Tech Windows 7 RTM review

Windows 7 RTM review

I'm running this off my fairly recently built desktop as a guinea pig for a friend and I have to say I'm a believer. It outperforms xp and doesn't have the annoying vista components. No lag, fast start and shutdown, and no need for component drivers unless you want more customization. Compatibility issues are pretty much nonexistent and everything looks better than ever before, just like Vista with a few minor differences. And considering that I'm entertainment-phile for anime and moving pictures in general, I have noticed upscaling of ordinary video files such as the typical avi, mkv, ogg, ogm, mp4, etc. Less than DVD quality becomes close to DVD quality, DVD quality gets closer to HD, and HD becomes godly*.

*Not using Windows Media Player. Using CCCP codec pack and Media Player Classic Homecinema.

My specs are as follows:

Windows 7 Ultimate
AMD Phenom Quad 2.8 GHz
4 GB ram
ATI Radeon 3300 HD
Crossfire
Viewsonic 26" 1080p HD monitor

I'd like to hear feedback from others running Windows 7 as well. Discuss.

i had windows 7 on my bro's old laptop. he got a bad virus so we just installed it on there just for fun, and boy oh boy it was slick

i had vista and i hated it, every time i plugged in a thumb drive, sd card, etc. it would take forever to install and read and it was my memory cards were perfect

when i was using 7, it was almost perfect...i cant wait till it comes out

Just got OEM 7 Enterprise at work. Pretty much Ultimate with a volume license.
Running it on my Octo-Pro in VMware fusion.
Pretty much use OSX for everything but testing.

Overall though, I'm impressed. Easily one of the best products MS has put out in awhile.
If only it didn't take them six versions of something to get a product that people can go crazy about.

Now the only problem is convincing people that this is actually something good.
I have to admit, after ME and Vista in the same decade, pretty scared that MS was doomed. 7 looks like it might bring them back from the brink.

w00t microsoft!

Yeah, I was really skeptical about 7 after I Vista left a bad impression on me. But after hearing some people rave about it, I decided to give it a go and it simply blows me away. I believe in MS again. LOL

i still want more. had 7 for a while now since beta but yeah... there are plenty of things MS can do to make it better.

For example? I think it's great already as it is.

I've been using OS X lately for simple msn and browsing...

but if serious work or photography needs (apart from a simple convert for something not important in picasa OSX) I switch to Windows 7 in a jiffy...
they fixed the biggest nag I've had in windows for photography... a simple but concise monitor "good enough" calibration tool... before I didn't knew how much detail I used to loose to highlight clipping, well I do now and I adjusted the monitor accordingly and making the grey a bit more grey-er than the stock slight blueish

it's truly the next big os since WinXP

and in Win7 everything I own works, I'm not saying it's better than OSX! it's just that my webcam doesn't work in OSX... xD lol

aside from that they're both great OSes just.... way different in uses

Good Post Saber,

I think too many people get overly religious when it comes to their OS.
Every OS has its fanboys, even linux.

I guess I just like the fact that you see each OS for it's strengths and weaknesses and try not to push one over the other for petty reasons, but legitimate "dealbreaker" reasons.

Students get Windows 7 for 30 dollars with proof of a student school email. Valid until Jan 3rd.

got link?

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/st...=p0zj9goBAkgAAHOOEroAAAAL&rests=1253480420849

You need an email address of higher education ending with .edu to qualify.

i wanted 7 to be more optimized for touch. its not. now mac will take advantage and come with a touch tablet of some sort which has been rumored and i bet it will come true. there are a lot more small details too that i want fixed. oh well. too lazy to type it all

How would touch be incorporated? Don't you need a monitor capable for it? And I'm guessing it would be pricey. I'm just glad 7 smoothed out the kinks of Vista and looks good doing it. Plus students can get it cheap. I don't see OSX offering anything like that. The bottom line is always cost. You can build a fast desktop for under 500 bucks instead of paying over 2k for a Mac with the same specs. Not saying Macs are bad, just expensive.

OSX free for anyone who bought a computer recently, upgrade is only $30 to anyone.

hmm very nice. I guess it all comes down to preference then. But from a multimedia standpoint, I still prefer a PC due to all the different file compatibilities.

Price match by Microsoft!


http://windows7.digitalriver.com/st...=o3B00AoBAiMAAEaxPx4AAAAY&rests=1253643923380

I actually tried out OSX today. It's really convenient for laptops since everything is literally a touch away. Really easy and fun to use. However, I don't know if that's the same for a desktop version.

rollatuner:

it's the same... I like it more than windows for simple browsing and chat...

but when I need to work and start opening up windows like crazy... windoze

though, I still gotta try snow leopard to see if the dock with expose is really what I was hoping for, something like the window selection that comes up in the Win7 taskbar

Yeah, I have the same thinking. I'm keeping Windows 7 for my desktop since that's my multimedia and multitasker. When I get a new laptop, it will definitely be a Mac.

Heck yeessss sold.

ok I just saw this today, and I'm not trying to instigate a windows vs. mac vs. linux pissing contest, but I wondered what you all thought about this...



Is it really necessary to manufacture this kind of hype?
Wouldn't you think most people would tell other people they know about it on their own?

windows is good. their marketing still sucks. The best Microsoft commercial is with the little girl which is why she recently made another appearance in the win7 commercial. other than that, the OS really takes after the original founders and creators of the OS. IF that makes any sense. The only thing Microsoft really needs is someone to be more creative and give windows a upgrade in design. Their ideas are good and they are heading in the right direction but seeing how big Microsoft is and how much R&D they can put in, I expect better out of them.

If I was the CEO of Microsoft, I would make a whole new OS with new ideas to fit future needs rather than past needs - therefore the new OS will not be compatible with any old software. However, create the OS on a similar platform or an existing platform such as webOS so people can easily create new apps. This way, you can have a very stable OS and very secure. Also provide the OS free with anyone using the current version of windows and everyone who wants to buy it can get it for like $50. And then eventually when there are a lot more software avaialble for the new OS, then just discontinue win7 and anything else that was made in the past and start off fresh. Reason for doing this? Look at Google's OS or Palm's OS. great OS's that uses very little power and HD space and has a lot of potential. now put that OS on a computer from a couple years ago and it will be blazing fast and will pwn current windows and Mac OS. - I'm brilliant!

That's a great idea on paper, but implementation is next to impossible.
Creating a new OS is not the problem, convincing other people to change is.
Look at the current situation with XP, people are still using it and it's almost 10 years old.
Web Devs and IT people have to support it along with old browsers like IE6

If you try and tell someone they need to upgrade, but they really don't see how it is "broken" or outdated, they won't want to spend the money or make the investment.

I agree that 7 is a step in the right direction. Enterprise and Ultimate editions both have the ability to run a virtual Windows XP inside a Win7 installation. Similar to when apple included OS 9 "Classic" mode in OS X. This helps with compatibility and won't sever the connection from XP completely but still move people forward.

I think what Apple did better than Microsoft was how they implemented technologies like Rosetta and Universal apps into their newer OS's so that people could still run the programs they had in the past, while developers had time to update their software/drivers/etc.

I guess what it comes down to is money. A great majority of the population isn't on the "Bleeding Edge" of technology and if they can continue to do the things they want without fuss, then they don't see the need to change.

/soapbox