Stay with XP or upgrade to Win 7 for new build?

[Ronin13]

I'm planning a new build (looong overdue) and am unsure about what OS to run.

I strongly dislike what I've seen of Win 8 (and 10 so far), so that's out.

I'm still on XP as I like to be able to fire up some of my old games (Fallout 1&2, Baldur's Gate, StarCraft, etc).

I've read about XP not being great for SSD (which the new build will have) - how bad is this?

I haven't had any really bad issues with vira in XP since it stopped being supported. Is Win 7 actually safer? Would you consider XP unsafe?

Are there any other issues with staying with XP that I should take into account?

Are there any other issues that speak for or against Win 7?

 

[Elixer]

XP should be dead.
Those games listed all run fine on win 7/8 and most likely 10.
In fact, the only reason to stay with win 7 is if you want WMC & have extenders.
Otherwise, get win 8.1 (which will get you win 10) or just use the preview builds of win 10, and see how you like it.

You don't mention why you 'strongly dislike' them, so I suggest you actually try them first.

 

[MongGrel]

XP should be dead.
Those games listed all run fine on win 7/8 and most likely 10.
In fact, the only reason to stay with win 7 is if you want WMC & have extenders.
Otherwise, get win 8.1 (which will get you win 10) or just use the preview builds of win 10, and see how you like it.

You don't mention why you 'strongly dislike' them, so I suggest you actually try them first.

Win 10 ?

WIN 7 isn't an upgrade these days.

 

[xgsound]

YMMV
My 2006 XP build had a Nvidia chipset and still gave a 4X speed increase with a SSD. The move to Win7 32 bit on it gave some difficulty with drivers for the chipset, scanner, Printshop Deluxe, and oldish printer; but fixes were available. The SSD
(SATA2 Mobo) worked a little better.

A clean Win7 64 bit install on modern (Z97/ SATA3 chipset) equipment further increased the very same SSD speed 4 to 10 more times. When I went to Win7 64 bit (for above 4 GB) the scanner refused to install and Printshop Deluxe only worked in (XP Mode) a VM.

I fix the computers for many relatives and friends and have generally found Win7 with IE 11 and even only MSE to have far less Malware problems than earlier systems. Win7 is sufficient for me and I have no plans to upgrade further until forced.

To summerize; keep the old machine for your old requirements and build the new machine as new as you can stand for todays hardware and software. YMMV

Jim

 

[Ketchup]

There is a thread with options to make 8 look exactly like 7. There is no secure reason to go with XP unless you are not on the Internet.

Have you tried 10? Even though it is only in Preview, it is a decent OS, and should be fine upon release.

 

[Ronin13]

No, I haven't tried 10 and I have admittedly limited experience with anything since XP. It does what I want and optimally I'd stay with it. If forced to upgrade, I'm looking at 7 as the next closest thing - for familiarity and (I'm guessing) better compatibility with my old stuff.

***

Thanks for your reply, Jim.

So your SSD ran fine on XP but slightly faster on Win7?

What I'm concerned about is XP not having TRIM (as far as I understand). How significant is this for running a SSD, or is it a non-issue with an easy fix?

 

[Morbus]

If you don't force yourself to upgrade from XP, you'll be forced by either hackers or the manufacturers or the software houses.

Drivers won't work, software won't work, and your info will probably get stolen sooner or later.

Good luck!

 

[Ketchup]

New hardware will NOT come with drivers for XP. So it's not like you have an option here (well, 7 or 8 I suppose).

Considering there is software to make 8 look like 7, and 10 will be pretty similar to both, you can keep your old computer for your old games (off the Internet), and just build the new computer with the latest OS.

 

[Ronin13]

Thanks for your replies.

you can keep your old computer for your old games (off the Internet)

The old rig is slowly dying, which is the main reason for this new build.

 

[techmanc]

When you install a new OS get a 64bit OS and main reason not to get Window XP 64bit it sucks on top of a bunch of other reasons not to.
Also 32bit systems have memory issues using more that 4gb of RAM and you want to use all of your RAM I am assuming?
You want a Window 7 flavor and use the chart at Windows 10 to see what upgrades to what if your going to upgrade to Windows 10.

I like Windows 7 Pro 64bit to the choice as it will upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free.

That what I have just recently added to 2 of my own home PCs.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Win 7 hands down. 8 is garbage, 10 is beta and I would not adopt something that new as my main OS anyway. You could also go the 8 route and install all the 3rd party stuff to make it better, but it's easier to just go with 7 really. We're currently going through the migration from XP to 7 at work actually. My PC got done a few weeks ago.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

You can snag a Windows 7 Pro 64bit DVD install from eBay for like $60. I just grabbed one for my Shuttle XPC (that I just put together) and after installing and updating I now have the Windows 10 Upgrade notice on the task bar. So a terrific solution.

I am running Windows 7 on my brand new ASUS Z97 Pro build and am a huge fan of the OS. I despised Vista so held onto XP Pro for a long time until 7 came out and proved itself. Four years later and I have skipped 8/8.1 because it sucks monkey balls. Everyone I know that went for 8 has regretted it. Hell, i know people who downgraded to 7.

Anyway... XP is dead so you have to go with Windows 7 and should.

 

[Raduque]

Well, if you insist on running ancient software, I have some equally ancient hardware to sell to you.

Really though, why would you cripple a new build by running XP?

 

[smakme7757]

I know quite a few people who still have XP. They don't care what's their PC has as long as it works. I guess the OP is in that situation.

I would have gone with Windows 7 or 8.1. You get a free upgrade to Windows 10 on either of them. So it doesn't really matter. But get off XP.

 

[JackMDS]

There is No 11th commandment: "Thou must upgrade".

You happy with what you have you can stay with it.

In my case some aspects of my works can not be done with XP, so I was using Vista and then Win 7.

When Win 8. came out I tried it on one computer and found no reason to upgrade all my system to Win 8/8.1.

Currently the computer that had 8.1 was upgraded to Win 10.

As it stand right now I do not find any compelling reason that to to do a Whole Network upgrade to Win 10.

That said, it is only preview. So I am going to wait until the End of Oct., by then Win 10 would be three months post RTM.

Pending on my needs and Win 10 status at the end of Oct., I'll make my choice according to my needs and Not be pressed by Social Conformity.

 

[sweenish]

There is No 11th commandment: "Thou must upgrade".

There should be.

XP is a blackhat's jackpot these days.

What works is one thing, but putting your head in the sand at the same time is also a very stupid thing to do.

 

[xgsound]

The SSD (intel 530) ran fine on XP. There was a special program to partition, align, and setup the SSD in XP. It may have been Aomei but I don't remember.

I've been told that office 2000 will not install on Win8 and above. The limit of my experience is that I tried to install Office 2000 on a Win8.1 machine and couldn't get it to work. I'm not sure which versions of Office work on Win8 and above. That's one more factor to add in.

As you can see, some people see using XP or not installing every update is a sacrilege while others think if it is not broken, don't try and fix it. My method is to update when I have time to take care of the problems that may arise with upgrades. I like that "there is no 11th commandment" comment.

Jim

 

[JackMDS]

XP is a blackhat's jackpot these days.

Yeah ""Very Good"" argument comparing a regular user that can keep his/her computer safe with available software to an ATM cash machine with "fixed" system that is under specific Attack by Hackers that spend a lot of time and resources just to attack these systems knowing that it will pay cash.

Kind of the first thing given as an example in Analogies 101.

I gave John a $1 so I can say "I gave money".

I gave Jill $1000 so I can say "I gave Money".

Since "I gave Money" = "I gave Money"

$1= $1000.

 

[Morbus]

Yeah ""Very Good"" argument comparing a regular user that can keep his/her computer safe with available software to an ATM cash machine with "fixed" system that is under specific Attack by Hackers that spend a lot of time and resources just to attack these systems knowing that it will pay cash.

Kind of the first thing given as an example in Analogies 101.

I gave John a $1 so I can say "I gave money".

I gave Jill $1000 so I can say "I gave Money".

Since "I gave Money" = "I gave Money"

$1= $1000.

By that reasoning, John = Jill...

 

[VirtualLarry]

So your SSD ran fine on XP but slightly faster on Win7?

What I'm concerned about is XP not having TRIM (as far as I understand). How significant is this for running a SSD, or is it a non-issue with an easy fix?

FWIW, I sold a client with an older Dell with Vista OS, a 60/64GB SSD to put the OS on. I hope it works out, long-term, without needing TRIM. *Shrug* I'm more concerned that Vista will fill the SSD with volume shadow copies and other OS-related cruft, than I am about the TRIM support. Most modern SSDs have decent GC too.

 

[tidy]

.

 

[Indus]

I haven't used XP since 2006.. even Vista was more stable for gaming but it was annoying.. took me like 2 hours to configure it to my liking.

7 was exactly what I wanted.. just like XP with more stability and without the vista bloat. It's crashed on me twice in 5 years.. once when my hard drive died and second when my gtx 260 died and the video just skewed like crayons.

I'd say if your choice is only xp or 7, go 7 but I am curious how 10 final version turns out.. I'm going to try it out on an old system before I decide if I want to upgrade my main to 10.

 

[Mem]

As a gamer no brainer Win 7 to Win10 for sure,XP is dead( RIP,no support)Win7 only has five years left,you can keep living in the past, but you have to move forward sooner or later,with Win10 you get DX12,new features,free upgrade from 7/8 ,improved security very long life span etc..

As a gamer myself I've used every new Microsoft OS as they come along and it has not stopped me playing my old games in general.

 

[Mem]

I forgot to say also a lot of new games are 64 bit only,so developers seem to be focusing for good reason on latest OS etc..

I'm currently replaying Icewind Dale 1,2,Baldurs Gate etc with no issues,KOTOR/KOTOR2 work fine also on 64 bit OS(using Win8.1 Pro X64 bit here).

 

[Compman55]

Use 7 for now, and migrate to windows 10 in january. By then most bugs will be resolved.