Windows 7 Vs XP on speed

[Sparkydan]

Hi

Is there much difference on speed and battery life on portable computers between Xp and 7?

 

[FaberTech]

There are too many variables to define what you are asking. But I do not believe you will notice much difference with battery usage. Perhaps if you could tell us what kind of system you are running, we could further help you choose between the two.

Edit: Also, what do you use your computer for on a daily basis.

 

[roboticarm]

Depends much on the specs of the machine. Windows 7 is noticeably faster but does have some system requirements that need to be met.

As per battery life, with Windows Aero, battery life will be lesser than that of XP.

 

[FaberTech]

Depends much on the specs of the machine. Windows 7 is noticeably faster but does have some system requirements that need to be met.

As per battery life, with Windows Aero, battery life will be lesser than that of XP.

True, but windows Aero will only work if the system supports it. I'f the system is old enough, it wont run Aero anyway. Or if its Windows 7 basic. But good point

 

[roboticarm]

Depends much on the specs of the machine. Windows 7 is noticeably faster but does have some system requirements that need to be met.

As per battery life, with Windows Aero, battery life will be lesser than that of XP.

True, but windows Aero will only work if the system supports it. I'f the system is old enough, it wont run Aero anyway. Or if its Windows 7 basic. But good point

A system which does not support Aero will most probably be laggy to use even with basic theme since the UI will solely depend on software rendering.

 

[FaberTech]

Depends much on the specs of the machine. Windows 7 is noticeably faster but does have some system requirements that need to be met.

As per battery life, with Windows Aero, battery life will be lesser than that of XP.

True, but windows Aero will only work if the system supports it. I'f the system is old enough, it wont run Aero anyway. Or if its Windows 7 basic. But good point

A system which does not support Aero will most probably be laggy to use even with basic theme since the UI will solely depend on software rendering.

Very true. Ha ha I have a feeling this is gonna be a long thread. As I said. There are too many variables.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
As others have said -- depends on what you are doing on either system. However a HUGE way to improve battery life (and make the machine perform much better - whatever OS is on it) is to fit an SSD).

XP doesn't have any native SATA drivers so if you want to continue running XP with a MODERN (non IDE) SSD you'll need to slipstream the SATA drivers into the install media -- plenty of tutorials on how to do that.

My own view is that unless you NEED XP for any particular purpose run W7. (Actually if you can tolerate it W8 is actually better for battery life due to the optimisations and improved code in the OS - but W8 isn't everybody's idea of a decent OS -- especially on a W7 Forum).

Cheers
jimbo

 

[logicearth]

Actually, with Aero on, the battery life will be improved. The graphics processor is already active, rending the display, the work load Aero puts on to it is nothing, it doesn't even have to pull itself out of its power save mode. Where as, if you were doing the UI on the CPU, that makes the CPU work harder. The GPU is far more efficient with graphical computations then the CPU.

 

[benjy206]

Stated all above is all true. As William (FaberTech) said it could be a very long thread. It would mostly depend on the system itself. So Specs would be great. Regarding the battery life that also depends more or so on the system also. You need to be asking how old is the system? Then all the other specs.

Batteries over time lose there power to keep a good charge, most people say 5 years it will last, but I have had ones for longer. Some for less, as said it all the depends on the specs

 

[roboticarm]

Actually, with Aero on, the battery life will be improved. The graphics processor is already active, rending the display, the work load Aero puts on to it is nothing, it doesn't even have to pull itself out of its power save mode. Where as, if you were doing the UI on the CPU, that makes the CPU work harder. The GPU is far more efficient with graphical computations then the CPU.

Much true, but disabling transparency DOES make a difference on the battery life. One of the reasons why Windows 8 gives more battery life.

Nothing on the face of Earth is free, everything costs, the fancy Aero effects make the processors (CPU+GPU overall) work much more than XP did, Aero does cost extra power when compared to XP, but disabling Aero totally does not obviously save power.

 

[LMiller7]

The decision between XP and Windows 7 needs to consider other factors besides performance and battery life. Computers generally work best when the hardware and OS are of similar age. Because of XP's great popularity people often loose sight of the fact that it is now more than 11 years old, which for an OS is a very long time. Microsoft's support for XP will end in 2014 and after that date there will be no new Windows updates. XP has some security issues that will never be fixed. Installing XP on a relatively new computer can be a challenge and the results often not fully satisfactory. The day is coming when major software suppliers will no longer support XP. And there is more.

If the hardware adequately supports Windows 7 or Windows 8 you need a really compelling reason to choose any other OS.

 

[FaberTech]

The decision between XP and Windows 7 needs to consider other factors besides performance and battery life. Computers generally work best when the hardware and OS are of similar age. Because of XP's great popularity people often loose sight of the fact that it is now more than 11 years old, which for an OS is a very long time. Microsoft's support for XP will end in 2014 and after that date there will be no new Windows updates. XP has some security issues that will never be fixed. Installing XP on a relatively new computer can be a challenge and the results often not fully satisfactory. The day is coming when major software suppliers will no longer support XP. And there is more.

If the hardware adequately supports Windows 7 or Windows 8 you need a really compelling reason to choose any other OS.

I was going to mention the support thing (which is a great aspect to consider non the less) but I was afraid someone would say its not related to the question here

None the less, thanks for pointing that out. Its important for people to know that windows xp will loose support in a year.

 

[Faladu]

I'd like OP to explain why they are asking....

I would not backgrade to XP on a 7 laptop.

I would not upgrade to 7 on an XP laptop either.

Certainly not with all the hassles and issues for battery charge life.

Make some adjustments and you can save on life, or buy a higher capacity battery, and/or have a spare already charged on hand, instead.