Will Windows 7 run smoothly on a non-powerful computer?

[deathstriker]

Will Windows 7 run smoothly on a non-powerful computer?

what if a PC has this:

Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz
512mb DDR2 RAM
98mb Intel Extreme Graphics
80GB Hard Disk

I've tried Windows Vista Ultimate on this computer, and it runs fine but without it's Windows Aero Interface. I also experience problems running games and different programs on it.

I've heard that Windows 7 is lighter than Vista, so will Windows 7 run smoothly on this computer?

 

[Orbital Shark]

Windows 7 will run smoother than Vista on this configuration. You will again lose the Aero effect but games sould run smoother as there are less resources being used.

 

[Fabio]

I was running the x86 on a laptop with Celeron M (1.5GHz) CPU, 512MB RAM, & integrated GFX, and it wasnt great to be honest. I upped it to 2Gig RAM. and it is not bad at all now.

If you persevere with 512MB, as OS says you will lose the aero effect.

It works but you really need to be quite patient IMO.

 

[RST101]

Will Windows 7 run smoothly on a non-powerful computer?

what if a PC has this:

Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz
512mb DDR2 RAM
98mb Intel Extreme Graphics
80GB Hard Disk

I've tried Windows Vista Ultimate on this computer, and it runs fine but without it's Windows Aero Interface. I also experience problems running games and different programs on it.

I've heard that Windows 7 is lighter than Vista, so will Windows 7 run smoothly on this computer?

It's your gfx and ram that your going to have problems with. Is a laptop or desktop?

 

[Nikkeli]

I'd say windows 7 is as lightweight as xp, I got old rig with 1.2ghz processor with only graphics chip integrated to mobo and 1gb ram, and xp ran pretty much as fast as windows 7 currently.

 

[nate42nd]

Will Windows 7 run smoothly on a non-powerful computer?

what if a PC has this:

Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz
512mb DDR2 RAM
98mb Intel Extreme Graphics
80GB Hard Disk

I've tried Windows Vista Ultimate on this computer, and it runs fine but without it's Windows Aero Interface. I also experience problems running games and different programs on it.

I've heard that Windows 7 is lighter than Vista, so will Windows 7 run smoothly on this computer?

I have run the 32 bit version of every build since 7022 and the 64 bit of two versions.

The specs on that box is: Pentium 4 3Ghz, 512 MB ram, ATI radeon 200 164MB (i think) so almost the same as yours. They have all been fine. I would get a 2 or 4 GB flash drive and run readyboost and it's even better. Good luck! You'll be fine with that machine.

 

[Lebon14]

I run W7 on a virtual machine and it runs nice. So, it'll run just fine on your config.

VM :
Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz (only one core - the second is for the host OS - here Vista)
768MB of RAM
VMware graphic card DirectX 9 with 3D acceleration.
28GB of (V)HD.

lol... don't even use it... it was just for the kick on using it on minimal resources.

 

[napilopez]

It should run decently on that machine. The only thing I would recommend is upgrading the ram to at least 1 GB if possible. In my experience 7 runs at least as well as XP on old computers if they have 1GB of ram or more

 

[RST101]

I'd say windows 7 is as lightweight as xp, I got old rig with 1.2ghz processor with only graphics chip integrated to mobo and 1gb ram, and xp ran pretty much as fast as windows 7 currently.

Once it is up and running it is as fast but I would not say it is as light on resources. Don't get me wrong here mate I'm the biggest Windows 7 fan there is and yes it is as fast if not the fastest os out there but it does need more to actually get it up and running.

 

[LePoilu]

Little off-topic

VM :
Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz (only one core - the second is for the host OS - here Vista)

Why separate Core for guest and host ?
You have a Core 2 Duo E6600 with hardware acceleration of Virtualization (Intel V-T) You should have better perf with the both core running on both OS (host and guest). The CPU and the virtualisation software know better than you how to manage proccess over the core.

 

[deathstriker]

Thanks a lot, guys!

I'll try upgrading the ram and getting a new Graphic Card.

 

[Fizban]

Once it is up and running it is as fast but I would not say it is as light on resources. Don't get me wrong here mate I'm the biggest Windows 7 fan there is and yes it is as fast if not the fastest os out there but it does need more to actually get it up and running.

Agreed, it's absolutely not as lightweight as XP. XP can run (albeit not well) on 128 MB RAM, don't even think of that with Windows 7. Oh, and there's several *nix variants that blow the socks off 7 in terms of speed, so definitely not the fastest OS, though maybe the fastest Windows OS.

 

[Romulinx2]

Windows 7 will run smoothly, but you may need more RAM to run the newer games.

 

[Lebon14]

Little off-topic

Why separate Core for guest and host ?
You have a Core 2 Duo E6600 with hardware acceleration of Virtualization (Intel V-T) You should have better perf with the both core running on both OS (host and guest). The CPU and the virtualisation software know better than you how to manage proccess over the core.

Merci LePoilu. Je ne savais pas cette fonctionnalité de mon processeur.
Thank you LePoilu. I didn't know this functionnality of my CPU.

 

[deathstriker]

I'm really doubting....Microsoft now released new requirements for Windows 7...so does this mean my old computer can't run Windows 7 smoothly? or it just can't run Windows 7?

CPU SPECS:
Pentium 4, 3.00GHz
512mb DDR2-RAM
98mb Intel Extreme Graphics Card
80GB HardDrive

note: I've tested VISTA on this one, and it runs fine without the AERO INTERFACE.



How about on my other computer, this is newer, will Windows 7 run great?

CPU Specs:
Pentium D, 3.00GHz
1GB DDR2-RAM
128mb ATI Radeon 9200 Pro
120GB HardDrive

 

[Shak 10]

I'm really doubting....Microsoft now released new requirements for Windows 7...so does this mean my old computer can't run Windows 7 smoothly? or it just can't run Windows 7?

CPU SPECS:
Pentium 4, 3.00GHz
512mb DDR2-RAM
98mb Intel Extreme Graphics Card
80GB HardDrive

note: I've tested VISTA on this one, and it runs fine without the AERO INTERFACE.



How about on my other computer, this is newer, will Windows 7 run great?

CPU Specs:
Pentium D, 3.00GHz
1GB DDR2-RAM
128mb ATI Radeon 9200 Pro
120GB HardDrive

Yer should run fine on your newer computer not so sure about windows aero theme though.

 

[deathstriker]

how about on my old computer? will Windows 7 run fine without the AERO theme?

 

[ambientmf]

how about on my old computer? will Windows 7 run fine without the AERO theme?

I would say almost certainly.
The visual effects require decent hardware to run smoothly but it's definitely not necessary to have them enabled.
I'd recommend getting another gig of memory.
My sister has an Acer Aspire laptop with a Celeron M 560 and 1GB of RAM and it runs fairly smooth.

I think your dual-core Pentium would perform fine with Win7.

 

[deathstriker]

So disabling the visual effects on my old computer will make windows 7 run fine?

Well I guessed that's ok, at least it can run a newer version of Windows.

 

[ambientmf]

So disabling the visual effects on my old computer will make windows 7 run fine?

Well I guessed that's ok, at least it can run a newer version of Windows.

Windows 7 feels a lot quicker than Vista, in my opinion.
Also, your old computer has twice the performance of the Pentium 4 specs you posted earlier so yeah, you should be able to run Win7 fine.