Win7 Retail The Real Story?

[Corpsecrank]

I have been hearing from people that used the RC and then bought the retail version that the retail is nothing like the RC. They say that the security in the retail version was pumped back up to almost the same level as vista was.

The people I hear saying this also said that they used the RC and really enjoyed it but were surprised and disappointed by the copy they bought on the store shelf.

So what is the truth in all of this? Are there any differences between the RC and retail that would be worth noting or are these people simply exaggerating or stirring up trouble with rumors?

Just curious.

 

[valtonray]

i haven't noticed any significant difference. i think the biggest difference many people face between the RC and the retail versions is the transition from having the ultimate version and then downgrading to the home premium version obviously losing features they may not have been aware they would no longer have.

 

[pparks1]

I too didn't notice much difference whatsoever between RC1 and the final RTM release. Their certainly was not significant changes in the security system

 

[DocBrown]

I have been beta testing win7 since it was Milestone ??? in fall of 2008

So I have been through a lot of different builds of win7. On this particular computer(x64) I upgraded to the retail version in Sept. with my TechNet subscription.

I have not noticed any pumped up difference with the current retail version.
So I guess I am a very satisfied user of win7.

 

[Corpsecrank]

I really can't see why there would be some type of drastic change to the retail after all the trouble microsoft went through to get everyone using the RC and become familiar with their new OS. I really think that going through the RC process only to turn around and give consumers a product that was that much different would be a big deal and you would see talk of it all over the net and it would also be very damaging to sales within the first week or so.

I still plan to stick with 7 regardless. I just wanted to know if it were really true or not.

 

[iseeuu]

A few things are missing, like Group Policy, and Network Backup but I have not noticed any performance hit from the Ultimate RC and my Home Premium.

 

[whs]

The only difference I noticed was a better performance of the RC. But then that was not a full blown system. But other than that I am happy with Home Premium (especially the 32bit version). I do not miss any of the Ultimate functions. The 64bit version that came with my new laptop has a few more problems (in terms of not being able to run a few things).

 

[pparks1]

A few things are missing, like Group Policy, and Network Backup but I have not noticed any performance hit from the Ultimate RC and my Home Premium.

And those things are only missing because you went from the Ultimate version to the Home Premium product.

 

[iseeuu]

A few things are missing, like Group Policy, and Network Backup but I have not noticed any performance hit from the Ultimate RC and my Home Premium.

And those things are only missing because you went from the Ultimate version to the Home Premium product.

Exactly.

 

[smarteyeball]

I have been beta testing win7 since it was Milestone ??? in fall of 2008

So I have been through a lot of different builds of win7. On this particular computer(x64) I upgraded to the retail version in Sept. with my TechNet subscription.

I have not noticed any pumped up difference with the current retail version.
So I guess I am a very satisfied user of win7.

6801?

I've been through most of the builds as well and have not noticed any significant changes to security.

 

[jfar]

Me neither and I have been through them all.

 

[hubris]

Noticeable differences have only been slight for me. Still with Ultimate though.

6801?

Ah. Memories.......

 

[valtonray]

like i said all the rc versions were ultimate. naturally hp is the best selling version for consumers. obviously making that switch you are going to lose some features. maybe some consumers including yourself were unaware of this but MS has made significant efforts to educate the consumers of the differences in retail packages and if it was ignored by an individual or a group it's npt really the fault of ms.

 

[Wishmaster]

I didn't notice any significant difference RC>Official either.

 

[Corpsecrank]

Yeah based on what you are all telling me and what I have experienced myself I have no idea what these couple people are talking about. I think maybe they downgraded or forgot to turn UAC down or something lol.

Anyways thanks for helping clear this up.

 

[gregrocker]

There is a signficant performance boost when changing from the RC to RTM, due to the removal of a ton of monitoring software and debugging code.

This is why it is easy to be deluded by reports that in-place Upgrade workaround works fantastically from RC to any retail version.

It performs better because the RTM is so much better than RC, but there is still a performance hit to some degree doing in-place as there always is.

Nonetheless it's hard to argue when you have so many raving about an in-place Upgrade's success. So I give it out with some reluctance to those who haven't got time to clean install from RC now.

 

[WindowsStar]

I have been beta testing win7 since it was Milestone ??? in fall of 2008

So I have been through a lot of different builds of win7. On this particular computer(x64) I upgraded to the retail version in Sept. with my TechNet subscription.

I have not noticed any pumped up difference with the current retail version.
So I guess I am a very satisfied user of win7.

Same here...been through lots of 7 testing...Retail or Enterprise not much difference from the betas or RCs.