Windows 7 - which version to buy?

[TwinsenTacquito]

Hey guys, I see in General Hardware that people use diff versions of windows 7. Is there any point in getting pro or ultimate?

I will be using my computer for gaming and as my television. I'll be streaming yankees games with their paid service thingy, and I'll be doing netflix. Maybe at some point I'll hook up a projector to it, no idea yet. I'm going to be using freeware office and such.

The build is an [FONT=&quot]AMD Phenom II X4 965[/FONT], 5870 1gb, 80SDD, and one of dees ASUS mobos.


What's the difference anyway? Anything performance related?

 

[sivart]

I'd look at the this link.

Bottom line, if you don't need compatibility mode (with XP), home premium should do just fine. Others are differences for the corporate environment or programs that you can find freeware versions if needed.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

Thanks a bunch, I never thought to just go to their site. I just spend an hour here looking.

I do want XP mode. There are games I know I tried to run in Vista mode on my last computer that I had to run in XP mode. That's not standard! Silly.

 

[Leros]

You can use virtual pc, vmware, etc for xp mode. I wouldn't pay extra for it.

 

[corkyg]

It's not about XP compatibility - it is about being able to install and run a true XP VM under Win 7. That only happens with Pro and Ult. I wouldn't waste my time installing anything less.

 

[nsafreak]

Thanks a bunch, I never thought to just go to their site. I just spend an hour here looking.

I do want XP mode. There are games I know I tried to run in Vista mode on my last computer that I had to run in XP mode. That's not standard! Silly.

Which games would these happen to be? I know there were a few games that I previously had to boot into XP to get to work but they work fine under Windows 7 sometimes I have to enable compatibility mode but I haven't needed a virtual machine.

 

[Sp12]

Hey guys, I see in General Hardware that people use diff versions of windows 7. Is there any point in getting pro or ultimate?

I will be using my computer for gaming and as my television. I'll be streaming yankees games with their paid service thingy, and I'll be doing netflix. Maybe at some point I'll hook up a projector to it, no idea yet. I'm going to be using freeware office and such.

The build is an [FONT=&quot]AMD Phenom II X4 965[/FONT], 5870 1gb, 80SDD, and one of dees ASUS mobos.


What's the difference anyway? Anything performance related?

If it's not purchased the X4 965 is not a good buy. Go for the 955 or X6 1055t.

 

[lxskllr]

You won't get 3D acceleration running an XP VM. That's more for business apps, and other 2D programs. If the only reason you want XP compatibility's gaming, I wouldn't bother. You'd be better off dualbooting for that.

 

[RebateMonger]

You can use virtual pc, vmware, etc for xp mode. I wouldn't pay extra for it.

Don't forget that you get a full XP Professional lcense with XP Mode in Win7 . If you use any other virtualization solution, you'll need to dedicate another XP Pro license to the virtual machine. Also, the Win7 solution has built-in USB support, which Virtual PC 2007 does not.

If you need to run XP for business purposes under Win7, then XP Mode is a pretty good way to go.

 

[Murloc]

get home premium if you don't really need any of the features of the ultimate.

 

[bruceb]

Personally, if I can afford it, I always go for the top of the line for programs. Win 7 Ultimate in this case. You never know when / if you may need the extra features and the cost difference is usually not too great.

 

[Nothinman]

You won't get 3D acceleration running an XP VM. That's more for business apps, and other 2D programs. If the only reason you want XP compatibility's gaming, I wouldn't bother. You'd be better off dualbooting for that.

Not with XP Mode or VPC but VirtualBox and VMware Workstation have at least semi-working 3D acceleration for guests.

 

[Tsavo]

Pro at least.

I made the mistake of getting Home Premium, not knowing that GPedit and Secpol aren't available.

 

[RebateMonger]

Basically, Windows 7 has gone back to the XP Home/XP Professional choice. Editions like "Starter", "Home Basic", and "Ultimate" have been relegated to special-purpose use.

Like with XP, if you are buying for business use, then get Win7 Professional. If you are a non-business user, then Win7 Home Premium will likely be adequate.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

Thanks for the help guys, and no I haven't bought anything yet. Right now I'm confused by newegg not having the "newer" Intel 80gb G2 SSD, and yet restocking their discontinued Intel 80gb G2 SSD. Their stats are the same and they're both G2ssss waaaat is going on?

You won't get 3D acceleration running an XP VM. That's more for business apps, and other 2D programs. If the only reason you want XP compatibility's gaming, I wouldn't bother. You'd be better off dualbooting for that.

Meh, it's just for running all those really old games that are dos based. I'm not gonna bother dual booting just to put in 20 minutes on some old game. I'd rather just right click, run in XP mode. Or properties or whatever it is. Because I could get these games to run in XP with 3rd party patches and can run them in XP mode or some silliness that I ended up doing. OH wait...

Which games would these happen to be? I know there were a few games that I previously had to boot into XP to get to work but they work fine under Windows 7 sometimes I have to enable compatibility mode but I haven't needed a virtual machine.

I believe Twinsen's Odyssey... *cough*
...maybe The Neverhood? Maybe I never even got The Neverhood to work on Vista.

OH! I see, it's not just compatibility mode. OhhhHOHOHOOOO. Ok, because I'm pretty sure I couldn't get the Neverhood to work in compatibility mode on Vista. Maybe this will allow me to play that game through again. Cool-Cool-Cool.

If it's not purchased the X4 965 is not a good buy. Go for the 955 or X6 1055t.

Really? From what I read on this site those are both slower than the 965 for gaming. Admittedly it's not much better than the 955. My deal is that I want to run Crysis and Warhead at ridiculously high settings at >1600x___ resolution and never dip under 24fps, evar. That's why I'm paying an extra $100 on an 5870 over the 5850. Which is far stupider than the $20 difference between the 965 and 955. But you probably know that better than I do... because I just look at bar graphs and drool out the side of my mouth. :hmm: *thinking gif used to denote "think of shame"*

x6 1055-
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674/amds-sixcore-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-1055t-reviewed/9

955-
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2819/7

 

[lxskllr]

Oh, ancient stuff. The virtual XP would probably work ok for that, but if you're gonna hassle with a VM, you might as well run the proper O/S for the games. I'd use VirtualBox with Win98 or DOS, or use DosBox for the games. No sense in hacking them up to run in XP when you can run them the way they're meant to be.

 

[TwinsenTacquito]

I think the oldest copy of windows I have around is ME. Looks like a Sun product that lets me run a windowed Win98. Sweeeeeeet.

Well, that's the backup plan I guess. To track down a copy of Win98 just to run the Neverhood. Thanks for that. I might be able to go halfsies (I mean I'd never do that) with a friend on the 98 so we can run that game like it's 1997. 1996? October 1996! YEAHH!

 

[JackMDS]

It's not about XP compatibility - it is about being able to install and run a true XP VM under Win 7. That only happens with Pro and Ult. I wouldn't waste my time installing anything less.

It is one thing when One has a system that works well and suddenly ther is a need to do something that can be done since the OS is lacking the feature.

I would like for a free/inexpensive solutuion too.

Otherwise, it is kind of "Silly" to save few $$ on new OS and spent days on stating fresh with a compromised awkward solutions.

Get the Pro version and if money is not a problem get the Ultimate.

 

[jlchoi]

With the availability of Anytime Upgrade, you have the option of getting Home Premium and upgrading to Pro/Ultimate if you find yourself needing those extra features.

 

[Emulex]

enterpise - it just has everything oh and it sounds good too.

iirc you need ultimate/enterprise for the really cool RDP7/2008R2 high bandwidth directaudio/graphics/streaming video stuff yeh?

 

[wbynum]

Hey guys, I see in General Hardware that people use diff versions of windows 7. Is there any point in getting pro or ultimate?

I will be using my computer for gaming and as my television. I'll be streaming yankees games with their paid service thingy, and I'll be doing netflix. Maybe at some point I'll hook up a projector to it, no idea yet. I'm going to be using freeware office and such.

The build is an [FONT=&quot]AMD Phenom II X4 965[/FONT], 5870 1gb, 80SDD, and one of dees ASUS mobos.


What's the difference anyway? Anything performance related?

I suggest you get the Technet version.