought a used dell and it had 10 pro and is set up just to be like win 7. I like win 10 and for once I am not 3 years behind on the OS.
 
Elixer

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,371
762
126
For what it is worth, I migrated all my win 7/8 machines to VMs and replaced the physical machines with win 10.

While I still don't like some of the things win 10 does (which I block), for the most part, I have had no issues to speak of.
 
R

Ratman6161

Senior member
Mar 21, 2008
616
75
91
VirtualLarry said:
Well, other than the fact that a Ryzen CPU is "unsupported" in Windows 7, you'll be fine. Might need to patch Windows Update, to get it to work with the Ryzen CPU, though.
Click to expand...
except...at best that's temporary. Windows 7 is end of life in March 2020 which is less than 2.5 years. After that it goes the way of XP. No more updates no matter how you back it.

For anyone where the UI is your reason for not upgrading, just pay the $5.00 for Start 10.
 
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