Super Windows 7 Build Project Help

[sshd guy]

Hello all, I'm looking to build a new PC that will last me for many years still using windows 7. I want to buy the best parts that still work on 7. For example I know a GTX 3090Ti will work. So what else will work with 7 that's a top end processor mobo etc?

Secondary I want to try and dual boot with 10 and use 10 exclusively for steam.

Thank you for any help that can be provided.

 

[SIW2]

This is the sort of place that can advise. Amd cpu and Gigabyte motherboards seem to be Canonkong's suggestion
[Solution] Win 7/Win8.1 x64 Ryzen APU Video driver - #8 by canonkong - Windows 7/Vista/Server 2008 - Win-Raid Forum

 

[file3456]

If you don't want to run hack crap drivers (that look Chinese - seriously) then read what I put in my signature that says the following: "Windows 7: Intel socket and chipset 2066, X299. AMD chipset X470"

So, Any Intel based motherboard with an X299 chipset should have Windows 7 drivers from the motherboard manufacture. This would be socket 2066. For AMD the highest chipset is X470 that where the motherboard manufacturer should have Windows 7 drivers.

It appears that 2017 is the "latest" you can go for motherboards or even laptops that stopped supporting Windows 7 drivers.

https://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/428573-laptop-question.html#post3522361


Note:

The X470 chipset by AMD is a lame PCIe 2.0. Back in the day Intel already had PCIe 3.0 at that time. So if you use an NVMe hard drive in such an AMD system it will NOT be as fast as it could where PCIe 3.0 would be the max you can get for a 2017 era computer with an Intel chipset.

- - - Updated - - -

Here are the products from Gigabyte: Intel | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global


Use Amazon, eBay or your favorite online retailer...

 

[sshd guy]

So I have seen a lot of threads where people have been successful with 12th and 13th gen chips. I am looking to really stretch how far I can go with this. I have found windows 7 isos that are fully loaded with nvme and usb 3.1 drivers built in, so as long as the hardware will work I'm confident I can make a go of it. So here's parts that I'm looking at, would love any input or scrutiny the community can provide.

[h=3]Intel Core i9-12900K[/h][h=3]ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E (really like this board but not sure if the E will give issues or not.)[/h]ROG-STRIX-RTX3090-O24G-GAMING (Already purchased, I know this has drivers from Nvidia)
[h=3]CORSAIR Vengeance 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 6400MHz CL32 Black 1.4V X2 (128GB total)[/h][h=3]WD Black SN850X 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 (Windows 7 install)[/h][h=3]WD Black SN850X 4TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 (Windows 10 install and Steam)[/h][h=3]WD Black 10TB Hard Drive 3.5" Internal SATA[/h][h=3]Corsair* HXi Series HX1500i Fully Modular Ultra-Low Noise ATX Digital Power Supply[/h][h=3]ASUS (BW-16D1HT) Internal 16x BDXL Blu-ray Writer[/h]
Still undecided on a tower and CPU cooling.

Again any help/scrutiny is much appreciated!

 

[teckneeculler]

SG, thanks for posting here about your quest. There are probably thousands of other W7 enthusiasts on this and other boards around the world who'll be interested in your progress, so please keep us informed.

 

[sshd guy]

It has been built with the parts above, ended up using a Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black for cooling and a cougar panzer max for the case (very hard to find these days)

I had looked up that the cooler would fit without issues and someone had a similar build that confirmed it if you point the fans a certain way. However I don't recall but I'm guessing that build didn't have 4 sticks of ram or maybe they were shorter. Because in my case it then was on the ram. So the only solution that others had pointed to was to take a hot knife to a superfluous piece of the motherboard and cut it off. We didn't have a hot knife so we used and hacksaw and a vacuum. It worked great.

Took some time and fiddling to get Windows 7 installed which I finally did. So if anyone else is trying to make it work on the Asus z690-E then this is the iso I used. Windows 7 Ultimate x64 English : ismaysfx : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Hope this can help others! Long live Windows 7!

 

[MisterEd]

If you don't want to run hack crap drivers (that look Chinese - seriously) then read what I put in my signature that says the following: "Windows 7: Intel socket and chipset 2066, X299. AMD chipset X470"

So, Any Intel based motherboard with an X299 chipset should have Windows 7 drivers from the motherboard manufacture. This would be socket 2066. For AMD the highest chipset is X470 that where the motherboard manufacturer should have Windows 7 drivers.

It appears that 2017 is the "latest" you can go for motherboards or even laptops that stopped supporting Windows 7 drivers.
https://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/428573-laptop-question.html#post3522361
Note:
The X470 chipset by AMD is a lame PCIe 2.0. Back in the day Intel already had PCIe 3.0 at that time. So if you use an NVMe hard drive in such an AMD system it will NOT be as fast as it could where PCIe 3.0 would be the max you can get for a 2017 era computer with an Intel chipset.

AMD had PCIe 3.0 earlier than you say. Even the ASUS Prime X370-Pro motherboard I bought in Feb 2017 had PCIe 3.0.

ASUS Prime X370-Pro PCIe connections
AMD Ryzen Processors
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 slots [PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2]
AMD X370 chipset
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot [PCIEX16_3]
3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots [PCIEX1_1, PCIEX1_2, PCIEX1_3]

Note the ASUS Prime X470-Pro motherboard which came out in 2018 also had the same PCIe configuration.

 

[nt351]

It has been built with the parts above, ended up using a Noctua NH-D15 chromax. Black for cooling and a cougar panzer max for the case (very hard to find these days)
Hope this can help others! Long live Windows 7!

And the price-tag was ?

 

[sshd guy]

Just under 4500 CDN. Most of the savings was a crazy FB marketplace deal on the 3090.

 

[nt351]

That is more than 3 times the amount I spent on beer in 2023.

Just under 4500

May you derive a decade or two joy from the use of that machine (or, until they ban all of us from the internet for being retrogrades)
----but I did buy a Lenovo p300 for $75.00 which I, too, expect to use for many years

 

[teckneeculler]

That is more than 3 times the amount I spent on beer in 2023.

May you derive a decade or two joy from the use of that machine (or, until they ban all of us from the internet for being retrogrades)
----but I did buy a Lenovo p300 for $75.00 which I, too, expect to use for many years

LOL

 

[TL25]

Hey sshd guy, I'm thinking about doing a build just like yours, specifically to run W7 and now probably 11. With the system you built, is there anything you would change now if you were to build it again 2 years later? And how's it been for stability? Thanks.

 

[sshd guy]

For the most part it's fantastic, very stable with almost no issues.

My one regret is the MOBO. I was dead set on an ASUS even though I was warned it would be tough. I had to slice a corner of it off to make everything fit without the CPU cooler touching the RAM. Installing 7 and the drivers took forever to figure out and apparently there is no way to make the audio analog jacks work on Win7. My workaround has been HDMI audio to my monitors which have 3.5mm out to my speakers.

Learn from my mistake and buy the MSI Board with legacy support like I should have done.

 

[TL25]

Okay thanks for the update! I'll look into the MSI options. Gonna try my hand at doing my first complete build, and also trying to make the best performing, longest lasting Windows 7 I can get!

 

[sshd guy]

Remember if you're going with an NVIDIA GPU that the 30 series were the last to have Win7 compatibility.

 

[TL25]

Right. Now what I'm thinking, if you were able to use a 690 chipset and 1700 socket, I would go with a MSI Pro Z690 board, and I should be able to run a Intel 14900k right?

 

[sshd guy]

I don't have the knowledge to say. I simply made my system based on what I found online that was working for others. Someone had a system very close to mine so I knew the parts would work and together.