Windows 7 Home Premium 64 here. I also use built in firewall with no problems. Many people here use MSE and report it works great. They both are free. I clean installed using windows built in drivers. Things worked as they should. A few weeks later I checked and updated Nvidia drivers. I use a Duo Core 830 with no problems. I also use 4 gigs of ram and it works great. If your system will allow 4 gigs I recommend installing 4 gigs.
As a Gamer, I recommend be at 4 gigs minimum. I am at 8 gigs cause I run other stuff as well and it adds up pretty quickly.
The PhysX part - Don't worry so much about it, not many games actually use that part and you can get updated version of drivers from nVidia. Update drivers accordingly if you are having performance issues in some areas such as disk and network and stuff.
You will find some applications will seem to process faster. Such as for me, I watched Planetside that use to take a minute or so to load up take up half that time under windows 7.
I don't quite understand the pros and cons of going 64 vs 32 bit can someone please give me some advice on this?
I have 2 open slot for RAM and just ordered 2 (1XGB ) of same exact RAM as in my ststem So I will now have 4 GB RAM
Do you guys mean that with Win 7 it should see my graphics card and install the correct drivers ??
Still would like to know more about going 32 or 64 bit, pro's and con's with my hardware ??
The Win 7 DVD has 95% of the drivers on it. Any that are not on there will most likely be found when you do a Windows Update. == One of the problems with going 64 bit at this time is that sometimes it can be hard to find drivers. I have 4 GB of Ram and only run 32 bit. I am losing about .75 GB of ram because the system can not handle it. It isn't that bid a deal to me. In a couple years when the drivers are more plentiful, I plan to update my system and go 64 bit.
There is also a posting on the differences between 32 bit and 64 bit in the Installation forum...
The only reason I went to x64 is to gain the use of more memory past the current 4 gig limit 32 bit OS has. In fact, all windows using 32 bit will tend to hover around 3 to 3.5 gigs memory that is usable, making you waste .5 to a gig of ram. The only time you might worry about that is if you run a lot of programs or use resource intensive programs, which then Memory becomes something you want more of to keep performance to some level of reasonability.
Benefit wise, it is a toss up. Although I would lean a little more on the belief that for some programs where you need a lot of resources, namely Adobe products tend to like to eat memory like candy or having programs that leak memory like a sieve, a 64 bit OS that will at least help with some of the memory allocation without having to go heavily into virtual ram works a heck of a lot better and less need of having to juggle things around.
As for Graphics Drivers... Technically, there should be drivers you can get from Windows, however, Manufacturers tend to tweak their drivers to improve performance over time, and sometimes don't send them through Windows Updates.
When the compatibility testing program warned you of some of that stuff, it means that you may have to make sure to get updated or replacement programs as the current software you might have might not work when you upgrade.
This is a common problem with many OS and changes in implementation. It doesn't mean you are completely boned, but it wants you to be aware that there will be issues with these drivers or programs if you 'must have' them. If you do, you should be prepared to see if there are newer versions of it.
If it just a matter of the drivers for my graphics card I don't see that as too big of a problem, if Win7 doesn't have them on the DVD I'm sure I can get them from NVIDA. Are there is issues with software running on 32 bit but not on 64? I used a lot of graphics programs like Photoshop but benn running it with XP Pro and 2 Gb RAM for years without a single problem.
I am due to do a fresh install of my OS and I thought what better time to go up to Windows 7 but I don't want to get in the middle of a install and get a bunch of suprises, this is why I am asking all these questions.
Thanks as always
You might want to consider keeping XP on one HD and phase over to Win7 you install on another HD. This will allow you to take time installing programs to get them just right in 7 before they go online for production.
If you install 7 with the other HD's unplugged, when you plug them back in you can boot the preferred via BIOS boot order and the other(s) via one-time BIOS boot menu key for your mobo. Works great, keeps HD's independent to come and go as you please.
Last edited by gregrocker; 10 Sep 2010 at 21:36.
I dual boot is a option but I would really like to just do a fresh install on Windows 7.
I do a fresh install of XP Pro about every year just to get a fresh start when it starts to run slower, I'm about ready for that and rather than do a fresh install of XP Pro I thought why not go to Win 7 now.
I have Win 7 on my laptop and I don't use it much so I am kinda lost when trying to use. That is another reason I wanted to upgrade to Win 7 so that is all I use and that way I'll learn it better and faster.
I just don't want to run into all kinda of problems with Win 7, I bought 2 more GB of the same exact RAM that I have 2 GB of in my system now so that should be enough for Win 7. The NVIDA drivers that were not compatible with Win 7 shouldn't be a problem in fact somone provided me a link to new drivers for NVIDA, just not sure if they are for my graphics card???
Some of you guys make me feel safe going to Win 7 and some make me feel scared....lol
I guess if it doesn't go well when I do the install I can then create a dual boot and install XP Pro on another drive but would rather not go with a dual boot unless I have to.
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