Windows 7

Windows 7 is the new Operating System (OS) from Microsoft designed to replace the not-very-old Windows Vista. Many of our customers still have Windows XP, so an upgrade missing out Vista completely is probably on the cards.

The new OS was released on 22nd October 2009, and there are plenty of offers from the major retailers that offer a 'free upgrade to Windows 7', post-release. They do this to avoid customers from hanging on with a new purchase until the new OS is released. The down side to doing this is that Windows 7 mainly requires a fresh installation rather than an upgrade, as happened with XP to Vista (see our Comparion Chart below).

There are still quite a few sceptics out there who just can't get on with Windows Vista, which is a shame because after teething problems, especially with drivers, the system seems to have settled down.

The trade press still castigates Vista, sometimes unfairly we think, but Microsoft have tried really hard to get it right this time. It just goes to show that everyone makes mistakes.


Here at Tactical Panda we have been looking at our own copy of Windows 7 for a little while now, under the Microsoft Release Candidate scheme where people like us test it on a stand-alone PC and data about how the software performs is sent back to them for analysis (and hopefully, improvement!).

To the sceptical, Windows 7 is just 'Vista on steroids', and to the more sceptical, it's just another excuse for the Microsoft Corporation to cash in on a captured market. We don't actually agree with either statement, having experimented with it - but then again, opinions vary.

One opinion we all share is that Vista was not the runaway success that it could have been, especially with the commercial market. In our opinion there were too many variations, and it looked too complicated, as does the new Office suite - Microsoft Office 2007. We still install more copies of Office 2003 than Office 2007. Better to stay with the tried and tested Windows XP (& Office 2003) - many said.

 Versions of Windows 7

Back to practicalities, and our experience to date. We made a big mistake when we first loaded our copy of Windows 7 (henceforth W7), we installed it in a partition on an XP machine - oops! It really didn't like the dual-boot facility and every time we tried to update W7, the computer crashed and re-started! Re-think time. We have spare computers (as you do!) purely for testing software, and we formatted the hard drive then re-installed W7. Whoosh! Off it went and I have to admit, even with the limited amount of software so far installed, it is certainly faster than an equivalent XP or Vista machine.

To date we have successfully installed:

  • Windows Live (Messenger and Live Mail)
  • Ashampoo Burning Studio V9
  • Ashampoo Magical Snap
  • Updates from Microsoft
  • Internet Explorer V8
  • Mozilla Firefox V3.5
  • Adobe Acrobat V9

The only failed installation to date has been the software to run a Blackberry mobile phone, but we are looking into that. We are slowly adding more and more software to see what happens, but to date (other than the Blackberry), all has gone well. The computer we have installed W7 on is a HP Pavilion desktop with 2Gb of RAM, a single 250Gb SATA hard drive and a dual-core AMD Athlon 64 processor - standard stuff for both Vista and W7 to run nicely.

How does it look?

We have taken a few 'snapshots' that show how our example of W7 looks to us at the moment. Of course, the way it looks may change before the release date, but the changes will be minor, so at least you can get an idea from these! To take a look, simply click on any of the links below and they will open up in a small mini-window.

Basically, W7 looks and feels like Vista in a lot of ways, and nothing like XP or even earlier Operating Systems. Of course there are a few more 'gadgets' and clever bits of built-in software to make computer using more fun(?), some are a bit silly in our opinion, others quite useful. We won't waste your time with our opinions here though, it's up to the consumers to try it and see. One thing we do like though (and all Vista users will know about this), is the reduction in the number of times W7 asks you if you are sure you want to do something.

You know the feeling, you try to install some software and Vista pops up with a confirmation box making sure you have permission to carry on. I find it irritating as I wouldn't have put the printer disc in the drive if I didn't want the software to load in the first place!

Fast or what?

Another plus side, we have noticed that (as promised by Microsoft) W7 certainly opens and shuts down a lot faster than Vista and noticeably quicker than XP (yes, we sat there with a stopwatch!). Even bearing in mind that there aren't a huge amount of programmes to load and shutdown, it was certainly quicker than an equivalent test computer with Vista Home Premium installed.

Bear in mind though that our test computer is not cluttered with junk programmes like CC Cleaner, AIM and IncrediMail, it has a dual-core processor running the show and 2Gb of RAM. If you have a 7 year old XP computer with a Pentium 4 processor and 512Mb of RAM, you certainly won't get the same results! Our advice? Think about getting a new PC, don't bother upgrading the computer from XP to W7 - you will be disapointed for sure. Like Vista, W7 is designed with a minimum specification in mind, so old processors and less than 1Gb of RAM just won't cut the mustard.

Graphics

If you are thinking about upgrading your existing computer to W7, bear in mind that the system is reliant upon a half-decent graphics card. Chances are if you have an on-board graphics card then your computer will crawl along while all the fancy effects and graphics desperately try to load. The answer is spend a few pennies on a new graphics card (minimum 256Mb), and this will improve matters.

How can you tell which graphics card you have? Here's a good rule of thumb. If the port where you attach the monitor to the computer is vertical, the chances are you have a built-in graphics card, part of the motherboard. If the port is lower down and horizontal, then you have a seperate graphics card - this is good! There are 3 variations of graphics cards - PCI, AGP and PCI Express. For more information about this subject, please click here.

Comparison Chart

Would you like to see a comparison chart to see what's needed to upgrade to Windows 7 from XP or Vista? Please click here to view a pdf document detailing the different versions that can be bought, and which versions of Windows (XP and Vista) can be upgraded.

For your information, and to save any possible confusion, the majority of home computers are 32-bit, and most home computer customers will probably be looking at Windows 7 Home Premium.

To view this document you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (most computers already have it installed). If you don't have it, you can download a free copy from our website by clicking here. Adobe Acrobat

More from Microsoft?

Want to now more? For a general overview of Windows 7, please click here for more information from the Microsoft website.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Would you like to see if your computer is capable of taking up the new Operating System? Please click here, and you will be taken to the Microsoft website where they have a clever bit of free software you can use to see if your PC is up to the task!

Specific Features

To see more about some of the new features in Windows 7, there is more information available from Microsoft, click here to visit the Windows 7 website where you can explore and learn more about the features of this new operating system.

Finally...

As we find out more about W7, so we will add more to this page. In the meantime, if you have any questions you would like to ask about Windows XP, Vista or 7, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Windows 7 icons